11. Swapped Identities

AYRA

I walk into the restaurant, dressed head to toe in designer clothes, fully aware of the impression I'm making.

Brielle and I had agreed looking materialistic would be the perfect strategy for tonight. She followed me in but would be entering after I did, hiding behind dark glasses to watch the date unfold from a distance. My Jimmy Choos clicked sharply against the floor with each step, the sound of them echoing in the space.

A server led me to my table, confirming I was Brielle Rosa Caruso when my eyes landed on a fine pair of grey ones. His beauty had a roughness to it. The table was empty, and he had been looking at the menu. There was nothing on the table, which was a sign that he wasn’t going to impose, waiting for me to make the first move. Not bad. I moved closer and said, “Hi, Valentino.”

He looked at me, taken aback by my appearance, maybe, but I schooled my face straight, betraying none of my thoughts.

“Rosa? You look a bit different. Well, I haven’t seen you since you were eight.” He said, still looking at me with suspicion.

I smiled and took his hand. “I guess I lost all my baby features. So, are we going to be on our feet all day?” I faked a polite smile.

“Sorry, mi bella,” he said, pulling out a seat for me. I smiled inwardly at how gentlemanly he seemed. Maybe Brielle was overthrowing this whole thing; he didn’t seem so bad after all.

We sat down in a semi-awkward silence as I browsed through the menu.

After I made my order, his voice broke the silence. “So, what changed your mind about seeing me? I thought flying over to LA would be fruitless?” He said, twisting a silver ring on his index finger.

I took a pause for good measure before answering. “I wanted to get this over with. I’m used to a certain kind of life, and I don’t want to change that. I’m not interested in getting married, especially not if it involves moving my life.” I said, staring at my nails.

He stared at me for a moment before chuckling. “And what lifestyle is that? Designer clothes, bags, cars? You’ve truly changed. You were the one adamant, begging me not to leave, saying we should get married and run away, mi bella.”

I was this close to laughing my ass off at the memory of an eight-year-old Brielle proposing marriage and elopement. She really had been wild since childhood, but I couldn’t blow my cover, so I rolled my eyes. “Every eight-year-old dreams of a fairy tale wedding, like Cinderella. And if that’s why you’re back here, then I’m sorry to disappoint you. You came back for nothing.”

“I’m sorry,” I add, “but I need to take my leave now.” I pull out cash and drop it on the table, slapping down the check. “Here’s the bill.” then put my glasses back on.

I was about to leave when I heard a familiar, sexy voice say, “Ahh, so it’s not just me. I didn’t know it was your habit to hand money out to men.”

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I could see Brielle behind us, gesturing with her arms, probably trying to tell me to abort the mission.

“Do I know you?” I stood up, looking for an escape plan.

I took off my glasses to give Liam a warning with my eyes, but the bastard’s eyes twinkled with mischief.

“Do you really want me to tell this fine young man here how we met… like the full details? I’m a really good narrator, just giving you a heads-up.” He smirked.

At this point, I could still salvage the situation. This made Brielle look like an easy woman, so I grabbed Liam’s hand, intending to drag him out. I whispered under my breath, “Do not say one more word. What are you doing here? Are you stalking me now?”

“Stalking you? Oh please. I’m here to meet a business partner of mine who invited me over to lunch.” He said, nodding at Valentino.

Business partner? How does Liam manage to shake things up wherever he goes?

Now Valentino looked at both of us, amused. He spoke to Liam in Italian. “È tua?”

Liam smiled and answered, “Sì, ma lei ancora non lo sa.”

I couldn’t tell what they were saying, but I knew my cover had been blown.

“Where’s Rosa?” Valentino turned to me.

I smiled teasingly. “What do you mean? I am Rosa.”

“I didn’t know you changed ancestry,” Liam interrupted me, and I had the urge to hit his head with the flower vase.

Then we heard a plate clatter on the floor, and we all turned to see Brielle, just about to pick up her sunglasses.

“Hi, Ayra. So, how’s the method acting?”

*******

After that incident with Brielle, I somehow ended up in Liam’s car, and he didn’t look nearly as amused as he had been. I felt nervous, and I didn’t know why.

I broke the silence. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

He gave me a cold glare and said, “What’s there to say? I see you’ve been quite busy, even going on dates. Here I was thinking you had issues with all the media about you these days.”

“Oh, please, Liam. You saw I was helping out Brielle. It wasn’t that serious. And besides, she’s doing me a favor too. And you’ve been keeping tabs on me? You could’ve called if you were that worried, but I got nothing.” I said.

“You waited for my call? Now, who's stalking who?” He smirked.

“I did no such thing.” I said, turning my head away.

“So, what’s the favor?” He asked me.

“Oh, nothing much, just girly things,” I said, not wanting to tell him about my problems.

He looked at me, then said nothing.

Then he drove me home.

*******

Later that night, I was about to go to bed when my phone pinged, and I saw Brielle's name flash across the screen. “Finally,” I muttered as I took the call.

“So, how did it go?” I blurted immediately.

Brielle laughed. “Girl, slow down. He said you could’ve convinced him if he hadn’t gotten every picture of me over the years. I’m sure my crazy dad sent them.”

I laughed. “Damn! There goes my acting f*e. So, what do you think of him?”

“He’s hot, obviously. You know I wouldn’t lie about that. But he’s a bit edgy, I guess. Not in a bad way, but still edgy. And he’s very determined. He says to give him three months to convince me about the relationship thing, even if I don’t want to jump into marriage. And I don’t know what possessed me, but I said yes.” She said,

“Well, I think you should keep an open mind. You never know.” I smiled.

“So, I saw you with your forbidden man. When you told me he was Chris’s uncle, I felt bad for pushing you, but seeing how fine he is, I was right. You’ll be thanking me soon.” She teased.

“Oh please, I’ve heard enough scandal for a lifetime. I think if I could change my name and move to a different country, I would.”

“And I’ll be right behind you. Speaking of names... does Liam also go by Ethan?”

“I don’t know, why?” I asked.

“Well, that’s what Valentino called him before he realized that he’s Liam.”