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“He is getting married in a week’s time. Rocky wasn’t lying.”
“The bastard. Well, I tell you, you’re better off out of it. A man that would cheat on his fiancée so close to the wedding is no man to fall for.”
“He hasn’t cheated on his fiancée.”
“You mean you two didn’t do anything?”
I shake my head. “I mean I’m his fiancée.”
She blinks like she thinks she might have misheard me. “Sorry, I thought you said you were his fiancée then.”
“That’s exactly what I said.”
“But how? What? When? I’m so confused.”
“It’s perfectly simple. He asked me to marry him and I said yes.”
“Right, of course, simple.” She taps the top of my head with her knuckles. “Hello? McFly? What are you talking about? You’ve known him for about an hour and a half. You can’t marry him.”
“Can and am. The ceremony’s in a week’s time. You’re welcome to come as long as you accept it’s really happening.”
“Really happening? So this isn’t some prank you’re playing on me?”
“It’s a real wedding and I will be married at the end of it.”
She sits up straight, turning off the TV. “Can I ask why you’re marrying him?”
“Because he asked me and I love him.”
“You love him? You don’t think maybe you’re acting a little hasty?”
I see the confusion in her eyes and I want to tell her the truth but I can’t. As Vincenzo explained on the way over here, if anyone finds out, I get nothing. If I can make Cathy believe it’s a real marriage, I’ll have enough money in a month to help her out. She won’t need a bank loan. I’ll be able to give her however much she needs to get her business going. Be able to dedicate all my time to getting the book finished.
She needs this job. Since she was thrown out, she’s fought her way through life. Sofa surfing to agency work to living with me. She loses this, it’ll crush her. I get this right, we’ll both be happy. As long as I can lie to her successfully, the one person I never thought I’d lie to.
“When you know, you know,” I say with what I hope is a convincing smile.
“There’s something you’re not telling me,” she says with a shake of her head. “What’s really going on?”
“Nothing’s going on.”
“Is he threatening you? Is that it? Has the ogre finally revealed himself and forced you to do this?”
“He hasn’t threatened me and he’s not an ogre.”
“That’s not what I’ve heard.”
“You heard wrong.” I yawn loudly. “I’m going to bed. It’s been a very long day.”
“Okay, but we are not done talking about this wedding thing.”
“Fine, but not now, all right. I need some sleep and you need to see Darcy buying her a new diary.”
“Thanks for spoiling the ending.”
“Of a movie you’ve seen about five hundred times.”
“That’s a lie. It’s more like a thousand.”
