Page 92 of Lie With Me

Tripp

Pops is quiet as he leads me to his and mom’s room on the fourth floor. A few employees spare us curious glances as we walk by them, my answering glare sending them scurrying off. By now, news about me hitting Neil has reached everyone, and I’m sure it won’t take long for the staff to spread the revelation of Valentina’s job through the inn.

I should have fucking shut the door to the sitting room.

I should have done a lot of things differently over the last hour.

Remorse courses through me from how I treated her earlier. She’s the woman I’m in fucking love with, and I yelled at her like she’d done something wrong. I hadn’t even been that harsh when Emily broke up with me. The thought of Neil and Valentina together spiked my rage way higher than iteverhad in the situation with Emily.

The door is barely shut for a second before Pops spins around, dramatically throwing his arms in the air. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“Look, I know I shouldn’t have hit him–”

“You thinkthat’swhat I’m worried about? Tripp, is what Neil said true? Is Valentina a…aprostitute?” His bushy brows furrow as he struggles to say the word.

“Can we not use that word, please?”

“Tripp!”

“Yes! Okay? Yes. But it’s a little more intricate than that. It’s not like she hangs out on the streets looking for clients. She works at a highly reputable club.” I run a hand through my hair, blowing out a breath at his exasperation.

“A reputable club, huh? Do I even want to ask what you’re doing at a place like that?” Pops questions.

“I’m an adult, okay? And?—”

“You may be an adult, Tripp, but everything you do reflects on this family! I’ll bet half the guests have already placed calls to the papers! What were you thinking?”

I don’t have a chance to reply because the door opens again, and my mother’s voice rings out shrilly, “A prostitute? Tripp, I have never been so embarrassed of you. I can’t believe you brought that filthy woman into my home!”

“Watch it!” I snap in a tone I’ve never used with her. Her brows shoot up into her hairline, her eyes growing wide. “You willnotspeak about her thatway. Valentina hasn’t been with anyone else since we met?—”

“Where? The corner?” Mother huffs, coming further into the room to pace behind Pops.

I don’t say anything because it’s ironic that’s exactly where we met.

“Why would you do this? There are so many nice women out there, Tripp. Why get entangled with a woman who sells herself for money?” Mom asks, her voice laced with despair.

Falling onto the floral-patterned sofa, I brace my elbows on my knees. “We met one night by accident. I spilled my coffee on her and offered to buy her a new dress to replace the one I ruined. It just so happened that Emily was at the store, too. Valentina could sense that I was uncomfortable and that the news of Neil and Emily’s engagement bothered me, so she lied and said we were engaged as well. It spiraled from there when Emily told her parents, and they told you.”

“Why didn’t you just tell us the truth?”

“So you aren’t actually engaged, then?”

My parents speak simultaneously and then look at each other with relief.

I don’t immediately respond, my thoughts straying back to the first night Valentina and I met. It seems like it happened such a long time ago, even though it’s only been a little over two months. I feel like I’ve known her forever, and I know that regardless of everything that just blew up, sheismy forever.

Steepling my fingers in front of my face, I sit back before throwing my arms wide and exclaiming. “Yeah, I lied. I asked her to pretend to be engaged to me for a little while so that you’d get off my back about Emily.” I motion to Mother. “So, no, technically, the engagement isn’t real, but I don’t regret a single lie. Because everything else is true. We fell in love. And the ring on her finger will be there permanently someday, so you can either get used to it or get used to not seeing me around anymore.”

Both my parents look stunned at my exclamation. Mother stutters, “Ab…absolutely not! You cannot marry a prostitute!”

“Stop calling her that! I told you she hasn’t been with anyone else since we met!” I meet my mother’s glare with my own. “As a matter of fact, she quit her job. I don’t care what the people here heard, and I’ll pay whatever to ensure the papers don’t run any stories. But that’s for her sake, not mine. Like it or not, shewillbe a part of this family.”

“I forbid it!” Mother shouts. Pops reaches over and wraps an arm around her shoulders, guiding her to sit in a chair. “Do you think she really loves you, Tripp? A woman like that is most likely only after one thing. Yourmoney!”

“She hasn’t asked for a single dime of what I agreed to pay her to lie for me.” It’s true. She’s gotten better at letting me spend money on her, but she’s never said a word about our deal. I even offered to give her money to cover her mother’s rehab, but she turned it down.

If I were a different man, I’d have found a way to pay for it anyway, to surprise her. But Lenni has been adamant about not wanting to be with me for my money. And I think taking care of her mother on her own is something sheneeds.It’s a part of her life that she doesn’t want anyone else to touch—a chance to save the person who wronged her in so many ways.

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