Accidental Lies: An unputdownable, steamy, sexy contemporary romance novel

by Mason, Dana

  The last speaker is finishing up, and as he does so, I see the crowd grow restless. A moment later, it’s over, and people are standing. Emily hugs her family and friends in turn, and she’s smiling, but even from here, I can tell it’s not a genuine one. She’s pretending, and that breaks my heart. I hear Celia’s voice as she approaches. I turn to face her and say, “I need to go talk to a friend, can you keep an eye on the kids for me?”

  “Oh, sure. Go ahead.”

  Heart hammering, I walk toward the crowd of people around Emily, and as I get closer, they grow quiet. I’m not sure who knows what about me, but I don’t care. I need to speak to her. I can’t leave without having this conversation with her.

  “Emily,” I say to her back.

  She stiffens and slowly turns to face me and at the same time, her mom greets me with a welcoming smile. “Drew, it’s so good to see you here.”

  “Marilyn, it’s great to see you again as well.”

  She grips Emily’s arm. “Em, honey, I have to get going before the traffic gets too bad. I love you.” She leans in and gives her a hug and it’s obvious that Emily lingers a little. When Marilyn pulls away, she narrows her eyes at her daughter. “Do you need me to stay?”

  “No, Mom, I’m fine. Really.” Emily gives her another quick hug. “I know you have a meeting this afternoon. Don’t be late on my account.”

  Marilyn hugs a couple more people and says another quick goodbye before she heads toward the parking lot. Once she’s out of sight, the entire group turns toward me and now I feel like I’m standing under a glaring spotlight. It’s what I deserve, though. I face Emily directly and say, “May I have a word with you, please?”

  Her eyes drop to the ground, but then she nods. Before walking away though, she turns and introduces me to everyone with her. This strikes me as odd. I guess mostly because I feel like she’s never going to want to see me again… so why introduce me?

  “Drew, this is my brother, Mac, and his wife, Kelley.” She gestures toward me. “Mac, Kelley, this is Drew Whitney.”

  Mac reaches a hand out and shakes mine. “Good to meet you, Drew. We’ve heard a lot about you.”

  I hear Rebecca snort quietly next to me, then she mumbles, “But not everything.”

  I throw her a look, praying I’m the only one who heard it. Then I glance back at Mac. “Nice meeting you too, Mac, and Kelley.” I shake Kelley’s hand and say, “Mac, thank you for forcing Emily into a vacation.”

  They all laugh, and Mac replies, “She was overdue, and it looks like spending some time on the beach did her some good.”

  “You look familiar. Have we met before?” I ask Mac now that I’ve gotten a good look at him. I’m sure I’ve seen him before but I can’t place it.

  Kelley snorts out a laugh. “Probably from the buses.”

  Mac laughs quietly. “I’m on the KQCC morning show, Mimi and Mac in the Morning. We have a few ads on the city buses.”

  I narrow my eyes. “Oh, okay, yeah, I have seen those, but I catch a little of your show in the mornings sometimes too.”

  “Okay, well, guys,” Emily interrupts. “If you don’t mind, I need a few minutes with Drew, then we can get out of here.”

  We walk about twenty feet away from the crowd, then I twist around to face her. Her arms cross over her chest instinctively, but she doesn’t speak.

  “I’m so sorry. I should have told you… in fact, I tried several times.”

  “You’re right. You should have told me—and I recognize that you tried to tell me something and I stopped you. But you’ve had more opportunities, Drew. Last night, for example, when you decided to get shitfaced instead of talking to me.”

  I groan at the reminder. “I know, you’re right. I was so anxious about telling you, I had a few drinks and that led to way too many drinks until I completely lost my nerve. Honestly, I was scared to tell you, scared you wouldn’t want me anymore.”

  “Wouldn’t want you?” A pained look crosses her face. “So, you just decided to lie? When exactly were you going to tell me?” She shifts her weight. “How long were you planning to hide your kids from me?”

  “Believe it or not, I didn’t decide to lie. This wasn’t a conscious choice. It just got away from me, but I was going to tell you tonight.”

