Page 40 of Sweet Deception

All I wanted to do was tease Luca, making sure he knew what he was missing out on. Caught up in the moment, I forgot I'm not built for this role.

Sex kitten, I am not.

Wanting to forget my embarrassment, I rub my hands over my face and make the decision to put my new clothes away before going to my parents' house. Maybe I can treat them to dinner now that I have some extra money.

As I head to my bedroom, I think about how I'll tell my parents about Luca. It would be best to downplay his role in my life at first, otherwise they'll ask to meet him and neither of us is ready for that. The problem is, I suck at lying.

Distracted with worry, I didn't register the mess until I'm halfway into my room. My eyes widen in horror. I completely forgot the disaster I left this place in this morning and Joseph saw it all when he delivered my bags. The man is gonna think I live like a pig.

Placing my hands on my hips, I blow out a breath and survey everything. It's worse than I remember. If only I could reverse time. I would take back my confession to Luca and tell Joseph to leave the bags in the living room.

"Get over it, Kylie. You can't do anything about it now," I mutter.

When everything is picked up and put away, the closet is practically bursting at the seams. It may be time to go through some of my older items and donate them. I'm not sure when Luca will want me for the night, so I put that off for another day. Grabbing my keys and purse, I head outside and halt in my tracks.

After a quick survey of the block, I can't find my Grand Am anywhere. Worrying my lip, I contemplate what to do. I can't drive my new Range Rover to my parents' house. How could I possibly explain such an expensive gift when I'm supposed to be in a new relationship? Besides, my old car should still be here.

Did Luca take it? Or did someone steal it? I would have to call the police if that were the case.

Screw it. I pull my phone out of my purse and call him.

"Angel?"

"Hi, uh, so did you happen to take my car? My Grand Am?" I'm still surveying the street, expecting to find it, when a chuckle comes through the phone. That's answer enough. "Luca," I growl into the phone.

"Something told me you'd have a hard time accepting the new car, so I had yours towed."

I gasp, but before I give into my outrage, he quickly explains, "Angel, I had the guys clean it out and put your stuff in a box. I'll have Joseph deliver it later."

"You should have asked, Luca. What if the car was special to me?" I glare at the gleaming white of the Range Rover parked across the street.

Another chuckle comes through the phone. "I had you looked into, remember? You bought it off a classmate three years ago and paid too much for the piece of junk."

Sighing, I look down to scrape my shoe back and forth on the sidewalk. "I overpaid?" I ask, though I already know it to be true.

"Yeah, Angel, you did," he says softly.

Resigned, my shoulders drop. "My dad said I paid too much as well. He was so mad he wanted me to return it and almost did it himself. I just …"

"I know why you did it. Your dad received his diagnosis a month before."

"Yeah." I sigh.

"I'm sorry, Angel. I don't want to bring up bad memories."

My eyes water at the softness in his voice. "It's ok." Needing to swallow down my emotions, I force a smile on my face. "I'm heading to my parents now. I'll, uh, talk to you later." Then I roll my eyes at my lame response.

"Okay, Angel. See you in a few hours."

Sighing, I bring up the Uber app as I try to think of something to tell my dad why I don't have my car.

Turns out, something rolled right off my tongue easier than I thought it would. My parents' now think I'm having issues with my car, so I'm taking an Uber while afriendfrom school is looking at it. Next time I visit them, I'll tell them my new boyfriend generously loaned the Range Rover to me until I decide what to do next.

As for Luca, I made it seem like we've been dating longer than three days so it won't seem strange when I borrow his car. My dad's usually skeptical expression was nowhere to be found, so I must have been convincing enough.

The unfamiliar sting of remorse hits me, but it's something I'll need to get used to because I'll take this secret to the grave no matter how guilty I feel. I don't regret becoming a sugar baby since it's going to help my parents. But I know they'll feel like it's their fault I made this choice if they ever find out. I refuse to put that burden on them.

Mom was way too eager to hear about my boyfriend—Dad, not so much—but I emphasized that it was too new and she can interrogate me later if things were still going well. I could tell it was hard for her to let it go, so I promised we'd have lunch soon—an event I plan to hold off as long as possible.

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