I don’t like the easygoing feeling spreading through my body from his words. Nope, nope, nope. I survived years of foster care because I didn’t fall for flowery words and empty promises. I’m the one who likes to be in control of how much I share about myself.
His eyes soften. “You might not trust me now, but you will eventually.”
“That’s quite the claim coming from you.”
“I’m not one to state things I don’t mean. If it takes you some more time to open up, that’s fine. I’m not exactly going anywhere.” He points to his iWalk. “Plus, we have a car to fix up together. You already offered your services.”
My heart warms at the notion. It’s the first time he’s openly addressed his injury without an ounce of contempt. His reaction has me smiling.
“Why do you even want my trust anyway? That’s not a requirement of fake dating.”
“Because some people in life are worth the extra effort.”
My breath catches at his words. I thought it would be fun to drag the hermit out of his shell, but it turns out he’s working his own magic on me.
He has me hoping that he proves me wrong. And that in itself is the most concerning thing about him.
“Chloe. I need you to come to my house right now and save me. My mom is on her way,” Santiago whispers into the phone.
That’s not exactly what I expect to hear come out of Santiago’s mouth the moment I answered his phone call.
“Huh?” I rub the sleep from my eyes after my afternoon nap. Work today completely wiped me out because Matteo finally asked me to help him with some rush orders after a swarm of tourists showed up at his shop.
“My mom is coming to my house right now and she’s asking for you.”
“What?” I rise from the bed. “You didn’t mention your mom visiting! And what do you mean ‘she’s asking for me’？ This was not part of the plan.”
“Trust me, you’re not the only one who’s surprised. But she wants to meet my girlfriend.”
“Is that even normal for her to show up unannounced?” What kind of family does this man have?
“No,” he grumbles. “But I’m guessing Maya’s little story got her all kinds of excited. I’ll get to the bottom of that issue after.”
“Fuck.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“This is getting out of control. I’m not ready to meet your mom. I barely know anything about you!”
“You know enough about me to survive meeting my mom. I swear I wouldn’t put you in this situation if I didn’t think you could fake it. Plus, she’s going to want to batter you with questions about yourself, not me.”
“Oh, God.” So much for Santiago giving me time to open up. This is a total nightmare.
“But I should warn you. My mom can smell a lie from a mile away. Hell, she knew about Noah and Maya liking each other before I did.”
I drop my head against the pillows and throw my arm over my eyes. “What do you want me to do? Everything about us is a lie!”
“Well, not everything.” His voice drops low.
Goosebumps rise across my skin, reminding me why hanging around him more than necessary is deadly. “How am I supposed to pretend in front of a human polygraph machine?”
“She’s going to be busy getting to know you, I doubt she’ll ask you much about me. I’m not the reason she came to visit. So, don’t worry. She’ll love you.”
“Easy for you to say,” I grumble under my breath.
He chuckles. “Come and fake it for a few hours until I say you have to go to bed early because you have to work tomorrow. It’ll be easy.”
“Fine. What’s a few hours of questions and your mom?”
This is the moment Morgan Freeman, the narrator of my life, interrupts me to say how this is a very bad idea.
Screw you, narrator. Screw you.
18
Santiago
“You told me you wouldn’t tell her anything until I did!” I run both hands through my hair, tugging at the thick strands.
Maya and I both whisper in the kitchen while Marko plays with his toys in the living room. She came by herself to pick up Marko today while Noah busies himself at Bandini’s headquarters in Milan, prepping for his Monza race.
Maya throws her hands in the air. “It wasn’t me! Marko mentioned her to Mami when they talked on the phone this morning after she landed in Madrid. What did you expect me to do? Rip the phone out of his hands and hang up?”