Page 11 of Billionaire's Fake Plus One

Maddie rips her corn open clumsily, almost spilling the entire pack on the ground. My hand quickly shoots out, and I grab it from her. “Careful,” I say softly.

“I’ve got it,” she says even though she obviously doesn’t; she’s in a hurry to catch up with Millie, who’s already standing at the bank of the pond with ducks surrounding her as she sprinkles corn for them.

I take the pack from her and put it under my armpit, so both my hands are free to open mine. “Here. Take this.”

She grins as she accepts it. “Thanks, Willow!” She runs to her twin and starts tossing sweet corn to the ducks at her side. As I hover behind them, watching quietly, a high pitched scream grabs my attention.

My heart jumps into my throat as my head swivels in the direction of the sound. A beautiful girl around the twins’ age is running toward us as fast as her tiny legs can take her. She’s in a pink tutu and black leggings with a lilac top that has the words “Daddy’s Angel” written on it. Her dark hair falls over her face, her braids already coming undone.

A heavily pregnant woman with reddish-brown hair in a messy bun runs behind her yelling, “Sera, stop!” But the little girl doesn’t listen. Sera is almost in front of me now. She stretches her hands out to pick up one of the ducks. I quickly swoop in, snatching her in my arms instead.

She stares at me with wide eyes. We’re both frozen, waiting for her to start wailing at any moment, but instead, her mouth simply forms an O as she watches me with surprise. Probably questioning the nerve I have for picking her up.

The pregnant woman comes to a stop in front of me breathing heavily. “What did I tell you about running off?” she scolds the girl in my arms, who starts wriggling. I put her down gently.

“Are you okay?” I ask the pregnant woman, eyeing her with concern.

“I’m fine. Thanks for stopping her. I’m not sure how the ducks would’ve reacted to her trying to pick them up. My daughter can be a bit impulsive at times.”

I give her a quick smile and say, “That’s okay. I’m just glad my girls are content with feeding them. I don’t think the mother duck would tolerate her babies being man-handled.” We share a short laugh.

“I’m Emma. Are you new here? We come here every weekend, and this is the first time I’ve seen you.”

“I’m Willow, and yes, I’m new to Bainbridge Island. I moved here a week ago.”

Millie runs over to take the extra pack of corn from my hand, then goes back to feeding the ducks. “Your daughters are beautiful. How old are they? And just how can you tell them apart? They’re truly identical.”

“They’re not my kids. I’m just their nanny. That’s their dad over there.” Emma follows the direction I’m pointing, and whistles softly.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” a dark-haired man says, wrapping his arms around her neck as he reaches us.

Emma rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “You’re the hottest man this side of the Pacific, darling. Willow, this is my husband, Austin.”

He gives me a nod, then turns his attention to his wife. He bends his head to her and murmurs something in her ear. She giggles softly, hitting him in the chest as her cheeks flush.

I look away from them, staring at the girls instead. The twins seem to be hitting it off with Sera. I move a little closer to them and announce, “I’m going to go sit with your dad. Don’t run off, okay?”

I introduce Emma and her husband to Lucien when we get to the cluster of benches where he is sitting. Not long after, the twins run to their dad to get more sweet corn from the nylon bag on the bench between us.

After they empty those packs, they start running around in circles; some ducks follow them, hoping for more treats. Austin and Emma talk about life on Bainbridge Island and the beautiful sights I need to see as soon as I have some free time. Thanks to them, there’s no chance for any awkward silence between Lucien and me.

The ducks occupy the girls for another hour before Sera runs to her parents, and the twins come to me. They rest their palms on my lap, their breaths coming in heavy pants as they talk over each other, arguing as they tell me who fed more ducks. I take out three juice boxes, hand one to Emma for Sera, then poke the straw into the remaining two for Millie and Maddie. They suck it down in one continuous gulp, and after arguing some more, they decide to visit the playground, so off we go.

The park is pretty big, so we walk on the well-maintained, paved path for ten minutes before getting to the large playground, which is pretty impressive for a small town like Bainbridge Island. It’s a huge, wooden play structure with miniature turrets and complete with endless platforms, slides, and a sand pit scattered with abandoned toys.

The girls are occupied for two more hours, only coming back when they get hungry. As the day progresses, Lucien gets more tense, his phone blowing up with several messages. Each time he gets a new text, he tenses some more, frowning until there’s a permanent scowl etched on his face.

I exchange numbers with Emma and promise to catch up with her soon. The girls murmur sleepily throughout the drive home, their energy already waning. Throughout the drive, I watch their dad through the corner of my eye, trying to figure out what the hell is up with him.

8

Daily Update Rachel! I think I just found a replacement for you. Her name is Emma and she has an adorable little girl! ??

“Who the hell did you say is replacing me?” are the first words out of Rachel’s mouth when I pick up her call.

“Wow, hello to you too, Rachel. How am I doing? Thanks so much for asking, I’m holding up really well considering everything. How are you?”

“Nuh, huh, you don’t get to try to charm your way out of this. I’m at the Nutty Baker’s Corner. Meet me there now.”

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