Page 21 of Sharp Lies

I didn’t make it far, though.

“Lily?” His voice was hushed and surprised, sounding almost like he was delighted—and unsure—about seeing me.

I froze again, trying to think of some way to get out of this situation. I could just ignore him and keep walking, right? If I wasn’t Lily, I wouldn’t respond to that name. I would just keep going wherever I was going.

Though I’d already stopped.

Shit.

Before I could think any further than that, a hand had grabbed my arm and spun me around, and I found myself facing the man I’d once been infatuated with, and who I’d come to hate and fear with so much heat that it had burned me.

“Lily!” he cried joyfully. “Oh my goodness, Lily! I didn’t know you were back in town. How long have you been here? How long are you staying? Where are you staying?”

“Oh, Tony,” I said, trying to look as innocent as possible. Trying to look like I wasn’t the girl who’d come back to town despite the fact that his dad had paid me $100,000 to stay away. “Hi. I’ve been in town for about a week. My mom had an accident, and I—”

“And you didn’t call me?” he asked, his voice turning a bit aggressive. “How was I not the first person you called when you got here?”

Because the last time I saw you, you were trying to kill me, I didn’t say. Because the last time I was in town, your father was threatening me. Because when I left, you didn’t even try to stop me, and if you had, I would have run even farther away.

I wanted to be furious. I wanted to rage at him about what he’d done to me. I’d dreamt so many times of this exact situation and what I’d say to him.

And now that it was here, all I could remember was the feel of his hands on me as he hit my head against the cupboard and screamed at me. I could hear the sound of his rage, feel the fear and shock burning through me. And it was like I was right back there again, that girl who hadn’t known how to get away from him.

Nothing I’d done in the years since then had changed the fact that my body knew this was a man to fear.

“I’ve been sort of busy,” I said, trying to smile. “You know, taking care of my mom.”

This time, he reached out and grabbed me again. “Too busy to use the phone?”

His voice was more of a snarl now, and I felt goosebumps race over my skin. I jerked my arm away, though, and took several steps back. “Too busy for much of anything,” I told him coldly, finally finding the rage I’d been working to build for the last five years. “This is the first time I’ve even been back to the bakery.”

“Is it? Or have you been here and I’ve just been missing you?”

He took a step toward me, and I took three steps backward. I didn’t want him close to me. I didn’t want him to be able to reach me.

“This is the first time I’ve been here since I got back,” I repeated, narrowing my eyes.

“That’s the truth,” Amy said, stepping up next to me. “I knew she was in town, but she’s been so busy at her mom’s house—”

“At least you knew she was in town,” Tony interrupted her. “Though I suppose you have known her longer than me, haven’t you?” When he spoke again, he’d at least tried to put another smile on. “So how about dinner, then, Lil? Do some catching up?”

What?

Was this guy serious right now?

“Oh, that’s okay,” I told him. “I’ve got my hands full at the house, and my mom is moving home this week. I’m going to need to—”

“First you don’t call, and then you turn down dinner? Be careful, Lil, or I’ll start to think you don’t like me.”

I was going to hit him. I was actually going to hit him. How could he be so clueless?

Of course I already knew. This was a man who’d always been given exactly what he wanted. He’d never been in a situation where he didn’t get what he’d asked for. The idea that someone might refuse him was so out of bounds that he couldn’t even fathom it.

And it made him angry.

I’d learned that a long time ago.

And right now, that might come in handy.