  “Really? You were going to tell me tonight—or was it your plan to disappear on the weekends you have custody, then reappear after sending them back to their mother’s on Monday?”

  “What? No!” I shake my head, and I’m hurt that she believes this. I’m hurt that she hasn’t even tried to give me the benefit of the doubt. “Is that really what you think of me, Emily?” I step closer to her, unable to contain my anger. “With everything that has been said between us, you choose to believe the absolute worst about me without even hearing everything?”

  She throws her hand out and replies, “What do you get? Huh? Every other weekend?” She points at me. “I had a feeling when you made a crack about me being a lawyer that you were a bitter divorcé, and I guess I was right.”

  “You’re being completely unfair, Emily.” I loom in, getting even closer. “You know what I didn’t lie about? I didn’t lie when I said I love you. Did it occur to you that maybe I was afraid to tell you because I didn’t want to lose you?”

  “You love me?” She rests a hand on her chest, and I can see she’s choked up, but she takes a deep breath and says, “Am I really supposed to believe that? Because I can’t think of a better way for you to express just how unimportant I am to you than for you to keep your kids a secret.” She drops her hands to her sides. “I’m such a fool.” Then she walks away.

  All I can do is watch her go.

  I close my eyes and breathe. Deep breath after deep breath. She was right last night when she said I was self-destructive. All this damage was done by me and my lies. Me and my fears. I realize that now.

  When I hear the kids approaching with Celia, I take yet another deep breath and open my eyes. “Are you guys ready to go home?”

  “Do we have to?” Kyle whines. “I wanted to play ball, Dad.”

  I ruffle up his hair. “Funny coming from you since you didn’t even want to come today.”

  “I can stay with them if you need to take off, Mr. Whitney.”

  “Yeah, Daddy, can we stay with Celia?” Hannah chimes in.

  I look at them both and say, “Thank you, Celia, but I’ll stay. It’s supposed to be your day off. Go ahead and enjoy the weekend.”

  “All right. Thank you.” She waves to the kids. “I’ll see you guys on Monday morning. Have a good weekend.”

  “Bye, Celia.”

  I follow the kids over to the playground, and as I do, I see Emily and her family drive by. Well, now they can go have lunch and discuss what an awful, bitter person I am because of my divorce. The thought alone rips my heart in two. I take my phone out and send her a text.

  Me: You couldn’t be more wrong about me. Hear me out and let me explain.

  After a few minutes of no response, I try again.

  Me: Please meet me tonight so we can talk.

  A moment later, I receive a reply.

  Emily: No, sorry, I’m not available tonight.

  Almost word for word what she said to Grant when he invited her out to lunch last Wednesday. I guess that’s her way of telling me I won’t be seeing her again.

  Thirty-Two

  Emily

  I’m not up for a crowd. The original plan was for us all to meet for lunch after the ceremony, but I just can’t. The thought of casual conversation makes me want to drive a spike through my eye. I can’t pretend I’m not heartbroken and I refuse to try, especially in front of my family.

  After canceling lunch, I manage to convince Eddie to go home and now I’m left with Rebecca, my brother, and Kelley. Mac knows there’s more going on than meets the eye, and he’s not letting it go. He stops and grabs salads to go for us and then drives to my house. I wish he wouldn’t. I just want to be left alone. I know he’s
going to question me to no end until I tell him everything and I’m not up for the bombardment of questions. I might as well come clean and get it over with.

  After entering the house and grabbing some plates, I try to sidetrack them with questions about their wedding. They were accidentally married in Reno over a year ago, but now they’re planning a real ceremony and reception to celebrate the right way.

  “So, Kelley, how’s the wedding planning going?”

  “Oh, ah…” She seems surprised I asked. “It’s going fine. Slow… We haven’t done much but pick a venue.”

  “Then you must have a date!” I say, glad they’ve finally decided.

  “We were planning for mid-April,” she replies.

  I’m doing the math in my head mentally and realize my baby is likely due in mid-April. I look over at Rebecca, and her expression says it all. I tilt my head.

