Page 114 of Fraud
Her eyes widened. “Oh. Well then, yes, send him home.”
“I’ll be back,” I promised.
“And you’ll stay?”
“And I’ll stay.”
I wanted to say I’d stay forever.
But I couldn’t.
Not yet.
Not until she knew the truth.
And, when she did, I could lose her in an instant.
Everything we had could be gone, like a puff of smoke. And I’d be just like my father.
A lonely man crying out to the wind, begging it to bring back his only love.
“Sending the little brother home, so you can bang the girlfriend, huh?” Liam said as I hopped into the front seat of Kate’s car.
“Shut up. And don’t use the wordbangwhen you’re talking about my girl.”
“Damn.” He laughed. “Okay.”
I started the engine and adjusted the seat, pushing it back to adjust for our significant height difference.
“I’ll leave you the rental in case you need it,” I told him, backing out of the parking lot.
“You’re staying here?”
I didn’t answer right away.
“Permanently?”
Focused on the road, I stared straight ahead as we headed toward the other side of town.
“You haven’t even told her why you were here, Killian. Shit, she doesn’t even know your real last name. Have you thought this through?”
“Yes,” I answered before correcting myself, “No. But I don’t know what else to do. I know I have to tell her, and when I do…hell, I don’t know. But I can’t give up. I’m not going to live in limbo, waiting for her to decide if all my lies and deceit are too much to handle. I’ve decided. She’s it. She’s all I want in this life.”
“And if she doesn’t want you?” he asked. “If the deceit is, in fact too much?”
“I can’t think like that.”
“So, you’re ready to put it all on the line for a girl you’ve barely known a month? Your apartment, your career, your—”
“Yes. Everything.”
We both looked out ahead, letting my declaration settle.
“Why did you come here?” he asked. “In the first place?”
I adamantly shook my head. “No. Not going there with you, Liam.”
“Does it have something to do with her money? She’s got a lot of it.”
