“Once you get on his side, will we be able to drop this charade?”
Lawerence’s face fell into a frown before he sighed. “Technically, yes. Unless you want to keep going a little longer once I sign the contract.”
“Hell no! As a matter of fact, you are officially on a countdown to get your shit together. This little deal was only supposed to be temporary, yet here we are.”
“I’ve been paying you, though. You don’t complain when I make those monthly deposits.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “You paying me is the least you can do for fucking up our engagement.”
Lawerence’s jaw ticked before he exhaled an annoyed breath. I wasn’t going to admit it, but I damn sure wasn’t complaining about him sending me money. Hell, all of those deposits were the reason I was able to open Body Butter & Books.
“So,” Lawerence said, breaking the silence. “Are you going to be ready for the Spring Festival? Sandra and I took some time to go over our game plan so that we can be successful.”
“Boo, tomato, boo!” I shouted. “Nobody gives a damn about what you and your whore are doing.”
“I’m just saying!” Lawrence continued, ignoring me. “I want to see you successful as well. I know I fucked up and treated you terribly, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t care about you.”
Lawrence reached over and squeezed the top of my thigh, causing me to swat his hand away.
“Absolutely not!”
“You weren’t saying that before.”
I rolled my eyes. “Once upon a time, I was delusional and thought I loved you enough to make us work. Not to mention, you were the only man I had been with for three years. You were familiar. Thank God he slapped some sense into me and showed me you were only supposed to be in my life for a season.”
“Come on, Natalie,” Lawerence said, reaching for me again. “You can’t say you don’t miss us.”
“Tsk, tsk, that chapter has closed. Besides, how will your Sandra feel about you trying to hit on me?”
He chuckled. “You’re right, but I can’t help but think about the good times we had. I miss you, Nat.”
“Duh!” I laughed as we pulled into his parents’ driveway. “Look, stay in character because it’s really good. Your acting is really making me believe you give a damn now.”
“Nat-”
“Bravo!” I shouted, clapping my hands in his face. “Save the encore for when we get inside.”
Jumping out of the car, I heard Lawrence grumble a few curses about my childishness. Watching him wallow in self-pity provided me a sense of satisfaction. If he hadn’t ruined what we had, then neither of us would have to go through this bullshit. I would have had no problem introducing him to Mr. Hodgeson since he and my dad were best friends. Lawrence would have been able to pitch his idea over brunch and probably been successful because he had a great idea. Golfing was a significant pastime in this region, particularly at the country clubs. Withhardly any work, Lawerence’s new enterprise would have boomed. Too bad he ruined his chance to take the easy route.
I pulled up my black jeans and smoothed down my white shirt before I shook my head. Why did he have to go and fuck up what we had? The better question was why am I still helping him? I can admit, the extra money was nice. While my business was flourishing without Lawerence’s hush money, it was a good safety net to have. I had confidence in my business, but I wanted to be prepared for my future. Eventually, I’d want to travel while I left my shop in capable hands. Sure, with the right budgeting I could use my own money to plan that out, but why should I? After everything Lawerence put me through, I deserved a year long travel on his dime. Since I used most of his money to start my business, I had started over with saving it. If I gave him six more months of pretending, I’d be comfortable enough to prepare for my travels.
I finger-combed my hair before tucking my hands into my leather jacket pockets. Lawrence hopped out of the car and grabbed his button-up shirt from the backseat. While I dressed comfortably, Lawrence looked as if he were about to go to a job interview. His mother fussed over how he should look whenever he left the house. I agreed for the most part, but there was no way I was dressing up to eat dinner with family. Don’t get me wrong, we had special occasions where we put on our Sunday best, but this was not one of those occasions.
“We eat, then leave.”
“I can’t control if my parents want us to stay around and–”
“We eat, then leave,” I interrupted, shutting down whatever excuse he was about to spew.
I didn’t want to stay here or be around my ex-family longer than I needed to. Hell, the fact that we were still lying for Lawrence’s sake was irritating. Why should I keep bending over backwards to accommodate him? At first, I could admitthat I was going along with this stupid plan, hoping to fix our relationship. I didn’t care about the money he was coughing up and really only took it to piss off Sandra. Once upon a time, I had wanted us to get back together. In actuality. I wanted to get back to planning my wedding so I could marry the love of my life, but that ship has since sailed, and that wasn’t love. Love doesn’t betray you.
Taking in the Freemans’ luxury home, a small shiver ran up my spine. While the home was beautiful, it still felt like a shadow loomed over it. The grand circular driveway, miniature fountain, manicured lawn with matching shrubs and bushes, was all a show. On the outside, you’d think the Freemans’ five-bedroom, four-bathroom home was a welcoming place, but the truth was it wasn’t. Not all the time, anyway. We walked to the door and knocked. After a few moments, Betsy, the Freeman’s lead maid, answered the door. Her light tawny face lit up with excitement as she embraced Lawrence in a motherly hug.
“Mr. Lawrence, what a pleasant surprise!”
“I was here two months ago, but you were on vacation. It’s nice to see you having fun!”
“You know me. I only left because your father insisted.” Betsy chuckled before her eyes landed on me. Her smile immediately dropped as she lifted an eyebrow at me. “Ms. Nicki.”
