Page 60 of Faking It with my Small Town Billionaire

“I’m worried about Lily. I’m not saying I don’t care about the inheritance—of course I do—but right now, Lily’s more important. This all started as a business deal. We made a contract, and both of us knew what was expected of us. Now, I feel lost. I’m in a game where I don’t know the rules, and I’m not used to that.”

“Of course you’re not.” Jake smirks. “You’re always the man in control of everything.”

“Yes, well. Not anymore.”

For a long moment, Jake doesn’t speak. He looks contemplative, as though he’s thinking about my dilemma. Or maybe he’s thinking about how much I didn’t trust him.

After a while, he shakes his head. “I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

His words confirm the latter part of my assumption. I’ve hurt my best friend, and the guilt I felt earlier when I was confessing it all to him hasn’t gone anywhere.

“I’m sorry, Jake. Truly, I am. It was a stupid decision on my part. Pops was just putting me under so much pressure, and then I had to face my past when he sent me back to Willow Creek. Clearly, I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“And are you thinking straight now?”

“Yes. I know what I want. I want Lily in my life.”

“How do you know for sure?”

As an overwhelming feeling of clarity washes over me, I look him straight in the eye. “Because I love her.”

Jake smiles at me. “Words I never imagined I would hear come out of your mouth.”

“Yes,” I say, feeling a little bewildered. “I think I surprised myself.”

“You need to find her, Orson, and you need to tell her how you feel. From what you’ve said so far, the two of you have been dancing around the subject. I’m not surprised you’re confused. But maybe if you’d told her properly how you felt, she wouldn’t have run away.”

“But the email…”

Jake shook his head. “I don’t think so. I know this relationship thing is new to you, but women like to know where they stand.”

We talk some more, but soon, Jake has to get back to his office to meet with clients in the afternoon. When it’s time to leave, I stand and hug my best friend.

“Thank you, man, and I’m really sorry,” I say with feeling.

“It’s a good thing I know you, right?” He smirks.

“Thanks for listening, and thanks for the advice. I know you won’t, but I have to ask you to please keep this to yourself.”

“Client confidentiality,” he says with a shrug. “I can’t repeat anything I hear.”

“I’m not your client.”

“Pay me fifty bucks and we’ll call it even.” He grins.

I return to the office with Jake’s words bouncing around my head. Maybe he was right. He usually is. If I had just told her how I felt from the beginning, this might never have happened. I know we talked a bit in the hospital, but it was too late by then. I should have told her after that first kiss in Jake’s garden. I knew how I felt back then, even if I denied it to myself.

I’m working at a snail’s pace because I can’t concentrate on my work. Every time I try to formulate an email or look through a spreadsheet, my mind wanders back to where Lily is, whether she hates me, and if she’ll ever give me a chance to explain this mess.

A couple of hours later, I give up. Maybe I’ll get more work done at home.

Who are you kidding?

No one, apparently.

I’m driving home when my phone rings, and looking at the screen on the dashboard, I don’t recognize the number. I answer anyway.

“Hello?”

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