Let's Pretend (Romantic Comedy, Contemporary, Second Chance, Sensual) by Monique DeVere Page A

and myself.”
    God help her, she believed him. Even without the pain and honesty she saw settle in his eyes, she would’ve believed him because Belle loved Lucas Delaney and always would. And right now, faced with the horrifying reality, she knew she couldn’t free Luc so another woman could swoop in and take him.
    He belonged to her.
    “No friend of yours will ever be a friend of mine.” Mia’s tone dripped venom.  
    “I didn’t say my and your mutual friend.” Tommy directed his loathing gaze to Luc as he jolted out his chin. “Why don’t you ask Lucas when was the last time he saw Sally-Ann Kent?”
    Luc pulled his gaze from Belle’s, clearly having let the conversation go over his head until he heard his name. “Who?”
    “Your old girlfriend.” Tommy spat the words at him. “Don’t pretend you don’t remember the girl I was practically engaged to until you made a play for her.”
    “Who are you talking about?” Luc pocketed his hands. “I have no idea who Sally-Ann Kent is. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone by that name.”
    All traces of Tommy’s smile left as his face turned red with anger, though he kept his distance. “Sally-Ann Kent! Blonde, curvy, funny. She came to visit me at the firehouse one lunchtime when you were on that exchange program between our fire stations. Apparently, once she met you, she suddenly realised you were the man she wanted—”
    “Are you trying to tell me all this is over some woman I don’t even know exists?” Luc pulled one hand from his pocket, scraped it through his hair as he shook his head in disbelief. “Is that why you’ve hated me all these years? Because this Sally-Ann person was too fickle to commit to you?” The muscle in Luc’s jaw flexed. “Is she the one who’s been feeding you lies about Mia and me?”   
    “It’s only lies if she made up seeing the two of you together. As it turns out, her stepfather is the solicitor Belle approached to handle her divorce. Once Sally-Ann found out that your marriage had failed, she figured she could get me to set up the two of you. Can you believe that? When she saw you with Mia she phoned me, distraught, wanted me to tell my cousin to back off.”
    Luc narrowed his eyes in a fierce frown as he scratched the short, spiky growth of stubble on his cheek; the rasp sounded as annoyed as he appeared to be. “This is unbelievable.” He slapped his hand against his thigh in irritation. “Mia and I have already explained the reason we met up for drinks. It was nothing more than a simple sister and brother-in-law getting together to plan her sister’s birthday gift. Thanks to you, instead of having a surprise holiday with her little sister next month, she gets a surprise your-sister-and-husband-are-having-an-affair bash. Perhaps if you’d let Sally-Ann go and moved on with your life, she wouldn’t be making a fool of you right now.”
    Tommy pulled himself to his full height, but still had to angle his head to look up at Luc. “Forgive me if I’m not like you, Lucas, but perhaps if she had a sister I’d have had less trouble ‘moving on.’”
    Luc moved with lightning speed, but Mia was standing closer to Tommy, and it was Mia’s hand Belle saw clench into a fist. Then, almost in slow motion, her sister bopped Tommy on the nose.
    “ Mia .” Vicki’s astonishment echoed the general response from Belle and Tommy’s sisters.
    He reeled, grabbing his face and swearing profusely as blood smeared between his fingers. “What the hell did you do that for?”
    In all the years Belle had known her sister, she’d never known Mia to subscribe to violence. Tommy must have really pressed her buttons.   
    “Don’t you ever talk about me like that again!” She turned and flounced back toward the room she was staying in. “Sorry, Gran,” she said a second before slamming the door behind her.
      Gran stood in her bedroom doorway while Julianne and Vicki rushed to Tommy’s aid. Alana merely