Page 17

The girl is singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” and I chuckle incredulously. How is she still here? I essentially told her I screwed my way around Europe, impregnated a woman I don’t remember, had a child without my knowledge, and am now a single father living like a shadow. Not once did I catch a glimmer of judgment in her eyes. Hell, even Tinsley scrunched her nose a little at that.

I go back to cleaning my face and remove my contacts and wig, already feeling loads better. When I return, she’s making his baby carrot cheese puff things swim into his mouth, and he gobbles them down in delight.

“Better?” I ask, and she gives me a once-over that makes my blood go from a simmer to a boil in no time flat. Damn, do I like her eyes on me.

She shrugs indifferently. “I mean, I don’t know if I’d say it’sbetter. It’s just your actual face.”

“I happen to know you think I’m hot. You just said so.”

I get a coy, side-eyed smile. “I don’t need to feed your celebrity ego.”

“But if you don’t, then who will?”

“One of your floozies?”

I wince. “Yeah, those days are done for me, I’m afraid.”

She gives me a sheepish half-smile. “Right. Sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. It’s definitely better. Now I can say I know you.” She gives a side head bob. “Sorta.”

“Har, har. You’re a real comic there.” She continues to feed Fen while making silly faces and playing games with him. “You’re so good with him.”

“I’m a doctor who primarily deals in babies. Well, women and their babies.”

“I should marry you and solve both our problems,” I jest, and her head rolls over her shoulder like something out ofThe Exorcist.

“Pardon?”

Her expression is priceless, so I go with it. “If you’re married to me, then Alden will see what he truly missed out on and can’t try to worm his way back into your life, and it’ll look good for me when I finally tell the studio, child services, and the world that I have a son.”

“Uh, you’re joking, right?”

My lips bounce. “About which part, love?”

Her eyelashes flutter like a hummingbird’s wings against her cheek. “I don’t even know. Forgetting Alden in this, I assume you’re serious about what you’ll face with the studio and child services, so I’m going to say the marriage part.”

I shove my sleeves to my elbows. “Yes, I’m kidding about the marriage part.”

Only, as I say that, suddenly I’m not so sure. She’s a Fritz, and with that, her family has more pull and influence in this town than any other. Having her as a stepmum to my son—a son who already likes her—would look incredible to child services and make it appear that my household is stable and Fen is well looked after. The studio would love it too, since this is a Boston-based film, and that’s fabulous PR instead of kiss-of-death PR.

Being married to perfect Keegan Fritz would help secure my custody of Fen, and it’d be nice to finally shake the remains of my bad-boy reputation once and for all. When the media thought I was dating Tinsley, some of that dissipated, but for the last year, much of that has crept back in, and I did little to stop it.

Studios don’t like that.

Social services doesn’t like that.

And the thought of rubbing some dirt in her ex’s face is appealing as well.

So now that I think about it, what if I did marry Keegan Fritz and fix both our problems?

“Good.” She wipes fake sweat from her forehead. “You had me going there for a minute.”

I force a smile, but it’s just that. Forced. Because for a minute, I had myself going there too. And I kind of liked it.

6

“Why are you staring at your closet like it’s about to solve all your problems?”

“Fashion always solves problems, Kenna.”