KING: Las Vegas Bad Boys (15 page)

I
can’t believe
he called them without telling me. What the hell?

Last night Landon and I had a fight that could be more aptly described as a mind-fuck.

Am I ridiculously in love with him or just completely cracked out because I’m staying with him at a castle in my dream destination a million miles from my responsibilities?

Obviously, I think it’s the latter ... but what really scares me is the idea of it being the former.

Of me actually being this spun out of my mind because I love this man.

I don’t want it to be true, because it’s easier to pretend my feelings are all made up. It’s easier to tell myself that the way he looks at me and holds me is part of the fake fiancée charade.

The door to the bedroom swings open and Emmy and Tess walk toward me, wide-eyed in disbelief, scanning back at Landon and then again at me.

“Sorry, boys, you’ve gotta go. We need girl time,” Emmy says over her shoulder.

I meet Landon’s eyes and he bites his lip, caught. I don’t know how to feel.

“I’ll get you some coffee, Claire,” he says, not giving me a chance to decide if I’m mad at him. He pulls on a tee shirt and then hastily exits to where Ace is waiting in the hallway.

I take a deep breath, not even knowing where to start. However, I don’t need to be the one start the conversation—Tess has no problem jumping right in.

“Um. What the heck is going on?” Tess asks, plopping on my bed once the door in closed. “We got here like five minutes ago and have zero clue what is going on.”

“Did he call you?” I ask.

“Landon?” Emmy nods. “Um. Yeah. He said you were here, with him–which, Claire, we knew nothing about that.” She smacks me on the side of my head.

“Ow,” I say, pushing her away.

“He called to tell us you were having a meltdown and that he needed backup. I tried to ask what the meltdown was over, but he refused to give me details.”

“So you three just hopped on a plane and came? Across the world?” I sit up in the bed, trying to gather my bearings. Never in a million years did I expect to wake up to this.

“Of course we did, weirdo,” Tess says. “Well, I mean, Ace flew us here in a private jet, which honestly was a big help. My credit cards are completely maxed out, so having a free ticket helped with the speed of travel.” She grins, but I just bite my lip, not knowing how I feel.

“You haven’t answered our calls for four days,” Emmy says, sitting cross-legged on the bed. “And then we find out that you–our best friend– ran off with Landon
to
England
.”

“Yeah, a heads-up that you had fallen in love with him would have been freaking considerate,” Tess barks at me.

Do I tell them the reason I’m there? How it has nothing to do with love. How the potential paycheck has everything to do with my daughter.

My daughter.

I need to lead with that. I cover my face with my hands, totally ashamed and totally over my head.

“What the fuck!?” Tess grabs my hand, shrieking. “You got engaged? To Landon?”

“Ohmigod,” Emmy says. “Why in the world did you hide this from us?”

“It’s complicated, and—” Before I can say anything else, Landon is back in the room with a tray of fruit, coffee, and mimosas.

“For the ladies,” he says, setting the tray on the bed.

I smile, a really fake smile because I actually want to scream.

Instead, I stand and pull Landon into the bathroom.

“Sorry, girls, just need to speak with Landon for a sec,” I tell them. They’re both too stunned to speak, so I shut the door behind me.

“Hey, Claire ... now don’t be mad,” he says as I back him into the corner. Literally.

“Landon, what were you thinking?” I hiss. “This is going to end badly.”

“No. It doesn’t have to be bad. You kept saying how terrible you feel about lying to them. And I hate that you are carrying that around. I thought—”

“You thought they were just gonna think it’s cute that we are engaged?”

“Well, we can tell them it’s a fake engagement.”

“No, we can’t.”

“What do you mean? Of course we can. They won’t care.”

“
I
care, Landon. Me. I don’t want my friends to know I’m okay with deceiving your family for money,” I say.

“They will hate Geoffrey and Fiona, which means they’ll be happy I’m taking the business.”

“No,” I say. “They’ll think I’m a shitty person. Which just confirms how I already feel.”

“You’re seriously making way too big of a deal out of this.”

At that moment I want to scream. I want to strangle Landon for being such a guy.

“No, I’m not,” I whisper. “And it is so like you to minimize this. To not realize the implications. Even if I was okay with them knowing about our scheme, you think it’s smart to let Ace and Emmy and Tess all in on our plan? While they’re here at your parents’ house? Someone will accidentally let the cat out of the bag.”

Landon fills his cheeks with air, realizing what I’m saying is true.

He exhales. “Fuck. Sorry. I shouldn’t have called them without asking you.”

“Now I have to lie.
More
.”

“Not about everything,” he says.

And for a stupid second I think maybe he means I don’t have to pretend about the engagement. That he really wants to be with me.

And for a stupider moment I
want
him to say that.

But then he opens his mouth again. “If they’re your real friends, they’ll forgive you for lying about Sophia.”

I nod, hoping he’s right.

“Claire,” he says. “About last night–”

“Don’t,” I stop him. “We both said a lot, and I can’t deal with that while Emmy and Tess are right there in the bedroom.”

“Later, then, we’ll talk?” His eyes plead with me, and I know this knot in my stomach needs to unfurl.

“Okay,” I tell him. “After the family meeting we can talk it out. I’m sure we’ll know more by then anyway.”

“Nothing my dad says is going to change how I feel about wanting to be your man.”

