The Hero and the Fat Girl (New Hampshire Bears #3) by Mary Smith Page A

me?
    “But you lied. You lied to her. I truly believe that beautiful, young woman has been through a hell of lot more than any of us can imagine.” Claire’s voice lowers, but I can still hear her. “She trusts you enough to do all of this for you, barely knowing you or Arabella. Now look at the situation you’re in. Maxima has feelings for you. Your father and I can both see it, and she treats Arabella as her own. You can’t ask for a better person.”
    He lied?
    What is she talking about?
    “How do I keep her in my life?” Remington sounds almost heartbroken.
    “You won’t know until you tell her. It’s a gamble, but you have to tell her,” Daniel answers.
    “Trust is the foundation of every relationship,” Claire adds.
    What the hell is going on?
    What did Remington lie to me about?
    He loves me? Is that it?
    Everything I heard is spinning like a whirlwind in my head. I can’t process it all. My hands begin to sweat, and my heart races. I can’t have another panic attack. Not right now.
    I slip into the TV room and do the breathing exercises Caryn taught me. It seems to help, but I need to process this, and I can’t inside these walls. I grab my phone from my pocket.
    In desperate need of a friend.
    Come over. Harlow responses within seconds.
    “Hey, I was just looking for you.” Remington’s voice makes me jump. His black hair is a mess, like he’s run his hands through it a hundred times. “Are you okay?”
    “I needs to go over to Harlow’s house for a little while. Arabella’s all tucked in.” I rush my words out.
    “Oh, well, I thought we could go to bed early. Maybe talk.”
    I shake my head. That’s the last thing I want to do right now. “I’ll be back later.” I brush past him, rushing to my purse and keys.
    Thankfully, Harlow doesn’t live far from Remington, and in a few minutes, I’m knocking on her door.
    “You need wine.” She hands me the glass as I walk over the threshold.
    I take two large gulps and sit down. She doesn’t even ask me anything before I tell her everything that happened today. Of course, I leave out my childhood memories. No one needs to know those, well, except the Rosin’s since I’m a motor mouth around them. I go into every detail, especially my eavesdropping.
    “I can’t take it all in.” I drop my head into my hands.
    Harlow sighs. “You’re so smart. You can work through this.”
    “Remington isn’t a liar.” I defend him. “Right?” Obviously, I’m not the greatest defender.
    “Well,” Harlow tilts her head. “You know what I said before.”
    I groan. More than once Harlow has expressed her opinion about our fake engagement.
    “I don’t see a good, reputable attorney telling his client to lie to a judge. Getting engaged and having someone move in sounds like bullshit.”
    “It’s not. He wouldn’t lie about it. It’s for his daughter.”
    “And he’d do anything to keep her. To include lying,” Harlow counters.
    I shake my head.
    “Look, I’m not saying Remington doesn’t have feelings for you. I’ve told you since day one he does, but something is going on, and you need to find out. Soon.”
    I didn’t stay at Harlow’s much longer after her speech. The house is dark when I get back, and I’m thankful everyone is in their beds, and that I don’t have to wake up early in the morning. The salon appointments aren’t until ten, and it means I can sleep in a bit. I have put my body and emotions through a lot today, and I doubt I’ll even need a sleeping pill. I already emailed Caryn’s office to confirm my appointment next week. It’s going to be a doozy, I’m sure of it.
    The bedroom door is cracked, and Remington left the bathroom light on for me. He’s too kind to me. Hell, maybe he does love me. I know my feelings for him run deep, but I also know this will end once he gets full custody of Arabella.
    Right?
    I take a hot shower, scrubbing away the day’s mess. I’m barely keeping my eyes open when my head