Page 33 of The Fiancé Hoax

I read their favorite, The Little Red Hen, and kissed them each goodnight.

Lily opened her heavy eyes to look at me. “Is Felicity going to love us like a mommy?”

Oh, God.

Her words hit like a shot in the heart, and I had to pause a moment so I wouldn’t choke up. My poor daughters needed a mother so badly.

I wanted to promise that Felicity would love them. That she’d stay forever. But I couldn’t.

I gave Lily a hug and brushed a strand of blonde hair out of her face. “Let’s give it some time, okay, baby?”

“Okay.”

“You girls are the light of my life. You know that, right?”

Lily nodded.

“I love you both to the moon and back,” I said as I kissed Lily’s head. “And I always will.”

I went over to Eva’s bed and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “I love you, Eva. Goodnight, silly goose.”

“Night, Daddy.”

I turned the light out and left the room, closing the door behind me. There was movement inside, and I opened the door a crack to see Lily climbing into bed next to Eva.

She’d started doing that recently. It worried me that Lily couldn’t sleep alone. She was having trouble, and it killed me.

Lily was grieving the absence of a proper mother more than she was missing Gen. They both were, even if Eva acted tough and pretended she didn’t care.

I didn’t know how to fix it. And I would have given anything to fix the whole world for my daughters. They were seeing the best child therapist I could find, but that only went so far.

The best I could do was make sure they kept living with me. I could at least protect them while they were in this house and under my care.

And as long as this engagement with Felicity worked, I had a good chance at retaining custody.

I went downstairs, expecting to see Felicity crashed out on the sofa. Instead, she was sitting up. Her legs were curled up underneath a blanket.

I grinned. “I thought you’d be asleep by now.”

“I had a cat nap. Hope you don’t mind that I poured us some wine. I could really use a glass myself.”

I sat on the sofa in front of the glass she’d poured for me. “I could, too.” I was so close I could smell her floral scent.

She reached for her glass and took a sip. “Your daughters are hilarious, you know.”

“Oh, I know. There’s never a dull moment around here.”

“Eva is so adventurous. She’s a little risk-taker. She reminds me a little of myself as a kid. And Lily…” She pressed a hand to her heart. “Lily is just precious. She’s so sweet and gentle.” She smiled as she looked off in the distance. “They’re great kids.”

“Thanks.” I took a sip of my wine. “They just told me they’re glad to have you here.”

She looked at me. “They did?”

I nodded. “They like you a lot.”

“I like them, too.” She beamed for a moment, then she shook her head sadly. “I just don’t understand why Gen doesn’t want to be in their lives.”

“Yeah, me neither.” I sighed.