“No, that’s Uncle Cody. My dad’s at work.”

I flipped a wave at Uncle Cody, and he waved back and stood up. Uh-oh. I hadn’t intended to meet the family. But it was too late to leave now.

“Hi there. I’m Marin.” I extended my hand as he approached. “I’m having a nice chat with your niece.”

“Cody.” He cupped my hand in his. It felt soft, nice, warm…like a home should. “You make it a habit to talk with random little girls at parks?” He smiled. It was a joke laced with accusation.

“No, this is a first for me. You make it a habit to interrogate all your niece’s new friends?”

“Only ones as pretty as you.”

“Ew, Uncle Cody!” Vera squealed.

There she was—the child beneath the big-girl façade.

Cody wasn’t my normal type—only a couple inches taller than me, pudge rounding out his clean-shaven features, decked in athletic wear, early signs of hair loss. He was the whitest white boy I’d ever seen—pasty white, like the love child of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart of Twilight. I preferred the musclemen with tight torn jeans, lots of scruff, and a fedora. But his smile was genuine and his laugh easy. I could envision myself cuddled on the couch with this one. After all, where had all the hipster men gotten me? Still living in my old bedroom with my father because they wouldn’t commit. Cody looked like a guy ready to commit. And I needed to get as close to Vera as possible if there was any way to save her.

Because I knew the truth. She needed saving before this entitled family dragged her into their web of lies even more. I doubted they’d ever told her who her real family was, or how they bought her life off the street. Maybe that’s why I was here—to give this girl a real education.

As Cody hopped on the swing next to me, Vera’s joy swelled. I watched her adoration glow for this man who called her niece. Maybe it wasn’t my place to deflate it. For what purpose? Uncle Cody had somehow managed to get me all mixed up.

All three of us swung in unison while Cody dared Vera to swing higher, higher, higher while I laughed louder, louder, louder. For the next several hours we talked, we laughed, we flirted, we teased. Cody on my left, Vera on my right. And that’s exactly how everything felt for the first time in so long—right.

Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Felicity