Page 60 of Faking It with my Billionaire Grump

Neither of us says anything for ages. I don’t have it in me to speak, and surprisingly, Mom seems to know that I don’t need to hear her advice right now. Maybe I haven’t given her enough credit in the past. Maybe she’s not as ditzy as I’ve always thought.

“When I married your father,” she says, quite some time later, “I always knew he was too good for me.”

“Mom,” I cry.

“Hear me out, Tilly,” she says calmly. “Like you and Jake, we were high school sweethearts, but I knew he was smarter than me. He’s always been a clever man—intelligent, you know?”

I nod against her leg.

“But your father saw something in me that I didn’t see back then. I still struggle to see it, but he reminds me all the time. He tells me I’m special, and beautiful, and the best thing that ever happened to him.”

“And you are, Mom. All of those things.”

“The thing is, Tilly,” she continues, “so are you. You have your father’s brains, no one can deny that, but you have my heart and capacity for love. But you’re not like me. You’ve always known your own mind. You’ve always known what you wanted.”

“Not always, Mom,” I reply.

“Well, alright, maybe not always, but most of the time. You go out and get what you want, Tilly. You always have.”

“It’s not as simple as that. It’s not just about me.” I push myself up and look at her sadly. “I broke his heart and hurt him, Mom. Maybe he just can’t put himself in the position for me to do that again.”

“Oh, sweetie,” she sighs, pulling me in close to her.

We sit like that for a while, and then she announces that she’s going to get dinner ready.

“I’m not hungry.”

Mom turns as she stands at the top of the stairs. “But it’ll be our last meal together before you leave.”

How can I turn her down with that weighing on my shoulders?

“Alright.” I nod. “I’ll come in soon.”

The next morning, I hug them both goodbye. Dad wanted to drive me to the airport, but I wouldn’t hear of it. Instead, my taxi is outside, waiting on me.

“I love you guys. I’ll be back again soon.”

Mom nods, a tear in her eye, and Dad clenches his jaw, trying not to show any emotion. They’re not sad because I’m leaving. They’re sad because I’m sad. Well, sad is a bit of an understatement, really. I’m devastated.

I haul my suitcase out of the front door and head to the cab. My driver jumps out and takes it to put into the trunk. I’m about to climb in the back when I take a last long look up the street, a sliver of hope in my heart that Jake’s truck might come flying around the corner at any second.

But it doesn’t. So, with a final sad wave at my parents, I slip into the back seat and the driver pulls away.

24

Jake

After Tilly left yesterdayevening, I sat on the porch for a long time. Her farewell had been brief, though she hugged me goodbye and thanked me for everything. It was hard not to pull her in closer, but after our conversation, I figured it was best to let her go. Once she jumped into her dad’s truck, she gave me a final glance, a sad smile on her lips, and then I watched the dust plume form as she headed up the track to the main road.

Had I done the right thing? She had been so hard to read. Not like years ago, when I knew exactly what she was thinking. But if she wanted to stay, or more to the point, if she wanted to stay with me, surely she would have made that clear.

Joey called about an hour after that. He and the guys were at the bar playing pool. He wanted to know if my fake wife would let me come and join them.

“I’m not really in the mood, Joey. I think I’ll skip it tonight.” Even my tone was somber, which was likely the reason why Joey went silent on the other end of the line.

“What’s going on?” he said after a few seconds had passed.

I didn’t really want to get into it with him, but he was going to hear the news sooner or later. Nothing is secret in this town for more than a day.

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