Page 54 of Good Girl Gone Bad

Crap. Her mother knew her too well, so saying nothing was out of question.

“A couple of different things. I did meet a handsome Italian man, who ended up not returning my feelings.” Or he was too afraid to admit them. Sadness welled in her throat, but she swallowed the dry lump, determined to continue the clean version of what had happened, even if her voice trembled, a thread away from breaking completely. “He lives in New York, but…it’s complicated.”

His mother withdrew. “Is he married?”

“No. No.”

“Then the war isn’t lost, my dear. Either he needs time to get to know you better, or he’s a fool.”

For the past couple of days, Lily had called him every name in the book—fool hadn’t been one of them. He’d been a fucking coward. Maybe he didn’t love her the same way as she did him, but crap, she knew he had strong feelings for her. She’d felt it in his possession, had seen it in his eyes. “He’s a big fool who doesn’t want complications.”

“Those are the biggest fools. You said two things—that you had something else to tell me. What is it?”

“Well, I was able to save the salon. I didn’t want to tell you before, but it wasn’t doing well. Financially.”

Her mother took her hand in hers and gave it a gentle tug. “Honey, I’m so sorry,” she said. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Because you were so excited every time you mentioned it. That salon is the last thing left of the family I once had, of my childhood. I didn’t want it to slip away.”

“Honey, that’s not true. I love the salon with every fiber of my being, but I hope your father and I left you with more than that,” she said, lifting her hand and briefly touching Lily’s heart. “Remember our first family trip to Coney Island? How every winter we drove up north to pick up a Christmas tree? How sad we became when you decided you no longer needed good-night stories? You must have been ten or eleven.”

“Eleven.”

“There you go. All these memories you can take with you anywhere you go.”

“You’re making me cry.” Just when she’d vowed not to lose it in front of her mother.

“It’s okay. Come here.” Her mother wrapped her in a hug. “Now, tell me, are those two things related—the man who broke your heart and the business? Did he try to take your business from you, or save it?”

Crap. Mom had read enough Agatha Christie mystery novels back in the day to see right through bullshit. She cleared her throat. She should have felt triumphant at saving the business, keeping everything afloat. But having Marco leave her had the opposite effect. Her mother propped her to sit straight, and looked into her eyes.

“You’re going to tell me everything.”

…

“I’m here to see Mr. Giordano,” Lily said to the receptionist. “Mr. Nicola Giordano,” she said, this time to herself.

“Of course. Just a moment,” the woman said as she pressed a finger on the tiny earpiece.

Lily had called Nicola’s assistant about an hour before, requesting a meeting with him. She’d expected to wait a lot longer, but Marco’s brother had agreed on seeing her immediately.

Telling her mother the truth a day earlier hadn’t been easy. But now she knew why saving the salon weighed so heavily on her shoulders. She’d used her body to save her business. She’d ended up compromising her heart, as well, but it didn’t feel right. Marco no longer contacted her, and despite how he’d acted, she knew their time together had been more than a business transaction for him. He just wasn’t willing to accept it.

As the receptionist gave her a badge and gave her instructions, Lily simply nodded. She hadn’t eaten much lately, and unlike the first time she went to his office, today she had no intention of seducing Marco. Fresh faced and with her hair in a ponytail, she exited the elevator on the top floor and nodded when Nico’s assistant instructed her to enter his office.

Apprehension settled in her stomach. What if she ran into Marco? God, that’d be beyond awkward.

“Nico. Hi,” she said as she strode into his office.

He stood from his chair. “Nice to see you, Lily. Please have a seat,” he said, gesturing at the leather chair in front of him.

She walked through his enormous space until she found the chair and then sat. Only then did he sit. He grabbed a pen from a holder and clicked it. “I have to say, I’m curious about your visit. What brings you here?”

She crossed her legs then uncrossed them. In her head, she had played how this would roll a few times on her drive over there. Now her stomach churned with nervousness. “You know the beauty shop I own? The one you and your brother needed so badly to build a garage?”

Nico’s green eyes studied her. “Yes, of course.”

She stared at him in silence. Those Giordano guys certainly didn’t make it easy for the New York women. Nico was just as dashingly handsome as Marco, though he didn’t provoke in her the same reactions his brother did. She took a deep, long breath and said, “When your brother first talked to me, he really needed my space. I didn’t want to sell, but I’ve changed my mind.”

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