Page 63 of The Fake Out

I didn’t know that. How did assface know that before I did? I wanted to say something, but the bell ringing on the front door and a petite blonde walking in with a baby in a stroller distracted me. Seth smiled and went to greet them. That’s when I recognized her.

I watched with anger bubbling up inside as Seth kissed his soon-to-be wife and picked up his child. What an asshole. He just came waltzing back into my life and had to shove it into my face how he’d betrayed me. I didn’t know about this woman, but I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to think she didn’t know about me during their affair. It was possible since Seth and I weren’t active on social media.

Blaise squeezed my hand and put his lips to my ear. “You okay?”

I nodded, but I was pretty far from okay. Especially when Seth and his cute little family walked over to us. The blonde looked nervous, and I didn’t blame her.

“Hi, I’m Lily,” she introduced herself.

I stared at her.

She shot a look at Seth. “Um…look, I told Seth it wasn’t a good idea to invite you because I know you guys ended on bad terms.”

“Bad terms?” I parroted. Behind her, Seth gave me a pained look, like he wanted me to drop the subject.

“He said you had a bad break-up. We met shortly after that, and then we had our surprise child.”

She didn’t know.

She had no idea.

She started dating this asshole when I was still dating him. When I was going to marry him, and then he left me in the lurch when she got pregnant.

I felt Blaise’s hand squeeze mine again, and then he held it out to Lily. “I’m Blaise, Veronica’s boyfriend.”

She smiled. “Oh, I know you. You’re both still welcome to come, of course. I just didn’t want any hard feelings.”

“Hard feelings?” I repeated.

“We’ll still come,” Blaise answered for me.

This was so messed up. Did I tell Lily her baby daddy was a piece of shit? That he had been playing both of us? I looked at Blaise, and he grimaced at me. “Well, it was nice meeting you, but V and I have dinner to get to. We’ll see you at the wedding in a couple of weeks.”

And then he whisked me away for the night, taking me back to my place and helping me forget in the best way he knew how.

Blaise had to wake up early to catch the charter jet to Carolina tomorrow. They had a Sunday afternoon game against the Carolina Thrashers and then a game on Tuesday against the Florida Hurricanes. He was supposed to get back Wednesday sometime, and I didn’t know why I was so invested in his schedule when he wasn’t even my boyfriend.

He had passed out in exhaustion after we fucked all over my bedroom, but I couldn’t sleep. I studied his profile as he slept. He looked peaceful, and a smile came to my face at how he tried to make me feel better tonight.

After we left the shop, we went back to Drakesville and went to dinner at the local brewery. I realized how small of a town I lived in when a bunch of people recognized him, but he took it all in stride. The surly brewmaster had to tell people to leave us alone, so we could eat in peace, but Blaise just flashed his bright smile. We ate and drank good beer until I drug him back to my apartment to have my way with him.

It was going to be a bummer when this was all over because Blaise was a great fuck buddy. Not too clingy, and he knew what I liked. But I was starting to like him too much. I had to remember where the lines were. Relationships only hurt you in the end, and I couldn’t let my heart make the decisions.

When he turned in his sleep, I made my escape and slid out of bed. I couldn’t stop thinking about what Seth’s fiancée said. They started dating after we broke up, but I didn’t think that was true. Especially since Seth kept on calling me. Maybe he had tried to do the right thing, to be the parent to his child, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. I never wanted a man to break me like that again.

The only place I let my feelings come out was on the canvas. I let my emotions pour out of me as I painted them in broad, angry strokes.

I gasped at hands sliding around my waist and a pair of lips pressing against my neck. Blaise chuckled behind me, the loud sound vibrating against my back. “Sorry,” he laughed. “What are you doing awake?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” I sighed and moaned when he peppered my neck with kisses.

“Come back to bed.”

“I—” I cut myself off and put my paintbrush down. “Painting helps when I can’t sleep.”

Blaise came around beside me and studied the canvas. Maybe I went too Georgia O’Keeffe with this painting, but I loved floral patterns. I loved doing flower tattoos and doing that tattoo for him today.

“You’re so talented, Veronica.”