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“No.”
“Try calling him some time. Or arranging a meeting.”
He doesn’t want to see me. “I’ve given him time.” He’d tried text messaging and calling his brother, but after their tense exchange after the affair, his brother hadn’t replied. He couldn’t blame him. He’d punched Conor’s lights out when he simply insulted Lara. What would he do if Mateo had slept with Lara?
He’d done it—he’d bedded Michelle, who had been with his brother for years. Troy had disrespected his brotherhood, their marriage, and good, old-fashioned family values. The weight of it burdened his shoulders, his heart.
His father cocked his head to one side, sizing him up. Warning him. “Too much time can be dangerous. Makes people feel comfortable being apart from each other. It’s easy to forget what being together means.”
Troy thinned his lips. If he’d forgotten, he’d be happy, or at least, oblivious. Instead, he remembered with vivid detail his brother’s hearty laugh, the good times they had together, how he enjoyed making light fun of their parents’ quirkiness behind their backs. He’d lost all that. He’d fucked up. “I’ll reach out,” Troy said.
“Before your wedding,” his father said, in a voice that left no room for arguing.
Troy nodded.
“I brought some coffee,” Lara said, reappearing and handing his father a cup.
His father beamed with approval. “Thank you, my dear. Troy mentioned you were going to see the wedding planner?”
“Yes.” She sauntered over to his side, and he caught a waft of her lovely scent. “Troy was coming with me, but now that you’re here, I’ll go, and you can keep him company.”
His father glanced down at the cup, then took it to his lips. “I’d hate to keep either of you from going. Why don’t we all go? Then we can grab lunch later.”
Surprise cooled Troy’s body temperature. Why the hell would his father want to go to a meeting with a wedding planner? Either he didn’t buy this idea of their wedding, or he’d started to like Lara and wanted to buy some time to get to know her. Troy inhaled deeply. He didn’t know which option would be more damaging.
* * *
“So. Tell me how you envision your dream wedding reception,” a good-looking woman in her late twenties named Reagan Bancroft asked. They’d arrived to meet with her in the lush office downtown.
Lara shifted in the beige tufted chair, holding on to the glass of champagne she’d been given.
On her right sat Troy, and on her left, Giorgio.
She held the stem so tightly she half expected it to shatter in a million pieces. What the hell? First, she’d overheard Troy telling her father-in-law that the real reason he’d hit Conor had been because Conor had been disrespectful to her.
Her heart had done acrobatic flips in her chest and she found herself ridiculously excited. What did that conversation mean? Did Troy lie to his father or to her? Why would he keep the truth from her? She chewed her lower lip, pondering. A part of her clung to the belief Troy wasn’t such a bad guy… but then she quickly remembered he’d screwed his brother’s wife. And now, he lied to his family about the true nature of his relationship with her to get ahead professionally and earn his father’s respect again.
“Honey,” Troy said, squeezing her hand.
Lara shook her head, willing her musings away. “Sorry. Got distracted.”
Reagan flashed her a smile. “No problem. I know this all can be very overwhelming, which is why I’m so excited you came to us. Would you mind sharing how you two met or what brought you together? I like to ask that to my clients because sometimes that helps set the tone of the celebration. You said it’s just the reception, right? No exchanging vows or anything?”
Oh God, she couldn’t go through a wedding ceremony in front of her friends and family. Reception, sure, as it implied partying. But swearing eternal love only to have him leave months after? Hard no.
“We’ve already exchanged vows, so all we want is the reception party.” Lara’s blood cooled. If his father hadn’t tagged along, this was the moment to say they met through a mutual friend. But this lie would only get her kicked in the ass later. She squeezed Troy’s hand, in a silent message for him to let her do the talking. “As far as how we met, we were both at a time in our lives when we didn’t know we were ready for a big commitment, but when we met, we learned we were ready for each other,” she said, pleased at how happy she sounded. “Troy does his own thing and I’m the gatherer. He’s grumpy in the morning, and I’m peppy. We complement each other in the little things, so that the big things don’t seem too scary anymore,” she said, emotion carrying the end of her sentence.
Her palm went clammy in his hand, and she motioned to withdraw it, but he clasped it. The words that just spilled out of her mouth buzzed in her mind like a beehive. She’d said them with no problem, yet achieving that happiness seemed so far away for her. For them.
She doubted he’d let anyone in easily. She doubted he ever had.
Reagan clapped her hands together and shot them a look so sweet it gave Lara an instant cavity. “That’s lovely. Feels so true.”
“The moment I learned she’d take me for me, I decided to tie the knot as soon as possible to seal the deal,” Troy said. His father chuckled behind him. But Troy slanted her a cute glance that sent shivers down her spine.
Damn the man. He was so good at lying even she was falling for it. What? No. She swallowed, her fingers fidgety on her lap.
She needed to pop that bubble of romance before it was too late. Crossing her legs, she stared at Reagan. “What else would you like to know?”
