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

6. Dominic

6

DOMINIC

“What the fuck, Dom? You invite me for beers and then stare off into space all night?”

My brother Gabe sounds pissed, but he’s the type that never stays mad long. I debate telling him, but in the end I know I just need to say it because it will explain why I’ve been staring across the bar since we got here. I nod my head toward Lucy. “Look.”

He turns in his seat and looks around the room. When he doesn’t immediately spot her, I give him a clue. “She’s with Violet.”

He zeroes in on Violet and Lucy and then flips his head back to me. “Is that Luciana?”

I nod slowly. Even I have trouble believing she’s here. “Yep, Luciana Raven, in the flesh. ”

Gabe whistles softly. “What’s she doing in town?”

“I’m not sure.”

Gabe is looking at me, waiting for me to continue, and when I don’t, I can hear the frustration in his voice. “Have you talked to her?”

I take a sip of my beer. “Yeah, her car broke down when she was driving into town. I stopped and gave her a ride. Her car is at my shop.”

Gabe scoots to the edge of his seat. “Is she in town visiting her mom? She moving back? Did you get the scoop?”

I put my hands up in front of me. “Whoa, slow down. She’s staying at her mom’s, but I don’t think she’s moving back. She’s engaged… well, she was. I’m not sure if she still is.”

I grimace thinking about the bruise on her face.

Gabe’s forehead creases, letting me know he’s deep in thought. His hair is loose today and wild around his face. He looks more like a lumberjack than a firefighter right now. He’s quiet for so long I know he’s got something on his mind. “What is it? What are you thinking?”

He slams his hand on the table between us. It’s so loud and hard that the people around us all stop and stare. Sometimes Gabe doesn’t know his own strength. He’s looking at me proudly, like he’s just solved one of life’s big mysteries. “Now’s your chance to win her back.”

"Stop," I say, even though my hope is already starting to rise.

He smiles excitedly. “No, listen. This is perfect. Come on, it’s fate, man. She breaks down, and of all the people in Whiskey Run, you’re the one that stops and helps her. What are the chances of that? This is meant to be, I’m telling you.”

“Did you miss the part where I said she’s engaged?”

He’s not giving in, though. He shakes his head, determined. “Nope. Listen, normally, I’d say she’s off limits, but this is different. I saw you two together. You were in love, and you wanted to be some kind of martyr. Now’s your chance to fix it.”

I wish it was that simple. I get a pit in my stomach when I think back to that day. I tried to break it off easily, but she wasn’t having it. She loved me, and I loved her. That’s why I did what I did. But no matter how much I knew that was true, it still guts me to think about how I treated her. “I told her that I didn’t want to be with her. I told her I was tired of being her bad boy just so she could rebel against her daddy. I told her that pussy like hers was a dime a dozen. I told her that I had fucked Rita Hayes the night before…” I huff out a breath, remembering the look on her face. I decimated her. “I don’t think there’s a way to come back from that.”

The more I say, the bigger Gabe’s eyes get. Yeah, he knew I broke it off with her, but I never told him how. Hell, I was so ashamed of myself I never wanted to think about what I said to her. I have lived with the pain and guilt from it ever since. “There’s no way you slept with Rita Hayes.”

I jut my chin at him. “How do you know?”

Again, he slams his fist on the table. “Because you were in love with Luciana, for fuck’s sake. There’s no way you’d go out on her. You would never have done anything to fuck that up, that’s how I knew you didn’t have a clue what Jamie was up to. You never would have—”

I hold my hand up to stop him. “This is all old news, and there’s no changing it. It is what it is, and now I have to deal with the aftermath.”

“But you can fix it. Now’s your chance.”

I shake my head, looking over at Lucy again. “There’s no fixing this. She hates me.”

As soon as I lay eyes on Lucy, I tense, causing Gabe to look too. All I can do is stare as I see Lucy smiling as she stands up and hugs Malcolm Bridges. He’s the owner and manager of the Whiskey Whistler. He’s a good guy, but right now, I want to rip his arms off.

They’re laughing and talking, and it takes everything I have to stay in my seat. I have no claims over Luciana, but I wish I did. I want to walk across the room, pull her into my arms, and kiss her so thoroughly that she forgets every man but me. But hell, I know if I tried it, she would probably slap the shit out of me.

All I can do is stare.

