Never Say Never (The Ladies Who Brunch 1)

“Of course, she’s beautiful. But the older she gets, the more I’m worried she’ll end up alone. She’ll have her job, but no one to keep her warm at night, right, Charlotte?”

I’m clenching my jaw so tight that I might crack a tooth.

“There’s nothing wrong with a woman being dedicated to her career,” Damien adds, catching me off guard. “I think it’s impressive. And Charlotte is a knock-out in the looks department, so there’s no need to worry there, Mrs. Montgomery. I mean, that is the reason why we’re dating now, isn’t it, sweet pea?” he asks as he turns to me and I feel my eyes bug out.

Um…what the fuck did he just say?

“What? You two are dating?” My mother screeches, pulling people’s attention to us all across the restaurant.

But I’m frozen in my seat, my jaw dropped open as I try to process what the hell is happening.

“Oh, Char…you didn’t tell your parents about us?”

I’m going to murder him. Yup. I think poison will do.

“Damien,” I grate out, moving to stand. But he walks over to me, blocking me from my parents as his body gets dangerously close to mine.

“Just go along with it,” he whispers. “I’ll explain later.”

“I’m going to kill you,” I spit back.

“In that case, I prefer to be cremated.” Then he spins back around to face my parents, and places his arm around my waist, drawing him into me. “I’m so sorry Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery that you had to find out this way, but I guess Charlotte wasn’t ready to tell everyone just yet. We’ve been keeping things quiet as we sort through our feelings, but your daughter and I reconnected, and I couldn’t help but give in to the feelings I think I’ve had for her all along,” he says as he stares down at me, a look of pure adoration in his eyes.

He always was a good actor, and it seems he’s only perfected his role as a big fat liar in our time apart.

“Charlotte? Is this true?”

I momentarily debate whether I should reveal Damien’s scheme to my parents right here and now, and expose him once and for all as the slimy guy he’s always been. But then I realize that this may work out in my favor. If my mom thinks I’m dating Damien, then maybe she’ll back off a bit with her ridicule. Perhaps bringing him to Hawaii as my date will satisfy the lie she told that I was dating someone to begin with, without the task of finding someone else in a sea of millions of men that I don’t know. And finally, it’s not like Damien and I will let this get more complicated than it needs to be because deep down, we can’t stand each other. This little ruse can last as long as I need to get some reprieve from my mom, especially once my parents return back to South Carolina. They’ll never know it was all fake until I decide when it ends for good.

However, one question still remains—why on earth did Damien say we’re dating to begin with? What the hell is he getting out of this?

I know we can discuss that later, so I put that question on the back burner, and dive headfirst into the shit show I’m currently living through. And then I do something I never thought I would. I admit to dating Damien Shaw out loud, choking down the bile in my throat as the words leave my lips. “Yes, mom. It’s true.”

She jumps up and down in front of us, squealing even louder than before. “Oh my God, you two! I’m so happy!”

“I can tell, Mom,” I whisper, as my eyes bounce up and down with each jump she makes. I reach out to her, trying to get her to stop. “But you need to calm down. People are staring.”

“Oh, let them stare. My daughter is dating someone and not just anyone, but someone we wholeheartedly approve of, isn’t that right, Cal?”

My father just smiles as he watches my mother lose her shit with excitement. “I feel like there’s no better man for you, sweetheart.”

Seriously, Dad? Are you that naïve?

“That means a lot, Cal. Truly.” Damien reaches out to shake my father’s hand again.

“Is Damien joining us for lunch? Is that why he’s here?” my mother asks enthusiastically.

But Damien actually uses his brain for once since he started opening his mouth earlier. “Unfortunately, no. I have another meeting I’m here for. But when I saw my girl across the restaurant, I couldn’t not come over and say hello.” He places a kiss to my temple, and I want to scream. But my entire body breaks out in goosebumps. Apparently, my nerves are confused about what to feel toward him right now.

My mother clasps her hands together over her chest. “Oh my goodness. That is just so sweet.” And then she shakes her head in disbelief. “I just can’t believe that of all the people for you to date, Charlotte, you end up with the boy from back home.”

I have to fight the urge to laugh. “You and me both, Mom.” And then I turn to Damien. “You’d better get going so you’re not late, honey.”

“You’re right, sweet pea.” He leans down to kiss my cheek, but whispers in my ear at the same time. “I’ll call you later so we can talk about this.”

“You don’t have my number,” I whisper back.

“Yes, I do. I got it from my mother.”

“You’re sick and twisted. I have no idea what’s going on right now.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll explain.” With another kiss on my cheek, he stands fully again, says goodbye to my parents, and then takes off in the other direction of the restaurant toward another room that is more closed off than the one we’re standing in, blocking him from our view. Which is good for him, seeing as how I could murder him with my eyes right now if he sat in my line of sight.

As I watch him walk away, my entire body alive from his touch and the adrenaline running through me from our lie, I spin around to see my parents have finally taken a seat but were watching us the entire time.

“Charlotte. I’m speechless.”

“Ha. You and me both, Mom,” I say as I finally sit back down in my chair.

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

What can I say that won’t give us away, or invite more questions that I don’t know the answers to? Damien obviously had a reason for this little charade, and until I know exactly what’s going on, I need to be as vague as possible. “I don’t know. I mean, it’s Damien. It’s new. I just wasn’t sure how you’d feel about the entire thing.”

“Why wouldn’t we approve?”

I shrug, trying to play the innocent daughter. “I don’t know. But I’m still processing it, so can we leave it be for the time being, and just catch up?”

“I think that’s a great idea,” my father interjects, winking at me from behind his menu.

But my mother sighs in protest. “Learning about your love life is catching up, Charlotte.”

“For once, can we have a conversation that doesn’t pertain to my love life, Mom? I’m begging you.”

“Fine,” she relents, and I’m grateful that at least I have some time to avoid discussing the giant elephant in the room.

“Why don’t you tell me about Napa? And Hawaii? And all of the things you have planned while you’re there? Or what’s going on back home?” I ask, veering the conversation to a more neutral topic that I know will keep my mother gabbing for hours.

“Oh. There’s just so much going on, Charlotte. First…” she starts speaking at lightning speed, and I try to listen. I do.

But in the back of my mind, I’m wondering how in the hell I just ended up in a fake relationship with Damien Shaw. What the ever-loving-fuck just happened?