Between the Lies (Between the Raindrops #2)

by Susan Schussler

  He bumped shoulders with her and the bottles in his arms clattered. “I better deliver the rest,” he said as he stood.

  “I hope I’m wrong about the pictures,” professed Sarah.

  “Me too. Maybe no one will recognize me?”

  “Yeah, that worked so well for me, right? I didn’t realize anyone knew who I was. It’s amazing how many people recognize you when you’re with someone famous,” said Sarah.

  “I could be lucky.”

  “So what is your teaching assistant like?”

  “Neil? He’s hardly mine…but he’s the opposite of that,” she said, looking over at Jake, who was staring back at her with a devilish look. When their eyes met, she stuck her tongue out at him.

  “In what way?” asked Sarah.

  “Neil is really smart and very methodical in everything he does, which I like because I know what to expect, but he’s not at all spontaneous. I mean…we make plans to meet—never for dinner though—and he’s never mentioned the word date. I think that would be too much of a commitment.”

  “Have you kissed him?”

  “No.”

  “But there’s chemistry?”

  “There’s something. Neil is really sweet and funny, but he doesn’t take control like Jake. I’ll probably have to be the one to make the first move.” She chuckled. “I don’t know what he’ll think when he sees me kissing Jake.”

  “Maybe he’ll surprise you and ask you out on a proper date.” Sarah smiled.

  “Or maybe I’ll never hear from him again.”

  “You don’t seem too attached to him. Will it matter?”

  “Like I said—I don’t really have time for a relationship now anyway, so it wouldn’t change much,” declared Alli. “I worry more about what my parents are going to say.”

  “Your parents are going to flip out,” Sarah proclaimed.

  “I know. You don’t know how lucky you are to have sane parents.”

  Suddenly Jake appeared in the water in front of them. “Hey, we’re wasting time. Remember we only have the one night together,” he said with a look Sarah had never seen on his face before. “Come on.” He motioned for Alli to climb onto his shoulders as he crouched in front of her. She wrapped her legs over his shoulders, and he lifted her off the pool’s edge. Sarah watched as she struggled to gain her balance while Jake’s thick arms wrapped around her legs to secure her, before he carried her away.

  Jon’s eyes met Sarah’s with a questioning look. Then he reached toward her, wrapped his arms around her neck, and with his eyebrows raised, asked, “Hey, beautiful. You want to make out?”

  She chuckled and gave him a kiss. He looked so sweet and innocent, like making out in front of everyone was the most normal thing to do.

  After swimming, the group gathered under the pergola. Sarah grabbed some blankets from the house and passed them out. The air temperature was cooling, but everyone was enjoying the poolside atmosphere. Jon turned on some music and made sure there was plenty to drink. They all chatted for a couple more hours. It was somewhere around four o’clock in the morning when Sarah started to struggle to stay awake.

  Chapter Five

  Sarah

  SARAH AWOKE TO a loud thud followed by a clanging noise. The sound pinged in her head like the old radiator in her freshman dorm pushing water through corroded pipes. She glanced to Jon to see if the sound was coming from her brain or an outside source. One of his eyes peered at her with a questioning look.

  “Sarah, we have that fitting,” blared a woman’s voice from the other side of the door.

  Slowly she stretched her neck to locate her phone on the bedside table. It was almost nine o’clock. She stumbled out of bed and pulled open the door. Looking down, she spotted the offending noisemaking bangles on Leslie’s wrist. “I’m glad you’re here,” she mumbled. Funny, she didn’t remember eating paste last night. Why was her tongue sticking to her teeth?

  “Malibu isn’t that far. I’d never miss the fitting,” proclaimed Leslie, exuding sunshine. “Good morning, Jon. Looks like I missed a party last night. There are beer bottles all over the courtyard.”

  “It wasn’t a party,” Jon grumbled as he sat up. “You should have been here, though. So the Nak is back, huh?”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  The bed gravity pulled on Sarah, and she face-planted back onto her pillow. Leslie was a bit too cheery for this early.

  “Sarah, you’ve got to get ready. The car is coming at ten thirty.”

