Page 38 of The Summer We Made Promises (The Destin Diaries #3)

“Tell me I’m wrong, Lace. You love that woman. And you don’t love me.”

“I don’t…” She pressed her hands over her chest. “I don’t want to make that choice.”

“But you love her,” he said. “As you should. I’m just a guy who likes the hell out of you. But we could be more, I have no doubt. It might take work and time and long distance, but I think you and I could be the real deal.”

Her heart slammed her ribs so loudly she thought he might hear it. “I think we could, too,” she whispered.

“But not if Tessa blows a stack or insists I go away or demands we not tell anyone. I couldn’t continue a relationship with you if she wanted to act like I’m just…another guy you’re dating. I’m her son .”

For a moment, neither one of them spoke, but just held hands and looked into each other’s eyes.

“You’re right,” Lacey finally admitted as she let her brain play out all the possibilities.

“You’d pick Tessa over me?”

Very slowly, she nodded. “She’s like family now and she’s been so, so good to me.” She felt her face crumple with tears. “And I lied to her. Your mother’s right. That was wrong, Roman. That was so, so wrong.”

The realization punched and she folded with a sob.

“Hey, hey.” Instantly, he wrapped her in a tight, loving embrace. “We don’t know how she’ll react yet.”

Didn’t they? Hadn’t Lacey always known Tessa would flip out? But she’d gone along with this charade because Roman was fun and persuasive and cute and better than any guy she’d ever met. And now…she could lose him forever because she hadn’t been honest.

And Tessa deserved so much more than that.

“Let’s go talk to her,” Roman said gently.

“Right now?”

“Absolutely. Is she at the Summer House?”

Lacey shook her head. “She’s at the marina getting her boat ready for tomorrow’s Celebration of Life party.”

He grunted. “She’s so excited about that and we’re going to…”

“Wreck it,” Lacey finished, wiping a tear. “I don’t know what to do, Roman.”

“We do what’s right.” He stood, taking her hand. “We go together, tell her the truth in private, and ask for her forgiveness.”

“And if she doesn’t forgive us?”

“I’ll be out of your life, then, Lacey. And hers.”

She closed her eyes. “I don’t like that.”

“Neither do I.” He kissed her on top of the head. “I do not want to give you up. But I owe Tessa my life, and I’ll do whatever she wants me to do.”

She just leaned into him, wishing she could go back in time and make a different decision that day in Rosemary Beach. She might not have had the thrill of falling for Roman Matteo, but she wouldn’t know the pain of hurting the woman who’d become a second mother to her.

“Let’s go,” she murmured. “I want to get this over with.”

Lacey’s sneakers padded softly against the sun-washed docks of the marina, each step making her blood pump faster. Roman walked beside her, his hand clasped around hers, strong and steady.

Taking a deep breath, Lacey tried to settle her nerves, but failed. Relief and fear and anticipation and dread all stretched across her chest, nearly making her sick.

“Just remember what we practiced in the car,” Roman whispered. “And let me take ownership and the lead. This is on me, Lacey. I want her to know this wasn’t your idea.”

“It was my idea to find you in the first place.”

“But the whole pretending to be a couple?” He squeezed her hand. “I have to own that.”

The Good Time Girl shimmered ahead, somehow brighter and shinier than Lacey had ever seen the boat.

Tessa crouched near the bow, scrubbing away, her hair twisted up in a bun and her sunglasses sliding down her nose from perspiration. Still beautiful, and utterly at home on a boat, something that sometimes surprised Lacey.

Of course, Lacey hadn’t been around in the “olden days” when the families rented boats. Apparently Artie had lived for the water, and Tessa was carrying on that tradition.

A sudden wash of affection nearly knocked Lacey over. She adored Tessa—had never met anyone quite like her. And what about work? They’d come so far, the two of them. From cautious acquaintances to work colleagues running a thriving little business to something that felt more like family.

And how had Lacey thanked her? Well, she thought it was by giving her a son. But Roman—and his mother—might very well be right. Tessa had guarded her secret for twenty-five years. And Lacey had?—

“Hey, hey, hey.” Tessa looked up and waved at them. “Where have you been, Romeo?”

“Actually, I went over to my hometown to see my parents.” He sounded serious, not like the Shakespeare-quoting fun guy he’d been the first time they’d met.

“Oh?” Tessa tossed them each a cleaning rag. “You can tell me all about it while you scrub the deck. Big party tomorrow. You in? My dad would love the celebrity appearance.”

Her dad…the ethics professor who did things “the right way.” Lacey heard enough about Artie to know the man would not have approved of the dishonesty that got them in this predicament.

Roman climbed aboard first, and Lacey followed, her legs wobbly on the boat, but not because she was no longer on dry land. She glanced around, taking in the tidy deck, the glossy white leather seating, the brilliant blue canvas shade stretched overhead.

“We actually need to talk to you,” Lacey blurted out, hearing how breathless her voice sounded. “Something important.”

Tessa’s brow furrowed slightly, lifting her sunglasses into her hair. She dropped onto the edge of the bow’s leather banquette. “You guys okay?”

Lacey opened her mouth—but before she could speak, she heard footsteps on the dock.

“Got the wrench,” Seamus called cheerfully as he walked up to the boat.

Lacey and Roman exchanged a quick look, his expression mirroring her thoughts. How long would this take? They needed privacy.

Seamus put one foot on the side of the boat. “I’ll get that loose connection—” He caught sight of Roman, stared for a moment, and nearly lost his footing. “Whoa?—”

Instantly, Roman leaped up and steadied the older man, helping him back onto the dock. “Careful there, sir.”

