Page 103 of Pretend You Love Me

She sits down beside me. “I have to get off my feet. Oh god, now I have to pee again.”

“Ready for him to come out?” I laugh.

“More than ready. Only a few more weeks to go.”

Zadie runs a huge network of free afterschool programs, and she’s asked me to help her with some of the curriculum they use.

“The timing isn’t working out great. We’re expanding to three more states next month.”

Ethan walks over and hands her a cup of water.

“Thanks, honey.”

He kisses her on the cheek. “Don’t want you to overdo it. Need anything else?”

“A massage. A foot rub. A long bath. And a pint of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream,” she laughs.

He smiles back. “As soon as we get home...”

I love watching them together.

“Oh, he spoils me so much,” Zadie says, her eyes are sparkling.

“You’re really lucky,” I say.

“I am. I never thought it was something I’d have, or I even wanted, but I love that man so much, and I can’t imagine life without him.”

I reach out and take her hand, squeezing it gently.

She’s studying my face. “You look tired. Are you alright?”

“I haven’t been sleeping great.”

“Nightmares?”

I nod. Seeing Daryl brought up so many memories that I had long forgotten. It seems like every time I close my eyes another one flashes across my mind. It doesn’t help that I saw him murdered either. I’m not upset he’s dead, but the image of a bullet ripping through his neck and blood spraying everywhere turns my stomach.

“It’s going to take time.” Zadie’s arranging folders into several different piles while she talks. “Has James found anything about your mom and sister?”

I shake my head. He’s basically forbidden me from visiting the state of Alaska or Canada for that matter. He threatened to put me on the no-fly list and revoke my passport if I try to seek them out on my own again.

“He’s such a pain in the ass,” I mutter.

“James?” She pauses her organizing.

“Yes. James. I love him, but he needs to respect my boundaries.”

“You’re telling me - he basically imprisoned me last year.” Zadie’s eye float over to Ethan.

“Well, it all worked out just fine, didn’t it?” I give her a little shove. Ethan was Zadie’s bodyguard. She hated him at first and resented that James was making her have a bodyguard at all.

She shaking her head. “I think James planned it, actually.”

“What? What do you mean?”

She rolls her eyes. “He didn’t plan for the abduction plot, of course, but he picked Ethan to be my bodyguard because he thought we’d be a good match.”

“He set you up?” My jaw drops.