Page 8 of Sweet Lies

Silence falls for two seconds before he glances over. He appears momentarily startled, as if he’d forgotten I was in the car altogether. “What? I didn’t hear you.”

Clearing my throat, I try again. “I’m looking forward to toni—”

His words cut in. “Oh yeah, me too. They have the best steak.”

“Oh, good.” I look out the window. “How was your day?” I ask, endeavoring to find some common ground.

“Fine,” he responds, and once more, silence stands between us.

“Mine was good as well. Claire and I—”

“How is Claire? I heard she was going to the meet this week,” he asks.

Not the topic change I was hoping for. “They don’t involve me with business. I try to stay out of it.”

His face falls.

“But if you heard she’s going, I’m sure she will. She loves the danger. Me not so much.” I attempt a laugh; my hands rub down my arms.

He says nothing else the rest of the drive, and I stare out the window, trying to find something interesting to bring up. Thankfully, the trip is short. Hopefully, dinner will be better than the car ride. It has to be.I can make it better.

* * *

The date was horrifying. I keep trying to pinpoint the moment it all went wrong, but I genuinely think it was at hello. It just went from bad to worse. He kept comparing me to Claire. Claire this and Claire that, as if, just because we were sisters, I was expected to be like her. Then at the end, he called me a mouse and said the only reason he’d gone out with me was in the hope of getting to know my sister better. Talk about ego blow after ego blow. I know I get called a mouse behind my back, but no one had dared state it to my face before. Claire would have hit him, but as he’d pointed out, I’m not her. He should be thankful.

I tried to make conversation, but he just gave me one-word answers and never asked me anything back. I was stillLucas Rossi’sdaughter and deserved respect, but he thought he could walk all over me because I wasn’t like the others in my family—I’m the quiet one, the one who never makes waves. He knew that and took advantage.

We’d met several times before at events at the house since his father was one of my dad’s men. He’d always seemed interested in making small talk, but looking back, he was constantly glancing in Claire’s direction and always asking me to repeat myself. I’d thought maybe I was speaking too softly, but he wasn’t listening to a word I said.

Returning home, I try to hide my watery eyes, but the moment Claire asks me what’s wrong, I feel them escape and dash to my room, slamming my door—which I never do. Not a good way to convince Claire nothing was wrong. I want to be left alone, but in typical Claire fashion, she enters my room a moment later without knocking. She still looks amazing in her penguin pajama pants and tan tank top. Even in that she’s a ten. I push that thought away. It’s not her fault my night sucked.

“Are you going to tell me, or do I have to beat it out of him?” Claire asks, lying next to me on the bed. “I’m good either way.”

My laugh is weak, but I love her because she means it. Claire will always be the best sister.

“He…he said I was too quiet,” I sob, breaking down.

Quietly,Elijahopens the door to find Claire rubbing my back. I hide my face in a pillow. “He said I wasn’t like you,” I mumble.

“Bec, he’s an idiot and doesn’t deserve you. You don’t have to be like me or E. You get to be who you want to be. That’s your gift, being the youngest. Don’t be sad about that.”

“Rebecca.”Elijah sits on the bed.

I look up. I don’t want to know how bad my eyes look at the moment. I can feel how puffy they are, and I assume they’re bloodshot. Over an idiot too. The tears aren’t so much for him as they are for me. I’ve been holding on to too many things, and it seems this was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Elijah speaks.“I’m going to be honest. I’ve spent some time with Nick because I’ve had to, and he’s boring. He doesn’t have an original thought in his head. If you said little, it’s because he gave you nothing to say. That’s on him. You deserve someone who will court you, someone youwantto talk to. That’snothim.”

With each word he says, I sense his rising anger.

Claire can tell too and quickly adds, “Trust us, Bec—one day you’ll meet your person, and Elijah and I will interrogate him, then you can go off into the sunset together. It’s only your first date. You’ll have plenty more that will suck. Take our word on that.”

Elijah nods at Claire’s words.

“But one day, you’ll have a date with someone, and everything will click.”

I nod, not truly believing her. It’s not in the cards for me. Honestly, if I can avoid being forced into a marriage, I’ll be happy. Tears still slip out, and I rub my eyes.

“Thanks. Can I have some alone time now?” I ask.

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