Page 77 of Vicious Seduction

If anyone knew, it would be Lawrence Wellington. I had planned to let him flail in the agonizing uncertainty of watching his world crumble for some time before I did anything else. Getting him to talk, though, would take a good deal of incentive. I hadn’t planned to move on to the physical torture part of my revenge until much later, but I hated tomake Lina wait longer than necessary. She’d already gone through so much.

“Yeah, baby. I think I know a way.”

CHAPTER 41

LINA

Oran droppedme by the workshop on his way to meet with some of his cousins. He said he’d have to work most of the day. I assured him a session with Cosmo could easily last until dark. After rescheduling twice, I was relieved to finally be in the right headspace to get some work done. Though, I had a feeling we would get off to a slow start.

I hadn’t worn my engagement ring around Cosmo because explaining it all had felt like too much. An explanation was still going to be a little insane, but at least I didn’t have to tell him I was being blackmailed into a fake engagement. This was real.

It boggled my mind, but Oran had made his feelings clear. He wanted me, and I was hopelessly lost for him. Theuncertainty of such an intense, sudden connection was overwhelming, but we’d take it one day at a time. And today, that meant telling my longtime friend that I was engaged.

Of course, I didn’t have to say a word. Cosmo’s sharp eyes locked onto the sparkling diamond as if my entire hand had been gold-plated and bejeweled. His jaw hit the floor.

“It’s costume, right? Tell me it’s costume.”

I laughed, running my thumb across the back of the band. “Funny story—it’s been kind of a crazy couple of weeks.”

“You met someone and got engaged in two weeks?” He slid into a chair. “Sit. Spill.”

“I met him about six weeks ago.” I set down my work tote and hung up my coat before joining him at the table. “So it wasn’t just two weeks.”

“Oh, thankGod. A whole six weeks. I thought maybe you were rushing into something.” Every word dripped with sarcasm. And just in case I didn’t get the message, his eyes rolled so far into the back of his head that I worried he’d detach a retina.

“I know, I know. It seems really fast, but you know me, Coz. Have I ever done anything brash or committed to anything without thorough consideration?”

He studied me from the corner of his eyes. “You’re the most ridiculously cautious person I know.”

“Exactly.”

“I’m not sure if that makes it better or worse.”

I smiled. “It’s all good, babe. I promise.” The craziest part was I actually believed it. The world’s worst cynic had somehow learned to have faith. Would wonders never cease?

“Well, then. I’m going to need every gritty detail.” He leaned back and waved regally for me to proceed.

Grinning right down to my toes, I launched into a doctored version of my whirlwind romance with Oran. I triedto keep things simple—if only because we really did have a lot of work to do but also because it would make things easier to remember later.

After a half hour, Cosmo had heard enough to reluctantly allow me to redirect our conversation to fabrics and design. We spent the next two hours sketching, rummaging through fabrics, and laughing our asses off. Time with Cosmo rejuvenated my soul the way sleep rejuvenated my mind. I’d much rather have had a single Cosmo in my life than a hundred superficial friendships. No question.

We had decided to take a quick snack break when my phone rang. I’d half expected to see Oran’s name on the screen, but it was Gloria, to my surprise.

“Hey, Mama G. What’s up?”

“Lina! You’ll never believe it. Amelie surprised us with a visit home. Maybe you already knew, but I wanted to call and make sure. I know you’ve missed her as much as I have.” Her boisterous excitement was palpable even across the phone. I couldn’t make sense of it.

“What do you mean she came home?” If there was any truth to what Oran had told me, the chances of my sister magically reappearing were almost nil. “That can’t be right.”

“It is, mija. I saw her myself. I know you don’t like coming over here, but I’d love to have my two girls together again.”

She saw Amelie? Gloria couldn’t be deceptive if she tried. If she said she saw Amelie, then she saw her.

My heart forgot how to keep a rhythm, skipping and stuttering until my head spun.

I was scared to believe it was real, but my heart had held tight to a scrap of hope in the unlikely event that I received this very sort of call. Having Mellie back would be the ultimate miracle—practically impossible—yet my heart seized itschance to foster a new wellspring of hope, rejecting all logic to the contrary.

“Yes, I’ll come by right now. As quickly as I can.”