Love in his Lie

Basket

"Well, Justin, when were you going to share this news?"

Though her English was flawless, she couldn't hide the heavy accent that lingered from her native language. I didn't know what her native language was, but I had hoped that it was the inflection of her accent that I was hearing and not utter disdain dripping in her voice.

"Oh, well..."

Justin, who looked short compared to the woman who would be tall even without three-inch heels on, shrank before her blue-eyed gaze and instead sent his eyes over to his family. In that moment, as he chewed on his words, looking around in every direction as he searched for an answer, I realized that maybe the best-case scenario was about to happen. Perhaps he too made a drunken mistake that night and maybe only now, when presented with his "fiancee," realized that he perhaps slipped up by telling his parents about it, and that this was all one giant misunderstanding that we'd soon both be free from.

"Well, I guess..."

He looked back over at the woman, her glossy blonde hair curtaining her long face as she bit down the words burning her tongue. Panic crawled up my throat, my lips ready to burst open with the explanation.

"I guess the cat's out of the bag now!" he said with a laugh, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and hugging me close. "I'm engaged to this lovely woman!"

My lungs squeezed all the air out of me as Justin landed a quick peck against the side of my forehead. It sent a shiver through me, but not the kind that felt warm and tantalizing, like the way Wes's touch made me feel. Instead, it felt like an electric spark, itching to break past my skin and I had to fight my hands from trying to claw my own arms open to grant it its freedom.

For months, I dreamed of just going on a date with Justin. A man with a soft, playful face, sparkling brown eyes, and handsome curls that hugged his cheekbones. A man that was always ready with a smile, filling the room with energy and charm. A man that could sweep any woman off her feet with a single wink of his long-lashed eye. Here I was, being claimed by him as his true love, wrapped in his embrace, and fawned upon with a delicate kiss, yet I felt nothing.

"We know," said Betty with a laugh. "The question is, why were you hiding her?"

"Yes, that is the question," added the woman, who spoke through gritted teeth. Unlike me, she appeared to be feeling everything and absolutely could not show it. I couldn't blame her for feeling angry that she missed out on a chance to be with Justin. If only I could have told her that had I had my way, she would have a completely free shot at him with my blessing and everything.

"Well, you see," started Justin, first giving his parents a smile, before turning with a hesitant grin to the woman, "we didn't have the most romantic proposal as we committed ourselves to each other after far too many drinks."

My stomach dropped with his honesty. My memory of that night became stark and bare before the world and with each bit of clarification that Justin offered, my hopes of this all being a terrible misunderstanding drifted away upon the rough waters that stretched out before me. I hazarded a glance up to Wes to see how he took the news, but his expression was lost behind the cheerful laughter of his family.

"Sometimes you need liquid courage for these things," said Randall, before looking over at me with a fatherly bend to his bushy brow. "No need to be ashamed of it."

"What nonsense," said Betty before approaching us and sweeping the two of us into a hug. "We'll just have to make sure the wedding is the epitome of wedded bliss to make up for it." She pulled away, casting her gaze over to Justin with a mischievous quirk to her lips. "So, when is the big day? How long do we have to prepare?"

Her eyebrows bounced as she bit down on her lower lip in a vain attempt to conceal her effervescent smile. Justin struggled to find an answer — understandably so since neither of us had said more than a few words to each other since that night — but it didn't much matter as his companion broke up the reverie by snatching her bag off the now rather empty conveyor belt and announcing her intention to depart.

"Oh, wait," said Betty, releasing the matter for the time being to focus on the stately woman with the heavy accent. "We didn't introduce ourselves. I'm Betty, Justin's mom. You're clearly a friend of Justin's..."

"I wouldn't have said friend," she replied, her words short and sharp.

"We're coworkers!" added Justin. He released his hold on me and took a few steps over to the woman before placing a gentle hand on her back. The simple gesture stilled her and brought a blush to the tops of her pale cheeks. "This is Franziska. She's from the German office and is transferring over to the states. We've worked a lot together during my trips to Germany, and so I'm helping her get settled in over here."

"So it is..." she answered, her voice just barely above a quiet growl.

"Hey!" exclaimed Justin, taking a couple awkward steps towards his older brother. "What do you have there, Wes? This is my brother Wes, by the way."
He looked towards Franziska with a smile, waving her over to meet his brother, who stood stiff and still with my basket of bear claws.

"These are from Danielle," answered Wes, thrusting the basket into his brother's shaking hands. "She made them just for you."

"She... she did?" he asked, his voice calming, his frenetic energy settling as he took in a deep breath and savored the scent of the fresh pastries. Then he looked over at me with a friendly smile dimpling his cheeks. "Thank you Dani, that's very sweet of you."

I blushed beneath the embrace of his kind words, but I didn't have a moment to absorb them.

"I'm going to the hotel," barked Franziska as she turned on her heel and headed for the door.

"What? Wait," said Justin, handing the basket back to Wes. "Which hotel?"

She, however, didn't answer. Instead, she glided out the door with her head held high, leaving only her silence and an icy chill in the air behind her.