Chapter 6
Samuel
She turned me down.
I guess it’s not that I can’t believe it so much as I don’t want to. I suppose the words that came out of my mouth on the spur of the moment were words I wanted to be true.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her that rather than being in a fake relationship, we could make it real.
But she’s already turned me down once, I guess I don’t want to put myself out there only to be slapped down again.
That wasn’t fair. She didn’t slap me down. But she did decline my offer, and I think most men have much more fragile egos than what women realize.
“All right then, I guess we’ll just tell everyone that I lied, because that’s the truth.”
She bites her tongue, obviously not wanting to say that either. That makes me feel a little better, although I’m already admiring her because she didn’t want to lie. She doesn’t want to complicate her life with stuff like that, and there is a big part of me that admires that. After all, she knows who I am, and I haven’t met too many people who would turn down having a relationship with me, even a fake one. Just being associated with me usually helps people in a huge way.
But she wasn’t interested in that or my money.
Like I said, I admire and respect that.
“I don’t want to make you look bad,” she says, looking up at me with a worried expression.
“It’s the truth.” I shrug. I don’t really want it to be out there, but the fact of the matter is, I lied. Sure, it was to protect her, but it was still a lie.
“Sometimes just because something is the truth doesn’t mean we have to say it. In fact, I think a lot of times we say things that are better left unsaid. They don’t help anyone, they certainly don’t encourage or uplift anyone, and silence is often the best answer.”
I like this too. As bubbly and sweet as she seems, as much as I think of her as a ray of sunshine, she’s not so verbose that she feels the need to spill everything about everyone, and I definitely like that.
“I guess we don’t have to say anything,” I say. “That’s not hard for me. I don’t typically say more than necessary, and sometimes I’ve been accused of saying less. Especially by previous girlfriends. They think I’m cold.”
Her brows come down, and I get the feeling she wants to defend me. But she presses her lips together and says, “All right. We just won’t talk about any kind of relationship that we might or might not have.”
I nod. It doesn’t seem like the best solution, but I suppose when a person lies, it makes things difficult when they have to try to get out of it without lying any more.
So I deserve this.
She is being as gracious to me as she possibly can, and I do appreciate it. She gives me a wave and says, “I guess I better go mingle a bit.”
I nod and then pull my phone out of my pocket. I don’t want to walk away. It’s almost like I can’t stop myself from wanting to be with her.
I swipe my phone on and pull up the texting app.
I know I’m in the middle of a party, and I should let business go until tomorrow, but I don’t want to miss this opportunity. I know I’m not going to forget, but I want to get it done.
I pull up my personal secretary and send her a simple text.
Lucy Sims is coordinating the gala for the community next week. I want her to report directly to me for everything.
There. Maybe I won’t have a relationship with her, but I will definitely have contact, and... I’m not exactly charming, and I’m not sure what I’m hoping to accomplish by this. I just know that I want to spend more time with her. I’ve admired her for years, but maybe it was the kiss, or more likely, as much as I loved it and have never had anything like it, I think it’s more the character she displays. Like when given the opportunity to lie, she refused.
I walk slowly back out to the ballroom as my phone chimes.
I’ll see to it in the morning.
Donna has been my secretary for years, and she is very efficient. She’s used to my any-time-of-the-day texts, and I know I can count on her to get this done. I will be talking to Lucy tomorrow. That thought almost makes me smile.
“That kiss did not look fake, and with that smile on your face, I’m feeling like my gut is right.”
My brother Daniel comes up to me and slaps my back. Daniel and I might have been slightly competitive when we were younger, mostly because of me, because he’s as easygoing as a person can get, but today, I consider him my best friend. He’s everything I’m not, and our opposite personalities mesh well together.
But I don’t care for what he said. Not because it’s not true, but because I don’t want the whole world to know how I feel.
“I wouldn’t trust your gut if I were you,” I say easily, not allowing him to ruffle me.
“You realize that’s Allison’s best friend you were swapping tonsils with, right?” Daniel says, and I try not to cringe at his crude description of what was by far the best kiss of my life.
I lift my shoulder, making sure my whole posture screams totally casual and in control.
“She was the one under the mistletoe with me, so that’s what happens.” I look around the room and find Amber, the girl that Daniel is here with, over on the other side, talking to several other ladies.
“You and Amber seem pretty cozy,” I say, just to take the heat off me.
My brother isn’t fooled. “I always thought you and Lucy would be perfect together. The way you and I are. She’s different from me, of course, but you know how we work together really well with our different personalities? That’s you and Lucy.”
I don’t have a chance to say anything, because Daniel slaps my back again and says, “But you’re right about Amber and me. My gut says she’s the one.”
I want to warn him about trusting his gut again, except I think he might be right. He and Amber are perfect together, and I’m happy for him. He’s always been pretty easygoing, but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen him this happy.
He grins again and walks off, and I stand in the corner, quiet, alone, thinking. I feel a little bit like it would be ironic for Daniel and me to both find the girl of our dreams within a couple of days of each other, but I can’t get Lucy out of my mind, and her character and her integrity are so appealing. There’s only one small problem—she doesn’t seem to feel the same about me.
Well, I have the next week to launch a charm offensive. I probably should talk to Daniel about that, because he knows far more about it than I do, but I didn’t get to where I am in life by sitting back and sucking my thumb when I am faced with something I’m not sure I know how to do.
Finding the perfect person to spend the rest of my life with is far more important than any business decision I’ve ever made, and I’m not going to let this opportunity slip by.