Page 113 of Fake It For Love (Faux Love)
“And you are using past tense and you’re in California,” she said with a sigh. “I take it she didn’t like you back. Bummer.”
“She liked me back just fine,” I said. “More than fine. We were good. Great. And then she dropped a bombshell on me.”
“How so?”
“We both agreed the contract we had was irrelevant. We felt something for each other. She said that. Said it wasn’t fake. I believed her.”
“And now she’s saying it is fake?” she asked gently.
“No.” Talking about it opened up the wound all over again. “She told me because she lives in Geneva and I’m always traveling. She said it would never work between us. She wanted to have one last week together, and once the reunion was over, she was going back to her life, and I would go back to mine. She didn’t even give me the chance to prove I could make it work. She was just done. I didn’t get a say in it.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “So, so sorry. This is the first time I’ve ever seen you really crazy about a woman.”
“Because it is the first time,” I said. “You know I never let anyone close. This is exactly why. She took me by surprise. I never saw it coming. One minute we’re dancing and the next she’s dumping me. More like a preemptive dump. She wanted to hang out for another week and then she was going to dump me.”
“Does she know how you feel?” she asked.
“She didn’t give me a chance,” I said. “It doesn’t matter now. I paid her the money for the contract and left.”
“What about your reunion?”
“Fuck it,” I muttered. “It doesn’t matter. I saw them all. The official reunion doesn’t change anything. Besides, I could care less if I see any of those people again. I’m good. I’m going back to work and getting on with my life.”
“Ryan,” she said with a sigh. “I think you should at least try and talk to her about this. Tell her how you feel. Tell her you’ll find a way to see her more than once a month. I’m sure she’s feeling a little insecure.”
“Why in the hell would she feel insecure?” I snapped.
“Because you’re Ryan Jones! You’re the wealthy bachelor every woman wants. Quite frankly, I can’t wait until you settle down. I’m so tired of my friends asking me to set them up with you. They all think they want you. I think they’re crazy. You know there are women falling all over you. Claire is a nice person. She’s going to worry about you running off with another woman if you’re away from her all the time. That’s no way to start a relationship.”
When she put it that way, I kind of understood a little better. “I would never cheat on her. She knows that.”
“Does she?” she asked. “You guys talked about this?”
“She never gave me the chance,” I reminded her. “And she shouldn’t feel insecure. I’ve told her a hundred times how beautiful she is. That is a conversation we actually did have. I won’t go into details, but she did mention she didn’t understand why I was with her and not some other woman. I made it very clear she was the only woman I wanted.”
“You know us women are finnicky creatures,” she joked. “Sometimes we need to hear something a few times before it sinks in.”
“Sinks in with a club,” I muttered.
“I heard that,” she said with a laugh.
“Don’t tell Mom and Dad I’m home,” I said. “I just want to get back to my normal life. They know this thing was temporary. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
“Well, I think you should talk about it,” she said. “With Claire. I hate seeing you suffering.”
“You can’t see me,” I replied. “That’s why I’m in California. No one can see me.”
“Very funny. You know what I mean. You were happy when you were here last. I was so hoping this was going to be the real thing for you.”
“Me too,” I said. “I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. It’s time to move on. Period. I’m not going to sit around and dwell on it.”
“Bullshit,” she said. “I bet that’s exactly what you’re doing. You’re sitting in your big beach house and sulking.”
She wasn’t wrong. “It doesn’t matter. It’s done. Now, if you’ll leave me alone, I’m making a sandwich and then I’m going to sit by the pool.”
“Yep, sulking,” she said. “Come home. Come visit your nieces. They always cheer you up.”
I smiled at the thought of seeing the girls. “I can’t,” I said. “Not right now. I’m not good company. They’ll know something is wrong.”
