His casual reminder of how he used to feel for me made it more than clear that that was not how he felt anymore. And damn that hurt.
But I cared about Kyle Webber. I cared about his beautiful girl. I didn’t want to see him lose her to Josie. It wasn’t right that that was even a possibility.
What did I have to lose? It was a temporary fix to a very big problem. I could do it. For Katie. For Kyle.
“I’ll understand if you tell me to get lost,” Kyle hedged, seeming to prepare himself for just that.
“I wouldn’t do that,” I said.
“You can think about it—”
“I don’t need to think about it.”
“Oh. Okay.” Kyle winced, bracing for a blow.
“Let’s get hitched,” I said, throwing my hands into the air.
Kyle sat there looking dumbstruck. “Are you serious?”
“As a grave,” I retorted.
Kyle sat back with a thud. “I really thought you’d tell me to go fuck myself.” He blinked a few times, shaking his head. “You mean it? You’ll do this?”
“I told you I’d do anything to help you, didn’t I?”
Kyle laughed without humor. “I’m sure you weren’t thinking becoming Mrs. Webber was part of that.”
“Yeah, okay, so maybe not, but I truly care about Katie, and I don’t want you to lose her. Let’s sell the hell out of this, Kyle.” Even though my heart hurt a little at the idea of a fake marriage with him, I meant it when I said I’d help him in whatever way I could.
It was only for a little while. What harm could it do?
God, I was an idiot.
Chapter 9
Kyle
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Mom argued, rooting through her jewelry box until she found the tiny black velvet box she was searching for.
It wasn’t the first time I’d heard this since I had shared the plan with her and Dad. I knew she wasn’t going to be overly thrilled with the idea of me entering into a fake marriage, but I also knew she’d put her feelings aside to do what was best for Katie. Even if she was vocal about her disapproval.
“It’s the perfect idea, Mom.” I sighed, trying to stay patient. It was the big day—my wedding—and I was struggling with knotting my tie. I had worn one only a handful of times in my life, so I kind of sucked at it. Finally taking pity on me, Mom swatted my hands away and tied it for me.
“I’ve known Whitney forever,” I reminded her. “She genuinely cares about Katie. Besides, what does it matter as long as my daughter—your granddaughter—gets to stay in Southport?”
I sat Mom and Dad down the day after Whitney agreed to marry me in name only and explained about Josie filing for physical custody and the idea Adam had devised to give me the best chance at keeping Katie.
“That’s the most asinine thing I’ve ever heard. Was Adam drunk when he suggested that?” fumed my dad. “Why else would he encourage you to lie to the courts? That seems like bad advice to me. Maybe you need to get a new attorney.”
“He’s not telling me to lie, Dad. Whitney and I are actually getting married. We’ve known each other since we were kids. We’re friends. It’ll be fine,” I assured them, but Mom had seemed worried.
“And what about Katie? What if she gets attached to Whitney, you get custody, then Whitney leaves when this is over? Katie will be abandoned. Again,” Mom countered. My stomach had clenched at the idea of Whitney up and leaving when this was all said and done. And I’d be lying if I hadn’t agonized over that very thing. But Whitney had assured me she wouldn’t just up and leave Katie like Josie had done.
“I’ll always be in her life, Kyle. As long as she wants me to be,” Whitney had promised, and I wanted to believe her. Even though I had trust issues that were deeply rooted in our history, there was something in the way she talked about my daughter that put me at ease. I wanted to trust her to put Katie’s needs first. If I was going through with this, I really had no other choice.
“Whitney won’t abandon Katie. I know she won’t. She’s not Josie,” I bit out, my voice cold at the mention of my ex’s name. I had been tolerant of Josie and her bullshit for years. My tolerance had now run out. I was pissed. More than pissed, I was fueled by an incandescent rage that was hinged on my terror. I could be happy that Josie was finally getting her life together—but not at the expense of Katie’s happiness.
Mom and Dad shared a look.
“We always liked Whitney. I remember her as a sweet little girl who attended my Sunday school class every single week. But that was then. What do you really know about the person she is now?” Mom had asked.