For Fake and For Real

19. Love Can Be Patient Tomorrow

Lucy felt prying eyes and phones trained on her as she left her commercial flight. She was not as successful or as connected as Tim, so she did not fly private when she was paying for the ticket. Since Tim couldn't meet her at the airport, he at least insisted on having his driver pick her up and bring her HOME. When Tim said it, he meant the house they shared in Hollywood Hills, but her home had not been four walls and a roof for a while- Grey would be driving her to TIM- her actual home.

After settling into the familiar back seat of Tim's black Lincoln Navigator, she caught up with Wade by asking about his wife and daughter. Finally, a little apprehensively, she asked, "How's our guy doing? Like REALLY doing?"

Grey looked at her through the rearview mirror and saw the woman's furrowed brow of concern, and he decided it was best not to lie. "I've barely seen him since you left."

"What? Did he fire you?"

"No, he still pays me to keep me on retainer, but he's been riding his motorcycle a lot more lately."

"He does love that Ducati."

"Mhm," Grey hummed in agreement.

"Why am I sensing that there's more to the story?"

"Maybe you should ask him."

"Wade, please. I'm asking you. What's going on with him?"

"Tim is a man of few words, so he hasn't TOLD me any of this, but he...he always preferred to ride his motorcycle since I started working for him. We met during a difficult time in his life. He was in the middle of his divorce, and he was a little lost. I think he drives around on that Ducati to keep his mind occupied, you know? Not think about how lost he was feeling, because he has to be vigilant and focused on a bike, so his mind can't wander. Tim spent so much time avoiding everything except his work, but that all changed after he met you. He finally found something he WANTS to focus his attention on, so he started letting me drive him more often."

Lucy let the driver's words wash over her before surmising, "So, you're saying that he uses the motorcycle as an excuse not to think?"

"That's my guess. At first, it was not to think about how alone he felt when he lost Isabel. He never tried to fill that gap in his life as far as I could tell, and instead just distracted himself from the loneliness. Then, he met you, and now he's happy. He has a person he WANTS to think about and spend any second he can with. He doesn't want to waste precious time in traffic when he could be talking to you, so he started letting me drive him around. Now that you're in Rome, I think he's trying to cope with how much he misses you by riding his motorcycle as a distraction."

She bit her lip in consideration. It made sense, but it was a heartbreaking thought.

"Don't feel guilty, Lucy. Even though he misses you, he's still happy in a general sense. An ocean away, and you still make him smile. And, he reminds me all the time that you'll be back in town in February."

"Yeah, but he'll still be fake dating Ashley until September," she replied with a huff.

"I can't help with that, but I'll tell you what my Luna always tells me: 'love is patient'."

"Love is patient," Lucy repeated with the beginning of a smile. Even if their situation was less than ideal right now, it wouldn't always be the case. She KNEW that she could be patient until their circumstance was a little easier. Overwhelmingly excited for her reunion with her boyfriend and craving to hear his voice after what Grey had said about Tim's current state of mind, she called him, and he answered on the first ring.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, babe. I'm fine. I just can't wait to see you!"

"How far are you?" Tim asked and looked in the nearest mirror to ensure not a single hair was out of place.