Dilynne
True Heartbreak & Acting the Part
Five Years Ago
I open one eye to make sure it’s her, then roll back over on my bed. “I’m sleeping.”
Laney blows out a breath. “And stewing in your own filth, it seems.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I mutter.
“I can smell you from outside. Now, if you don’t get up and take a shower, I’ll be forced to take one with you.”
“You’ve seen me naked,” I mumble, burying myself deeper into the mattress and covering my head with the blanket. “Just warning you that my bush is out of control right now.”
Laney sighs. “Fine, then maybe I’ll just grab the hose from outside and spray you off in your bed then…”
I roll over and meet her eyes. “You wouldn’t dare.”
Her arms are crossed over her chest, and one of her eyebrows is painfully high on her head. “Try me.”
“Fine.” Groaning, I roll off the bed onto the floor, landing with a thud. “Ow.”
“You did that to yourself.” But my eyes instantly fill with tears as I choke back a sob. Laney rushes over to me, helping me out of my blanket cocoon, holding me to her chest. “Hey, you okay? Did you hurt yourself?”
“No,” I mumble through my tears. “But my chest…” I place my hand over the center of it as pain radiates from the organ I wish I couldn’t feel right now.
Laney presses her lips to the top of my head. “I know, Dil. I know. Nothing hurts worse than heartbreak.”
“I hate him.”
“I do too.”
Wiping my nose on my sleeve, I shake my head. “Now I understand how you felt about Fletcher.” I lift my eyes to hers. “I’m sorry that I…”
Laney presses her finger to my lips. “Don’t apologize. You didn’t get it, but trust me. I wish you never had to.”
“Men. Such a waste. Why couldn’t God have just made the penises but not attach them to despicable human beings? Especially ones that stick their penises in other women when they’re supposed to be in love with you?”
Laney’s brow furrows in confusion. “Uh, not sure how that would work, but I get what you’re saying.”
Another tear slips down my cheek. “He used me.”
“I know.”
“I thought he was the one.”
“Been there,” she says, moving my head to rest on her shoulder.
“We should just get married to each other instead.”
Laney laughs. “Deal.”
I sigh. “I just hate that I let him in—that I trusted him.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure that the bear shit you left in the gas tank and engine of his Bel Air communicated that for you.”
My eyes land on my phone on the nightstand. “He’s left me several voice messages. I just…haven’t had the strength to listen to them yet.”
“You know you don’t have to, right?” I nod, but don’t say anything. “Are you hungry?”
“No.”
“Dilynne, you have to eat, babe.” Laney lifts my chin up so I can see her face. She’s blurry behind the tears filling my eyes. “When’s the last time you ate something?”
I shrug. “I—I honestly don’t know.”
“What if I ordered onion rings and burgers from Blossom Brews?”
My bottom lip trembles. “Vinnie loved the onion rings too.”
“Yeah, well, he’s not welcome to taste them ever again, so now you get to take ownership of them back, okay?”
I nod as Laney holds me in her arms again before helping me up and leading me to my shower. I’m so weak I can barely walk, which is probably a consequence of not eating.
It’s been a week since Vinnie Delatorre shattered my heart and betrayed me, but it’s been the longest week of my life.
My older brother and my foster parents have been trying to check on me, but I won’t let them in.
I don’t want anyone else to see me like this.
The only person I trust enough to fall apart in front of is Laney—because she knows what this feels like.
And if anyone knew that I let someone wreck me this badly, it would alert people to my one and only weakness—love.
***
Present Day
“You sure you don’t want a glass of wine?” Laney asks me as she takes a seat across from me on my couch. “Just because I can’t drink doesn’t mean you can’t.”
“No, I’m good.”
Her eyes land on my knee that’s bouncing up and down. “You sure? I mean, I can’t remember the last time I saw you this antsy.”
I blow out a nervous breath because she’s right. I am antsy, and it’s only gotten worse in the last hour. I know I told Elliot that this plan of mine would work, but the truth is, I have no idea if it will.
The fact that I get to piss Tori off will make it worth it, though. People like her deserve every ounce of karma that is coming their way.
“Dilynne,” Laney says, pulling me from my thoughts. “Whatever you need to say, just say it. You’re freaking me out.”
“I asked Elliot to be my fake fiancé,” I blurt out, just like ripping off a Band-Aid.
Laney’s mouth falls open. “Um, I’m sorry. You—you did what?”
Standing from the couch, I begin pacing my living room. “You see…”
Laney launches from the couch and rushes over to stop me, grabbing me by the shoulders, forcing me to meet her eyes. “You…asked Elliot…to be your fake fiancé?”
