Page 99 of The Fake Out

Is that what mothers did? I’d never know.

I wiped my face. “Sorry.”

“Tell me,” she urged.

“We hooked up last summer, but I don’t do relationships.”

She frowned. “Because Seth broke your heart.”

I nodded and wrung my hands. I trailed my hands over the flower tattoo that covered up Seth’s name. Her eyes widened. “Oh, Veronica. I knew he covered up your name, but you had his name tattooed too?”

I nodded. “Cover-up tattoos are my specialty now.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m so sorry.”

I shook my head. “It’s not your fault.” She opened her mouth to protest, but I held up a hand. “It’s not. He did us both wrong. I walked away with my heart shattered, but you have your daughter to worry about, too.”

“I know,” she admitted softly. “But I want to know what happened with you and Blaise. You looked so happy.”

“Lily, it wasn’t real. We were just pretending.”

Her eyes were saucers, and looking into her blue eyes reminded me of what it was like to look into Blaise’s. Like when we had made love, and he looked deep into my eyes before he kissed me like he meant it.

“Because of me,” she said sadly.

I shook my head. “Because of Seth.”

“Can I admit something to you?”

“Sure.”

“I think he did it on purpose.”

“Did what?”

“I wasn’t on the pill.”

“Oh?”

She stared at me for a moment, and then my eyes got wide as I realized what she was getting at. I was on the pill, but sometimes he conveniently ‘forgot’ to put a condom on. He always pulled out, but I wondered now. What kind of monster did that? I clenched my hands into fists. I was mad for this woman, for her baby, and for what the asshole would continue to put her through.

I wanted to say something else, but the door to the office opened, and my brother stood there with a deer in headlights look.

Lily smiled up at him. “I’m sorry.”

Alex shook his head. “I need to talk to my sister, but are you okay? Do you want one of us to walk you to your car?”

She shook her head. “I’m fine. Thanks though. I’m sorry about the disruption. I found those receipts, and he had been dodgy all week.”

Alex nodded.

Lily gave me a quick hug and stood up. “Veronica, I think you should call him because you may say it wasn’t real, but I know what I saw with my own two eyes.”

Alex walked her out, and I sat back in the office and tried to bury myself in the bookkeeping, but then my brother came back into the office. He stared at me, but I pretended not to notice him.

“Talk to me,” he urged.

I waved my hand at him. “No, go away. I have to figure out why these numbers don’t match.”