a finger in his direction. “I had my doubts about you from the start, Mr. Too Good To Be True, but I quashed them because I’ve never seen Harper so happy. I wanted to believe in the fairy tale because she did. And I respected her decision because you seemed like a stand-up guy.” She jabbed her finger again, her eyes glowing with resentment. “But you’re nothing but a liar, because you conned my daughter into falling for you. I have no idea why you proposed so quickly. Maybe this is what you do, your MO, using women for goodness knows what reason.”
Lydia sucked in a breath and drew herself up, formidable in her fury. “But I’m here to tell you Harper isn’t like other women. She’s special and far too good for the likes of you. So get the hell away from my daughter.”
Manny wanted to make a stand. To convince Lydia he wasn’t the bastard she thought he was. But he had no right to try and convince her of that, when he agreed with her opinion.
“I’m sorry,” he said, the only thing he could say as he walked away, her glare boring into his back until he got in his car and waited for her to reverse out of the drive so he could escape.
64
Harper heard her mother’s tires squeal in her driveway. Considering her dad often teased Lydia about driving like a ninety-year-old, her mom must really be concerned about her, so she peeked out the blinds in the lounge room.
To see her mom in a standoff with Manny.
Harper shrunk back from the blinds instantly; stupid, considering Manny was facing her mom and couldn’t see her. She hated that her first reaction was to recoil from him, and the tears she’d shed during and after her mom’s call prickled her eyes again.
She didn’t want to shy away from Manny.
She wanted to run to him and bury herself in his arms and forget everything.
Opening the door quietly, the first thing she saw was her overnight bag on the mat; the second, Lydia stabbing her finger at Manny. Harper couldn’t hear what they were saying, though it looked like her mom was doing all the talking. When Manny walked back to his car her mom watched him, then got back in hers and reversed so he could leave, before pulling back into the drive, parking, and heading for the house.
Lydia didn’t know the half of it, and Harper doubted Manny would’ve told her, but by the looks of it, her mom had given him an earful anyway.
Harper opened the door wider, picked up her bag, and waited for her mom, who took one look at her and flew across the few remaining feet separating them.
“Darling, I’m so sorry.” Lydia enveloped her in a hug, and for the second time in an hour Harper burst into tears. “It’s okay, sweetheart, cry it out, then forget that bastard.”
Lydia never swore, so her mom must know they’d broken up. Harper should’ve known Manny would own up to it. He was that kind of guy.
What kind of guy is that? her conscience screamed. The kind of guy to dupe you into believing a vacation fling meant more? The kind of guy to ingratiate his way into your life, meet your parents, hang out with your friends, when his proposal was nothing but a sham? The kind of guy who thought marriage was some warped way to gain kudos with his grandmother?
Maybe her mom coming over now wasn’t the best thing. Rehashing what had happened would only exacerbate her pain, and she wanted to forget, not relive, the nightmare of this evening.
But Lydia wouldn’t leave without discovering exactly what had happened and voicing her strong opinion, so Harper wriggled out of her embrace. “I’ve got gin and Tim Tams.”
“Make it tea. I have to drive home, unless you want me to stay?”
The last thing Harper wanted was her mom hovering over her all night and then facing her pity in the morning, so she said, “Thanks, Mom, but I’ll be fine.”
“You didn’t sound it on the phone, and you don’t look it.”
Harper flinched. After her crying jag, she’d gone to the bathroom to wash her face, seen what a mess she looked with streaked mascara, and removed her makeup, so this was the first time Lydia had seen her vitiligo patches.
Realizing her faux pas, Lydia touched Harper’s cheek. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant you’ve been crying.” Her mom’s thumb brushed