Flynn presses a soft kiss to my forehead, and I have to shut my eyes for a brief moment to not let it affect me. But hell, it’s affecting me.
Every innocent touch, kiss, caress from him feels so right that it’s wrong.
Wrong because he’s not my real husband. He’s not the type of guy who does relationships. He made that fact clear from the get-go. Flynn is just a kind, genuine man who helped me in my time of need. And it’s highly likely that, as of tomorrow, my time of need will be a thing of the past.
“You know what I think?” Winnie’s voice grabs my attention, and I glance to my right to find her and her husband Wes slow dancing together. “I think the two of you should plan a wedding.”
Flynn smirks. “Sorry to break it to you again, Win, but we already did that.”
“Yeah, I’m aware. But I’d like you to plan a wedding that I can actually attend.”
Wes smirks. “Like you should talk, baby. We got married on a beach in the Bahamas. And only you, me, and Lexi were in attendance.”
“Shut up, Wes!” Winnie squeals and smacks a hand over his mouth. He just laughs and playfully bites at her fingers in a way that makes her giggle and yank her hand away from his face.
Flynn is amused by the whole scene. I know this because a genuine smile kisses his perfect mouth. But me, on the other hand? Well, I’m overwhelmed. Confused. And my heart is starting to take up a breath-stealing rhythm inside my chest.
I’m a fraud. A liar. A phony. A fake.
And even though I never anticipated the aftermath of Flynn’s and my marriage, I’m starting to comprehend just how many people our web of lies has ensnared.
Not to mention, your heart.
Guilt pitches a tent inside my stomach, and I have to remove myself from the dance floor, away from Flynn and his family, and just…away from everyone I feel like I’m going to disappoint far too soon.
I step back and out of Flynn’s arms, and he looks down at me with a quirk of his brow.
“I…uh… I think I need to…uh…” I pause, searching for a reasonable reason to leave. Sure, most of the guests have already left, but I doubt me springing out of the restaurant like my ass is on fire is going to occur unnoticed.
“I’m tired,” I explain lamely. “I think I’m ready to call it a night.”
“Okay, babe.” Flynn doesn’t ask any questions. He just…places a gentle hand to my back and guides us off the dance floor and toward our table where I left my purse.
But this isn’t what I want him to do at all. The more time I spend with him, the harder this whole thing is getting. The more he treats me like a fucking princess, the more I realize I’m far past the point of having just some feelings for him.
I have all the feelings for him.
I just need space. Away from him. Away from his family. Away from my lies.
Far away from tomorrow’s fate…and the inevitability of a broken heart.
Flynn
“You guys heading out?” Rem asks, giving me a slap on the shoulder and a shake of my hand.
“Yeah, man.” I look right beside me to where Daisy should be, anticipating her smile and ramble, but she’s nowhere to be found. I grace Rem with a return slap on the shoulder and glance around the room for my favorite bouncy head of curls. It’s only when I look all the way across the restaurant, at the double doors that lead out the front, that I spot that very hair making an abrupt departure.
“Everything okay?” Rem asks, observing me so closely that I can feel it without even having to look.
Honestly, I don’t know. One minute, Daisy was with me, and in the span of two minutes when I was grabbing money out of my wallet to tip the waitstaff, she was gone.
Maybe she’s sick?
That possibility doesn’t sit well with me, and I don’t offer Rem any explanation. Instead, I excuse myself with an “I’ll see you tomorrow” and head for the exit. I don’t even bother saying goodbye to Jude or Sophie when I pass them at the bar, despite their being the guests of honor, and I don’t seek out anyone else from my family to let them know we’re leaving.
I’ll see them at the wedding tomorrow anyway, and after forty-one years of silent goodbyes, there’s no need to start announcing my departure now.
The instant I step outside, I’m hit with a cool night breeze and the vision of Daisy hauling ass in the opposite direction of our apartment.
What the hell is going on?
I break into a jog as I trail behind her quick feet, and thanks to long legs and good genetics, it only takes half a block for me to catch up with her.