Page 26 of Faking It with my Billionaire Grump

I smirk at her. “I wasn’t humiliated. I thought it was fun.”

She scowls at me then, and I realize that’s clearly not what she needs to hear right now. I’m still wondering why she’s here when she says, “So I need to come up with another plan.”

“What kind of plan?” I ask suspiciously.

Her scowl drops as quickly as her gaze. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that I’m going to be dragged into this somehow.

“You want me to go on another date,” I say confidently. “Is that it? You want him to see us again and hope it will work this time.”

“No,” she says quietly. “I know it won’t work. It needs to be more than that.”

“More?” I shrug. For a whole minute, she doesn’t speak, and while I’m a patient guy, I’m starting to get a little frustrated. “Are you going to tell me, or what?”

“We need to get engaged,” she blurts.

My jaw drops like it weighs as much as my horse. “Are you out of your mind?” I bark. “Engaged? No way.” I turn away from her. “Absolutely no way. Listen, Tilly, I did as you asked the first time—against my better judgment, I might add. But that’s it. I’ve helped, and now, I’m out.”

“It wouldn’t be real,” she counters. “It’s not like we’d really be engaged.”

“You’re darned straight it wouldn’t. There was only ever…” But then I trail off. She doesn’t need to hear that, and to be honest, it’s none of her business. “I can’t do it. I just can’t.”

“Why not? It’s just pretend. Just like our fake date.”

I can’t believe she’s comparing the two, and spinning around to gawk at her, I blurt, “It’s nothing like our fake date. Good Lord, Tilly. Listen to yourself. I can’t do this. I can’t get involved with you again.”

That seems to hit a nerve because her mouth falls open, and I watch pain flash across her face. I don’t want to hurt her, particularly, but we’re both adults here. She has to know the damage she caused when she left. She’s not a stupid woman.

“You wouldn’t be getting involved, as you call it,” she bites back. “Do you really think I want to be here? Do you think this isn’t hard for me, too, having to come to you for help?”

“I wasn’t the one who up and left,” I spit.

“Something I’m never going to be able to live down, right, Jake? I was eighteen, for heaven’s sake. I made a decision. Whether it was a good or bad one is irrelevant.”

“It might be irrelevant to you, but it wasn’t to me,” I yell.

“I understand that,” she argues. “I’m not stupid. But it’s been ten years.”

“Right,” I drawl. “So I’m just supposed to forget all about it. Pretend like it never happened. Move on with my life.”

She flings a wide arm in the direction of the land behind her. “It’s clear you’ve had no problem doing that.”

If only she knew.

“Do you know what? It doesn’t matter,” she growls. But I can hear the pain in her voice, and I wonder if I’ve gone too far. “You were the only one who could help me, but you’re right. I shouldn’t have asked. It’s too much.”

She then spins on her heels and rounds the front of the truck. Yanking the door open, she hurriedly clambers inside, starts the engine, and with the tires spinning, she pulls a U-turn and heads back up the track.

I watch the plume of dust follow her as she heads to the main road, and with my hands on my hips, her words play over in my head.

You were the only one who could help me.

Do you think this isn’t hard for me, too, having to come to you for help?

I know it took guts for her to come and ask me to help her the first time. That wasn’t wasted on me. It would have taken even more courage for her to come and ask me again. Instead of recognizing that, my words were hurtful and probably made her feel even worse.

Under the circumstances, I am the only one who can help her.

But you didn’t. You just let her drive off in a bad state.

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