Gabe leans toward me. “Well, brother, I’m thinking you may want to figure your shit out real quick because it looks like Malcolm has no qualms about staking claims on her.”

I stand up. “Come on. Let’s go say hi.”

I’m across the bar in an instant, and I can see the exact moment that Lucy spots me coming toward her. Her eyebrows raise, and her body tenses. Hell, I hate getting that reaction from her. I approach the table with Gabe following behind, muttering something like “This oughta be good.”

I slap Malcolm on the back, effectively taking his attention off Lucy. “Hey, Malcolm. How’s it going? Business is picking up, huh? ”

Malcolm looks at the bar. “Damn, yeah, we’re short a bartender tonight.” He turns to Lucy and hugs her again. “Lucy, it’s so good to see you again. Stop by tomorrow, and we can finish catching up.”

She nods her head, and she’s still smiling, but it’s lost some of its luster. Hell, did I do that? Does just being around me make her unhappy?

“I’ll do that. Thanks, Malcolm.”

As soon as he walks away, Lucy looks past me at Gabe. “Gabriel Gray, get over here and give me a hug. I haven’t seen you in forever.”

My brother, the traitor, moves past me and pulls Lucy into his arms. I barely contain a growl. What is it with all these men that think they have the right to touch and hold Lucy? Fuck, I won’t survive both of us being in the same town because I won’t be able to deal with this every day.

“Hey, Violet.” I nod with a wave.

The look of pity she gives me tells me she knows exactly what I’m feeling. “Hey, Dominic, how you doing?”

I look at Lucy, who is still talking to my brother and then back to Violet with a shrug. “I’m good.”

She nods in understanding as Lucy completely ignores me. My brother and I are standing next to the table, but I feel like an outsider as the three of them talk all around me. The only thing I get from Lucy is a dirty look every now and then. But even that doesn’t sway me. I can’t take my eyes off her. It’s like I want to commit everything about her to memory. Who knows how long she’ll be in town?

I’m lost in thought until I see Luciana blush and then cover the bruise on her face with her hand. It’s obvious she’s tried to cover it up with makeup again, but it’s still noticeable.

She shakes her head. “God, this is so embarrassing. My ex-fiancé got a little mad—”

I cut her off. “Don’t you dare be embarrassed. You don’t have a fuckin’ thing to be embarrassed about. He’s the one that should be ashamed. Give me a name and I’ll make sure he learns his lesson.”

I blurt it all out, probably a little louder than I should have. Gabe is a big man, but he stands up taller, chest puffed out. That’s one thing we definitely don’t approve of. You never lay a hand on a woman. Gabe cracks his knuckles. “Yeah, a name. I’ll help teach this lesson.”

Lucy holds her hands up, palms out. “I just want to forget it. It’s done, and it’s over.”

“But—” I start, and Lucy interrupts me.

“Dominic, I’m serious. I want to forget it. ”

Reluctantly, I nod my head. “Fine. You need a ride home?”

She shakes her head. “No, Violet’s got me.”

Violet looks between Lucy and me. “But you said you were ready to go home. Josh texted and said he’s running late.”

I jump on that in an instant. “I can take you home.”

But Lucy is not having it. “No… I would walk before I’d let you take me home.”

Violet gasps, and Gabe and I sort of just look at Lucy with a little bit of shock. Lucy has always been known as the town sweetheart. She’s the girl next door that’s friends with everyone, and it’s not like her to be rude. But I know it’s only because it’s me and I deserve it.

She already feels guilty. “I already owe you for the car… I don’t want to be in debt to you more than I already am.”

I shake my head in forfeit. “You don’t owe me a damn thing, Lucy. I don’t want anything for the car.”

She just glares at me. “No, I don’t want you to give me a ride. How’s that? Plain enough for you?”

I nod, smirking even though it’s like a knife has been imbedded in my heart. “Yeah, I get it. ”

The silence is deafening, and I know it’s because she was having a good time, and I had to come over here and ruin it. I take a step back from the table. “I’m going to take off. See you, Violet. Bye, Lucy.” I turn to my brother. “You need a ride?”

He shakes his head. “No, I’m going to hang out a bit.”

I nod, and without another glance at Lucy, I walk out of the bar. I would give anything to have Lucy as mine, but that ship has sailed. She has no interest in me, and I know I’m the one to blame for that. Now I just have to live with the consequences of my actions from seventeen years ago.