“Am I…am I…” Seamus drew back and put one hand on his chest, using the other to raise the bill of his ballcap to get a better look. “As I live and breathe, I do not believe it.”

Lacey had been around Roman long enough to know exactly what he didn’t believe. Now they’d have to make formal introductions and Seamus would fawn over the NFL player, and want an autograph. The faster they got that over with, the sooner they could talk to Tessa.

She climbed onto the dock to join them to make the introduction, almost used to the way people reacted to meeting a professional athlete.

“Seamus, this is Roman?—”

Ignoring her, he held up his hand and turned to Tessa. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a son? And that he is the spittin’ image of Artie Wylie? How could you keep that news from me, Tessa?”

Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh no no no no.

Lacey felt her stomach lurch as she opened her mouth to respond, sensing Tessa coming closer behind her.

“You’ve lost it, Seamus. He’s a famous football player, not my…” Her voice caught…and went silent. “He’s not… He isn’t…”

Seamus didn’t answer.

Roman didn’t blink.

And Lacey couldn’t find the strength to turn and look at the friend she’d lied to a hundred times in the past month. Instead, shame crawled all over her skin and made her want to drop into the water and never come back up.

“I mean, look at those eyes,” Seamus said, still staring. “Like sunshine on a bottle of whiskey. Dang, you even got Artie Wylie’s jaw. Gimme a smile, son. I want to see if you got his teeth, too.”

Oh, this was not happening.

“Um, Seamus,” Roman said, obviously uncomfortable. “I don’t think you should?—”

“Oh, you can’t stop me. I see what I see.” Seamus patted his chest as if his heart needed a little attention. “God rest the good man’s soul.”

“Lacey.” Tessa’s hand landed on Lacey’s shoulder, clammy and trembling.

Lacey felt the world tilt. She couldn’t speak. Couldn’t move.

“ Lacey ,” she said again, her voice nearly inaudible but gruff.

Very slowly, Lacey turned to look directly into Tessa’s eyes and see…a woman who looked like she’d been sucker punched by her best friend.

Because she had.

“Did you know?” she whispered.

“I…I found him and we?—”

“You found him? You looked for him? How—how could you betray my trust ?” she demanded, her voice wavering.

“I didn’t?—”

“You did!”

“She didn’t.” Roman choked the words. “I did it. Everything was my idea, Tessa. I wanted to meet you and she didn’t want to?—”

“Stop!” Tessa held up a quivering hand, her face as white as the deck under her.

Lacey opened her mouth to say something—to explain everything, to fix it, to turn time backwards and start again—but nothing came out. Not a single sound or word.

“I can’t believe this,” Tessa breathed the words. “I can’t believe you would do this to me.”

“Well, I can’t believe what I just stepped into,” Seamus murmured, taking a few steps back. “I’m really sorry, Tess.”

“Don’t be,” she said, shifting her gaze to Roman. “I was so blind and stupid and trusting and stupid and… did I mention stupid ?”

“Tessa, please.” He took a step forward to get back on the boat.

“No.” She inhaled so sharply, her nostrils flared. “No, you stay right there. No, you won’t appease me.”

“We came here to tell you,” Lacey said. “Right now, today, because?—”

“Because you didn’t have enough opportunity for the past month?

” She spat the words at Lacey. “You bring him around, pretend he’s your boyfriend, fish and eat and laugh and talk with him under my nose and you don’t tell me ?

After you took my secret and threw it away like…

like yesterday’s trash? Like I didn’t matter as much as your childish, selfish curiosity ? ”

“No, no, Tessa.” Lacey felt the tears spill, bile rising in her as she realized this was way worse than she had feared. “It was nothing like that. I?—”

“Don’t be mad at her, Tessa,” Roman said, making another effort to get onboard.

But Tessa shooed him off, her shaking fingers flipping a line around a cleat, freeing the first tie to the dock.

“Get away,” she ground out.

“Please don’t be mad at her, Tessa,” he said again. “This was all me. My doing, my idea, my scheme.”

She snorted. “How proud you make me… son .”

Roman flinched at the word, watching as Tessa reached for another line, twisting it free.

“Please, Tessa, there’s so much to say,” he pleaded. “We were going to tell you. We just—I had to wait until?—”

“You lied to me,” Tessa said, her voice sharp and shaking.

“You both lied to me. You made a mockery of our friendship, Lacey, and you…” She threw a disgusted look at Roman.

“You let me look at you and laugh and talk and share things, the whole time knowing who I was looking at while I had no idea? How could you ?”

“Tessa, please,” Lacey said, stepping forward. “I never meant to hurt you.”

“Well, you did. You gutted me. Now go away. All of you. Go.”

“I swear to you, we were going to tell you today,” Lacey said, her voice as shattered as her heart. “Roman wanted to tell his parents first and?—”

“Back away,” she insisted, vaulting to the helm. She wrenched the key and suddenly the engine roared to life, the inboard shaking the whole dock.

Lacey stood frozen as the propeller sprayed whitewater and Tessa pulled out with no grace, no care, and no goodbye.

She churned up a wake, leaving water lapping at the pilings with angry, rhythmic splashes.

“Guess I shoulda kept my mouth shut,” Seamus muttered.

“No,” Roman said. “I should have opened mine a whole lot sooner.”

Lacey let go of one long breath, certain that she’d just lost a woman she loved very, very much. And maybe the man she could love, too.

But honestly, right then, only Tessa mattered. And Tessa…was gone.