The Real Deal

I return to the moment on the train when we were just getting to know each other. I can still hear his voice when he said, You have to tell me when you land that gig. Promise me you’ll tell me.

I promised him I’d tell him.

But people say things they don’t always mean. I shove that promise aside, collect myself, and walk to the inn. On the way, I call Claire, tell her the news, then update her on nearly everything—the good, the bad, and the ugly.

“Wow,” Claire says. “That’s a hell of a backstory, and Xavier never knew any of this?”

I shake my head. “I doubt it. You know Xavier. He doesn’t keep secrets, and Theo obviously does, so he kept it all from him, and I suppose since being an actor means you don’t always work as an actor, you often work more as a bartender or a waiter, it seemed plausible that he was doing the boyfriend-for-hire work to supposedly work on his acting.”

“He was acting, in a way. Playing all sorts of parts for clients. Just in an unconventional way, rather than on Broadway.”

I manage a small laugh. “True. I suppose Theo is making a living as an actor. He was just doing live-action role playing.”

“More power to you if you can make a living LARPing,” Claire says. Then she takes a beat. “So what happens with you two now?”

I scoff as I reach the block with the Sunnyside. “Well, it’s a damn good thing I found out now.”

Claire’s quiet at first. “Is it?”

“Yes. Before I’m in too deep with him.”

“Oh.”

I sigh. “What’s the ‘oh’ for?”

“The ‘oh’ is for ‘Oh my, but does this change how you feel about him?’”

I answer swiftly. “Of course. He deceived me.”

“About actually being an actor, April,” she says, taking her time with each word. “That’s really all he deceived you about.”

I huff. She’s wrong. She’s so wrong. “Not entirely. It’s all wrapped up together. It’s not just one thing.”

“But it kind of is,” she says pragmatically. “He’s done stuff in his past, he’s learned, he’s moved on. He told you. Maybe it wasn’t the ideal time or place, but he did tell you. Not everybody has a perfect background.”

I thread my fingers through my hair, frustration coursing through my veins. “I know that. I’m not some judgy person who will only be involved with pristine, perfect men. Honestly, it’s not even that he was a con artist that bothers me. It’s that he lied about what he does, and he did it repeatedly. We talked about him being an actor so many times, and every time it was a lie.”

“I can see how that would bother you,” she says calmly. “It would bother me, too. But is it so terrible that it’s unforgivable?”

The frustration bubbles over. “Why do I need to forgive him?”

“Because you’re falling in love with him, and he’s not sticking his dick in another woman or living in his parents’ basement or lying to you about a million more vital things,” she says, her tone rising, too. “Plus, he does act. It’s just a little different than usual.”

I breathe in through my nostrils. I’m a dragon right now, and I don’t like it, so I try to let go of my anger.

“Look,” she continues, “I know you think he might be conning you, but was he? Did he steal from you? Take your phone, your wallet, your money?”

“No,” I grumble. “I even paid him yesterday.”

“And yet he stayed. He could have left in the middle of the night, but he stayed.”

“Stop trying to be reasonable.”

Claire laughs. “Look, just think about things. It sounds like he’s been through some tough times, and I understand you want honesty from the start, but then again, you didn’t tell him you invited his brother to the reunion. You didn’t ask him if that was okay.”

I swallow harshly as the truth hits me hard in the gut. Are the situations parallel? I’m not entirely sure. My voice softens as I ask Claire, “Do you think they’re the same?”

She sighs as I walk up the steps to the inn. “There are things he didn’t fully disclose. There are things you didn’t fully disclose. Are they lies? Or are they truths that weren’t ready to see the light of day yet?”

I open the door. My mom and dad are parked on the couch, surveying their scavenger hunt loot. My father holds up a small cocktail umbrella, an item from the list. He smiles, pleased with the booty.

I smile back, then point to the phone against my ear. Somehow, this exonerates me from any conversation or questions. I must remember this trick anytime I want to excuse myself from potentially awkward conversations.

“What would you do?” I ask as I walk up the stairs to my room, bracing myself to see him again. I have no clue what to do when I see his pretty face again.

“I don’t have any answers, but he did seem to open his heart to you, and you did to him, in a way, so don’t discount all that yet.”

When I reach the room, I unlock the door and walk inside. I nearly stumble as I stop in my tracks, pointing to the bed even though I’m the only one here. I whisper, “There’s an envelope on the bed with my name on it.”

“What does it say?” Claire asks curiously.

I take cautious steps, like the envelope is a ticking bomb. When I reach it, my nerves have hit sky-high level. My name is written on the front. My body hums with anticipation.

“I’m opening it now,” I say to Claire as I give her the play-by-play.

All my breath rushes from my lungs when I see what’s inside.

It’s all the cash I paid him.





Chapter Forty

Theo

It’s late when we arrive in Manhattan. It’s even later when we make it to Addison’s block in Chelsea, and Heath hits the buzzer for her apartment.

Silence.

He turns to me and huffs. “Still pissed at you.”

“Still pissed at you, too,” I echo.

Lacey rolls her eyes. “Neither one of you is pissed at the other.”

Heath jabs the button again. “I’m intensely mad at him.”

“You’re so not mad at him. You ridiculous man, you,” she says affectionately, patting his cheek. Her bracelets jingle. “The two of you had the entire ride to sort it out, and you did.”

It went something like this:

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me about this? You’re not responsible for that money.”

“I wanted you to be able to get out and start over without that hanging over you.”

“I’m starting over just fine, and I’m paying my own way.”

“I didn’t think you’d have the money for it.”

“And you’re wrong again. I told you I started a new business, and I have a retainer from my first client. So don’t ever do that again.”

“Okay.”

“Now, take me to Addison so I can pay it off, dipshit.”

I suppose, if I had to do it all over again, I’d have done it the same way. I did it for him. I did it because I love him. I did it because I well and truly did not want him to fall back into old habits. Sometimes you don’t know how a man will handle a situation until he’s pushed to the limits. I’ve seen Heath pushed before. He hasn’t always made the best choices. Nor have I. So I made the one that made sense to me at the time—taking on the debt.

Now, he’s making the choice that makes sense to him—paying it off. Because he’s making better choices in his life these days. He’s making choices our mom might even be proud of at last. The only trouble is—it looks like little Miss Southern Loan Shark isn’t home.

“C’mon,” he mutters, stalking across the stoop.

He presses the button one more time when a voice floats from a window above. “Well, look what the cat dragged back into Manhattan.”

Heath sighs heavily and cranes his neck. Addison’s brown hair is yanked into a messy bun, and she stares coldly at the three of us. Even from two stories high, her eyes are ice. “Good evening, Miss Addison. I’ve dragged something you want.” He reaches into his pocket and waves a check. “Now, let me give it to you so you can leave my brother the fuck alone.”

Her eyes narrow. “Is it everything?”

“Everything and then some.” He stuffs the check back into his jeans pocket.

She casts her gaze to Lacey, then steps away from the window and slams it shut.

“Maybe I should take a walk,” Lacey suggests, pointing her thumb down the block.