My smile comes out forced. “Yup.”
Laney drops her hands from my shoulders and takes a step back from me, her eyes bouncing back and forth between mine. “I, uh…I’m not even sure what to say to that.”
“I don’t need you to say anything. I just need you to play along with it.”
She shakes her head and then slowly lowers herself back onto my couch. “How did…why did…” She blows out a breath. “How did this even happen?”
“Well, I went to Elliot’s office to deliver his insulting baked goods, and Tori was there. Turns out, Elliot’s dad hired Tori at the law firm.”
Laney’s eyes bug out. “What the hell?”
“Yeah, and I guess she’s trying to win Elliot back.” I scoff. “The fact that the bitch actually thinks he would consider taking her back just confirms how idiotic she really is.”
“Does Elliot want her back?”
“Hell no,” I answer. Of course, I’m speculating, but I’m also fairly confident in my answer. “He’s fully aware that she’s a horrible human being now and doesn’t want to have wasted all of his time in therapy—his words, not mine.”
“I mean, I agree. But how did this result in the two of you being fake engaged?” I don’t say anything, and then I can see the light bulb click on in Laney’s mind. “Vinnie?”
I lift my hands in the air. “Not my finest moment, okay?”
“You really think that having a fake fiancé is going to make Vinnie leave you alone?”
“I don’t know, Laney. But I do know that making it look like I’ve moved on from him will give me the courage to be in the same room as him for the first time in years.”
Laney’s face softens. “Dilynne…”
My jaw clenches tight as I look away from her. “Look, I hate that he still affects me, okay?”
“You don’t have to explain that to me. Look at how Fletcher affected me all those years. I get it. But you don’t want him back, right?”
I find her gaze again. “Absolutely not. But you and Fletcher were meant to be together. Vinnie and I aren’t. I know that deep in my gut, but it doesn’t make seeing him any easier, especially back at the scene of his crime.”
“So pretending Elliot is your fiancé will help with that?” Laney’s brows draw together. “Wait, did Elliot actually agree to this?”
I nod. “He did. I convinced him that the only way she’s going to leave is if she thinks she doesn’t have a chance.”
“Do you think she’s going to believe that you two are together? I mean, I find it hard to believe anyone will with the way you two bicker.”
I move toward the couch and rest my arm along the back. “You’ve read plenty of enemies-to-lovers romances, Laney. It’s not that far-fetched.”
She tilts her head from side to side. “True. But why an engagement? Why not just boyfriend and girlfriend?”
“An engagement is serious. And when I get to act like we’re in love in front of Tori, it’s going to make her hate me even more.” Rubbing my hands together, I add, “I can’t wait.”
“I’m beginning to think this idea was more for your benefit than Elliot’s.”
I shrug. “Maybe, but the last thing he wants is that woman back in his life, and I’ve seen him come so far in the past year.
” I dart my gaze to the side of the room.
“I’d hate to see him entertain anything that she has to say.
” When I meet Laney’s eyes again, there’s an arch in her brow.
I roll my eyes. “It’s not like that, and you know it.
Besides, he’s telling the boys too so everyone is aware of the farce. ”
“Are you going to tell Carol and Nick?” Laney asks, referring to my foster parents.
“Most likely. I don’t feel comfortable lying to them, but Elliot can’t tell his parents, given that his dad is the one who brought Tori back into their lives to begin with.”
Laney purses her lips in thought. “I don’t know, I find that strange. I mean, if some man broke my heart like that, I know damn well that my dad would never want me to give him a second chance.”
“Uh, Fletcher did break your heart before, Laney.”
“Yeah, but my dad didn’t know about that,” she counters.
“True. And yes, I agree, there’s something weird going on there, but Elliot can worry about that later. Right now, we just need to act fast to make sure everyone is on board with this new relationship development.”
My best friend shakes her head for the hundredth time. “I still can’t believe that you think you’re going to pull this off. What happens when he touches you? Or kisses you?” she asks. “Have you thought about that?”
My stomach twists again because it’s those exact thoughts that made me so antsy in the first place. Elliot and I didn’t talk about that before he left Blossom Brews earlier, but it dawned on me on the way home.
I’m going to have to pretend that I’m in love with Elliot Thorne. I’m not sure if that’s worse than being in the same room with Vinnie again or not. But at this point, I’m willing to find out.
“I’m not an idiot, Laney.”
“I never said you were, Dilynne. But this is Elliot we’re talking about. You two barely tolerate each other most days.”
“We’ve gotten a little better over the past year.”
Laney narrows her eyes at me. “Yeah, and I’m the only one who knows about that.”