Lies in Love (36 page)

Talia
closed out the register and put away the files she’d been going
through as busy work to avoid any more interrogation from Landon. She
didn’t want to explain who Mason was or what he did. She didn’t
want to waste any more time on Mason. He definitely didn’t
deserve it. When Landon had brought the displays in from outside, he
headed up to the apartment without a word, leaving her to lock up
alone. As she made her way upstairs, she was consumed with worry over
what she would find. It wasn’t much of a surprise that he was
in her bedroom with his duffle bag laid out on the bed. “You’re
leaving?” She’d tried to keep her voice calm, realizing
that the discussion they’d had the night before hadn’t
softened his anger when the Mason issue arose.

“I
wasn’t planning on it, but if it’s what you want, I’ll
go.” He didn’t look up at her, he just kept digging in
his bag.

“No,
that’s not what I want.” She walked over to him, gently
touching his arm. “I’m sorry.”

He
pulled his hands from the bag, dropping a prescription bottle on the
bed, and turned to look at her. “I just want you to talk to me.
I want you to trust me enough to
want
to tell me everything. I feel like I’m failing you when you
don’t tell me what’s bothering you.”

Talia
dropped her head, looking at the pill bottle. “Are you okay?”
She didn’t want to dwell on the skeletons in her closet.

“Just
a migraine.”

When
he returned his attention to retrieving his medicine from the
container, Talia knew he was done talking. “Landon, I’m
sorry. I just don’t see any point in rehashing my past. It
doesn’t matter. Those flowers should have never even been
sent.”

Landon
stood frozen, clutching his pill in his hand. “It matters to
me.” His voice was nearly inaudible.

“Please
don’t let this come between us. I can’t let Mason ruin
this relationship too.”

Landon
pivoted to look at her, taking hold of her shoulders. “I don’t
want this to come between us. I just need you to trust me.”

Talia
nodded, but when she didn’t say anything in response, he left
the room. She followed him out and found him filling a glass in the
kitchen. “Landon, I’m sorry. Please just give me a little
more time. I’m not used to having to depend on anybody. I’ve
been taking care of myself for so long now, it’s not easy for
me to confide in anyone else.”

Landon
threw his head back to take his pill and faced her. “Sharing my
life with someone isn’t in
my
nature, but I’m trying, Talia. I was hoping you would try to do
the same.”

“It’s
hard for me to be that vulnerable.” She crept to his side and
continued, “I don’t want you to see that side of me, to
see my flaws. I don’t want to be
that
girl anymore, but I will try for you.”

“I’m
here when you’re ready.” He kissed her cheek and returned
to the bedroom, leaving her standing alone.

Talia
woke in pain, having fallen asleep in her dad’s old recliner,
suffering from a spring or two poking into her back. She tried to
adjust for a more comfortable position, fairly certain after last
night’s conversation that Landon wouldn’t have wanted to
share the bed with her. She could have slept in the spare bedroom,
but after hours of contemplating whether or not she would join him,
she fell asleep in that old lousy chair. The chair’s only
saving grace was knowing how much the stupid thing meant to her dad.
It had actually become a fixture that she couldn’t imagine
parting with.

While
wishing sleep would take over again, Talia heard the sound of her
alarm clock buzzing in the bedroom and she snuck in to shut it off.
She hoped she’d silence it before Landon woke, but as she
pressed the snooze button, a rustling startled her from behind.

“What
are you doing?”

Talia
turned to find him rubbing his eyes. “I’m sorry. I was
hoping the alarm wouldn’t wake you.” She watched as he
surveyed her clothes, the ones she’d worn the day before, then
looked to her side of the bed, which was still made.

“You
didn’t come to bed last night?” His brow wrinkled.

She
leaned against her dresser and replied, “No.”

“Why
not?”

Her
head turned to look toward the wall, avoiding Landon’s
scrutiny.

“Talia,”
his voice grew commanding. “Where did you sleep last night?”

She
still refused to look at him, never answering his question.

“You
did sleep last night, didn’t you?”

He
is relentless
.
Talia grumbled, “Yes.”

“Petal.”
Landon crawled to the edge of the bed and grasped her hand. “Why
didn’t you come to bed?”

“Because,
I’m no good for you. I’m not sure I ever will be.”

Turning
her hand in his, Landon kissed her palm, never letting her go.
“You’re perfect for me.” He laid her hand against
his cheek and continued, “I didn’t know what perfect felt
like until you.”

Talia
suppressed her tears as she shook her head.
How
can he say that?
She
knew he wouldn’t feel that way if he knew about her past.

Standing
from the bed, Landon took her head in his hands. “I know it’s
hard for you to see right now, but there would never be anyone more
perfect for me. You’ve made me so much better. You’ve
turned me into someone that my family might one day be able to be
proud of. It’s me who’s not good enough for you.”

Talia
continued to shake her head, but his hands stilled her.

“I’m
not worth a damn without you.”

She
clutched him to her, so confounded by what he could possibly see in
her. She was certain he imagined it all. If she was so good, why had
Mason betrayed her so easily? She’d spent every day trying to
be perfect for him and it hadn’t made a bit of difference. “Why
do you love me? It doesn’t make sense.”

Landon’s
forehead fell against hers. “It makes perfect sense to me. If
I’d never met you, I’d be someone else right now. I’d
have continued being a huge embarrassment to my family and throwing
my life away.”

His
eyes were intensely locked on hers. She was prepared to ask what he
meant when she heard the door leading from the shop to her apartment
open and shut again.

“Talia?”
Sara called from the living room. “Talia?”

Talia
walked out of her bedroom, wondering why Sara had come in so early
and ready to confront her for barging in when the look on Sara’s
face dumbfounded her.

“Did
you sleep in that?”

