Page 23 of Masquerade Mistake
“Holy fuck, that man is hot,” Maren breathes.
“I know.” I moan, then let out a shaky breath of air that I hadn’t known I was holding. “Which is why I really need to break things off now.”
“What?” She hands me my iced coffee, all while shaking her head. “You’re crazy, Claire. You should be following him home so you can officially end your dry spell.”
“Ha ha.” I sip my iced mocha, even though I’ve definitely had enough coffee today. I note something extra in there alongside the dark chocolate, and I tilt my head as I try to figure it out.
“Orange,” Maren answers before I can ask. “It’s this new thing we’re doing, kind of like those chocolate oranges you can get during the holidays.”
“Well, it’s delicious. Do more of these.”
“Sure. Now spill.”
I tell her everything Nina told me, including the part about Ethan’s absent dad, though I feel bad divulging it. It’s not my secret to tell, especially when he never told me. But Maren’s good with secrets, and I need to tell someone. I also confirm that Ethan might be kind of a player, just like Maren suspected.
“What did he do?” Maren’s eyes narrow, and I can practically feel the fire of her protective anger.
“I haven’t seen it with my own eyes,” I admit, “But Nina spelled out his dating habits before he met me. Why should he change now when he doesn’t even know me?”
“That’s why he needs to get to know you,” she says. “Then he’ll fall madly in love with you and live happily ever after.”
“Until he finds out I—we—have a kid,” I say. I hang my head. “All of this is too much. And Friday! What am I supposed to do about this Friday?”
“Wear something sexy so that he’s tongue tied when he comes to your door.”
“That’s just it,” I say. “He can’t come to my door. Finn, remember?” I glance at the playground as I say it. I recognize Brie in the sand box with Finn, and I can’t help but notice how much attention my son is paying to her as she helps with a mound of sand in front of him.
“Right,” Maren says. “I mean, I could take him to my house for the night. It’s not childproof or anything, but it’s safe.”
“He’s beyond the childproofing age, goof,” I say, even though I think she’s kidding. “But he’s never slept away from home. Besides, there are signs of Finn everywhere at my house. Photos, his toys, artwork on the fridge…. I doubt I can erase all that evidence of my son in just a short week. And even more, what happens if Ethan shows up unannounced? What then? If he knows where I live, it’s just going to spell disaster.” I can feel the knot in my stomach grow by the second. “I need to break this off before it gets bigger than it needs to be.”
Maren looks at me, and I wait for the judgment. Instead, she takes my hand.
“You’re scared, aren’t you?”
“Terrified,” I say. And as I say it, I realize this is the biggest feeling I have. I’m not just scared of who he is and what this means for Finn and me, but I’m also afraid I’ll fall for him so completely, I won’t be able to see my way out of it. I tell all this to Maren, the truth spilling out of me as fast as I feel it.
“I’ve done this for so long on my own,” I say. “What if I become dependent on him?”
“You might,” Maren agrees. “But knowing you, you won’t lose yourself completely, no matter how hard you fall in love.” She lets go of my hand and leans back on the blanket. She’s about to say something else when Finn runs up, launching himself at her.
“Aunt Maren! Are you coming over tonight? Are you bringing pizza?”
“Is your mom still trying to get you to eat healthy stuff?” she asks. Finn nods.
“Last week it was broccoli every night.”
“It was not,” I protest. “That was only two nights, and you didn’t eat any of it.”
“You put it in the brownies,” he says, digging through the bag of food I brought. He pulls out the cheese and crackers snack pack, bypassing the grapes and leftover brownies. Maren picks one of the brownies up and inspects it.
“Claire, you need help,” she says, holding the brownie by two fingers as if she’d found it on the bathroom floor. I snatch the brownie from her hand and take a big bite of it.
“It’s delicious,” I say, my teeth probably as full as my mouth. She grimaces with a disgusted laugh.
“Finnster, I can’t come over tonight. But how about this Friday you and I pull an all-nighter with pizza and soda, and maybe even some broccoli-free brownies.”
“Yeah! Are you sleeping over?”