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“If you’re free later, we can meet up after you’re finished.”
“I won’t be free.” He made a show of checking his watch. “I should go now. Nice seeing you again.”
“Wait a minute, don’t rush off!” Casey said with a laugh. “Give me your phone, and I’ll put in my number so we can make plans to meet up again.” She extended an open palm.
Bruno didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but time to nip this in the bud. Their relationship wasn’t going anywhere.
“I won’t be giving you my phone,” he said.
A frown settled on her face. “Why not?”
“Because you and I aren’t going to work, and I don’t want to waste your time, or mine.”
“I don’t understand.” She appeared genuinely confused.
“You lied to me. At the mixer, you said you’re an only child. Tonight you said you had seven siblings and one died.”
“I—”
“I don’t know why you lied. If we became involved, I would find out the truth.”
“My brother really did die,” she said, sounding defensive.
“So you’re not an only child?”
Her mouth fell open, and she bit her bottom lip. “I’m an only child now.”
Bruno raised an eyebrow.
“One little lie?—”
“When we first sat down, you said you enjoy the outdoors—specifically, hiking. Halfway through our date, you said you’ve never been an outdoorsy person and learned that lesson after going hiking a handful of times.”
Casey’s cheeks reddened.
“Again, I don’t see the point of lying. Should I continue?” Bruno asked.
“No,” Casey said in a hushed voice, lowering her gaze to the sidewalk.
Bruno studied her bent head. “You don’t have to pretend to be something you’re not. You should be yourself. You’re a beautiful woman, and the right man will come along, and your personalities will mesh together perfectly.”
“But he won’t be a billionaire,” she said with a wry smile.
“He might be, or he might not. Either way, my advice is to be honest.”
He walked her to her car, and she climbed in. Seated behind the wheel, she paused with the car door open.
“I don’t suppose I could change your mind and convince you to give me another chance?” she asked hopefully.
“No, we’re done,” Bruno said.
Her shoulders slumped.
Bruno closed the door and walked away. His last glimpse of Casey was her driving past him into traffic.
Chapter Thirteen
Another bad date.
