Page 174 of Love Arranged
“Go to bed.” I point at her dog bed in the corner.
She whimpers, but I keep my finger directed at her bed while taking another swig from the bottle. Reluctantly, Daisy heads to her spot with Lily’s socks still in her mouth.
I turn away because the knot in my stomach becomes unbearably tight.
Fuck my uncle for allowing Trevor to get away with murder, and fuck the mayor for protecting his son. And fuck me, because now that I know what it feels like to love someone, can I blame the mayor for wanting to save his son?
The sympathetic thought sends me into a devastating spiral, and I end up taking a few more swigs of my drink.
I would do anything for Lily.
Anything but give her the one thing she desires.
I stumble over to the couch. My coordination is shoddy, so I trip on a stupid accent rug but still somehow manage to land on the cushions without cracking my head open on the coffee table.
I stare up at the ceiling and sigh. The sound is too loud, and the house is eerily quiet.
Better get used to the silence.
Before Lily changed my mind, I enjoyed the solitude. I craved coming home to an empty house, but now I can’t think of anything more depressing.
Well, turns out there is one more thing, and it’s being left on read after drunk texting my fake fiancée.
47
LILY
Ican’t sleep, no matter how many episodes ofThe Silver VixensI watch, so I decide to scroll through my phone instead. It’s an idea that goes from bad to worse when a new message pops up from the last person I expect.
Lorenzo
I’m sorry.
I’m so stunned by the random apology text that I ignore it until a new one pops up.
Lorenzo
I don’t want to go back to how things were before.
I want you.
Wait. No. Not like that.
Shit. I mean yes, also like that. But you know what I mean.
Right?
I should put my phone away right now. Nothing good can come from responding to his messages, and I’ll only be making this entire process more difficult for myself.
Lorenzo
Please don’t hate me.
I grab a pillow and shove it over my mouth to muffle my frustrated scream.
Lorenzo
And I’m s0rry about the track