  “Hmmm, I’m not so sure April is a good time to get married in Sacramento. Why not consider summer dates? Like July?”

  “Um, because we don’t want to melt in the Sacramento heat,” Mac says.

  I nod, not sure how I want to say it, but say it I must. I usually tell my brother everything.

  “Well, I may have trouble attending a wedding in April.”

  They both stop mid-way through transferring their salads from takeout containers to their plates. Kelley’s eyebrows scrunch up, and Mac looks hesitant too. “Why?” he asks. “Because I can’t think of a single viable excuse for you to miss our wedding, regardless of the date.”

  “Um, well.” I sit down because I feel like my feet might give out on me soon. “I’m… ah… going to be having a baby in April. At least if my math is correct.”

  I glance up, and both of their faces are frozen. I feel like reaching over and lifting Mac’s chin up off the table.

  “I’m pregnant. I’m not exactly sure how far along, but it happened in Hawaii.”

  There’s complete silence. I glance at Rebecca, and she gives me a supportive nod. Then I hear a chair scratching my floor, and a second later, my brother’s arms are around me. He’s holding me tightly, and his breathing is hitched. I hear him mumble, “You’re going to be a mom, Em. That’s amazing.”

  When he withdraws from the embrace, he’s beaming with happiness, and I’m so relieved.

  “You’re happy to hear it?” I ask because I’m not sure I believe it. I was expecting… I’m not sure what exactly, but I wasn’t expecting such a positive reaction.

  “I’m thrilled. Really. How exciting,” he says.

  Kelley stands and hugs me too, and she looks a little shocked but happy nonetheless. “That’s such great news!” After hugging me, she glances at Rebecca. “You don’t look surprised.”

  “Nope, I’m the one who forced her to pee on a stick.”

  I sit back down. “I’m so relieved you guys are pleased for me. The last few days have been so crazy, and yesterday, when I took the test, I was just shocked.”

  “Yesterday?” Mac asks, pinning me with his eyes. “Is it safe to assume you didn’t tell Mom?”

  “Um, no.” I shake my head and wave a finger back and forth. “I didn’t tell Mom yet, but I’ll call her this week, for sure. I’d just found out yesterday and I wasn’t ready to share the news yet.”

  “What did Drew say when you told him?” Kelley asks hesitantly. “I hope that’s not why you guys were so tense today.”

  “He doesn’t know yet either.” I fight the frown that wants to take over my face. “I’m not sure I’m going to tell him at all.”

  “What?” Mac leans forward. “Why on earth wouldn’t you tell him? He’s the father, right?”

  I nod because I’m choked up with emotion. When I get a grip on my feelings, I say, “He’s definitely the dad. He’s also already a dad, which I didn’t know until today.” I rest my elbow on the table. “He has two children already. They were with him at the school today.”

  “And you didn’t know about them?” Kelley asks.

  “No. I knew he was divorced, but he didn’t tell me he had kids. He said he had roommates, Hannah and Kyle, but apparently, they’re his kids.”

  “What a son of a bitch,” Mac says.

  “I’m not sure how long he thought he could keep them a secret.” I bob my head a little and realize maybe Drew was right. Maybe I’m not being entirely fair. “Actually, I shouldn’t say that. I’m sure he wanted to tell me at some point, he just lost his nerve.” I quickly open my bottle of water and take a sip. “He’s tried to tell me something all week but never actually got around to it for one reason or another. Some of the time I wouldn’t even let him talk—I was afraid of the secret I was hiding…”

  “And,” Rebecca says, “you didn’t encourage open communication at first either. When you were in Hawaii, you guys decided on that stupid rule not to exchange information. Then when you two found each other, you avoided talking about anything personal. That was your choice, remember?”

  “I know that, Bec, but this isn’t some small thing he forgot to mention. He should have told me this week. He had time.”

  “I’m confused,” Mac interrupts. “What rule?”

  “When we met in Hawaii, we agreed not to share any personal information. We agreed not to contact each other when we got home.”

