by Ashley Goss
Lacey mutters, “We will see how I feel in the morning after a good night’s sleep. Turn the damn light off.”
She was indeed a hard girl to handle. This was going to be harder than I thought when I planned this lie. I didn’t expect to have a woman that was disgusted by me. Most women flock to me because of my money, but she wasn’t. Yeah, she only came on this trip because I was paying her, but it was different. She didn’t expect a whole lot out of this trip, and it was utterly all for me. I needed to be kinder to her if I wanted her to stay on this trip. I didn’t have a choice at this point. Be nicer!
Chapter 8
Lacey
Who the hell thinks it’s okay to get up and start banging stuff around at 5am? Matteo did. Let’s be clear though, Matteo thinks of himself as higher power and not having any manners for those around him. He’s made that entirely clear in the last two days. Hell, all I wanted to do was sleep. I knew I was going to need it if I was going to be around him all day. It took everything in me not to be a complete bitch to him. Last night, I had to put him in his place. He needed to hear those things. Maybe, it will make him question himself.
I crawled out of bed and head straight to the bathroom. After getting ready for the day, I headed downstairs to consume breakfast. The one great thing about this trip was the food. The resort had so many different breakfast items to choose from. I planned on trying a little bit of everything before leaving here. Well, that was if Matteo doesn’t end up sending me home early. After last night, who knows, he might. I did say a lot of awful things to him, but they were all true. I would feel worse if they weren’t. However, there was no way I was going to apologize. He needed to hear them. Maybe, just maybe, he would think twice before he talked or treated me the way he did yesterday. I’m all about gaining $10,000, but I won’t be completely disrespected.
After grabbing a massive plate of food, I sat down at a small table hoping no one would bother me but alas, here comes Abigail.
“Lace, we are going to have so much fun today. Just us girls!”
What was she talking about? I wasn’t aware of this plan. Damnit, Matteo pawned me off on his sister so he wouldn’t have to face me today. How childish of him. I can’t be mad though, that meant I also didn’t have to put up with him today, so I was okay with it. Anything to make this trip a little more enjoyable. Bring it on!
“So, what’s the plan for today? Matteo didn’t mention this to me, but I am happy to spend some time with you today.” I told her. It wasn’t a lie. Happy to get away from him but couldn’t tell his sister that. This would raise suspicions. No need.
“Well, I thought we could go out on the water. I’ve wanted to go snorkeling and scuba diving. We can spend all day out there. What you think?”
She waited for an answer. My face said enough. I never had money so things like that we way out of my budget. How was I going to afford to pay for these things?
“Well, Matteo told me not to bring any money so I’m not sure I can go.”
“Oh hell, don’t worry hun. Anything you can do can be charged to his credit card. We are going to have fun today! I’ll meet you on the beach in 30!” She yelled as she walked away with the biggest smile on her face. Who was I to diminish her happiness?
After I ate and changed into my bathing suit, Abigail was waiting on the beach for me. Harbour Island had one of the beautiful beaches ever seen. The beach appeared to have pink sand, and the water was crystal blue.
“Follow me, they are waiting for us over there.” She pointed at a big yacht-like boat. Wow, it was huge and very extravagant. This was going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity! Ships like this didn’t come around very often. No way I was going to turn down this. A huge smile crept across my face realizing that my fear when I first got here would be diminished. I wouldn’t be stuck with Matteo the whole time. Here I was, standing in front of a huge boat, about to do things I’ve never gotten to experience. I climbed aboard and enjoyed the view as we joisted out into the ocean. We headed towards Devil’s backbone where the Captain told us that outlining coral reefs had stingrays and turtles. I liked turtles but not so much stingrays. Abigail put the scuba gear on and went straight into the water. I stood there scared. Yeah, it sounded like a great idea, but now I’m a little terrified. What if I get stung and then vanish? Nobody will be watching me from up here. Anything could happen. I decided to just stay on the boat. I had a great view from up here anyway. Far away in the distance, I could say pastel houses.
“What is that?” I asked the Captain as he took a sip of his beer. Don’t worry, he was at least trying to hide it.
“That’s Dunmore Town. We can make a pit stop there if you want before we head back.”
I wasn’t sure if I wanted too. Honestly, the longer I was on this boat, the worse I felt for denying the scuba diving experience. Why should I feel bad? I shook my head, telling myself not to beat myself up. Just enjoy yourself.
Abigail came back up to the boat as I helped her take off the equipment. “Wow, that was amazing. There is so much down there.”
She looked around realizing that I never went. “Why didn’t you come down? You would have loved it. Are you sure you don’t want too?”
I was sure. Scuba diving just wasn’t for me. The captain mentioned the fact I was curious about Dunmore Town, so Abigail decided to go there. She didn’t even ask me, just ordered the captain to take us there. I was really starting to like her. Abigail reminded me more of myself than I wanted to believe. Careful was what I needed to be. Getting to close to her would make the end result of this trip harder. No getting close to his family. You are leaving in 5 days.
“Come on, I want to do something you can enjoy too. Let’s go sightseeing, be tourists.” She said with a smile on her face.
