Page 62 of Faking It with my Small Town Billionaire

“Don’t you think he might have used the fact that you were out of town to see his mistress more often if it really was his lover?”

And therein lay the rub. When you talk to someone with a different perspective, you begin to see things from a different angle. Still, I wasn’t ready to let go of my deductions straight away.

“Her words were right there!” I exclaimed. “She said the next time she sees him, she wants to give him a big, sloppy kiss.”

“Okay,” Martha said assertively. “Tell me this. Is that something you would say to Orson? I mean, would you use those kinds of words?”

My sister put me on the spot with that question because, for the last three months, Orson and I haven’t actually been together. The decision to date and get to know each other has literally only happened in the last three days. Even then, we’ve hardly seen each other.

Ellie obviously saw me struggling. “I think what Martha is trying to say is that those aren’t usually words a lover might use.”

“Right,” Martha agreed. “That’s something your grandma might say, or an aunt.”

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that my sisters were right. Of course, they both have far more experience with relationships than me, but still, shouldn’t I have known better?

“Are you guys…?” I trailed off because I was so scared to hear their replies, but if I had to hear the obvious truth from anyone, I would want it to be them. “Are you guys telling me that I’ve completely messed up?”

Both Ellie and Martha gave me sympathetic faces.

“Listen, sweetie,” Ellie said. “You’ve had a lot going on. You’ve got the bakery, and you just got married. You’re dealing with all the planning for the town, and then Mom was sick. I always told you that you burned the candle at both ends. I think you’re just exhausted.”

I nodded because I totally am. I was exhausted before Donovan Enterprises set foot in Willow Creek. Trying to keep a business afloat in an economic downturn is like trying to fetch water from a well with a load of holes in your bucket.

And then there’s been the deceit. I know I agreed to the fake marriage to save my business, but I’ll be honest; I didn’t think it would be as stressful as it has been. Especially the gala at Orson’s family estate. And then, just because I like to keep things interesting, there have been all these feelings I’m not used to feeling that have my head turned upside down.

So, yes. Maybe I just hadn’t been thinking straight. But now, I felt like a complete idiot, swiftly followed by the feeling of guilt because of the note I had left for Orson and the fact I was completely ignoring him for two whole days.

I dropped my head in my hands and whimpered. “What have I done?”

“Nothing that can’t be undone. Believe me, sweetie, I know,” Martha said firmly.

“He loves you, Lily. Anyone with a heartbeat can see that,” Ellie added.

It took a moment for those words to sink in, and then I said, “He loves me?”

My sisters looked at me like I was nuts, and then I remembered that they weren’t privy to the fact that Orson and I are not actually married. “Well, yes,” I scrambled, “of course he loves me. What I mean is, you know, will he love me now?”

My sisters were still looking at me like I’d grown an extra head, but Martha at least nodded. “Love doesn’t work like that, Lily. You don’t just stop loving someone because they made a mistake. Although there are times I could strangle Gerry just for breathing too loud.”

This set us all into a fit of giggles.

“You should hear him,” Martha continued through her laughter. “There are some nights when we’re watching TV, and I think I’m sitting next to Darth Vader. He’s just missing the big black cloak.” She then went on to do an impression of what Gerry sounded like, which only made us cackle more.

When the call finally came to an end, I thanked them both and told them how much they’d helped me.

“Are you going to call him?” Ellie said.

“I don’t know if I should now. I feel like such a fool. Maybe I’ll give him a call tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Ellie nodded. “We love you, you know.”

Martha nodded, too. “We do.”

“And I love you both, too. So much. Thank you.”

Eventually, after far too many goodbyes, we ended the call, and I was left alone to contemplate what a complete idiot I had been. I needed more wine. At least then, I could drown my stupidity in a state of drunken stupor and not have to be reminded of it too much.

The more I think about Martha and Ellie’s words, the more ridiculous I feel, and the more that email looks like it was sent by anyone but Orson’s lover. Does he have an aunt named Charlotte? Who knows? I sure don’t. Something I could have asked him, had I stayed long enough for him to defend himself.

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