For the first time since Christian, I was tempted by a man. In fact, I was more tempted by Damien than I ever was by my ex. Not that I’d need to fight the temptation. A man who looked like Damien D’Amico didn’t want a frump like me.
Mariah looked through the pile of dresses on my bed. Ever since I blurted out my big lie, she’d been buzzing around like a little cupid. The guilt was eating me alive, I really hadn’t considered the consequences when it came to Damien’s daughter.
“I think you should wear the pink one,” she said, handing me a dress that had less fabric than I was used to wearing.
“Oh, it’s pretty but I don’t think it would fit,” I said politely.
“Pfft, you’re the same size as I was pre-pregnancy,” Bella snorted. “These dresses are all from my wardrobe.”
“Why can’t I just wear my clothes?” I objected.
“Because your clothes are tents, I’m sure Damien loves you for you, but I’m not going to let you hide behind those oversized clothes when you have your first big date with him,” Bella stated.
“We’ve been dating for months…” Each lie I told was like a lump of coal dropping into my gut.
“You’ve been sneaking around for months,” Bella scowled.
“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” my cousin, Audrey sighed. I’d still not found the right moment to tell her the truth as much as it was killing me to keep it from her.
“We wanted to see where things were going before making it official.” Another huge lump of coal landed in my gut. “We didn’t want to get everyone’s hopes up.” I looked at Mariah to get my point across.
“So I guess you’re official then?” Quinn asked.
“I wouldn’t say that,” I hesitated.
“Then why announce it at the BBQ?” Bella questioned.
“I ummmm,” I fiddled with the dress in my hand. “I just didn’t want him to go be auctioned off to who knows…”
“You’re right, Kassi Field is single again, and we all know how she likes to hunt any fresh meat in town.” Quinn stated like I knew who Kassi field was. Either way I was happy that I’d saved Damien from her. With some goading from my friends and Mariah, I walked into the bathroom with the pink dress. I could try it on, show them how hideous it looked and then they’d let me change into my normal clothes.
Tugging at the dress from all directions, I exited the bathroom to find Giovanna had joined the gaggle of women on my bed. They all cheered.
“Okay, I tried it on, it looks horrible.” I grabbed another random dress from the pile, ready to turn and go back to the bathroom.
“No, that’s it, that’s the dress,” Giovanna stated. “No need to try anything else on, it looks fabulous. Besides, I’ve seen how my son looks at you, I’ve seen how he gazes at your legs. If I’m lucky, I’ll get two grandchildren this year.”
“Nonna!” Mariah put her hands over her ears. “I don’t want to hear this!”
“I love you, Mariah, but you need siblings,” her grandmother said as she pulled her in for a hug.
“Ewwww, I’m gonna go hang out with Dad until you’re ready.” She pulled away with an overly dramatic look of disgust on her face. I was left with the expectant looks of some of the womenwho had made me feel more at home in this little town than I had my whole life in Melbourne and it churned my stomach. How could I lie to all these women?
Thirty minutes later, my friends had fussed over my hair and makeup like I was a bride preparing to go down the aisle. I walked out of my bedroom to find Damien waiting on my lounge with Mariah showing him something on her tablet. Giovanna cleared her throat behind me and he looked up. His eyes darkened and he took me in like he was looking at chocolate cake, like he couldn’t wait to taste me.
My heart stopped beating for a moment, he was making it hard to keep my feelings in check so that I didn’t end up hurt when we inevitably stopped faking this relationship.
Chapter eight
Damien
Ifelt like a teenage boy struggling to hide my semi from the beautiful girl on my arm. When Zoe walked out of her bedroom wearing that pink dress, I was tempted to toss her over my shoulder and walk up stairs to my bedroom. It had been a long time since I’d been with a woman and I’d never felt the same level of attraction to anyone I’d never met.
The tension in my body as I walked down the main drag in the Hartwood Bay CBD had my face set like concrete. Hard as my dick would probably be after the date as I took care of myself in the shower. I had to remind myself this was fake and that Zoe would be leaving Hartwood Bay in the next few months.
We walked through the main door of Bruno’s Trattoria, it was apparently the most prominent location for dates in Hartwood Bay and we wanted as many eyes on us as possible. I silently cursed my future sister-in-law for railroading us into this date. My hand found the small of Zoe’s back as the front of house greeted us, it felt so natural that I had to fight pulling her to my side.
Seated outside on the balcony, I watched as the sunset made her blonde hair glow like a halo. I was so transfixed that I’d failed to hear her question.
