Most definitely not part of my fresh start.
But wait…
If he’s Landon and Luca is his twin, then I slept with his twin and not him? I study him closer. No. That’s not right. This is him. I’m certain it is. I may not know his twin, but my body recognizes him. Not only that, he’s not pretending he’s never seen me before. As a twin myself, I know what being identical is like. What people mistaking you for the other is like.
That’s not what this is.
This was him pulling a con on a woman who didn’t know better.
I stare a little harder into his eyes and yes, there’s that freckle I noticed last night. This is him. No doubt in my mind.
I blink, rocking back as I attempt to put all the pieces together. I should have Googled him, but I didn’t. Again, one night and a fresh start. Also, I didn’t know his last name until now. He looks so much taller than he did last night. Maybe it’s my lack of heels, but wow. He’s huge. Landon Fritz has to be at least six-three if not taller.
Landon Fritz. Luca Fritz. What the fuck?
Adjusting the large awkward box in his arms, holding it tighter to his chest—arms and chest I explored last night—he glares almost accusingly. His green Henley matches his eyes perfectly, only dark-rimmed glasses frame those gorgeous eyes tonight. Those are new to me, as is the colder than ice expression he’s giving me.
“You lied to me.”
“You live here?” he replies instead of addressing my accusation. “That whole thing about moving to a new town? This is what you meant?”
I nod numbly, chewing furiously on my bottom lip. I’m not sure what to do about this. He blows out a blustery breath, his head falling back as he stares aimlessly up at the night sky.
“Fuck,” he hisses.
“Yeah. Fuck. That’s what we did not even twenty-four hours ago, and that’s exactly what this situation is. Why did you lie to me about your name? About who you are?”
His chin drops. “It’s a long story, and if I tried to explain it to you, you wouldn’t understand.”
Well, that pisses me off. I shift my weight onto my right foot, crossing my arms over my chest. “Try me. I may talk slow, but I can assure you, I’m not.”
He grunts. “That’s not what I meant. Listen, I’m sorry I lied to you about who I was. But in fairness, I wasn’t supposed to see you again, so truly, what does it matter?”
Right. I guess he’s right about that. But still… “You told me you were someone else before we had sex. I said your name. Your brother’s name. What we did…” I shake my head. “The sex might not have meant anything but lying…” I shake my head again, at a total loss for words. I feel cheap and used and gross and stupid.
Everything I’ve felt for the last two years of my marriage to David.
I take a step back, needing distance from this cruel, deplorable man.
“You’re such an unbelievable asshole! Who does that? Who pretends to be their brother while picking up women?”
He glances toward what I presume to be his house and then back at me. “You don’t know me, okay? You don’t know who or what I am here. But others, they do. They know everything, and I did what I had to do to protect myself and my family.”
My eyebrows furrow. That doesn’t even make sense.
“You’re right. I don’t know you, nor do I want to,” I blurt out because I’m not sure what else I’m supposed to say at this point. His lack of remorse is killing me. “I can’t believe I thought you were sweet and charming. I thought you were a decent guy. You’re none of those things. You’re a user and a liar.”
“You didn’t talk to me long enough to determine if I was any of those things.” He glowers at me, his tone harsh and unforgiving. “You got what you wanted as much as I did. What difference does it make who we said we were?”
Because by lying you make me feel worthless. Not even good enough to deserve your real name. Only I can’t make the words come out.
He grunts again. “It doesn’t matter. It’s probably better if you think of me this way.”
“Fine. We can make it like it never happened. That was in a different town, in a different place. We were different people.” I snort derisively. “Obviously.”
His chin drops, and his eyes meet mine. I don’t know what that expression is now. It’s not anger or disappointment necessarily. It’s not relief either. All I know is that the smile from last night is gone. And so is the man.
In his place is this surly, heartless person, and I can’t stand it.
He just stands here, gripping my box as he does a sweep of my ensemble. He finds my socks first before lingering on the hem of my robe, and once he locates my eyes, he’s even more displeased than seconds ago.
“I’m sorry,” he apologizes, not sounding sorry at all. “My brother’s dog is staying with us, and he got to your box before I could stop him.”
Right. My box. “Your identical twin brother? Is that the one you mean?” I sneer. Wait… did he say us? Is he married? Is that why he used his brother’s name? Holy shit. Did I just become the other woman? Is he so callous and disgusting that he cheated, only to sneak out and come back home to his wife?
The backs of my eyes and the tip of my nose burn with tears and humiliation. I didn’t shed a tear in front of David, and I’ll be damned if I do now in front of this stranger.
But before I can formulate a response. Before I can take my ruined box from his large, partially outstretched hands. Before I can even grow more irate about his lack of remorse over lying or damaging something that doesn’t even belong to him, or the crappy way he’s treating me, a loud, heavy bark catches my attention. A startled shriek rips through the air, and it takes me a second to realize that sound came from me. My eyes widen as a giant black bear comes barreling across the front lawn in my direction.
“Gulliver. No!” Landon yells. “Stop. Gulliver!” The dog doesn’t listen. It’s a beast on a mission. Landon awkwardly juggles my box as he attempts to shift his position and grab ahold of the dog before he reaches me.
He fails.
The box goes flying in the air, crashing onto the stone front step, and smashing open with all of my bras and panties strewn every which way.
But all of that is more of an afterthought as Gulliver slams into me, knocking me down onto my back just inside the threshold of the house. The dog climbs up, getting right in my face, his large paws planting themselves on my chest. He barks playfully, licking my cheeks and nose like I’m made of hamburgers.
I giggle, trying to push the love lush off me. My best friend growing up had a dog like this. English Mastiffs are my absolute favorites, and this one is the epitome of a gentle giant. But he is a giant. Gulliver indeed. A heavy one. With nails that are digging into my flesh.
“Come on, boy. You’ve already gotten us into enough trouble.” Landon tugs once, but this dog is persistent. “I think you’ve had enough fun for one night. Off,” he commands with the same shrill tone he’s used on me tonight.
Landon finally manages to drag the overzealous dog begrudgingly off me, and I use the sleeve of my robe to wipe my face. My smile is uncontainable for exactly one more second. That’s when two things happen simultaneously.