“Not walk away, exactly. More like doing what’s best for someone you love.”
My throat feels tight, like the words are stuck there. “You’re asking me to choose between him and my family.”
Part of me wants to tell him off, to prove to him he can’t force me to choose. If he doesn’t want to give me the contract, so be it. But I will not let him drive me away from Brendan.
“I’m giving you what you originally agreed to when you set up this arrangement,” Rafael says as if he’s trying to approach this logically. “The only thing I’m asking in return is that you let this relationship run its natural course. After that, you can go back to being friends. Or whatever it was between you two.”
Little does he know, there’s no going back now.I can’t turn off my feelings now that he’s become a part of me.
I shake my head. “It’s impossible for me to do that.”
“It did start as an arrangement, didn’t it?” His eyes level with mine, and what’s behind them is an uncomfortable truth. “A mutually beneficial agreement that would end after the wedding? I’m only suggesting you let it end the way it began—as an agreement that has served its purpose.”
“But it’s not like that anymore,” I say, shaking my head. “I love Brendan and that won’t change after the wedding is over.”
“If you really love him,” he says with a glint of challenge. “You’ll do what’s best for everyone. Then his family won’t have to know the truth.”
I feel like someone just knocked the wind out of me. I narrow my gaze. “You’re going to tell everyone?”
“It’s my responsibility to. They have a right to know why Brendan is dating you.”
That jerk is going to make me look like some kind of gold digger, out to take their money. Since Eli already has one strike against our family,I’m screwed. Even if I don’t take the contract, there’s no way they’ll see me as someone they could accept into their family.
I glance back to the dance floor and see the hockey team and their girlfriends doing the cupid shuffle. Behind them are Isabella, Aunt Elana, and Grandma Rosa, laughing as they try to follow along.
Just when I think things couldn’t get worse, I imagine the disappointment in their eyes, when Rafael tells them Brendan and I engineered a pretend relationship.
My stomach churns.
Rafael sets his glass down on a napkin. “I’m not asking you to decide tonight. Just think about it for a few days.” He pushes a business card across the bar. “When you’ve made your decision, call me. If you decide to accept the contract, the terms will be generous.”
I stare at the business card. “And if I don’t?”
Rafael’s mouth is a tight line. “Then I’ll assume you’ve chosen to pursue Brendan, which would leave me no choice but to be honest with my family. They have a right to know the truth.” He buttons his jacket, preparing to leave. “Think about it, Miss Rossi. You’re a smart woman. You know what the right choice is.”
Then he’s gone, and I’m left sitting at the bar with his business card and what feels like the most terrible decision ever.
Take the contract—which saves my family—and let Brendan go.
Or stay with Brendan, watch his family learn the truth—thatI agreed to date him because I needed something from them—and forfeit the chance to save our coffee shop.
Either way, I lose.
It’s just like Taylor said in the dressing room: I’ll never be one of them.
Across the patio, Brendan is laughing with his mom as she finishes the dance. She kisses his face, and he beams at her.
Even if I tried to explain things, would they believe me? Or would they side with Rafael Marco, who’s been the foundation of this family for decades? Who supported them through Carmen’s accident and gave Brendan his career?
My world spins, and I slam my eyes shut.
That’s when my phone vibrates in my clutch. I pull it out and see the call is from Mom.
She wouldn’t contact me unless it was an emergency. I grab the business card and walk into the house, away from the music and crowd.
I slump into an armchair. “Hey, Mom, what’s wrong?”
“Scarlett, honey, I’m sorry to bother you.” Dad has a coughing fit somewhere in the background. “Dad’s not getting better. His breathing has gotten worse and I’m taking him to the hospital now.”