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

19. Luciana

19

LUCIANA

I fucked up, and I know I did.

I said I wouldn’t let him hurt me again, and I did.

But it pains me to say that he was right: I hadn’t told my mom about me and Dom either.

“Are you okay?”

We visited with her friend, and then I drove us back into Whiskey Run. We were both silent the whole way home, and it’s not until we get home and are walking in the house that Mom asks me if I’m okay.

“I’m fine, Mom. Just tired.”

I think she’s going to let me walk away, but I should have known better. “You’re sleeping with that Evans boy, aren’t you? ”

I’m not going to deny it. It’s time I came clean. Hell, I don’t want another day like today where neither Dom nor I know how to act. I need to put it all out there, and whatever happens with the fallout will happen. “Yes, I’m sleeping with him.”

Instantly, she’s angry. “He broke your heart. Did you forget about that? He cheated on you once, you don’t think he’ll do it again?”

I blow out a breath. “He didn’t cheat on me, Mom.”

She just laughs. “Oh, is that what he’s telling you now? Of course he is, Luciana. He wants to get into your pants, so he’s going to tell you anything you want to hear.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “Mom, what made you this way? Why are you like this?”

She rears back in surprise. I’ve spent most of my life just listening to what my mom says, and she’s not used to me questioning her. “Honey, I’ve been cheated on before. I know how you want to believe they’ll never do it again, and it’s all going to be okay, but if they do it once… they’ll do it again.”

I think back to the past, and as far as I know, my dad was my mom’s one and only love. “Did Dad—?”

I can’t even get the words out .

She doesn’t confirm or deny it. “It doesn’t matter now, Luciana. All that matters now is you guarding your heart, and I’m telling you that if he did it once, he’ll do it again.”

I sit down on the edge of the couch. It’s like a shock to the system to think that my dad wasn’t the man I think he was. I remember in middle school, someone made a joke about my dad sleeping with his assistant, but it all blew over so fast, it was forgotten. I never once questioned the love my dad had for my mom. Could I have been wrong? “Mom, did Dad cheat on you?”

She sits down across from me. “I don’t want to do this—”

I shake my head. “Mom, tell me the truth. I deserve to know.”

“Yes. In college, when we first started dating, but he convinced me he didn’t. And then his secretary… I’m not sure how many there were after her. When your dad had his heart attack, I had told him a week earlier that I was divorcing him.”

My mouth drops. “But why didn’t you tell me?”

She shrugs. “You thought he hung the moon, honey. So did I at one point, and I didn’t want to ruin that for you.”

I clench my hands together in my lap. “Mom, Dom never cheated on me. He told me he did because he knew that would be the only way for me to walk away from him. He took to heart what my father said to him. He believed he didn’t deserve me, and he forced me out of his life. He loved me so much… he thought he was holding me back. Heck, today, he didn’t even hug me because he doesn’t want to cause any problems between me and you.”

Her words are not filled with as much venom, but she still says, “Honey, he’s an ex-con.”

I shrug. “Yeah, but I love him. I’ve always loved him. I’ve tried to move on, but I couldn’t.”

She clenches her eyes closed, and when she opens them, she nods at me. “Okay. If Dominic Evans is who you want to be with, I’m not going to come between you. I just want you to be happy, Lucy.”

“You deserve to be happy too, Mom. You need to know that. I’m sorry for what Dad did to you—”

“Ah, ah, none of that. You have nothing to be sorry for. Don’t you worry about me. I’m going to be just fine.”

I open my mouth just as the doorbell rings. My heart starts to race, thinking that it’s Dom. I swing the door open, and the smile drops off my face. Ray is standing in front of me, and he looks mad .

I straighten my back. “What are you doing here? I told you that anything you had to say to me needed to go through my attorney.”

He rolls his eyes. “I think we’re adult enough we can work this out between the two of us.”

I shouldn’t let him in. I know I shouldn’t, but I also want this to be over. I don’t care about the money anymore but I need to get my name off of everything. “Fine. Come in.”

I stand back to let him in. He sees my mom and turns on that fake smile of his. “Ms. Raven, what a pleasure to see you again.”

She looks at me. “What is he doing here, Luciana?”

I see the worry in her face. “Mom, it’s okay. Can you give us a second? We’re going to discuss some business.”

She looks at Ray with distrust. “Should I call the garage about your car?”

I know what she’s asking without asking it. “No, it’s fine. Thank you though.” I squeeze her hand and gently lead her from the room. It’s not until I turn back toward Ray that I lose the smile. “Okay, let’s get down to it. I want you to buy my half of the business.”

He just laughs and sits down on the couch. “ That’s not going to happen. The company is not worth anything.”

I stand with the coffee table between us. “When I left you, there was at least a hundred thousand dollars in the bank and now there’s nothing? What did you do with it?”

He just laughs. “Really, you’re going to question me about my business? You’re the one that walked out… you’re the one that owes me.”

“You’re crazy if you think I’ll give you a penny. We have contracts in place, Ray.”

“Yeah, well, half of nothing is nothing, so that’s what you’ll be getting.”

I clench my fists to hide the tremor in my hands. All that work. All the blood, sweat, and tears I put into the business, and it’s all gone. “I don’t understand how there’s nothing.”

He stomps his foot like a child. “Because the clients are unhappy. You can’t just abandon ship and expect to still get paid. That’s not how this works, Luciana.”

I lean forward, unable to hide the anger in my voice. “You can drop the bullshit, Ray. We both know what’s happening here.”

His eyes shift, and that’s the only tell that there’s more to it than what he’s letting on. “The only bullshit is the fact you think you can just walk away, ruin my reputation and just get away with it.”

I laugh. “You figured it out, didn’t you? You figured out that I’m the reason the business was becoming a success and that without me, you couldn’t keep it together.”

“I’m the reason the company was a success!” He pokes himself in the chest. “Me and me alone.”

I shrug, refusing to fight with him. “Okay, well if that’s true, I’m out of the picture. The company is yours. What do you want from me?”

He glares at me. “I want you to come back. You owe me, and I’m not going to just let you shirk your responsibilities.”

I clap my hands together. “Okay, so, you cheated on me, stole the money from the business, and—”

He cuts me off. “I didn’t steal anything!”

My voice gets higher. “And… you’ve been laundering money through the business for how long? Did you think I’d never find out? I’ll admit I’m a fool, Ray. I was a fool to ever agree to go into business with you. I was a fool to agree to marry you… I was a damn fool about everything when it comes to you, but I’ve smartened up.”

His hands form into fists, but I refuse to back down or act like I’m bothered by anything he says and does. He flexes his arms. “Here’s how it’s going to go. We’re going to get back together—”

I can’t help it. I bark out a laugh, and I can’t stop myself. He’s serious. I can see the anger on his face, but I don’t care. I laugh until my sides hurt. “Ray, you know that’s not happening.”

His face twists in anger, and he spits out the words. “Now listen here, Luciana. This is how it’s going to go…”

I sit and listen to his asinine ideas of us getting back together, me signing a bank loan so he doesn’t have to foreclose on the company, and other crazy ideas. And the more he talks, the angrier he gets. I’m beginning to realize what a bad idea it was to let Ray in the house, and if I could take it back, I would in an instant.