Page 53 of Fox
I wait for her judgment. Dina is honest to her core, and this is going to rub her the wrong way.
She stares at me for a long moment. “Lucy Vidal, you are a fantastic actress and a very good liar.”
A choked laugh escapes me and pulls at my ribs. I wince.
“How—when—why?” She shakes her head. “Start from the beginning.”
So I do.
“He’s saying I love you at the hospital, and I’m thinking, why on earth is he saying this now and...I don’t know. I hear myself ask him who he is.” I rub a hand over my face. “What’s wrong with me?”
Dina purses her lips for a moment and then bursts out laughing.
“What?”
“Oh God, Lucy! You’re priceless. The man was…is so wrecked that you don’t remember him, and I know this isn’t revenge, but damn it’s sweet.”
I shoot her an unimpressed stare. “It’s not sweet. I’ve turned into a petty bitch. Open the blinds. Close the blinds. The tea is too hot. This is too cold. I want water. No, I want juice. I’m making the man run around.”
“The good news is that he wants to run around,” Dina points out. “He told me he fucked up with you, but he loves you and considering he’s lying his ass off just as you are....”
“Who would have thunk we’d both be such efficient liars?” I am a little disgusted with myself...both of us, actually. “How on earth can we have a decent marriage if we’re lying to one another?”
“I’m just impressed you’ve been able to hold on for this long.”
“Tell me about it.” I glance at her, a flush of guilt creeping up my neck. “I’m a little ashamed of myself.”
“As long as it’s just a little.” Dina leans back on the coffee table, planting her palms behind her for support. “Do you want me to give you an assessment of what’s going on?”
I groan. “I’m not sure.”
She shoots me a flat, unimpressed glare. “I think Fox found out he loves you and decided he’s going to just pretend the bad stuff never happened—and hopes that by the time you get your memory back, you’ll be convinced of his love thanks to all his acts of service, which by the way is his love language.”
“And why amIdoing this?”
Her eyes are gentle and filled with compassion. “You want to be convinced of his love.”
My breath hitches, which is a good thing because a gasp would’ve hurt my messed-up ribs. “So, I’m not just being a petty bitch?”
She lets out a soft laugh. “Oh, you’re being that, too, but he’s earned it.”
“What if I am convinced and he finds out I lied and...leaves me?”
Dina leans forward and rests her elbows on her knees. “Lucy, that man will walk on broken glass for you.”
I hold up a hand. “Please. He told Percy he doesn’t love me and never will.”
“He didn’t know then that he loved you.” Dina stands and rolls her neck, working the tension out of her shoulders. “Fox is…not one of the good guys, Lucy. He’s good to the peoplehe cares about—but if you cross him, you know he can be a complete asshole.”
I think about how he spoke to his mother, to Reina. But I also have other evidence.
The contractor who cut corners on a client’s event. Fox didn’t just fire him; he made sure every contact in Nashville knew why.
The investor who tried to go around him to David, thinking Fox wouldn’t find out. Well, he found out. The man hasn’t worked with anyone in Fox’s circle since.
The business partner who tried to undercut Percy got removed from every deal he wanted, professionally and socially, so efficiently that it looked accidental.
But, he also spent an entire Saturday helping his assistant, Haley, move furniture because she had no one else to ask.