One thing I really liked about Abigail was how upbeat she was all the time. Genuinely, I liked her. She wasn’t nothing like her brother. That arrogant asshole. If I didn’t know they were related, I never would have guessed it. They were just way too different in some many aspects.
When we reach Dunmore, we got out on the dock and admired the view. For miles, all I could see was Pastel houses and shops.
“Let’s go shopping!” Abigail yelled.
Since she mentioned we could charge everything to Matteo’s credit card, I didn’t object. The first couple of shops we bought beach hats and then decided to sit down and have lunch at this sit-down restaurant called The Waterfront. The tables were in the water. You could enjoy your food while sitting in the water. It was fascinating and never seen anything else like this. Instead of looking at the menu, I told the waiter to bring us whatever the specialty was. I wanted to try some authentic food before I left. Which for all I knew could be tonight with how things were going between Matteo and me.
Abigail and I enjoyed sitting there in the water while eating our food. It’s was a great experience and wish they did this everywhere. The icy blue water was just the right temperature.
“So, not to be weird, what are your intentions with my brother?” She asked looking a little like she was going to throw up. “I just know he had a rough time with girls in the past and I don’t want him getting hurt.”
I couldn’t tell her the truth because that would devastate her which meant I had to lie. “Well, to be quite honest, I am still getting to know him. There is a lot to know about your brother.”
She shook her head, “I meant, how is your relationship going?”
It’s hard for me to speak highly of a man that I can’t even be around. Here I was, doing everything in my power to stay out longer, so I didn’t have to go back to that room with him. For the sake of the money I replied, “It’s going fantastic. He’s very sweet even though you would never know because he refuses to show affection in public. It’s weird, but I can’t force him.”
I smiled because I knew this helped his case. The fact that we haven’t shown much affection besides holding hands had to make people wonder what was really going on between us? May
be, this would clear everything up, and Abigail would be on board.
“I can tell he is happy with you. Personally, that scares me much more than it does him. The last time he had a break-up, Shawn and I had to be there for him to put him back up on his feet. He was devastated. Has he told you about Kelsey? Actually, never mind that’s something I shouldn’t talk about until he tells you.”
I could she was starting to feel like her mother, a meddler. Abigail wasn’t one. She just wanted to look out for her big brother. I couldn’t blame her. If I had a big brother, I’d do the same. Something needed to be said, it just got incredibly awkward. “I can see myself being with him for a long time. I haven’t thought about marriage just yet. We haven’t been together long enough.”
I wanted to get off the subject of our relationship and onto hers. “So where did you and Shawn meet?” I figured if I could get the subject to change I wouldn’t have to lie anymore today. Lying wasn’t my strong suit. Especially, seeing as I would need to remember every lie, so I could fill Matteo in later. Our answers required to match.
She laughed, bit her lip, and started to explain but then stopped, “Wow, my brother hasn’t told you. I’m surprised. Well, we met thru him. Matteo and Shawn met in the fourth grade. He started coming home every day after school with him. We were all inseparable from that point on. We didn’t start to like each other more than friends until High School. One day, Shawn walked up and asked me out on a date. The fairytale started from there.”
Wow, they have been together since High school? I’m surprised they were just now getting married. Most people rushed into marriage after they graduate but not these two. Smart! Twenty-five percent of the kids I went to high school with were already married to their high school sweetheart. Why for the life of me would they do this?
“So, where did you two meet?” Abigail asked sipping on her mojito.
Shit, we hadn’t discussed what we were going to say when someone asked this, so I just went with the semi-truth, “We met at an event for his company. I ran into him and then we said some few choice words. At the end of the night, he asked for my number, and from there, well, we are here.” I smiled even though the story was entirely made up. She didn’t have to know that. It’s our little secret.
The one bad thing about lies was who knows if ours were going to be consistent. I’m sure someone had asked him that same question already but how did he answer? I doubt it will be the same answer as mine. What was he up to today? He wasn’t just sitting in the hotel room.
Chapter 9
Matteo
When Lacey decided to go with my sister, Shawn invited me along with him. I forgot to mention to her that my sister wanted to get to know her amidst the awkwardness of our fight. Obviously, I wanted to bring it up, mainly because I was shocked, but It never came up due to our fight last night. I hoped things would get better because I didn’t want to be stuck with someone who couldn’t stand me. A part of me also started to feel guilty for my coldness. How could I help it though? It was all I knew.
“You ready to go?” Shawn said from outside my hotel door. He had his usual goofy grin on his face, melting away from tense state.
“Coming.” I turned off the lights and off we went. I didn’t want anyone to know about lacey and I’s fight because then they’d start to pry, and that was the last thing I needed.
I figured Shawn had an entire agenda planned, however he just plopped right outside with his open shirt and a Mimosa. He didn’t really have much planned today. Relax. I had a mind to push him to something, but it wasn’t up to me. This was his decision to get married, even though it was my incredible sister, marriage was still a leap. Ultimately though, that was what he wanted to do. Sunbathing wasn’t productive, but I couldn’t blame him. Getting married seemed to be a very stressful time. Nothing like you see in movies. The stress, the drama, and not to mention the reality that you’re tied to one woman the rest of your life sounded like a goddamn nightmare. On top of All the stuff you had to get together and coordinate, I decided that marriage was a death trap. No thanks. Doesn’t seem like my kind of fun.
