Page 83 of The Fiancé Hoax

I didn't like the sound of that. I'd already been worried about her pushing herself too hard.

I added red bell pepper and zucchini to the skillet as the girls made several trips from the cupboards to the table. Then they carried the bowls of grated cheese, sour cream, and chopped lettuce and tomatoes to the table. As the stir fry sizzled, I heated up another skillet to warm some tortillas.

“That smells delicious.”

I looked over my shoulder to see Felicity standing in the doorway, yawning.

“You're awake!” Eva exclaimed. She ran over to grab Felicity's hand and guide her to her usual spot at the kitchen table.

“We're having tacos,” Lily announced. “It's our favorite.”

“I'm sorry I fell asleep like that,” Felicity said.

I began to serve up the stir fry onto the plates, accompanied by warm tortillas. The girls carried the plates of food carefully, one by one, to the table.

“You've really been burning the candle at both ends,” I said.

“You can say that again,” Felicity said as the girls sat at the table. “Launching this kids’ collection before that magazine article is published is a major endeavor.”

I brought my plate over to the table and sat down. “You shouldn't overwork yourself, Felicity.”

She shrugged. “I know, but it has to get done.”

“Maybe you should hire help.”

She shook her head as she assembled her tacos. “I don't think I'm ready for that step.”

“Okay,” I said, deciding to drop it for the time being.

The girls were eager to talk about their upcoming summer vacation. They attended year-round school, and their summer break was a month long. This year, they were going to day camp.

I smiled at my daughters as they discussed their excitement over riding horses and swimming at camp.

But I couldn't help being worried—about Felicity, the custody battle, and anything Gen’s PI might unearth.

21

FELICITY

Over the next few weeks, sales started to pick up at the boutique.

The advertisements I’d bought began to gradually drive traffic into the store. And my online sales steadily increased.

For the first time ever, I was busy with customers. Plus, I had new responsibilities to juggle. I used every spare moment to prepare my children's line before the magazine interview came out.

I was expanding the girls’ collection as well as preparing for the bespoke offering. New fabrics and supplies had to be ordered. A shipment of shelves and display racks would arrive soon. Then I’d have to rearrange the entire store to make room for the expanding children's section.

I was exhausted.

I worked long hours at the store, and I worked even more in the studio at Cooper's house. I was barely eating, and when I did, I felt sick to my stomach.

The stress was mounting with each day. I was a nervous wreck.

Despite the increase in sales, the future of Moonstone Boutique was riding on this children’s line. I’d invested so much into the kids’ section. If I couldn't handle the demand—or worse, if there was no demand—I might have to close the shop.

So I had to get this right. And that meant working around the clock.

I missed spending entire evenings and weekends with Cooper and the girls, but I couldn't spare the energy to worry about it. I could only hope they would understand. Still, being apart from them hurt.