  Mac whistles his appreciation. “Well, well. Look at you, going for the vacation hook-up.”

  I point across the table at him, refusing to let him make a joke about it. “Don’t you start with me, Mac. I had good reasons for agreeing to that. And it doesn’t matter now. Not now that we live in the same town. Not now that we’re trying to make something real happen between us—at least we were until today.”

  “If that’s true, then surely you can forgive that, can’t you?” he says. “You obviously have feelings for him. Don’t let this little hiccup keep you from being with him. You’re going to want your child to have a father.”

  “Little hiccup?” I sit straight up in my chair, defensive now. “He lied about his kids, Mac!”

  “Emily,” Kelley says, and I feel like they’re all talking to me like I’m a rabid dog they need to keep calm. “You’re in love with him, I don’t think it’s going to be that easy to walk away.”

  “I have a feeling it’s not going to be up to me since he’s not interested in having more children.” The words almost stick in my throat as the realization hits me. I close my eyes and shake my head. “Of course he doesn’t want kids because he has them already.” I rest my head on my palm. Dammit, that explains why he freaked out this morning when he remembered we had unprotected sex. I get it. The fog is fading and his entire demeanor makes sense now. When he said the words, one day you’re going to want more, he specifically meant having children.

  “He said that?” Mac asks.

  “Not in so many words, but he said it loud and clear in other ways…”

  “So, you’re giving up just like that?” Kelley asks. “I did the same thing last year to Mac, over a stupid misunderstanding. I nearly lost him because I was too scared and too stubborn to face him and hash it out. I wanted to believe the worst.”

  I feel heat in my cheeks. It’s nearly impossible to forget how I almost ruined their relationship last year after drawing up annulment papers to dissolve their accidental wedding. I was trying to be helpful but when Kelley found the paperwork, she thought Mac had it done without telling her. She’s being kind by saying it was a misunderstanding. It was my interference that caused the problem. I nod and fight to keep my eyes on her, even though I want to hide at the reminder.

  Kelley taps her chest with her finger. “Take my advice when I say, as someone who nearly made a monumental mistake over a misunderstanding, I think you two should talk about it at least.”

  I’m not sure what to say to that. “You know…” I take a second to mull it over. “I think I’ll wait and see.” I glance between the three of them. “He’s still going to do the work on our building, right, Bec?”

  She shrugs.
“I don’t have a problem with it. I like him, and his designs are great, but can you continue to work in such close proximity to him?”

  “I want him to work on the building. I trust him professionally, and I love his ideas so far too.”

  “Well, then, you’ll have to tell him at some point, he’s going to notice the protruding belly eventually,” Mac says.

  “Maybe I should draft up a release of parental rights and have it ready for when I can no longer hide my pregnancy. Then I’ll tell him and give him an out, which he’ll probably take.”

  “Absolutely not! Don’t do that, Emily,” Mac says, “Do not go all lawyer on him. Let’s not forget what happened when you jumped the gun on annulment papers for me and Kelley last year. Look how that turned out.”

  Kelley nods along with Mac and says, “Don’t immediately jump to the wrong conclusion. That will get you nowhere. Don’t do anything until after you talk to him about it.”

  “Don’t prejudge him like that, Em.” Mac says, “You did the same thing to Kelley. You assumed our marriage would drag me down before you even tried to get to know her.”

  My face heats again and I want to jump to my own defense but I can’t because they’re absolutely right. I drop my head in my hands and fight not to cry.

  “Emily, I hate to gang up on you, but you do tend to believe the worst in people before giving them a chance,” Rebecca says.

  “W-wow.” I stutter. “It’s amazing any of you want anything to do with me. Am I really that horrible?”

  A chorus of no’s ring out around the table, but I’m too horrified with myself to hear them. I glance up to meet Kelley’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I never meant to…”

  Kelley reaches across the table and grips my hand. “Emily, stop. This isn’t us trying to make you feel bad. I know you were protecting Mac and I love you for that. And I know you’re only trying to protect yourself and your child, but do you remember what you said to me last year—when you were helping me move into Mac’s place?”