Page 92 of Never Gonna Lie
I feel like I’m being treated with kid gloves, and I’m tired of it. “James, just tell me. I can handle it.” I roll my eyes at him and his theatrics.
He looks me dead in the eye, a look of sadness, and I begin to panic. “Please don’t tell me it was my dad?”
James reaches for my hand and entwines our fingers together. “No, pretty girl.” He swallows. “It was Emma.”
My eyes go wide at his admission before I start laughing. “No, seriously, who was it?”
James’s expression doesn’t change. I don’t know if I was expecting him to laugh with me or shout, “Surprise,” but he did neither; he just continues to look at me with the same sad expression.
My world crumbles, and I burst into tears. Not Emma, she wouldn’t do this to me. No. “Why?” I manage to ask. Mia pulls me into her, hugging me and offering me support, but I wish it were James’s arms around me instead.
“Apparently, she didn’t like not being the only woman in your dad’s life, so she decided to take things into her own hands.”
“By having mekilled?” I exclaim, wiping the tears from my eyes.
“She tried totrafficyou,” he replies angrily, not at me, at her.
Completely overwhelmed by the whole thing, I mumble, “I don’t know what’s worse.”
“Wait a minute,” Mia interjects, her brows furrowed together. “What’s with the guy who tried to kill you? Was he one of the guys from the casino, or was he with Emma?”
I look at James because, in all fairness, Mia has a point.
He sighs, running a hand down his face. “The casino sent the guy to scare both you and your dad, pretty girl. Even though your dad paid iton time, they wanted him and others to know that they aren’t people to be fucked with.” James runs his thumb absentmindedly across my hand. “You just got caught up in something you shouldn’t have been.” I look at him, my expression softening at the new worry lines gracing his handsome face.
I groan, throwing my head back and wincing as the stabbing pain in my head gets worse. “And there was little old me thinking that life couldn’t get any more exciting.”
“Hey,” Mia chimes in. “You’re fucking the man you’ve been in love with for years, I’d say life was pretty exciting.”
“Mia!” I exclaim, my cheeks going bright red. “Must you give all my secrets away?” I can’t even look at James right now. I know I’ve said ‘I love you’ in the past, but it’s embarrassing when she says it.
“Kinda wasn’t a secret, baby,” he chuckles. “I am pretty awesome.”
Lifting my hand, I cup his cheek. “I know.” I convey all the love I have for this man with my eyes.
He leans into my touch, and I see a flash of emotion pass across his eyes, but it’s too quick for me to decipher.
“Mia, how long are you gonna be around for?” James asks, changing the subject.
“All day. I was planning on catching up with my bestie.” She grins.
“I’m just popping out for a bit. Make some phone calls. Leo’s standing right outside the door, so nothing will happen to you.”
I smile softly. “Go, I’ll be fine.”
James stands up and kisses my forehead.
“Aw, you guys are so cute,” Mia gushes, clutching her hands to her chest.
I elbow her as James chuckles. “I’ll be back soon.”
The door quietly shuts behind him as Mia jumps up. “Right, I’m going to need all the dishy details here because” —she fans herself— “phew, that was hot. The way he looked at you? I’m melting.”
“I don’t know what you mean.” I smile gently.
I’m glad she doesn’t try to talk about Emma. A lot’s happened in the last few months that I still need to wrap my head around. I still don’t know all of the details; something tells me James is holding back, and for that, I’m grateful. I’ve cried so many tears in the last few days that I feel numb. Like, I’ve disconnected myself from the world. I’ll grieve and figure out how to process this, but not right now, and Mia knows it.
“Sure you don’t.” She smirks and claps her hands together. “Right, UNO or trash TV?”
