Page 32 of Love Arranged

“Okay, so letme get this straight—if Julian does something wrong or unlikeable, it doesn’t matter because he had good intentions, but if Lorenzo does something nice, he must have some secret motive?”

Perhaps deep,deepdown, part of me feels protective over Lorenzo because once upon a time, Ididlike him, and people judging him makes me wonder what would’ve happened if we had become a real couple.

At least you’ll never have to find out.

I decide to grab two sandwiches before meeting my mom in the Park Promenade for lunch. We sit at a bench underneath one of the structures, watching boats glide across the water and a group of summer campers prepare for a hike around part of the lake.

I’m so anxious to talk to her about the letter, I can only manage a few bites of my food. When my mom asks me if everything is okay, I decide to open up to her.

“I want to start with saying I have everything under control.” I don’t, but Iwill.

“Okay…what’s going on?”

Her face leeches of color as I describe how the condemnation act works.

“So that’s it? They buy us out, tear down the building, and repurpose it?”

I nod. “They are offering a lot of hush money to those who sign an NDA. That combined with the purchase price for the property would be hard for people to resist.”

She clutches her chest, and I panic. “Are you feeling okay?”

My mom’s heart condition is minor, but her doctor said any additional stress and high blood pressure can turn it into a much bigger issue.

She shuts her eyes and nods. “I’m a bit…overwhelmed.”

“I’ll figure it out,Mami. No one is going to take our shop away from us.”

She cups my cheek. “I know you’ll try your best.”

Not exactly the vote of confidence I need, but I’ll take it.

“But…” my mom starts, and now I’m the one who’s suffering from cardiac issues.

“What?” I whisper.

“I don’t know if there is anything we can do.”

“Of course there is.” I just haven’t figured it out yet.

“How much money are they offering?”

I grab her letter from my purse and hand it over.

Her eyes go wide as she reads it. “That is a lot more than I thought.”

“Yup.” I scowl. The Ludlows are mega-millionaires who can afford it, which is why they wouldn’t care if Julian offered them triple the fair market value to stay away from Lavender Lane.

My mom continues looking at the fancy piece of paper. “Liliana…”

“No,” I immediately say.

Her gaze darts back to the paper. “I think we should sign the NDA.”

“What?” I screech. “Are you joking?”

“We could split themoney?—”

“I don’t want anything to do with it.”