Page 46 of Pretend Wife


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There was a kitchen with a breakfast bar, a glass dining table, dark red plush furniture facing where a flat-screen TV hung on the wall, and a fire flickering in the fireplace in the dining room, adding a warm glow to the space. But that all faded into the background compared with the stunning view of the beach and ocean visible through the wall of sliding glass doors.

The house was beautiful and somehow gave off both a modern and cozy vibe at the same time.

Hayden laced his fingers with mine and tugged me closer to his side with subtle possession as Miles hopped down from his seat at the breakfast bar and flashed a grin at me.

“Look who finally made it.”

“Stop being a dick,” Hayden said, angling us so he was slightly in front of me.

Miles’s smile only widened. “Some things never change, I see. Do I get a hug, Dani?” I was sure he was provoking his brother on purpose, but his attention stayed firmly on me.

I attempted to pull my hand free so I could hug my best friend, and Hayden tightened his grip, refusing to let me go.

Miles chuckled. “Now who’s being the dick?”

“Boys.” A beautiful woman with long dark curls stepped between the two of them. She looked almost exactly like an older version of Maggie. “Please, can we tone down the bickering?”

“Good luck, Mom,” Maggie muttered under her breath.

“I apologize for my children,” Mrs. Blake said. “You must be Danielle.” She gave me a delighted smile and attempted to hug me.

Hayden still refused to let go of me, so I wrapped my free arm around her in a slightly awkward embrace. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Believe me, the pleasure is all mine.” She sounded like she truly meant that too.

She got the same one-armed hug treatment from her son while my gaze moved to the man behind her, who must be Hayden’s father. Mr. Blake had an appearance that suggested he’d once been handsome enough—though I doubted as handsome as his sons—but age hadn’t been kind to him. His hair was graying and thin,and his skin had that look of someone who’d aged too fast. I wondered if he had a history with alcohol or tobacco.

He had Hayden’s dark eyes, but as those eyes took me in, it didn’t feel anything like when Hayden looked at me. Mr. Blake assessed me like I was a product he was considering buying.

I felt Hayden stiffen beside me, his hold on my hand approaching what would be painful if I were human.

“I look forward to getting to know you, Danielle,” Mr. Blake said.

I nodded, not really sure what to make of the swirl of emotions in his aura. There was none of the joy or excitement that his wife had or the wisps of humor Maggie and Miles had shown. His most prominent emotion was… satisfaction with threads of determination mixed in.

I tore my gaze away from his aura. I’d been alive long enough to understand my limitations when it came to reading emotions. I could see the colors, but I couldn’t hear the thoughts behind them. I didn’t have thewhy.

The main purpose of my gift was to be able to tell when a human was afraid or how they were reacting to hearing a message from Heaven. As an angel of the seventh order, my job was supposed to be a messenger, though I’d always been more of a healer even before I’d learned that I was special and could heal more than just humans.

Reading emotions was good for that too. It helped to know how much pain and fear an injured person was feeling.

“Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes,” Mrs.Blake said. “Danielle, my boys told me you don’t eat animal products, so I tried my best with a few dishes, but I can’t make any promises.”

“Oh, I don’t want you to feel like you have to do anything special—”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Hayden said, turning a glare on me. “You don’t have to apologize for your diet choices. Ever.”

I blinked up at him, taken aback. Was this his version of being a good husband? Defending my choices in some show of support?

If he noticed my bewilderment, he didn’t show it as he steered me toward the table.

I ended up across from Maggie for dinner, and I was perfectly happy to spend most of the meal talking to her about her Etsy store where she sold various art projects. It was impossible not to like Maggie. She was welcoming and funny, and she treated me like we were already friends.

That conversation came to an abrupt halt when Mr. Blake asked Hayden how the two of us had met.

All eyes turned to us, waiting for the story that had supposedly led to our marriage.

“She was my nurse after my car accident,” Hayden said smoothly. “Then we kept running into each other through mutual friends and family. Orlando’s sister is married to Danielle’s brother.”