The Fake Out: An utterly hilarious and totally heart-warming romantic comedy by Sharon M. Peterson

Author:Sharon M. Peterson [Peterson, Sharon M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781803149363
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2023-07-04T16:00:00+00:00

THIRTY-THREE

Do you have a name, or can I just call you mine?

—AMANDA H.

The dining room was as cheery and bright as the rest of the house. Sunlight shone through the oversized picture window, touching on the large table and matching sideboard. On the opposite wall, framed photos took up almost every inch.

Baby photos, school photos, fancy dress dances, candids of the family romping in a lake, or with Mickey Mouse ears, one of Chris dressed as Aladdin (which I needed to figure out how to steal), even a few of Millie in a hospital bed smiling widely with a devious glint in her eye. I recognized everyone save a tall, gangly girl with dark hair and big blue eyes. This had to be Ellie, although based on the Vegas video, she was a blonde now.

Although the subjects might be all over the place, there was one overarching theme: happiness. People don’t realize how blessed they are to have that sort of childhood. To have a childhood at all. I’d had to grow up fast. While I knew things had been tough for the Sterns, they’d had each other to lean on. I sighed, feeling a little sorry for myself and went in search of Margot to help with dinner.

At mealtime, I met the oldest and the youngest Sterns.

Unlike the rest of her family, Millie was petite, which Chris explained had to do with her heart condition limiting her growth, with blonde hair and an impish glint in her blue eyes. She bounced into the room and rounded the table to the only empty seat, which happened to be on Chris’s left side. I sat on his right.

“Hey”—she smacked her brother on the shoulder—“move over.”

Chris frowned. “Why?”

“Because I want to talk to Mae and you’re in the way.” With a hand on her hip, Millie stared down at him and waited.

“Yeah, Elmie,” I said. “Move over. I want to sit next to your sister.”

“They told you. Great.” Grumbling like the long-suffering brother he was, Chris moved over to the empty seat. “Good to see you, too.”

“Oh, please. I see you all the time.” Millie slid into the empty chair and smiled at me. “Mae, on the other hand, I have never seen.”

I’d never had a big family dinner like this. The closest I’d gotten was when Granny was alive. Most of our meals were eaten in front of the television, yelling out answers to Wheel of Fortune puzzles. But the Sterns were talkative and loud. They teased each other and chatted about their day. There were smiles and laughs.

I didn’t expect to enjoy it; I didn’t want to enjoy it. None of it was real. Or at least my part in all of it wasn’t. This would likely be the only time I’d be welcome here and I knew it was strange after only spending an afternoon with them, but that thought made me incredibly sad.

“Ellie called yesterday,” Luke said, his voice quiet and thoughtful. “She sounded better than she has in a while.

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