Page 23

The accusation struck me like a physical blow, partly because it was technically true and partly because it felt completely wrong. What Gianna and I had might have started as an arrangement, but it had become something else entirely. Something real enough that I’d spent the last three nights lying awake thinking about the taste of her lips and the way she’d looked at me afterward.
“You’re fishing,” I said finally.
“Am I? Then you won’t mind if I have my lawyer look into the timeline. When you applied for the marriage license, how long you’d been ‘dating,’ whether anyone can verify this grand romance actually existed before you started worrying about custody.”
My hands clenched around my coffee cup. “Leave Gianna out of this.”
“I can’t do that. She’s inserted herself into my son’s life, playing house with a man she barely knows, and you expect me to just accept it?”
“We’re not playing, Lyla. She was my friend before you walked out of our lives. You know this. You know her. She loves Luca.”
“I’m sure she does. He’s a lovable kid. But loving someone else’s child doesn’t make you a mother, and it certainly doesn’t make you qualified to influence decisions about his future.”
The contempt in her voice made my temper spike. “You mean the way you’ve been influencing his future? Missing his games, canceling visits, using him as a weapon in whatever game you’re playing?”
Lyla’s composed mask slipped for just a moment, revealing something raw underneath. “I’m trying to protect him.”
“From what? From having a stable home with two parents who actually show up?”
“From watching you use another woman as a placeholder until someone better comes along.” Her voice rose slightly, drawing glances from nearby tables. “That’s what you do, Colby. You find women who’ll take care of you and Luca until you get bored or find an excuse to leave.”
“That’s not?—”
“Isn’t it? How long did Sarah last? Six months? And what about that teacher, Rebecca? She was good with Luca too, until you decided she was getting too attached.”
The names struck me like slaps. Sarah and Rebecca, two women I’d dated briefly over the past few years, both of whom had tried to build something lasting with me and Luca. Both of whom I’d eventually pushed away when things got too serious, too real.
“This is different,” I said, but the words sounded hollow even to my own ears.
“How? Because you married this one? Because you’re willing to commit fraud to maintain custody?” Lyla leaned back in her chair, looking satisfied. “Face it, Colby. You’re so desperate to keep Luca that you’ll drag an innocent woman into your mess and pretend it’s love.”
“Don’t tell me what I feel.”
“Then tell me yourself. Look me in the eye and tell me you’re madly in love with Gianna Stapleton. Tell me this isn’t about proving you can provide stability.”
I stared at her across the small table, my heart hammering against my ribs. The truth was complicated, messy, impossible to explain in simple terms. Had I married Gianna to help with custody? Yes. Was I in love with her? The kiss three nights ago suggested I was, but the foundation of our relationship made everything uncertain.
“I thought so,” Lyla said when I didn’t answer immediately. “You can’t even convince yourself, let alone a judge.”
“What do you want, Lyla?”
“I want what’s best for Luca. And what’s best for him isn’t watching his father manipulate women and call it love.”
“So you’re going to take him away from his home, his friends, his school? You’re going to uproot his entire life to prove a point?”
“I’m going to give him stability. Real stability, not this house of cards you’ve built with your convenient wife.”
I stood up abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor. “We’re done here.”
“Sit down, Colby. I’m not finished.”
“Yes, you are.” I threw a ten on the table to cover our coffee. “If you want to keep playing games, do it through the lawyers. Leave Gianna alone.”
“I can’t promise that. If she’s going to be part of this situation, she’s fair game.”
The threat in her voice made my blood run cold. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect my son. Even if it means exposing the truth about your marriage.”