Free Playing Pretend by Tamsyn Bester

the moonlight to guide me, it was difficult to get an accurate read on him. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
    “Because I was hoping I wouldn’t have to,” he snapped.
    I frowned at his logic. “You expected me not to find out you have a daughter while I stayed with you for a week?”
    “I didn’t exactly plan on having you here, but yes, I was going to try. I don’t need anyone knowing about her, at least not yet.”
    I thought back to the amount of articles I’d read about him in the last few weeks, even the ones I’d read before I came back to Manhattan, and not a single one mentioned that he had a baby. I knew he’d been seen with some Hollywood actress, but nothing concrete suggested that he was in a relationship, or that she might have been expecting his child.
    “Do you want me to leave?” I asked, trying to hide the worry that he would say yes .
    I heard rather than saw his resigned exhalation.
    “No.” His arm moved, and his hand brushed down his face. “But I expect you to keep this to yourself, at least until I decide it’s time to let the world know I have a daughter.”
    I nodded quickly. “I won’t say anything, I promise.” I hesitated. “I saw you talking to a younger woman earlier. Is that…?”
    I let the question hang in the air between us, but it didn’t take Caleb long to figure out what I wanted to know.
    “No, that’s not her mother. That’s Danielle, the nanny who looks after Braelynn full time while I’m at work. Her mother isn’t in the picture.”
    The reverence with which he said his daughter’s name was unmistakable; as was the resentment he evidently had towards her mother. It became apparent that she wasn’t dead, she just wasn’t around, and my heart started hurting for Caleb.
    “It’s a beautiful name,” I remarked quietly. “Braelynn. How old is she?”
    Caleb regarded me carefully, obviously deciding just how much to tell me.
    “Four weeks,” he replied. Just like I’d guessed.
    We fell silent, and my uncertainty of what to say grew. As much as I wanted to reassure him that I would keep my mouth shut, I knew it wouldn’t be enough, and if he were to believe me, I’d have to show him that I could be trusted.
    “Why are you still awake?” he asked softly. I tried not to read anything into his tone, or the way his rigid stance had relaxed. I couldn’t give him the impression that I still harbored feelings for him, given that he already had so many other things that he needed to worry about.
    “I couldn’t sleep,” I swallowed, and brushed a stray strand of hair behind my ear, “Even though an actual bed is a nice change from the backseat of my car.”
    Caleb’s brows dipped, and his mouth twisted like he’d tasted something sour. “We need to talk about that.”
    “Not much to talk about,” I sighed, choosing to be completely honest. “I haven’t spoken to or heard from my father in two years, and my mother gave up almost everything in their divorce. I’ve been taking care of myself.”
    “And you had your surname changed.”
    I wanted to be surprised that Caleb knew that, but I wasn’t. Not really. He had a plethora of resources at his disposal, and if he’d known who I was since my first day, then he knew I no longer went by Kadence Archer. My only hope was that if he knew, it wouldn’t be easy for anyone else to find out. I couldn’t risk my father knowing, not yet at least.
    “I needed a clean break, and it makes it easier to hide when no one knows exactly who you are.”
    I wanted to say more but thought better of it.
    “I appreciate your help, Caleb, and I won’t tell anyone anything. By the end of next week, I’ll be out of here, and we can go back to pretending the other doesn’t exist,” I paused, “If that’s what you want.”
    Caleb remained quiet, and I wasn’t sure why that bothered me.
    His only acknowledgement was a nod, and a mumbled good night , and when he didn’t move to walk way, I did it for