Say Yes To The Fake Date (How To Win At Love #3)

3. Luciana

3

LUCIANA

Seventeen years ago, I would have given anything to be where I’m at right now. Then, I thought Dom and I were going to get married, have a family, and live happily ever after. I’m proof that life doesn’t always turn out how you think it’s going to.

I look out my peripheral and take in Dom’s profile. He’s even more handsome than I remember, and just thinking about it makes me more mad. Of all the people that could be driving by, it just had to be Dominic Evans.

I cross my arms over my chest. Dom opens his mouth and closes it. I’m dying to know what he was about to say, but I don’t dare ask.

Instead, I ask the one thing I know he doesn’t want to talk about. “So how long you been out of prison?”

His jaw tightens, and he grips the steering wheel. He doesn’t have to answer me because I know exactly how long he was in prison. It was two years and seventeen days. I counted down the days because even though he’d said he was done with me, I thought for sure he would come find me when he got out. But he never did.

He’s staring straight ahead, and there’s no emotion in his voice. “I was in for two years, seventeen days and fourteen hours.”

“Hmmm. They didn’t make you serve your full sentence?”

He shakes his head, and I can hear the shame in his voice. “No, I got out early for good behavior.”

He flinches, and it should feel good that I know I’m getting to him, but it doesn’t give me the pleasure I thought it would. I try to make excuses for him. “You didn’t have a gun. You were the getaway car.”

He runs his hands through his hair in frustration. “I was trying to help a friend. I had no idea what he was about to do. I shouldn’t have—” He breaks off in frustration. “There’s no excuses. I fucked up. ”

I nod my head in agreement. “What about your friend? What was his name, Jamie?”

“He’s still in prison. He got in trouble while he was in.”

“Sorry… I didn’t know that.”

He shrugs and stares at the road.

“So how long have you had your shop?”

My mom had mentioned he was working at a mechanic shop, but she didn’t mention he owned it. I made the connection when I saw the sign on the side of the truck that said Dom’s Garage .

He puts one arm up on the door of the truck. “King pretty much kicked my ass when I got out of prison. He sent me to trade school and then bought me the shop. I worked my ass off to pay him back, and I did it five years ago.”

“I heard King got married.”

He finally smiles. “Yeah, and he and his wife, Haven, are going to have a baby soon.”

“Wow,” I say, surprised that Dom’s older foster brother settled down.

“Yeah, I was the same way when I found out, but if you see the two of them together, it makes sense. I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen King truly happy.”

I swallow as I think about what he just said. I wonder what it would be like to be happy on that level. “Good for him. He deserves it.”

He flips on a signal and turns toward my childhood home. I should be ready to get away from Dominic, and I’m mad at myself that I want to just sit here in the passenger seat of his truck and let him drive me around. Why do I feel so comfortable with him? I shouldn’t, not after what he did and how long it’s been since I’ve seen him.

He pulls into my mom’s driveway, and immediately I tense. My mom and I have always had a tumultuous relationship, and it hasn’t gotten any better since my dad died five years ago.

“You okay?” Dom asks.

Angry that he can sense how I’m feeling, I just grunt. “Quit acting like you care, Dom. We both know you don’t.”

I push open the door and climb out of the truck. He grabs my bags and takes them to the porch and sets them down. Back and forth we carry everything, and when he’s bringing the last bag, I stand before him. “Thank you for your help.”

He just nods his head and looks at me through those long lashes of his. “Yeah, no problem. It was good to see you again, Lucky.”

I don’t correct him on the nickname this time. I just hold my purse a little tighter because there’s a part of me that wants to dive off the porch and into his arms and beg him to hold me. I’m not sure what this hold he has on me is, but I can’t fight it.

“Thanks, Dom.”

He walks away, and I don’t move until he’s backing out of the driveway and disappears down the road. Unable to put it off any longer, I knock on my mom’s front door and wait.

It’s only seconds before she pulls it open. “Luciana…. What are you doing here?”

I probably should have called her, but I know if I did, she would have tried to talk me out of coming. We’re staring at each other through the screen door. “Hey, Mom, can I come in?”

She looks behind me at the luggage, and I swear she acts as if she’s going to tell me no. Finally, she pushes the door open. “Come on in.”

My mom stands to the side as I bring everything inside. “Luciana, what is going on? What is all this? What are you doing here?”

I set the last bag down. “I need a place to stay for awhile.”

She’s shaking her head. “But… but… Ray… where is Ray? What is going on? Shouldn’t you be living with your fiancé? Is he here? ”

Fed up and over it, I throw my hands up. “No, Mom, he’s not here. I haven’t seen him since I caught him fucking our secretary and I told him the wedding was off. Oh, and he gave me this,” I tell her, pointing at my face.

Her mouth falls open, and she’s shaking her head side to side. “No, he wouldn’t do that.”

I blurt out a laugh. “Yeah, Mom, he would. You think I’d lie about this? Look, can I stay here or not?”

For just a second, I think she’s going to say no, but finally, she nods her head. “Yes, of course you can stay.”

She walks over to the window, pushes the curtains to the side, and looks out. “How did you get here? Where’s your car?”

There’s no way I’m going to mention Dominic’s name because my mom will probably kick me out if I do. She never really liked the fact I was with Dominic, and when he went to prison, she was happy he was out of the picture. She never thought he was good for me. She could never get past the fact that he came from foster homes and thought he was beneath me.

I spent my younger years defending him, and the desire to do so now is strong, but I don’t have the energy.

“Luciana… how did you get here?”

“My car broke down and I got a ride—”

“By who? And what is happening? I don’t understand—”

I cut her off. “Mom, I need to rest. Can we catch up later? I just want to sleep. I don’t want to think about my car or about Ray or about anything else right now. I just want to lie down.”

My mom huffs her breath like she’s offended, but it doesn’t take much for me to upset my mother. I expect her to argue with me, but she just throws her hands up. “Sure, go to bed.”

I grab as many bags as I can and take them to my childhood bedroom. As I push the door open, it’s nothing like I remember. All the posters are gone. The pink curtains have been replaced with brown ones. The day bed has been replaced with a queen-sized bed that takes up most of the room.

I drop the bags on the floor, shut the door, and then throw myself onto the bed. Normally, I’d be unable to sleep with everything that is going on, but as soon as my head hits the pillow, the last thought I have is of a brown-haired, blue-eyed man that makes me want things I know I shouldn’t.