After lounging for a little longer, we walked to the bar on the beach, grabbed a table, and ordered us some Jack and Coke. “My sister still isn’t driving you nuts yet?” I asked jokingly. I knew those two were meant for each other, so I could joke around.
“Nope, never. Yours?”
I didn’t even reply because if I did, then the truth would have come out without me even noticing it. Thank god for that.
“She’s too pretty for you, brother.” He said laughingly. “I’m surprised she’s still with you. Look at you. What’s going on with you?”
I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I knew he was only trying to help. “What do you mean, what’s wrong with me? Nothing. I’m fine.”
“You have been uptight since you got here. Your girl should be loosening you up. Something wrong between you two? If so, just fix it.” He said giving me advice about my fake relationship.
“You know how I get around my family. It’s just how I am. We are fine.” I replied but felt sorry for lying to him. Hell, I had only ever lied to him a handful of times over our many years of friendship.
“So, a future with her?” He was reaching for an answer of marriage. Hell, even if this were a real relationship, I wouldn’t propose to a girl after a couple of months. Rushed relationships end in divorce. Proven fact!
“Hell, I don’t know yet. We have only been together for a couple of months, what do you expect? We haven’t known each other our whole lives like you and my sister. I would never marry a woman after a couple months of dating. Try at least a couple of years. Relationships are tricky and hard to manage for someone like me. Honestly, I’m surprised she’s still around.” I explained. It was the truth. She still here, although she could’ve snuck up and flown back sometime today without me even knowing. Let’s hope she would be in the room when I got there. That would be hard to explain.
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with Kelsey would it?” He asked.
Now, why the hell did he have to go and bring her up? If this were an actual relationship, Kelsey would have nothing to do with that. Yes, she did play me hard, so hard, in fact, I was going to ask her to marry me, but her true side came out just in time. I got lucky with the timing. Honestly, Kelsey had broken my heart. I fell in love with her when I was 21, she was a couple years older than me. When we broke up, my heart shattered. Deep down, I believed that no one would want me for myself but for my money. I had to give up the notion of finding someone to love. Fairytale endings weren’t true. That’s why they were called fairy tales.
So, for the past several years, I’ve just stayed to myself. Not putting any focus on any woman. I vowed to never put myself in the situation to be played like that again. Sure, I could be a significant douchebag sometimes, but I was great to her. I still asked myself why she had to do that to me?
Shawn seemed to feel the mood change. His big eyes started to look clouded as worry took over the vibe. That is not what I needed.
“More drinks?” I offered. Shawn hesitated, studying my face for a few seconds before shrugging.
“Sure, I don’t see why not.” Relief.
After our round of drinks came back out, I admittedly felt wounded. He brought up something I never wanted to think about again. Why do people mention things at the worst moments? I guess if they knew what was going on they wouldn’t, but that was too big of a risk.
I chugged beer after beer, allowing the alcohol to take over my body. Dizziness lured me to want to fall over, but Shawn caught me, sitting me down on the bench. I slapped his arm playfully, glad he was there to monitor me. After slowly sipping his drink though, Shawn sighed loudly, placing a sweaty hand on my shoulder.
“Just remember, not every girl is Kelsey. Lacey seems to genuinely care for you. Don’t let that slip by because of what that crazy woman did to you. You have to open up your heart at some point, bud.”
; I heard every word he said, and it made sense. However, I didn’t want to believe it. I’ve been so closed off since Kelsey that I have barely touched a woman since. I know it’s stupid, but even intimacy scared me. What happened if we spent too much time together? I didn’t want to catch feelings for anyone. My guard was always up around my weak heart.
“I heard you, brother. I know. I’m trying.” Was I though? Could I open my heart back up again? The answer had yet to reach my drunken mind.
A couple hours and many drinks later, Shawn shuffled me to the hotel room for bed. I was out of it. I really shouldn’t have drunk that much. Who knew what I had said?
All I could remember was the door opening to my hotel room and Lacey in a nightgown. Shawn handed me off to her. She could have just let me fall asleep on the floor, but she picked me up, undressed me, and got me into bed. Even after all the dickish things I’ve done and said to her, she was still a good person.
Chapter 10
Lacey
Yesterday, I didn’t get back to the hotel room until around 10:30 pm and Matteo was already asleep. I tried to be quiet. The last thing I wanted to do was wake him up. He looked peaceful, despite being a complete asshole. I laid down on the pull-out couch and regretted having to sleep on this damn thing again. It was by no means comfortable. Matter of fact, for the amount of money he’s probably paying, I would’ve thought it would be a lot more comfortable even for a pull-out couch.
I tossed and turned most of the night, but then my mind and body finally gave up. The hours in this place seemed to drag on, reminding me how miserable i was. I wished I was back in my dorm with my books and fluffy pillows. Unfortunately, after cracking one tired eye after another, my vision reminded me I was still trapped in the hold of Matteo and his impossible demeanor.
