Page 94 of Perfectly Faked

“It wasn’t an ultimatum,” I say defensively.

“Right,” Brendan says, leaning his tattooed arms on the table. “You didn’t tell her to go, then walk away from any discussion, essentially slamming the door on the possibility of figuring it out together?”

I glare at him. “We tried. She didn’t know what she wanted, so I took myself out of the equation. I just made the decision easier for her.”

Vale shakes his head. “You didn’t make it easier, Leo. You made it complicated. Women don’t want someone to decide for them. They want someone who’s willing to stand there in the mess and figure it out with them.”

I stare at them. “What am I supposed to do? Stop her before she leaves and tell her I was wrong?”

“Not a bad plan,” Vale says, smirking.

“She’s worth it, isn’t she?” Brendan asks. “You’ve got nothing to lose, Leo. If you love her, you’ve got to fight for her. That’s one lesson I learned in the Marines. Some things are worth the risk.”

“Fine,” I say, standing and pushing my chair back. “I’ll talk to her. But if this goes sideways, I’m blaming all of you.” I point at them.

As I grab my keys and head for the door, I hear Brendan shout, “And for the love of hockey, try not to screw this up!”

As hard as it is to admit, I’m an idiot. Not just because I forced Victoria to leave, but because I wanted to prove something to myself too. Mainly that I’m an unlovable jerk who isn’t worth the sacrifice. Vulnerability?Yeah, that’s not exactly my strong suit.

Leo

We need to talk. You around today?

I wait for what feels like an eternity for Victoria’s response—but is actually more like five minutes because I’m horribly impatient, and now I’m worried I screwed up big-time. It’s only been two days, but I haven’t seen her at the rink. She hasn’t even sent me any of her cute little text messages with emojis that should make me cringe but actually make me grin like a fool.

After staring at my screen, willing the text bubble to pop up, I head to her apartment. If she won’t respond, I’ll track her down until she has to talk to me. When I arrive at Bellgate, I knock on her door and notice her apartment is strangely silent.

A soft click sounds behind me, and I turn to see Delilah stepping out of her apartment. “Leo, are you looking for Victoria? She’s not there.”

“Oh, hi, Delilah. Do you know when she’ll be back?”

“She left for Seattle.” Then she frowns slightly. “You didn’t know?”

“She...left?” The words slam into me, stealing my breath. I know it’s what I told her to do, but I didn’t expect she’d leave without telling me.

Delilah’s eyes widen. “I almost forgot!” Then she smacks her forehead lightly. “She made you brownies. Want one?”

Normally, I’d politely decline since I just ate breakfast, but the fact that Victoria made them for me—when she hardly could make a box of mac and cheese a few months ago—means I can’t say no.

Delilah invites me inside her apartment, and I notice a bag of cheese puffs next to Big Bertha’s cage. “Victoria left those cheese puffs for Big Bertha as a little departing gift. He’s a bit upset about her being gone, you know.”

Well, that makes two of us.

Bertha looks me over with his beady eyes like he’s blaming me and then squawks, “Meathead!”

“Yeah, I already know,” I mutter under my breath as I feed him a cheese puff.

Delilah fills two plates with brownies and carries them over to the living room. She motions for me to sit. “Victoria made these the night she told me she was leaving. Said she had to do this for her career. And I told her I hoped she knew what she was doing.”

I look up, holding my fork mid-bite. “Why wouldn’t she?”

She settles in her recliner. “Because she’s giving up so much for this dream she doesn’t really want anymore. Don’t get me wrong, shethinksshe still does, but she’s changed since she started dating you. She’s finally happy now... and I think that has something to do with your relationship.”

She takes a bite of the brownie on her plate and chews it thoughtfully. “Plus, it’s not like that Peter guy is anything to look at. Not that she would—she’s too loyal for that. And he certainly wouldn’t be a good kisser. His big nose would probably get in the way.”

I snort-laugh. “He’d better not even think about it.”

“Oh, honey, she’d kick him where the sun don’t shine if he tried.”

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