Talia
instantly remembered she was still wearing yesterday’s clothes,
but she didn’t want to answer to her sister for it. “What
do you want, Sara?”

“You
have a phone call.”

Confused,
Talia commanded, “Take a message and I’ll call them when
I make it down.”

Sara
shook her head. “Nu-uh. You need to take this call.”

Talia
huffed and rolled her eyes. “Who is it?”

Sara
shook her head. “Just come downstairs.”

“Ugh.
Let me change and I’ll come down.” She watched her sister
leave before she jumped to action and returned to her room. Landon
was sitting at the foot of the bed, dressed and tying his shoes. She
knew he heard the conversation. Marching to her closet, she grabbed
the first thing she found and threw it on.

“I’ll
see you downstairs.”

Landon’s
voice surprised her. She looked to his solemn face and shrugged her
shoulders.

“Okay.”

Talia
pushed his look of desperation from her mind and quickly changed into
a spaghetti-strap, Bohemian-style print dress, then ran downstairs.

Perched
behind the counter, Sara sat bouncing next to the phone that lay on
the counter, a dark velvet box sitting next to it.

Talia
gave her sister a questioning look before picking up the phone. When
Sara remained within earshot, Talia shooed her away with the wave of
her hand. Once Sara was out of sight, Talia finally spoke, “Hello?”

“Tal?”

Talia’s
mouth went dry as a wave of intense anger swept over her.

“Baby?
Are you there?”

“I
told you never to contact me again,” she seethed.

“Are
you still playing that game? Come on, baby. It’s been months. I
know you miss me.”

Talia
tried to keep her voice down as her anger grew. “No, Mason, I
haven’t missed you at all. In fact, you’ve been the
furthest thing from my mind.”

“Come
on, baby. Don’t kid yourself.”

Exasperated,
Talia tried to change the subject. “What do you want, Mason?”

“I
wanted to tell you how sorry I am. What I did, well, it was an
accident, a stupid mistake. Surely you can forgive me for a stupid
mistake.”

Trying
to stop him, Talia blurted crossly, “Mason.”

“Now,
Talia, I’ve given you plenty of time to come to your senses.
Your ring is there so put it back on and we can pick up where we left
off at Marisa’s wedding tomorrow.”

Talia
laughed ironically. “You must be kidding.”

“Baby,
you don’t want to embarrass yourself by showing up alone.”

“I
won’t.”

“That’s
better.”

“No,
Mason. I won’t be showing up alone, but I won’t be
showing up with you either. I will
never
let you humiliate me again.
Ever
.”
Talia had kept her composure together until now. “Don’t
you dare call here again and leave my sister alone. We are through.”
Before he could rebut, Talia ended the call and set the phone back in
its charging station.

“What
the hell, Talia? You’re throwing everything away.” Sara
appeared in the pass-through.

“Mason
threw everything away, when…” Talia was about to tell
all when she spotted Landon over Sara’s shoulder. “Here.”
Talia shoved the velvet box in Sara’s hand. “I don’t
want to see this fucking thing ever again.”

Dejected,
Sara took the ring. “You don’t deserve him. You never
did. Mason was a prince and you’re just some sleazy whore
slumming it with the likes of him.” Sara thumbed over her
shoulder toward Landon.

“Wait
a minute!” Landon bellowed from the backroom.

Talia
stumbled backward against the counter, completely taken aback by her
sister’s lashing tongue. “How dare you take his side!
You’re my sister.” Her shoulders trembled while she
stared daggers into her sister.

“Just
because we’re blood doesn’t mean I would sympathize with
your idiocy.” A darkness fell over Sara’s eyes as she
stepped closer to Talia. “Do you have any idea how many people
Landon has slept with? He’s a…”

“Whoa,
whoa, whoa.” Camey came barreling through the shop, grabbing
Sara’s shoulders and stopping her attack. She hurriedly rounded
Sara to stand nose to nose with her and began whispering inaudibly.
“What are you doing?”

“Are
you okay?” Landon was instantly there, in front of her.

Talia’s
arms propelled around him, pulling him tightly to her as she tried to
drown out the whispers of Sara and Camey. When she heard the sound of
angry footsteps, she stepped away from Landon to find Sara running
out of the shop.

“Sara?”
Camey called. Sara didn’t falter, withdrawing faster when Camey
said her name. When the back door slammed shut, Camey turned around
and looked at Talia. “What brought all of this on?”

“Mason
called.” Talia fidgeted with her hands, trying to find
something to keep them occupied.

“Oh.”
Camey stared at Talia, then looked at Landon. “Can you give us
a minute?”

Out
of the corner of her eye, Talia saw Landon walking away.

When
they were alone, Camey asked, “What did he want?”

“He
wanted me to take him back. He gave the engagement ring to Sara and
had her leave it here for me. He said he wanted us to be official at
Marisa’s wedding.”

“Wow.”
Camey looked over her shoulder before whispering, “Well you’re
not taking him back, are you?”

“What?”
Talia’s eyes shot wide. “Of course not. I’m done
with him.”

“And
if he shows up at the wedding tomorrow?” Camey paused briefly
before continuing, “Your decision could completely change when
you see him.”

“That
will
never
happen. Besides, he wouldn’t be stupid enough to show up to
Marisa’s wedding by himself.”

Camey
shrugged her shoulders and walked away. Landon reentered the room
when she was gone.

“You
okay, Petal?”

Talia
nodded. “I’m fine.” She started to move past him,
but his hand caught hers, spinning her to face him.

“I’m
here.”

“I
know.” As she looked up into his soothing sapphire eyes, he
leaned down and kissed her forehead then let her go. She hoped she’d
soon find the courage to tell him about Mason, about why she was so
broken, because she knew he was the only person who could make her
whole again.

“You
heard from Sara?”