Chapter 11

"Oh, look it's starting," Luke interrupted, not wanting to have another argument. At least not while they were supposed to be on a nice date.

Poppy just rolled her eyes at his dismissive behavior. There never seemed to be the right time for the conversation that needed to happen, and she wondered if Luke really wanted to hear it. Something in her said he really was just avoiding the conversation.

The truth was, Luke seemed nice enough, he was just hurt that the woman he loved seemed to be lying to him. He clearly already suspected Claudia was cheating but was putting up with it anyway.

Poppy watched as his eyes danced under the lights in the room that reflected from the opera stage. With a hint of sadness for the man, she hated that she would be the one to tell him of his fiancée's betrayal. He had a kind smile and seemed to have a lot of pressure on him, including not feeling truly loved. It was obvious he loved Claudia, but she was making it hard for him to trust her. Finding out his fiancée was a lying scum bag probably wasn't what he wanted to hear, and Poppy almost felt bad to have to be the one to tell him.

Looking around, she wondered if maybe she could pull this off. It wouldn't be so bad to take on the life of this woman, and maybe she could learn to be with Luke. He wouldn't know the difference, and the truth was, she was a little lonely herself since she left home. Claudia had left town, and everyone believed her to be the real woman. No one at this event had even so much as questioned her.

As Poppy's eyes scanned the room, they settled on the steel blue eyes of Luke's rival. The man couldn't keep his eyes off her and the fashion designer wondered if maybe Claudia had cheated with him, too.

Reaching over, she took Luke's hand and gave it a squeeze for comfort. When he looked down and back up at her, he almost looked shocked that she showed him any affection. Quickly, he looked away, and she could tell that maybe it was Claudia that was the problem in the relationship after all.

"Poor man," she thought.

Crime boss or not, he didn't deserve to be in love with someone who was obviously not giving it back in return.

It was that moment that Poppy decided to stay quiet about the mistaken identity, at least for the night. The guilt of being another woman who was lying to him weighed hard on her at that moment, and she dropped her head with a shame-filled sigh. First thing in the morning, she'd tell him the truth. She had to.

***

During the intermission, Poppy excused herself to the restroom. This was all too much. The fleeting thought of becoming Claudia Ricci had loomed in her head for a moment but spending the evening with Luke she knew it would only cause him more pain in the long run. Not to mention that fact it could risk her being at the receiving end of a bullet if the news angered him enough to have her killed. Looking in the mirror she couldn't believe she was keeping with this ruse.

"What am I doing? This poor guy is hurting and just need to rip the Band-Aid off and tell him the truth. I can't keep lying to him."

Stepping up next to her, to wash her hands, a woman gave her a smug side eye for talking to herself. Poppy just stuck her tongue out at the woman to mock her as the lady looked absolutely repulsed.

With a huff, the lady stomped off, making the fashion designer giggle. "Rich snob."

After straightening her dress, she was about to head out of the restroom when a man stepped in, blocking Poppy's exit.

"Hey, dude, you're in the lady's room! The men's is on the right."

Quickly a hand went over her mouth and one around her waist, pushing her into a stall. Poppy kicked, trying to scream, but the man had a tight grip and there was no way she could fight back.

"Stop fighting. I just want to talk," the voice rumbled next to her ear.

Looking up to see who was holding her captive in the restroom stall, she found Roman D'Amico's dreamy eyes looking down at her with a hit of anger resting there. Her first thought, he was going to kill her as retaliation for his brother's murder. Her second, was that he was even more gorgeous up close.

"Don't yell and I'll let go. My men are everywhere, so don't go for your gun."

Poppy nodded in agreement, even though she knew darn well she had no gun to speak of. Even if she did, it wouldn't matter. This glorious man had her head spinning and the smell of his cologne was intoxicating. She wouldn't even be able to aim it correctly.

"Good girl. Now, I'm going to let go. Don't scream and keep your mouth shut until I tell you to speak."

Letting his hand drop from her mouth, he pinned her to the wall with his body, resting a hand next to her head. As much as this should have been intimidating, her body was thinking how good it felt to have this man's body pressed against her. Poppy could almost feel herself panting at the sheer presence of him and she knew the look in her eyes said nothing but lust in that moment. His own said anger and determination.

"Now, I want answers. Who put out that hit on Beau?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, sir. I'm just here on a date with my fiancé'?"

"Fiancé? Oh please, we both know you're just with Luke for the money and because you couldn't get a ride on my dick. Had I fell for it like he did, we'd be fucking right now instead of having this conversation. That look in your eyes proves it."

Poppy's mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?"

"I saw you checking me out tonight, and I felt you grind on my cock a little when I pinned you to this wall. Nothing's changed. You still want me, but that's not why I'm here. I'm not stupid enough to fall for your games."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Letting his lips graze next to her ear, Roman stepped in close, taking in her sweet vanilla scent. Under his breath he mumbled, "Damn, you smell good… Listen, don't play games with me, Claudia. You know what I'm capable of. I want answers. Why did Luke put out that hit?"