I was cruel to her. I couldn’t help it. Whenever I looked at her, I was reminded of how my father chose to raise another instead of me. She stood for the life I could’ve had, and that pissed me off. She was so happy and well put together. Approachable, kind, sunshine, and happiness. It wasn’t fair.
I never had the chance to feel the love she received from a man who owed it to me. It wasn’t her fault, but I was bitter. Bitterness had a way of shooting off a person and hitting innocent bystanders. Stella was just in the crossfire of my hatred for Kevin Michaels.
The later the night grew, the odder and more uncomfortable the whole situation began to feel. I’d been in my fair share of foster homes growing up, and those first nights were always the hardest. I’d always overthink how long the arrangement would last before the family chose to give me up. I hated that a feeling I thought I’d never have to experience again was returning in such an odd way.
When I headed to my bedroom, I lay wide awake until the sun came up, and I went into work, exhausted beyond compare.
I bet Stella slept better than I had inside the home that raised her. Unfortunately for me, I was left wide awake with my nightmares.
The workday was mundane, as all workdays had been. I felt emotionally exhausted from being an introvert who needed to pretend to be an extrovert while selling homes to filthy rich snobs all day. The moment I could relax my face after fake smiles and over-the-top kindness, I felt a bit better. Resting bitch face was my default after a full day of work.
Plus, when one had a resting bitch face, most people didn’t find the need to approach you for conversation. Stella was still unable to read the room, but she’d learn quickly.
After work, I dreaded going back to the house to live yet another day in the make-believe world that Kevin had crafted. The wedding was in the morning, and I had yet to wrap my head around that fact.
When the driver pulled up to the property, I saw a random car parked in the driveway.
Well, I’ll be damned.
The asshole came.
Connor brought Aaliyah with him, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thankful for their presence. Since I’d arrived in California, everything felt foreign to me. I felt as if I were in a place where I didn’t belong and where no one understood me. So, seeing their familiar faces brought me a comfort I didn’t even know I was missing.
“How did you find out where I was staying?” I asked Connor as he climbed out of his rental car. Aaliyah wasn’t far behind him, and he waited until she was right beside him to start approaching. He never walked ahead of her, always side by side. If they were walking through a door, he’d hold it open for her. If she coughed, he already had a glass of water ready for her to sip. I bet most people didn’t notice the little things that Connor did for his wife, but they always stood out to me. I didn’t believe in love until I saw how it worked for them. They made it look easy.
“You don’t think you’re the only one who’s a good detective, do you?” he joked, walking over to me. He patted me on the shoulder because he knew how I felt about hugs.
Aaliyah already looked as if she was seconds away from bursting into tears. Her kind heart always lived in the viewpoint of her brown eyes. Kind of like Stella’s. Not that I was learning anything about her heart or kindness. It was just something I noticed.
Aaliyah smiled so big that I felt the warmth. She was already looking like a mother. She pulled me into a hug because she knew how much I needed it.
“I’m sorry this is all happening in a whirl spin,” she whispered to me. “I know you and Connor have a more brotherish relationship, but if you need a sister to talk to, I’m here for you.”
“I’m good.”
She pulled back and placed her hands on my shoulders for a second, clearly not believing me but allowing me the space to tell my lie.
“I’ll get the suitcases,” Connor said.
“You didn’t even ask him if we’re allowed to stay here, Connor,” Aaliyah argued. She turned to me ruefully. “I told him we should get a hotel. I know you’re already overwhelmed and—”
“It’s fine. I told Stella there was a good chance you were going to visit. I asked if it was all right, and she agreed. I already have your room picked out.”
“See, Red! It’s perfect,” Connor said, using his wife’s nickname. She was his Little Red Riding Hood, he was her Captain America, and their love was almost nauseating. “Now that we got that out of the way, I’ll get the suitcases.”
“I’ll help,” Aaliyah said, taking one step toward the car.
“Don’t you dare!” Connor and I said in unison, looking at Aaliyah as if she were insane.
She laughed. “I’m pregnant, not handicapped, you guys. I can pick up a suitcase.”
“Not on our watch,” I said, nodding toward the house. “Wait over there.”
She did as I said. Connor and I grabbed their suitcases, and we met her at the front of the house.
“Dang, Damian. When you said this place was nice on our last call, you didn’t mention it was this nice,” Connor said, shaking his head in disbelief at the house. I couldn’t blame him for his shock because I felt the same way when I first saw it.
“It’s all right,” I said, acting as if it wasn’t impressive at all. I had to do that to keep myself distant from this whole fake reality. It was the only way I was going to stay sane. This whole arrangement was fiction, and I didn’t like to live in fairy tales.
I still couldn’t wrap my head around the whole situation at hand, the fact that I’d be getting married to a stranger tomorrow. I still didn’t even understand why I had to marry Stella at all. Nothing was adding up, and I was getting damn migraines trying to make it all make sense.
“So”—Aaliyah smiled, breaking me from my gloom and doom thoughts—“when can I meet the bride?”
The two women hit it off instantly. It wasn’t shocking. Aaliyah was the kind of person who made everyone feel at home. Even jerks like me. I wasn’t sure why Stella meeting Aaliyah made me uncomfortable. It was as if my real world was intermixing with some fantasy. I felt like I was in the middle of a fever dream.
Stella smiled as Aaliyah spoke to her, and the more words Aaliyah gave, the less tense Stella grew. I’d watched her agitated body relax as Aaliyah whispered her way. She’d been stressed since we’d moved in together, and I couldn’t blame her. I had a way of studying people, and even though I didn’t care about Stella on the whole, I’d picked up a few cues.
There was a lightness to her as she spoke to Aaliyah, and she gave relaxed and genuine smiles.
They kept talking, and I wished I could’ve been a damn fly on one of their shoulders. Then they embraced one another. Stella whispered thank you to Aaliyah, and Aaliyah squeezed her tighter. I’d been on the receiving side of Aaliyah’s hug. That encirclement could make any human feel protected.
After they let go of one another, Stella looked up in my direction and caught my stare. The smile she shared with Aaliyah transferred over to me before she turned and went in the opposite direction. Aaliyah looked up and began walking toward me. She had that pregnancy glow to her. Even though she was only a few months along, I was already certain she’d been the best mother to that child. There wasn’t a lot in life that I’d ever got excited for, but I knew if anyone deserved to be a mother, it was Aaliyah. And if anyone was meant to be a father, it was Connor. They were the type of parents I used to pretend I’d had as a kid.