  “You hit the shower, and I’ll make some omelets for everyone,” said Jon, slipping on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.

  “Coffee?” pleaded Sarah, raising her head the best she could.

  “Of course. A giant mug just for you.” He offered his hand to help her off the bed, his grip strong and comforting.

  When Sarah got out of the shower, her friends were gathered in her room, talking about the previous night in a hushed tone.

  Jessica had showered and was completely ready to go, but the other two looked like they just rolled out of bed. Megan was wearing sleep shorts and a tank top, but definitely hadn’t showered yet. Her hair was mussed and wild, sticking up on one side. Alli was still in her swimsuit but sported Jake’s oversized button-down shirt as a cover-up.

  Sarah pulled out the black-and-white sundress with turquoise accents and laid it on the bed. It was one of her favorites, and she couldn’t wait for her friends to see it.

  “Is this a Michael Tarnell purse? I was going to ask you last night,” questioned Alli, picking up Sarah’s purse from the bed next to her dress. She could always spot a designer handbag.

  Sarah pulled her robe from the back of the door and slipped it over her shoulders just in case more people joined them in the bedroom. “I don’t know. Check the label. Jon’s mother gave it to me as a welcome-to-Hollywood present when I moved,” answered Sarah.

  “I don’t need to check the label. I can spot one of these from a mile away,” Alli said as she checked the label. “It is. I can’t believe you have a Michael Tarnell purse. I’ve always wanted one, but they’re super expensive.”

  “It’s my favorite. It goes with everything,” Sarah claimed. She finally had an idea what to get her bridesmaids for their wedding thank-you gifts. She bent over, flipping her head upside down, and began brushing out her hair before drying it. Boom, boom, drummed the pounding in her upside-down head. Sarah decided to pull her hair back in a ponytail instead.

  She smiled when she heard the knock on the door. It was good she had put on the robe. Jon opened it slowly, presenting them with a large wooden tray. The aroma of fresh-brewed coffee swirled around the room. Perched on the tray were four hefty mugs of coffee, a carton of flavored creamer and a bottle of ibuprofen. “To help with the hangovers,” he said as his eyes raked over her open robe.

  “Jon, you’re too perky. Why aren’t you hungover?” asked Megan.

  “I’m a lot bigger than any of you, and I don’t drink much when I go out. The press would be all over it if I did, and besides someone had to watch out for the crazies.”

  That’s why Sam was with them. Jon was so paranoid. Sarah opened the ibuprofen, took two out, and passed the bottle to Megan. Then she grabbed her favorite pink mug off the tray. Jon had already mixed in the creamer. He knew her so well. Though Sarah usually drank her coffee black, she always added cream when she had any sign of a hangover. It helped settle her stomach somehow. She sipped it to swallow the pills. It was hot and scorched the back of her throat just a little as it went down.

  “Better?” asked Jon as he tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

  “Much…Thanks.”

  “Can I talk to you in the hall for a second?” He touched her elbow and motioned toward the door.

  She set her mug back on the tray, and as she followed him out, she wondered what had happened that he couldn’t talk about in front of her friends. But once in the hall, his lips crushed hers with an unexpected fury. He pressed her to the wall
with one knee wedged between hers as his hands slid under her robe and smoothed across her lace bra. The kiss was slow and deep and hungry, and it made Sarah want to drag him down the hall to the music room. When the kiss finally broke, Jon pulled back and said, “You can’t walk around like that, looking so sexy and expect me not to react.”

  “Tease,” she proclaimed as she pulled the front of her robe closed and fastened the belt.

  Jon peeked his head back in the bedroom door. “The omelets are ready for anyone who’s hungry.” Then he kissed her one more time before heading toward the stairs.

  “What was that about?” asked Jessica, when Sarah walked into the room.

  “I don’t know,” she said, but she was sure they could tell by the blush on her cheeks what took place in the hallway.

