Page 83 of Game Plan

“He’s okay. He took the first flight he could to get home to his mom.”

“Good. Branch is such a good boy.” She sighs. “I feel absolutely horrible that we’re not there. I can’t imagine Sunny being stuck in the hospital and not being able to toddle around. I’m sure it’s good for Gina to see her, but at least I could’ve gone down there with them and given them a break.”

I smirk. “You’re the one who wanted to go on a cruise around the Mediterranean instead of being here for your kids.”

“Finnegan Miller. Enough.”

I laugh. “I’m kidding. Relax. We’re adults. You’re allowed to have a life.” She’s so wound up that I know she needs a distraction—a little bright light in her day. “Besides, Sunny isn’t with them.”

“She’s not? Where is she?”

My stomach tightens as I brace myself for the fallout of this news. “Poppy and I kept her.”

There’s a pause. A long one. “You and Poppy kept her?” she asks, her tone a little too high. “What does that mean, exactly?”

The concern and curiosity, mixed with amusement, are enough to make me smile.

Mom loves Poppy. Dad, too. They’ve spent time with her on multiple occasions over the past couple of years, including Christmas when her flight to Denver got canceled on Christmas Eve this past winter. They get along great, having known each other before Poppy and I became a non-thing. And Mom has made no bones about her wish that Poppy and I go from a non-thing to a big, real thing.

“It means that we both had things to do this week,” I say. “We decided to tag team. And it was better for Sunny to stay in one location than switching back and forth, so we just decided to watch her at my house.”

“Oh. And how is that going?”

“It’s working very well,” I say, teasing her.

“Is there anything else that I should know?”

I laugh. Mother, you are not ready for this little bomb to drop.

“Do you already know anything else?” I ask, just making sure she’s oblivious to our fake engagement scenario.

“No, and now I’m getting worried. What’s going on, Finn?”

“Well, since you’re on a cruise ship completely uninvested in your children’s lives, you’ve missed the headlines.”

“That say what?”

“That your son is engaged.”

She gasps loud enough for it to be heard on every level of the cruise ship and half of the Legends facility. “Finn? Oh my God.”

“You didn’t let me finish.”

“What is there to finish? You and Poppy … I’ve been praying for this, Finn. I’ve been hoping and praying. I’m so happy for you⁠—”

“Mom.”

She takes a breath. “What?”

“You didn’t let me finish,” I repeat. “It’s not real. It’s a fake engagement.”

“You better be kidding me.”

I wish.

I pace down the hallway as a burst of excitement trickles through my veins. This isn’t real, but it gives me a small taste of what it might be like if it was. And the idea of having Poppy as my fiancée, or even as Mrs. Finn Miller, fills me with pride. She’s so smart, so funny, and so fucking beautiful that if I ever get lucky enough to make this a forever thing, I swear that I’ll be the best husband to her that I can possibly be.

“How did this happen?” Mom asks.