2. Leo
Chapter Two
LEO
Casey’s hand was cold and tightened in mine. It felt as if she was holding onto me as a lifeline at this moment. What started out as pure confusion and amusement when she dragged me into this therapy appointment with her was now followed by a powerful sense of protectiveness. I didn’t know the details, but whatever brought Casey into this appointment felt heavy.
I didn’t know why she needed someone to pretend to be her fiancé, but I sensed there was a whole bundle of other things going on. I was concerned and wanted to protect her. Now that we were here, I was rolling with it.
I waited for Casey to answer Delaney’s question about why we were here. Casey squeezed my hand a little tighter and cleared her throat. “Well, um, we’re engaged—” Her eyes darted briefly to mine, and I gave her an encouraging squeeze. “To be married,” she added. “And, um, everything feels pretty good, but we thought we should come here before, uh, you know…” She circled her hand in the air.
Delaney nodded along, smiling between us. “I can sense that there’s a strong connection between you two. Leo, I love that you reached for her hand. Coming to therapy can create a lot of uncertainty, especially in couples therapy. It’s a vulnerable space.”
“Uh-huh,” Casey replied while I nodded.
“Do you mind if I look at your forms?” Delaney asked next.
For the moment, I was engaged and I didn’t even know it. My life was normally on the edge of spiraling out of control as a single father, but this might beat that. I felt like I was truly flying blind.
We handed over our clipboards, and Casey didn’t let go of my hand. I decided that was just fine. I thought Casey was cute, and we were engaged. I guess. I snorted to myself. For the last year of my life and the insanity that had ensued, a part of me had been thinking I needed to find a good relationship. I didn’t know how to be a dad and felt like I was failing at it almost every day, but I didn’t want to be that guy. The guy who tried to find a woman just so she could take care of my kid. I wanted to feel like I had someone doing this messy life with me, but hell if I knew how to find the time for building that with someone.
Delaney quietly reviewed our intake forms. She tapped her finger from one clipboard to the other. “I love that you have a similar answer to what a healthy relationship is.”
Since I’d read Casey’s responses, I knew we’d both included feeling safe in that answer.
“These are mostly for reference and a way to open a door to thinking about your relationship,” Delaney continued. “This answer is important because you’re on the same page here. The fact that you’re here together, I hope, tells me that you feel safe with each other and safe enough to talk with a therapist.”
Casey’s hand was shaking a little, and I gave her another reassuring squeeze. My heart smiled a little when she squeezed back.
Delaney launched into a whole thing about confidentiality and how she was treating us as a couple so that would be her focus. “Can you tell me how you got my information?” Delaney asked after all that.
“My mom gave me your name,” Casey piped up.
Another detail new to me, although this entire appointment was a bunch of news to me.
I kept on smiling politely.
“Oh, okay, good to know. So, your mom supports you seeing a therapist before you get married,” Delaney said.
Casey’s auburn ponytail bounced up and down with her nod. “Yep!”
A little while later, we walked out of Delaney’s office after we scheduled another appointment next week. I kept waiting for Casey to let go of my hand, but she didn’t. We walked all the way out to the parking area. When we got outside, she glanced up, asking, “Which truck is yours?”
“Straight ahead.” I stopped behind my truck, glancing down at Casey. “So, uh, that was something,” I said.
Her teeth snagged on her bottom lip and awareness sizzled through me. She took a quick breath, letting it out in a rush. “Thank you. I know that was probably strange.”
A laugh rustled in my throat. “Something like that. Am I really going to another appointment with you and pretending like we’re engaged?”
“You don’t have to. I can go by myself. I’ll just tell her that the first session was great and thank her for her time.”
This was definitely crazy, but my curiosity got the best of me. “I don’t mind going to another appointment. How long do you think we can get away with faking it?”
Casey giggled, her cheeks flushing a delectable shade of pink. “I don’t know. If you want to go, let’s see how long it lasts.” She paused before tipping her head to the side. “You don’t owe me anything. I spill coffee on myself on the daily.”
I held her pretty hazel gaze for a moment. “It was a lot of coffee…” I shrugged, my words trailing off. “How about this? We do three appointments together. If she still hasn’t figured it out, you explain to me why the hell you need a fake fiancé going to counseling with you?”
I could’ve sworn sadness passed through her gaze, and my heart twisted a little.
She blinked and nodded. “Deal.”