  Sarah and Jessica headed down to get the omelets while they were hot, leaving Megan and Alli to finish getting ready. Jake and Liam were sitting quietly eating at the table under the pergola when Sarah and Jessica arrived. Both guys looked tired. Leslie was sitting at the bar with her iPad out, working unobtrusively away from the group, or maybe she was messaging Nak. The beer bottles had been picked up, and there were no signs of last night’s party except a pile of folded blankets on one of the deck chairs. Not much was said when Jessica and Sarah sat down at the table. They quietly greeted everyone and filled their plates.

  Soon Megan and Alli joined the meal and Sarah was surprised by the silence of the group. No one seemed to want to talk about the previous night. It was almost as if they were purposely holding their tongues. Sarah smiled at Jessica. She could tell she was thinking the same thing. Then Sarah looked up to see another familiar face coming across the courtyard and her stomach dropped.

  “Jon, what are you doing today?” she asked.

  He got a devious smile on his face and said, “I thought the guys and I would hang out here. Maybe play video games or work out to get rid of last night’s beer.”

  “I didn’t realize video games and weights were so dangerous.” She said it to make her point, but she knew Jon was expecting Sam to go with her and her friends. She didn’t want his protection today. She just wanted to have some private time with the girls. Jon seemed to be more and more persistent about her bringing security everywhere she went and she hated it.

  “Sam,” Jon greeted. “Actually Sam called me this morning wondering if he could come into work. I think he just needed to get away from the kids. How could I deny a face like that?” Jon joked while Sam mockingly glowered at him with his most intimidating face. “I told him he could go to the fitting and shopping with you.”

  “You were just being helpful, so he could get away from the kids, huh?”

  “Of course, beautiful,” he placated. He smiled at her and addressed the group, “Sarah thinks I’m overly protective of her. You would think that with all that has happened to her in the last year, she would welcome some security, but obviously she doesn’t understand how important she is to me.”

  She sighed, shaking her head. He was too smooth. She couldn’t get mad at him. He always knew what to say to make her do what he wanted. She loved that he knew her so well, but she also hated it. Though she was starting to get used to having security in tow, it still made her uncomfortable talking girl talk in front of Sam. “I guess we better go,” she said, getting up. Then she rested her forehead against Jon’s and looked into his eyes. “You worry too much,” she whispered and kissed him on the lips.

  “Stay safe,” he said, and she could see the love in his gorgeous blue eyes.

  Everyone said their good-byes and within a couple of minutes, the girls and Sam were loading into the black SUV and on their way to the fitting. “Leslie, what did you end up doing last night?” Sarah asked as they settled in the car.

  “We just drove out to Malibu and walked on the beach—nothing as exciting as your gathering by the sounds of it. We talked and…I guess…we’re going to try to make it work. We are really good together, and I miss him. It will be a scheduling nightmare, but that’s what I do best, right? Nak is going to try to schedule his projects when I’m busy so that we can have our free time together.”

  “What I know of Nak, you two belong together,” Sarah said with a smile.

  “Daniel said he could come to Cannes with us in May and has most of the summer off. Jon only has the wedding this summer, so hopefully Nak and I will get to spend some time together.”

  “Sarah, you’re going to France? I’m so jealous,” declared Megan.

  Sarah hadn’t mentioned it to her friends. She was starting to feel like she was boasting every time she mentioned her trips or famous people she met. It wasn’t that she was keeping it from them, but she didn’t want to make a big deal about it.

  “Yeah…one of Jon’s films is showing at the festival. He filmed it years ago, but they never found a distributor for it. It’s an indie film without big studio backing. I’m pretty sure Jon’s name is what is moving it forward now,” said Sarah. “I’m excited to go. It will be the first time I’ve ever left the country.”

  The car arrived at a stark white building with a large picture window in the front. In the windows stood several all-white, headless manikins dressed in elaborate, full-length black gowns. Above the entrance hung a large sign branded with a single scripted letter m in bright pink and outlined in gold.

  Inside Sarah introduced her friends to the squat Italian woman with black hair twisted on the back of her head. The woman sized up the girls as she walked a circle around them. She pointed to Megan and said in a thick Italian accent, “You first.” Then she led the girls into a smaller private room and asked them to strip down to their undergarments. She said that she didn’t want to get the measurements wrong because of a belt or a bulky pair of shorts. As they stripped down, Sarah gave them an apologetic look.

