Carl gives a strained laugh and waves. As if that’s enough for this interaction to go his way. “Hey! Long time no see!”
There’s no way. He can’t possibly know that guy.
At my back, I feel Simon shift.
The man lifts his hand, and Carl sighs in relief.
Great, now I’m confused all over again.
“See? Only someone of my status can interact with the elite folks who drive around Ferraris.” Carl jerks a thumb at Simon. “This guy’s just a scavenger fighting over scraps.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I realize Simon also has his hand raised in greeting. He takes it a step further, waving the hulking man in our direction.
“Come on in, Luis. Let’s see if good ol’ Carl’s telling the truth.”
Over my shoulder, I cast him a puzzled expression, conveying I suddenly have a lot more questions.
Although I’m not gonna lie, I enjoy how quickly Carl’s arrogance drains from his face.
His pallor goes a tad gray as the secret-agent dude strides forward, all business. His excessive height and muscular build only amp up his intimidation factor. Yet, my pulse remains perfectly calm, not a hint of worry that I’d be one-hundred percent safe with him.
“Attention, esteemed Ferrari owner, your million-dollar sports car has arrived,” he grandly announces.
A few more strides forward bring him directly in front of Simon.
He gives a professional bow, one arm folded in front of him as he extends the key fob. “Sir, I’m your dedicated account manager, Luis. The Ferrari you ordered is here. Please accept this spare key.”
Shock and envy play across the faces that’d been sneering and deeming us as lesser than mere minutes ago. Jade’s jaw goes slack; Linda’s lips press into a thin, bloodless line, and Carl looks like he wants to sink into the floor.
An option I’d be perfectly fine with, for the record. Except I’d prefer he also take his nasty girlfriend and her mother along with him.
A slow, boastful grin spreads across Simon’s features. Like everything else, it looks good on him. He takes the keys from Luis, then pivots on his heel and places them in my mother’s palm.
“Mrs. Barron, this car is yours now.” He curls his hand over the top of hers, and my heart goes a little melty. “I hope it’ll make it easier for you to take Grandma around.”
Mom shakes her head, sandwiching Simon’s hand and not letting go. “This… this is too much. Simon, I can’t accept this.”
“It’s my gift to you.” Simon’s warm, velvety voice creates a melty mess of my insides. He gradually slides his hands away, leaving my mom with the key fob. “Please accept it.”
Jade’s shrill voice slices through the tender moment. “This is impossible,” she says, incapable of being anything but selfish. “How could you afford a Ferrari? Carl!”
Too stunned to respond, Carl just stands there, stiff with panic.
As for me? I can’t take my eyes off the smile that’s spread across my mom’s face.
There’s an ease in the curve I haven’t seen since grandma fell ill, although a hint of haughtiness creeps in as she turns it on Linda.
“Looks like the situation is all cleared up. What do you say, Linda? It’s not just your daughter who’s capable. My daughter-” she links her elbow through mine and does the same to Simon’s arm, until she’s our tiny protector in the middle, “-and my future son-in-law aren’t too shabby either.”
Linda unlatches her bracelet and tosses it at Carl.
“Useless fool,” she yells, and then snagging Jade by the wrist, she tugs her toward the exit. “Let’s go.”
Naturally, my cousin can’t let that be the end. “Just you wait. My wedding will definitely overshadow yours!”
Carl awkwardly hurries after them, almost tripping over his own feet as he hollers, “Wait for me!”
At long last, peace and quiet have been restored, returning the genial mood of the restaurant to what it’d been before they tried to ruin our day with their insults and negativity.
I do a quick vibe check. While everyone appears to have recovered from the ugliness, my mother’s glancing between me and Simon, her gratitude merging with suspicion.
Uh-oh, she’s putting pieces together, and I’m not sure I’m ready to reveal the entire picture. Can’t we just take the win?
I glance at Simon, but he’s already looking at me, and on second thought, there are some truths I need to discover for myself as well.
“Simon,” she says carefully. “Care to explain what’s really going on?”
My mom took the words right out of my mouth, because that’s something I’d also like to know.
Simon
Well shit, I walked into that one, didn’t I?
A lightbulb blinks over Victoria’s head, and the oxygen leaves my lungs in a whoosh.
I’m sure she’s figured me out, which is why dread fills me when she says, “Oh, I get it.”
This wasn’t the time or the place I’d choose, but I guess there’d never be a perfect hour or setting. It’s strange that I haven’t been Simon Jones in six months, and I’m still not ready to go back to him.
“You asked your friend to help us out. Right, Simon?” The arch of her eyebrows as she snags hold of my sleeve insists I play along, so I nod.
Then she tips onto her toes, inclining her body over mine and sending my mind into the gutter at the soft press of her curves, to whisper in my ear, “Later, you and I are havin’ ourselves a talk, but we’ve got to stop with the lies, or my mom will kill both of us.”
I suppose now would be the wrong moment to tell her I find the Texan accent she keeps falling into completely charming.
Instead, I force a chuckle and a nonchalant shrug of one shoulder. Part of me gets a little jolt over how easily she dismisses the idea of me having money, the affection and chemistry growing between us based on nothing more than us.
It doesn’t mean I won’t come clean, I just want to wait for the proper moment to explain everything.
So, I do what I’ve gotten even better at these past few months. I improvise.
“Yes, Luis is-” I pull him close, giving him a quick hug with a hard pat on the back, “-one of my closest friends.”
While he gave me a deer-in-headlights look before the brief embrace, he quickly recovers.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.