Page 57 of His Fantasy Bride (Things To Do Before You Die)

“I don’t know.” But she did, and she wasn’t about to bare her soul to this cold, hard man.

“So was everything you told me about yourself a lie?”

“I didn’t lie about anything. I didn’t have to. The only lie was one of omission. I had really hurt my arm and lost my job. I was taking a break. All that was true.”

“Not everything was true. Your whole character was a lie. When I met you again, I couldn’t understand it. How could you have been so different? All the time in Sicily, you were playing a part. Acting like your interpretation of my ideal woman. Isn’t that the case?”

She nodded.

“I bet that was hard wasn’t it, Gabby. Pretending to be nice.”

“I’m an actress. It was an easy role.”

“And then I asked you to marry me. Why the hell didn’t you just say no? Why carry on with the farce?”

“I told you, I don’t know. I was playing a part, and I just got sucked in, and sometimes I forgot, and as time went on it seemed real.”

“Then you got cold feet.”

Freezing. She remembered the total panic that had engulfed her that night after he’d left her. “The whole thing was crazy. I couldn’t believe I’d let it go so far, and I couldn’t face you.”

“So a coward as well as a liar.”

“Maybe. But I couldn’t tell you the truth. I might have decided that I wasn’t going to tell Luca anything, but he is family, and I thought it might get him into trouble. The easiest thing was to just go. So I did.”

“Leaving me that very eloquent note.”

“Yes.”

“Well, at least you were right about one thing. I didn’t loveyou.The woman I loved doesn’t even exist.” He stood up. “You’ve apologized. Now, I think it’s time for us to end this. Just go.”

She pushed herself to her feet. “I knew deep down, all the time I was with you, that you could never love therealme. I wasn’t good enough. But for a while, it felt nice to be loved. Even if it wasn’t real.”

He watched her steadily but didn’t speak. It was over. She had to accept that. Shoving her shaking hands in her pockets she headed for the door. He hated her. With good reason.

She opened the door but then slammed it shut again and whirled around to face him. He hadn’t moved.

“Have you never made a mistake?” she asked. “Done something you regret?” He didn’t answer, so she answered for him. “Of course you haven’t. Because you’re so goddamn fucking perfect.” She took a deep breath. “No you didn’t loveme.And I doubt you’ll ever fall in love because you don’t want a real woman. You want some flawless image to match up to your own perfection. But guess what, Vito. You’re not without flaws. No one is.”

Without giving him a chance to answer—because really what more was there to say—she turned and left, making sure the door closed behind her before the first tear slid down her cheek.

Chapter Fourteen

He hadn’t been back to the theater.

It had been a gargantuan feat of will power.

Tomorrow he was heading home to Cambridge, but he didn’t think he could just walk back into his old life. Not now. He’d put out feelers for an alternative, somewhere far away. But he couldn’t get his head around it, really. Couldn’t focus on anything but Gabby.

The fact was she’d taken money to betray him.

But she hadn’t.

That was beside the point. She’d intended to.

And he couldn’t forgive her.

She’d said she hadn’t lied, but she had actually lied with just about every word that had come out of her beautiful mouth, every gesture she’d made. She’d pretended to be his ideal woman, wrapped him around her little finger like some sort of mindless imbecile. He was a complete moron incapable of telling reality from fantasy.

---