  After the measurements were gathered and the girls were dressed, Margala’s assistant addressed Sarah, “We’ll need an actual fitting with everyone once the dresses are complete. It will have to be at least a couple of weeks before the wedding. Do you want to schedule it now since everyone is here?”

  Sarah nodded, looking at her friends, and they all pulled out their cell phones to check their calendars. Leslie took out her tablet and clicked on the calendar app. Sarah glanced over Leslie’s shoulder, knowing Leslie’s calendar was more accurate than hers and that Leslie probably knew Sarah’s schedule better than she did.

  She stared at the screen for a second, not understanding one of its entries: SARAH/DR. KRAVITZ 1:00 THURSDAY. Sarah withdrew from Leslie’s side and clicked on the calendar on her phone as she contemplated the appointment. She had met with a couple of doctors since she moved to California. She had follow-up visits from her accident just to make sure she was healing correctly, and then after she was abducted in January, Jon insisted she get checked out completely to assure none of her old wounds had opened up internally. Sarah racked her brain. She didn’t recognize this doctor’s name. She was sure of that. Then she remembered a conversation she and Jon had a couple of weeks ago. They discussed how Sarah needed to find an OB/GYN in California, before they started their family. But it was just in passing, they hadn’t really discussed it.

  “Oh god…” she mumbled to herself. Did Jon want her to get pregnant right away—on the honeymoon? She knew he wanted kids, but they hadn’t talked about when they would start. Sarah wasn’t sure if she was ready to be a mother yet. I’m only twenty-one, she thought. She glanced up to see everyone looking at her.

  “What’s wrong, Sarah?” asked Jessica.

  “Nothing,” she assured, shaking her head. “I’ll tell you in the car.” She would have to wait to ask Leslie about it. She didn’t want to bring it up in front of the dressmakers. The group found a weekend in June, after graduation, which would work for all, and Leslie said she would order the plane tickets for the trip. Sarah thanked her for her help and they said their good-byes to the dress designer. Sam looked bored seated in the chair outside the fitti
ng room, and Sarah jokingly questioned him, “Did you have to shoot anyone while we were in there?”

  Sam stretched his arms out in front of him with interlocked fingers. As he stood up, his knuckles cracked a rhythmic song and he smiled at Sarah. “I like my workdays boring. Don’t worry about my entertainment, Sarah. You know me. I’m amused just knowing how much my presence irritates you.”

  Sarah didn’t hate Sam. She liked him. He was never afraid to put the problem out into the open and make a joke about it. “Honestly, it’s not you. You’re family. I just hate being a prisoner, and I like to be alone sometimes,” she assured.

  “Well…you’re marrying the wrong man then. Jon will never let you be alone, not anymore,” he said.

  Even after a journalist obsessed with Jon abducted Sarah in January, he hadn’t been so zealous about having constant security. What had changed?

  “I know, but I love him, so what can I do?” She smiled at Sam as he held the door open for the group to file out onto the sidewalk.

  Once inside the car, Sarah had to ask Leslie about Thursday’s appointment. She wanted to be prepared when she talked to Jon, and she knew her friends would support her. She needed their advice if the doctor was the kind of doctor she suspected. “Leslie, I didn’t know I had a doctor’s appointment on Thursday. Am I terminal?” she asked, trying to make a joke, but it came out sounding nervous.

  “Oh gosh…I thought Jon discussed it with you. I made the appointment over a month ago.” Leslie looked at her warily, and Sarah shook her head. “Dr. Kravitz is really hard to get into, but he was willing to fit you in because of Jon. He’s the best in his field. Jon wanted to make sure you had a chance to meet with the doctor before your honeymoon.”

  There was the confirmation. Clearly Jon had been planning this long before their talk. “A month? You’ve known for a month and you didn’t say anything…really? I thought you were my friend.”

  “I’m sorry. I thought you and Jon had talked about it.”