“Oh, sure!” Lucy waves a hand at the seat in front of her. “We should probably talk about next Tuesday anyway.”
Amazed that I don’t trip, I sit across from Lucy and lift the top off my Tupperware, allowing the steam to escape. “Where is this event happening?”
“It’s at the Hilton downtown,” Lucy says. “All you have to do is wear a suit and show up, and you’ll have my forever thanks.”
“I’m also happy to pick you up so we can arrive together.” I avoid thinking about why I offered.
Lucy bites her bottom lip. “I guess that would be more believable than meeting there.”
A little too eagerly, I say, “Yeah, we shoulddo this right.”
Lucy nods. “Okay, why don’t you pick me up around 6pm?”
“That works,” I say, a thrill running through me when she gives me her address.
“I don’t know of a better way to bring this up,” Lucy starts. “But I heard about your ex dating your brother. That really stinks.”
Fuck. I wasn’t expecting that. “Yeah, it’s not ideal.”
“I mean, how could she do that to you?” Lucy scrunches up her nose in what I’m guessing is distaste, but instead comes off as completely adorable. Oh, this woman. Her defense of me sends a rush of yearning through me.
If only.
“Well, it’s a little complicated,” I say. “There are some extenuating circumstances, but long story short, my brother Sterling never knew we were dating, and she didn’t know he was my brother.”
Lucy’s eyebrows shoot up. “Thatdoessound complicated. Did you guys not date for very long?”
I flush. My omission of Sterling’s existence to Sam was unintentional, but now it’s glaringly obvious how weird it seems. “Uh, we were dating for a year.”
Lucy's brow furrows. “Let me get this straight. You dated this girl for a year, but you never even told her that your brother worked in the same hospital as she did?”
Fuck me. Heat creeps up my neck. “I don’t get along with my father or Sterling. Early in our relationship, I told Sam about my issues with my dad, and she urged me to do everything in my power to make things right between us. I didn’t...react well to that suggestion, and never really talked aboutthem again. Maybe if I had done things differently, Sam and I wouldn’t have ended like we did.” This is already way more than I typically divulge to someone I’ve just met, but I’m finding that I’m desperate to make Lucy understand.
“Hm,” Lucy says, tapping her chin, and I have this sinking feeling that she’s going to write me off as an asshole. “Maybe it’s just me, but it sounds like you and Sam just had some communication issues. While tough, it’s not an insurmountable problem.”
I have so much whiplash from this conversation that I’m not sure I’ll ever recover. “Huh?”
Lucy laughs. “Well, it would be really awesome if our fake dating could help you too!”
“What do you mean?” I’m more than a little chagrined to find that Lucy and I might be having some communication difficulties of our own.
She bounces a little in her seat as the words come tumbling out. “It sounds like you have some second thoughts about how you handled your relationship with Sam. And things are a little weird right now, especially since Sam just started dating Sterling, but it’s still early on in their relationship. Maybe we can help remind Sam of what you guys had together before they get more serious?”
I beg to differ, but before I can ponder that any more, Lucy barrels on.
“What if we use our fake dating scheme to convince Sam that she misses you and wants to give your relationship another shot?”
Wait, what? How did Lucy take what I just said as me wanting to get back together with my ex? “I’m notsure—”
Lucy immediately shutters. “Oh, you’re right, it’s a dumb idea. Why do I always do this? I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have even mentioned it.”
She laughs dismally, not meeting my eyes. “You’ve twice had a front-row seat to my signature verbal diarrhea. It’s bad enough that I sucked you into this fake dating scheme. Coming with me to the dinner is already super generous of you; I don’t want to take up more of your time. I think I was just excited you’d be getting something out of this too.”
Her whole body crumples inward, as she stares at her sandwich.
Well, fuck. That bastard Weston really did a number on Lucy, and it pisses me off more than I could ever express. Suddenly, this doesn’t seem like a big deal. If I let Lucy run with this, who would it really hurt? I’m pretty sure that Sam won’t give a damn—she’s obviously moved on. But Lucy appears to feel really guilty about getting me into this fake relationship, even though I was totally on board. Maybe having Sam as an additional “reason” for our fake dating will make Lucy feel more comfortable with the whole situation.
Luke’s right. I’m a goner when it comes to Lucy Chang.
