Page 73 of Faking It With My Pucking Protector

I stay off to the side, leaning against one of the support columns. From this angle, I can see the full room. There’s books stacked on tables, kids in paper crowns or fairy wings, parents chatting over juice boxes and mini muffins.

It’s chaos. Beautiful, well-managed chaos.

And Ava’s in the center of it like it’s second nature.

She leans toward Liam when the reader switches to a new character voice, whispering something that makes him nod. Noah’s already lost in the story, but Liam keeps glancing up at her like she’s the only person anchoring him in the room.

A little girl in a sparkly cape darts by, and I step out of the way just in time to avoid getting clipped by her wand. Jenna appears at my side a second later, holding a half-empty cup of lemonade.

“Didn’t take you for a story time kind of guy,” she says without looking at me.

“Not sure I am,” I chuckle. “But I’d show up for that dragon and knight any day.”

Her gaze flicks to the boys, then to Ava. She studies me for a beat, quiet, unreadable.

“I’m glad you’re here for her, Jackson. She really needs someone solid in her corner right now."

I glance down, my throat constricting. “Yeah.”

“She looks lighter,” Jenna continues. “Still figuring things out, but more at ease.”

I don’t reply because I don’t know how to explain what it feels like to watch Ava come alive again. The way she laughed on the boardwalk in New Jersey. The way she looked at me after the second win, like maybe I wasn’t just a safe place to land, but something more.

Suddenly, a cheer goes up from the front of the room. Jenna excuses herself as the volunteer finishes the story, and Jenna and Ava lean forward to pass out sticker badges: one to each child. Noah accepts his with a roar. Liam beams when Ava sticks his badge onto his breastplate.

They look up at me, and I give them a thumbs-up. Liam smiles, real and open. I haven’t seen him like that in a long time.

And I wonder how much of this is actually fake, because it doesn’t feel like pretending anymore.

It feels like home.

I let the moment settle around me.

Then I feel it. Something shifts in the air, like the room has gotten heavier.

I look toward the entrance, my muscles tensing instinctively.

And then I see him.

It’s Brad, standing in the doorway, scanning the room.

My jaw clenches, my fists clenching before I even realize it.

What the hell is he doing here?

Chapter Twenty-One

AVA

No, no, no.

It’s Brad.

My hands go cold. Suddenly, the noise of the room, the cheerful hum of kids, and the music all sounds muffled, as if I’m underwater. Everything slows. He’s just inside the door, scanning the room like he’s entitled to be here. Like he belongs.

My pulse pounds in my ears as I instinctively move, half a step forward. I could call security, but that would cause a scene. And that’s the last thing I want.

When Brad starts walking toward me, I force my feet to move.