Page 75 of The Fiancé Hoax
“Hi, Felicity.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything's fine. I spoke to Cooper on the phone this morning, and he mentioned you were selling kids’ clothes now. Thought I'd come by and see it.”
I led him over to the kids’ section. “Here it is.” I grinned, on cloud nine that my father was showing interest in my work. “I never thought I would be designing clothes for little girls, but it's been really fun. Cooper came up with the idea.”
Dad rubbed his jaw sheepishly. “These look nice, Felicity.”
“Thanks. And guess what, Dad? A fashion writer from LA Now just did an interview with me this morning! She's going to run an article about the boutique.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “Really? That's great news.”
“Yeah. It's a lot of change in a short period of time. But hopefully they're all good changes.”
My chest tightened to see the frown forming on his face.
“What the hell is that?” he asked, pointing straight at Cooper's engagement ring.
I looked down at the rock on my finger, and my mouth went dry.
“Dad, I can explain,” I stammered.
“Felicity, it was bad enough that you went behind my back to ask for help from one of my business associates. Now you're engaged to the guy?”
“Dad—”
He spun on his heels and began to pace angrily across the floor. “This is outrageous. I thought I raised you better than this, Felicity. He's way too old for you. And he has two kids, for God's sake! Just when I thought you were finally being responsible and mature, you go and pull a stunt like this. What's the matter with you?”
His words stung me to the core. I blinked at him, paralyzed for a moment, then finally found my voice.
“We're not really engaged, Dad. It's all fake.”
“What do you mean, fake?”
“We're pretending to be engaged so he can keep custody of his daughters.”
He shook his head, trying to make sense of the new information. Then he turned to me with disgust.
“So you're lying?”
“Well, yes. But for a good cause.”
“I'm shocked at you, Felicity. This is dishonest.”
“I know, but the judge handling the custody case is extremely difficult. He almost never grants custody to a single father in the cases he presides over. Cooper's custody lawyer told him he'd be more likely to win the case if he wasn't a bachelor.”
He paused. “So that time I caught you at his house… have you been living with him all this time?”
I nodded. “Yes. For about a month.”
My shoulders slumped. I hated disappointing my father. Just five minutes ago, he had actually looked proud of me. It was the first time in years.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “This is appalling, Felicity. And you know it.”
“Dad, you've met Gen, haven't you?”
“Of course I have. Cooper and I go way back.”