Page 100 of A Very Merry Mistake

I need food. As I stand, I stumble to the pantry and look inside. Cooking isn’t an option, so I grab the container of cheese balls, knowing I need to eat something. Right now, anything will do.

I plop on the couch and see the book on the table. Bending over, I reach for it and read the page where Claire stopped. I close my eyes and shake my head. It’s the part where the leading lady leaves the hero. And it’s fucking depressing. I grab the book and toss it against the wall, where it lands with the pages bent.

I’m numb from the alcohol but also from the shock of it all.

Every part of me wants Lacy to be the liar, but deep down, I know she is telling the truth.

I spend the next hour searching for Claire online and reading articles about her life.

Claire Manchester, the future heir of Manchester Holdings. Graduated from Harvard as a valedictorian with a degree in marketing and executive management.

She attended boarding school in Paris, just as she’d told my grandmother earlier today. I’m unsure what she’s lied about besides her name and why she was here. However, those two facts are foundational.

It hurts because I felt like she was comfortable enough to tell me anything. I had no secrets, and while I didn’t know things about her past, it didn’t seem necessary. To learn she’s Claire Manchester leaves me speechless.

Everything I learned about her finally makes sense, down to her anxiety attacks. The amount of pressure she’s survived her entire life… I’m surprised she has a kind bone in her body.

I turn on the TV, the first time I’ve needed entertainment since Claire arrived, and flick through the channels. There’s some stupid movie about love, and I keep clicking until I land on a documentary about the praying mantis. When they mention the female decapitating the male during sex, I’m ready to yell obscenities, but a knock on my door pulls me away.

“Go away!” I yell, not caring who it is or what they want, not in the mood. And Hank better not have driven over here when I told him I’d rather be alone.

The pounding stops, then seconds later, the door swings open, and I see Hudson.

“I said to go away!” I tell him, leaning my head back on the couch.

The world tilts on its axis, and I might throw up.

He walks in front of the sofa and crosses his arms over his broad chest. It’s almost like looking at myself in the mirror.

“What the actual fuck?” he barks out.

I throw a cheese ball at him. It hits his shirt, leaving a splotch of orange dust in its wake, then falls to the floor. “Leave me alone.”

“No.” He stands firm.

Sitting up, I grab a pillow and toss it at him, but I miss.

“What happened? I just passed Claire on the road. She looked upset.” He meets my eyes, and I suddenly understand why Hudson is the way he is after the love of his life left him and their kid for another man.

Next time, I won’t be the nice guy, and I’ll be hard-pressed to let anyone scale my walls. In the future, I’ll better protect myself, and when things move too fast, I’ll consider it a red flag.

“Well?” he asks.

“I told her to leave.”

“Because she’s Claire Manchester?”

I sit up a little straighter. “How did you know that?”

“People talk. And you’ve been so far up each other’s asses, I haven’t had a chance to chat since we were at the bar. Also, I recognized her.”

“No, you didn’t.”

He rolls his eyes. “Don’t be stupid.”

“You’re the stupid one.”

“Great comeback. So let me get this straight. You’ve been fucking a billionaire’s daughter and letting her live rent-free in your house and head for fifteen days, and you’re mad because she didn’t tell you.”

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