Page 48 of The Ring Thief
That’s one reason I don’t tell Sasha the truth.
I’m not lying. I haven’t heard from him in terms of messages or calls. He hasn’t turned up on my doorstep. But he has sent flowers—pink roses and lilies. Another day, there were chocolates waiting for me, and another, a limited-edition hardback book I’d been desperately waiting for. It’s not every day that something arrives, but it’s often enough that he’s always lingering on the edges of my mind, clawing at me with a year’s worth of memories—even when every single one has been tainted with his lies.
“Lily?” There’s concern in her voice and we stop in the middle of the path, our eyes locked as she stares at me. “What?—”
“I need a date,” I blurt out, my voice overly loud. Too bright, too enthusiastic. Her head jerks back like I’ve just announced I want to join a nudist cult, her eyebrows twitching together.
She opens her mouth. Closes it. Squints at me, and then politely asks, “Can you repeat that? I must’ve misheard.”
“I need a date.”
“See, that’s what I thought you said, but I didn’t believe my own ears!” By the end, she’s practically shrieking at me and I surreptitiously glance around, flushing when I catch the eye of an elderly woman sitting on a nearby park bench. I grimace apologetically, grabbing Sasha’s elbow and dragging her away.
“You’re so embarrassing,” I hiss, while she laughs. Loudly. “I don’t want a date, so much as?—”
“Getting your boots knocked? Jamming your clam? Fornicating?” A pause for a breath, and then slyly, “A good ol’ dicking?”
“I don’t know why I’m friends with you.”
“Because your life would be dull and incomplete without me.” She sucks in a breath, asking, “Are you sure?” But she doesn’t wait for an answer before she’s rushing to add, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about the get under to get over philosophy, but that’s… it’s not really you. Lily, you feel…you feel everything so deep and hard.” A breathless pause and then she’s snorting, and I roll my eyes. When she’s regained her composure, she carries on like nothing happened. “What I mean to say is, I’m not sure if inching open that door to someone else is really what you need.”
Before I can argue the logistics of wanting an orgasm versus opening doors, my name is being called behind us. We turn and find Declan’s mother and sister approaching fast, a sour-faced Elena Huntington behind them.
“Lily,” Abigail chirps brightly, looking more fresh-faced and casual than I’ve ever seen her, in a flowing blouse and silky wide-legged pants. A gleaming necklace encircles her throat, and her hair is swept back in a loose chignon. “I’m so thrilled to run into you, and here of all places! I’ve been wanting to catch up for weeks, but Declan said you had to cancel the other week because you weren’t feeling up to scratch. I was going to send a care package, but he ordered me to leave you be.” Her expression says she regrets listening to him. “You’ve bounced back, though! You look stunning. Have you heard from the photographer yet? I’d love to see the wedding pictures. I know it was over a month ago, butit was such a beautiful day.” Her eyes go a little misty, while I share a stupefied look with Sasha. “I don’t know when we’ll get to have another wedding?—”
“Mom,” Darcy hisses out a quick protest. She’s dressed even more casually in jeans and her shirt with a stack of books on it and the words I’d rather be reading.
“Our reservation is in ten minutes,” Elena inserts stiffly, looking like she’s sucking on a lemon. “I really think we should?—”
“Oh! Fabulous idea. Lily, why don’t you join us for lunch?”
Darcy steps closer, her eyes remorseful. “Have you spoken to Declan, Lily?”
Abigail frowns. “What a silly question, Darcy. Of course she has. They’re married.”
Desperately needing to get off this train wreck, I smile politely. “I can’t do lunch today,” I say regretfully. “We’ve got a…”
“An appointment,” Sasha blurts. “A prior appointment.”
His mom deflates. “Oh, that’s too bad. Let’s organize something soon, okay? And you’ll tell me when the photos come back?” She brightens again. “We could do a family viewing! It’ll be such fun.”
“Sure, Abigail.” Everyone can watch as I set each photographic reminder on fire.
Darcy locks eyes with me, hers amused and knowing, but then she turns back to her mother. “Come on, Mom. Elena. We’d better get going if we don’t want them to give away our table.”
There’s a flurry of cheek kisses, and then they’re gone, leaving Sasha and I standing there, shell-shocked. Sasha asks, “Why does his family think you’re still together?”
“I don’t know.” I’m still staring in the direction they disappeared, confused as hell.
I look back at Sasha just as she hooks an arm into mine and pulls me forward. “So… about that date? I think I know a guy.”
She sets the date up for that night, not wanting to give me wriggle room to try and get out of it. She played middleman, organizing for theguy, Glen, to meet me in the bar of Astoria Hotel, but it left me wondering why a guy was available for a blind-date on such short notice. I’d tried to demand more information about him, but Sasha had been cagey as hell, so I was going in with extremely low expectations.
I had a few hours before I needed to get ready and the encounter with Abigail had been playing on my mind. I’d promised I would block Declan again, but I didn’t. So, I pull up a message thread and tap one out before I can second guess myself.
Lily: Why does your family think we’re together?
I chew nervously on my nail as I wait, constantly pressing the screen to stop it from timing out, which means I see it the second he reads it. I keep waiting, staring at the spot where the bubbles should pop up to tell me he was typing out a reply, but nothing comes.
