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“I can say the same thing about you,” she snaps. “You don’t even love me and you’re not the type to settle down. Yet, you’re doing it to get your uncle’s business.” She glances at her black nails.
Little does she know, I’m leaving her high and dry once the paperwork is signed and I am CEO of Wolfgang Bank.
“Everything is a business transaction, Poppy.”
“Every relationship is like that?” She folds her legs on the couch, eyeing me like I have three heads. “Please elaborate on your theory.”
“Dating. You have to take women out and they expect so much from you in exchange for their time. The transaction.” I loosen my tie because the air is a bit stuffy in here, and the tension between us is thick, I can cut it with a knife. “Friendships are transactional. The only reason why people are friends with others is because they provide something you need.”
She taps the tip of her nails on her chin. It’s adorable the way she bites the inside of her cheek.
“Not everything is transactional. Not everyone is out to gain something in return.” She glances at the ceiling fan and brings her eyes back to me for a moment too long, studying my eyes as if it will reveal any emotions. I keep my facial expression blank. Something I learned a long time ago as a kid when I didn’t want anyone trying to use my emotions against me. “When I slept with you last year, yes, I was gaining pleasure, but I also gained my dignity and self-confidence to leave my ex.” Tears gloss over her eyes and I wanted to bring her into my arms and kiss her, but I stay rooted to the chair.
I don’t care about her feelings, so why do I feel the need to comfort her? The only reason why I gave her the courage to leave her ex was because it benefited me—and I wanted to use her for sex. Yes, she deserved to be treated better than how she was, because no one deserves to be abused. And I like her more than the other women I’ve fucked. But I can’t picture us together as a real couple.
“I haven’t been with any other man besides my ex when we hooked up, and you made me realize that I don’t have to take his shit.”
Her words do something to my stomach. I can’t believe I’m a grown man getting butterflies. Fuck my life. I don’t know how to accept her words as she paints the picture of me as a hero, but I’m far from it. I’ve done things I’m not proud of, and if she saw the real me she would feel a different way.
She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “So, what exactly did you gain from helping me get my confidence back?”
I would say sex, but that would be a complete lie. I didn’t expect her question to knock the wind out of me. I thought the reason she wanted to help her parents was because she wanted something from them, but it’s more than that, she wants to be accepted by her mother. She’s not the person I thought she was. She’s selfless. Willing to give up her own happiness for the people she loves. I admire her for doing that. Most people only care about their self-interests and don’t care whose toes they step on.
She bites her lip, waiting for me to respond. I knew she was different from all the other women I met. She doesn’t expect me to take care of her and all she asked me for was to be her fake fiancé so she can help her stepfather with his business. The only reason why she asked for a wedding was because of her mother’s approval. I get up from my seat and dust off my pants.
“You. I got you.”
I meet Lacey at the bowling alley after she texted me saying she needed to get out of the house because no one was there. I sit at the table and slip on my bowling shoes. I left Poppy at the house because things between us were getting too intense and I didn’t want to elaborate my feelings with her. I didn’t want her asking me more questions, so I hauled ass out of there like a coward. I always run from my feelings, and I’m not the usual type to share.
Lacey leans against the table, sighing, her face twisted in anger. She pushes her glasses up her nose, wearing a tank that is too tight and very short shorts.
“You good?” I ask.
Usually, I don’t care about other people’s feelings and what they have going on in their personal lives, but I don’t want her sour mood to ruin our evening. “Don’t tell my parents, but I’m four weeks pregnant.”
She’s too young to be having children, and she’s only seventeen years old. I mean, I knew she was having sex—she came to me and asked me to take her to get birth control, so I did it. She needed to protect herself, but I thought she was being careful. I never thought she would be a teen mother, because unlike our brother, she has always been the reasonable one. The one to follow the rules and do what she’s supposed to do. She gets good grades in school and she’s the captain of the cheerleading team. How is she going to raise a child? As far as money goes, she has her trust fund.
I don’t know what to say, so I remain quiet, listening to the techno music playing in the background and the clash of pins.
“Dad has been on edge because he’s pissed off that you’re going to get married soon. He saw the tabloids of your girlfriend. She’s hot, by the way.”
She wants to take the spotlight off her, but she hangs her head down knowing she can’t, embarrassed about her situation.
I could give two shit about my father being pissed off. This wedding is happening. The pictures I saw in the magazines, thanks to April, worked. It’s been all over social media sites and bloggers have been tagging Poppy and me in articles. People are speculating that we’ve been together for a while. And I received a few calls from magazine companies wanting to do an interview.
My fake love life isn’t important right now.
Lacey becoming pregnant is a serious matter.
I grab a black bowling ball and manage to hit a few pins. The bowling alley is packed with rowdy teenagers laughing and singing along to the music. This place would have been fun to hang out at, but I’m thirty-three, and I don’t want to be here.
“What are you going to do about the baby?”
She shrugs.“I’m going to keep him or her, I graduate in a few months anyway.”
I haven’t seen her look so defeated.
“Is Blue going to help you with the baby?” He better, or else I’m going to make him pay. She and her baby will not go without.