“Landon.” I close my eyes, pressing my hands to his chest. “I can’t right now.”

He doesn’t argue. He just takes my hands and kisses my knuckles, smiling despite the fact that I’m walking away.

That alone melts me in ways it shouldn’t. With him, right now, I need to stay resolved.

* * *

O
nce Landon leaves
and it’s just Tess, Emmy, and me, I hand them each a mimosa.

“I’m going to tell you something that might shock you. So drink that while I talk, okay?”

“There is nothing you can say that is more shocking than the fact you are here in England, with Landon, engaged,” Tess says coolly.

“No,” I say, shaking my head, and then clasping my hands together to stop them from shaking, too. “There is.”

“What?” Emmy asks.

“I’m not who you think I am, not entirely.” I forge ahead, knowing I just have to get this over with. “I have a five-year-old daughter.”

For a second the room is silent, and then they’re asking questions all at once.

“Wait, what?” Tess asks. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“You’re a mom?” Emmy sets down her drink. “I’m so confused, Claire, what the actual fuck?”

So I explain. I tell them about why I kept my personal life under wraps at first, and how then too much time had passed to tell them without it being weird. And how I didn’t want it to be about me when Emmy’s sister was in the hospital. And how I’m self-sufficient and don’t want them to judge me.

And how, deep down, I know if they know what I really am—
a mom
—the friendship will change.

It already has, because both their eyes are filled with tears.

I’ve ruined this.

“I can’t believe you’d hide your kid from us. Like ... are we not good enough to know her or something?” Emmy asks.

I realize the story she is telling herself about my secret is that she isn’t good enough, when the truth is I wanted to keep Sophia to myself because I am selfish.

Because I’m scared.

“We’ve only been friends a few months.” I feel like such a mess, still in my pajamas, not ready for the day at all—and especially not ready to be confronted by my friends. “It isn’t about either of you. You are more than I deserve.”

“Then what is it really about?” Tess asks.

“It’s about me. About me not liking my place in life. I love Sophia. So much. But sometimes I feel stuck. Like the life I have isn’t one I chose.” I bury my hands in my face, ashamed at what I’ve admitted to them.

“But you chose Landon? He knows about Sophia, right?” Tess asks.

“Yeah, and when did you fall in love? I just ... Claire, this is a crazy amount of information to try to absorb,” Emmy says, and I agree with her.

Mostly because half of it is still untrue.

I’m still stuck in my lies.

I try to move ahead using half-truths instead. “Landon proposed at the airport. It was sudden and unexpected, but his family thinks we’ve been together a few months, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell them that it hasn’t been that long.”

“How long has it been?” Emmy asks. “When did you start seeing one another?”

Telling her the truth is my only choice. “We hooked up after your wedding. I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to mess things up in the group if Landon and I were a one time thing.”

“Okay, I can forgive you ... I guess,” Emmy says. “I mean, my feelings are really hurt, and I don’t get it.
Get you
.” It’s quiet for a moment, then she asks, “Who is Sophia’s father?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” There is no way I can get into that with them today, on top of everything else. I swallow, not able to meet Emmy’s eyes. “It’s the past. Five years in the past. Not now.”

“Ohmigosh,” Tess says, completely disregarding the serious turn the conversation took. “That night of the poker party at Emmy’s penthouse, Landon didn’t just take you home, did he? You guys were having a secret sex date, weren’t you?” Tess smacks me, already moving on from Sophia.

And I get it.

She would think talking about Landon and me is a lot more fun than discussing my five-year-old. Because our lives are so completely different. Landon thinks the two parts of my life can be merged, and merged with his. But he is so over his head. He has no clue.

And neither do I.

* * *

It’s really fucking simple. Get my dad’s company, therefore securing a legitimate job, and prove to Claire that I can be the sort of man she needs.

Because right now the only thing standing in our way is her fear.

Because, shit, I’m all in with her.

“You proposed?” Ace asks, stunned. The girls are in my bedroom, and I’m walking out of the house with Ace, needing to get fresh air like I never have before.

Running my hands through my hair, I sit down on the back steps. Ace paces the yard.

“This is all kinds of insane,” he says. “When did you fall for her?”

“At your bloody wedding. It’s your fault; you’re the one who told me to ask her to dance. I was done for.”

“Shit.”

“You know, Claire has a daughter? She kept it from everyone, the last few months.”

“What the fuck?” Ace stops and looks at me, hard. “What do you know about this girl? I mean, really?”

“I know enough.”

“I’m not sure, bro. You already proposed. This is fast. Like, faster than Emmy and I. And Claire kept her kid a secret. Who does that?”

I don’t tell him it’s a fake engagement, because Claire asked me not to. But the truth is, I don’t want to tell him it’s fake because I want it to be real.

“You’re really gonna get high and mighty about secrets?” I flip him off. “You hid the fact that your name is Adrian Genova from us for five fucking years.”

“I know. But I had good reason.”

“It’s pretty fucking relative, though, isn’t it?” I ask.

“This is insane.” Ace sits next to me. “What is Claire’s crisis?”

“She knew she needed to come clean about her daughter.”

“You really ready to be a father?” Ace asks.

“I don’t know. But shit, I’d be anything for Claire. Right now, though, I just need to get my father to give me his company.”