Expecting some kind of reaction, I was disappointed when Tony gave none, stating without emotion, “I see.”
Guilt gnawed at my conscience, and I felt the need to explain myself, even though he hadn’t asked me to. “The engagement only happened this past week. I wasn’t sure it was ever going to happen.” Sighing, I huffed out, “It’s complicated.”
Nodding, his demeanor gave me no sign of how he felt about my news. “Relationships usually are.”
Frustrated, I rushed out, “I don’t even know if I can call it that.”
“Care to explain?”
“Without getting into too many details, he’s not the person I would have chosen for myself.”
“Do you have feelings for him?”
Did I have feelings for Preston? I wasn’t sure. I was learning there was more to him than I previously thought, and maybe if I could get past my own ego, we could fall into some form of comfortable companionship.
Holding to my vow of honesty, I replied, “Maybe? I don’t know. He’s different than I thought he was, and I haven’t exactly made it easy on him. If he can put up with me at my worst, I feel like I owe it to him to give what we have a try.”
“That’s fair. Not all great love stories burn hot and bright right from the start.”
Love? That was a stretch.
Protesting slightly, I countered, “I don’t know that I’d go quite that far.”
Taking my hand in his, he looked me right in the eye. “Promise me you won’t close yourself off to the possibility. You deserve to find happiness.”
Who was this guy? I was sitting here telling him our purely sexual relationship was over, and he was telling me to open my heart to love.
Squeezing his hand, I replied, “I promise.”
A corner of his lips turned up, and he squeezed my hand back. “You were honest with me, so I think it’s only fair that I do you that same courtesy.”
“What do you mean?” I was confused.
Was he about to tell me that he, too, was in a committed relationship? My stomach turned, thinking perhaps he had a family, and I was the other woman. Before I could conjure upmore possibilities, he released my hand, reached up to his face, and began to remove his mask.
Panic gripped me, and I blurted out, “No! Don’t!”
Ignoring my protests, the mask left his face, and my panic turned to shock. It was like I was having an out-of-body experience; I could see myself jumping off the bench and staring at the man before me—a man who had a striking resemblance to Preston.
But that didn’t make any sense. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me; any tall man with a dark beard and hazel eyes would look like him.
“Lucy,” he pleaded.
The use of my real name snapped me out of my stupor, and my shock switched to a rage so deep that I couldn’t see straight. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I screamed at him.
“Let me explain. Please.”
“Explain,” I scoffed. My heart was beating so fast that I feared I might pass out. “How long have you known it was me?” His eyes lowered to the ground, and I had my answer. “Did you follow me here? Was this your plan all along? To blackmail me with exposure?”
Standing, he reached for me but dropped his hand when I visibly flinched. “No. It was a coincidence, I swear. I didn’t even know you were a member until that first night.”
I thought back to the night of our first encounter. “You initiated contact, sending me a drink that night. You knew it was me even then? How?”
Sighing, he ran a hand through his dark, messy hair. “I can’t explain it. I’ve always been able to sense when you are near. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me, but then I saw you across the room, those blue eyes shining like a beacon, and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that you were the one behind that silver mask in the nearly see-through dress.”
“I’m such an idiot,” I breathed out. “You knew this whole time. Was it a joke to you? Were you laughing behind my back as we fucking lived together these past two months, knowing what we’d done down here?”
“Of course not. The first time, I didn’t even know you’d accepted your grandfather’s proposal. I found out the next morning.”
