Kyle ran a hand through his hair. “Actually, I dismissed it initially. I told him he was nuts. That it would never work.” He let out a sharp bark of laughter. Finally, he met my eyes. “But the longer I thought about it, the more I think Adam might be right. It could work. And Whitney, I’ll do anything to keep my daughter. Anything.”
Not able to help myself, I reached across the table and took his hand. “Of course, you will. That’s what makes you an incredible dad. I have nothing but respect for how you’ve raised Katie. She’s an amazing little girl, and you have yourself to thank for that. And I told you, if there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll do it.”
Kyle squeezed my fingers. “I’m glad you said that because you’re part of this plan.”
“Me?” I asked, confused.
“Yeah. You’re the only one that can make this work actually. Will you hear me out? Don’t say anything until I’m finished explaining it.” His eyes pleaded with me. He was worried. And it had to do with me.
What was going on here?
“So, because the courts generally rule in favor of the mother, I, as the father, have to prove that I can provide a secure and stable home life for Katie. And even though I think this is an antiquated notion, apparently being married will help that.” He started to gnaw on his bottom lip. “And since I’m not exactly dating anyone currently, I thought the idea was ridiculous.”
My insides started to churn again.
“But then I started thinking about losing Katie. About her moving to Florida with Josie, and I knew that I couldn’t allow that to happen.” His eyes started to glisten with tears, and I felt my throat getting tight at the emotion I saw on his face. I felt for him. His fear, his desperation. It clawed its way up my chest.
“I can’t lose her, Whit. She’s my baby girl. My everything. So …” He took a deep breath. “Will you marry me?”
My entire body went rigid.
“What?” I gaped. Whatever I had been expecting him to say, it was definitely not that.
Kyle’s grip on my hand became borderline painful. “I know how it sounds, but it won’t be forever. We’ll get married, you can move in with me, only until custody is determined. This will all be temporary. You can have your own room. We can live our own lives, but you’re honestly the only person that can sell this.”
I pulled my hand back, breaking the physical contact. The Earth had just opened up beneath me. This wasn’t exactly how I had expected to be proposed to even if I had abandoned romantic notions years ago.
“Why me? Why does it have to be me?” The words came out as a whisper.
Kyle stared at me long and hard. His gaze was unwavering. His eyes deep and infinite. “Because of who you are to me. Who you’ve always been to me.” He swallowed. “No one will question that I would want to marry you. Particularly Josie. This entire town watched me make a fool of myself over you for years.”
There was a lot to unpack there. And if I were in a proper frame of mind and not totally blindsided, I’d be slightly giddy by his admission. But I didn’t know if I could do what he was asking.
He wanted us to fake a marriage. To pretend to be in love.
It sounded like a plan destined to end in misery. My misery.
“But it wouldn’t be real; I promise you that. Don’t think I’m putting pressure on you to make this into a real marriage. I wouldn’t do that to you,” he went on in a rush. “Just think of it as one friend helping another out. And you’d be really helping me, Whit. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I hope you’ll think about it. For Katie. And for me.”
“It wouldn’t be real,” I repeated dully.
“Of course not. But I don’t think it will be too horrible for you. I’m not that bad of a guy.” His lips quirked into the shadow of a smile before disappearing. “Please, Whitney. I can’t lose my daughter. I know this is unfair to put on your shoulders. We haven’t been in each other’s lives for years. But I trust you and your heart. I know you care about Katie. I’ve seen how you are with her. And I think you must still care about me; otherwise, you would have thrown your water in my face ten minutes ago.”
“So, you’re telling me that you’re hinging your custody case on our ability to sell a marriage to the courts?” I didn’t know what I was feeling. Freaked out. Yep. Overwhelmed. Probably. Maybe a little sad. Most likely.
“Well, we like each other. We’re friends. We’ve known each other forever. I was more than a little in love with you for a long time. We could sell the shit out of this, Whit,” Kyle begged.