Page 15 of Say Yes To The Fake Date

No matter if she tries to deny it, I’ll know the truth. A man never accidentally hits a woman. Right now, I’m just hoping and praying that Luciana knows the truth.

She blurts out a laugh. “No, it definitely wasn’t an accident.”

I hold my hand out to her, wishing she would take it. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She looks at my hand and then crosses her arms over her chest. “Not really.”

I know I should keep my mouth shut, but I don’t care. “You’re not going back to him.”

Her mouth drops open, and she shakes her head. “Dom, you don’t have the right to tell me what to do.”

Because I can’t resist, I walk over to her, and she tenses but doesn’t back down. I’m so close to her that I could wrap my arms around her and hold herto me, but instead I reach up and put my palm on her cheek. She may not realize she’s doing it, but she leans into my touch, which sends a thrill through me. “I know, Lucky. I lost that right a long time ago. But I won’t stand by and let a man put his hands on you. It killed me knowing you were with someone else, but the only thing that stopped me from following you was thinking you were happy.”

She lets out a little gasp and cries out, “But you didn’t want me!”

I clench my eyes closed because it kills me to see the pain in her face. Fuck, I hurt her so badly. I would give anything to go back and do things differently. When I open my eyes to look at her, I know it’s time to come clean. “I wanted you, Lucky. I always fuckin’ wanted you. Even now, I want you.”

Something akin to hope flares in her eyes, but she shakes her head in disbelief. “Don’t lie to me, Dom. Not after everything you’ve done to me, don’t fuckin’ lie to me.”

I know she’s mad by the way she curses at me. She never cusses, at least she never did in the past. Hell, she thought stupid was a bad word. I reach for her and hold on to her shoulders. She tries to pullaway from me, but I refuse to let her go. “Stop and listen to me.”

She’s glaring at me, but I’m not going to give in. I know this is hard, but I can’t let her walk away from me now. “I have loved you since the first day I met you… and I never stopped. I never wanted to let you go, but I was going to prison, Lucky. What should I have done? Should I have asked you to wait for me? You were eighteen and about to start college. Should I have asked you to put your life on hold because I fucked up?”

“You slept with…”

I don’t let her finish. “I didn’t sleep with anyone after I met you. Hell, even to this day, the only action my cock gets is my hand.”

Her mouth drops open, and she shakes her head side to side. “I don’t believe you… why… you said—”

I know I’ve completely taken her by surprise, which makes me realize how much I messed up with her. I loved her so much, but it wasn’t enough. She easily believed me when I told her I cheated on her, and she should have known that there was never anyone I wanted but her.

“I told you I slept with Rita because I knew thatif I told you I wanted to end things, you wouldn’t move on. I knew you’d try and wait for me.”

She rolls her eyes and drops a bombshell on me. “I did wait on you, Dom. I thought you’d come for me when you got out of jail. I thought you’d realize what we had and you’d want me back. It took a lot of therapy and time to move on.”

“I’m sorry, Lucy. I really am. I fucked up, and I know I did. I’m going to make things right.”

There’s pure anguish in my voice, and I hope she can hear how much this means to me, but she shakes her head and steps back out of my reach. “It’s all in the past. I’m over it, and I don’t want you to make anything right. I’m going to work for you and pay off that stupid car, and then we’ll go our separate ways.”

“But—” I try to stop her, and she holds her hand up.

“I can’t do this, Dom. I promised myself that I would never let you hurt me again. I can’t…” She takes a deep breath and lets it out. “I can’t do this with you.”

I want to argue with her. I want to tell her all the reasons why we should be together, but I know she doesn’t want to hear it. She’s not going to listen to me anyway. I stuff my hands deep into the frontpockets of my jeans. “Fine. If that’s what you want…”

I let my voice trail off, hoping she’ll change her mind, but she gives me a nod. “That’s what I want.”

She turns on her heel and doesn’t give me another glance. The pain is real, and it hits me square in the chest. It feels like I’ve lost the love of my life… again. And it hurts just as much as it did the first time.

9

LUCIANA

The next morning, I walk into Dom’s Garage thinking that I have my emotions under control. It took everything in me not to fall into his arms yesterday, and after thinking about it most of the night, I know I made the right decision. Dominic Evans is not good for my heart. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. But no matter how many times I try to convince myself of it, I can’t stop thinking about him.

I walk into the garage and look around for Dom. He’s leaning against a car, arms crossed, and he watches me as I walk over to him. It would help if he wasn’t so damn sexy. I suck in a breath and practically stumble over my own feet when I smellhis sexy, masculine scent. I do my best to make my voice sound professional. “Good morning.”

His eyes travel down my body and back up again. I want to tug on the hem of my skirt, but I stop myself and jut my chin at him. “Where do you want to do this?”

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