“Sorry, not tonight, guys. We’re just trying to grab some food.” Sarah was trying to be polite.
“Are you sure? I promise it will be a good time,” said the guy with the long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail.
“She’s not allowed to have a good time,” said Megan. “She’s engaged.”
“You’re not married yet,” said the blond guy, pushing his hair out of his eyes and spying Sarah’s left hand. He took a swig of his drink and set it down on their table. “That’s a big ring. He must have little-man syndrome.”
Sarah hid her hand on her lap and started to wish one of her big strong bodyguards was there to get rid of these guys. “No, not his issue.”
“Well, he’s not here and you’re not married yet. Come live a little before you’re locked up for good,” said the dark-haired guy with a grinding laugh.
“It’s only body shots,” Megan said, chuckling, and Sarah knew she was just egging the guys on.
“You go right ahead, Megan. But keep in mind anything you do in here is going to be on the Internet in a couple of minutes.” Sarah pointed to the window.
“What, are you actresses or something?” asked the blond.
“Nope. I think they have us confused with somebody else,” admitted Jessica.
“They called me Ashley Tyler. It’s a stretch, but I suppose anyone with blond hair and long legs could be mistaken for her.” Megan held her leg out and lifted her heel into the air.
As the guys gawked at Megan’s flawless legs, a third guy joined the group. He stood by the table and asked, “Are you going to do shots with us, or what?”
“Sorry, we don’t want our moms to see,” stated Alli as she pointed to the paparazzi, and all the girls began to laugh. The irony of last night’s photos and Alli’s parents hung in the air.
“So who are you?” the new guy asked.
“They claim the paps are targeting them by mistake,” the blond guy announced.
“I’m going to ask them.” The new guy set his drink on the table and went outside to talk to the photographers.
When the guy returned, he said, “They want to know if you and Jonathan Williams broke off your engagement.”
Sarah knew what the headline would be tomorrow. Jonathan’s fiancé partying with friends post breakup. She placed her hand on the table and twisted her ring. “Nope, still engaged.” She smiled at her friends.
“They also want to know who your friends are. They swore one of you was making out with Jake Gorboni last night and another was with Liam Nordstrom. So who are you? Do you have some new reality show coming out?”
“Yeah, like the Real Coeds of Beverly Hills. We want to be on your show,” stated the blond.
“Honestly, we’re just friends, and it’s girls night. We came for the food,” admitted Sarah.
“Come on, girls. Now we’re intrigued. You have to tell us more,” the new guy declared. “The paps want me to report back to them.”
“Tell them to go screw themselves,” said Megan.
“Just do a couple of body shots. It’s not going to hurt anyone,” said the blond.
“Sorry, we really just want to eat,” Sarah said as politely as she could muster.
“Come on.” The third guy held his hands in front of his face as if praying.
“Can you leave us alone? We’re not interested,” added Alli.
The third guy moved closer to Sarah, making eye contact with her. “Please? They told me they would pay me a hundred bucks if I got you to do body shots or if I kissed you.”
“Are you serious?” asked Megan.
“The paps are awful. They might give you a hundred dollars, but they’d be making twenty times that or more,” said Sarah to the third guy. She was getting used to the paparazzi’s antics. “Can you just let us eat? They just want to use you to make up a story to make it look like I’m cheating on my fiancé.”
“I wouldn’t mind being used,” said the blond guy, putting his hands on the table and leaning in toward Sarah.
“Well I would,” said Sarah, pulling away from his invasion into her personal space.
“Just back off. We’re not going to do body shots. Leave us alone,” added Jessica.
One of the guys said, “Yeah. No problem, bitches,” as they all walked away.
Well at least no rude gestures that could make the headlines were exchanged.
They were on their way home when he called. Jon could have sent a text, but he usually called Sarah since her abduction in January just to hear her voice, and she understood. Guilt filled her when she heard the worry in his voice, but they were hungry, and nothing happened to them. He was waiting for them when they got home and even though she could tell he was mad, he wrapped his arms lovingly around her as if he was relieved.
Chapter Seven
Jonathan
AFTER JON AND SARAH returned from dropping their friends off at the airport, he could feel the change in Sarah’s mood. Gloom hung on her face. He hated to see her depressed. He watched as she picked up her journal and collapsed on the far end of the couch. She tucked her legs up next to her and opened the book. Approaching her, he leaned over and kissed the top of her head. Her eyes met his, and he smiled sympathetically at her. “We’ll see them soon, just a couple of weeks.”
“I know,” she said with no enthusiasm.
“Did you have fun last night? The tabloids have you cheating on me.”
“Yeah. Did you see the picture of me doing that guy right there on the bar?”
Jon chuckled. “Saw it. It made me hard.” At least she had a sense of humor about it. He gently trailed his finger down her cheek. Why was she being so reckless? “I wish you would have brought Craig with you. He was at the house.”
“When did we start twenty-four-hour security?”
“I want someone here with you when I’m not home. I’m surprised I haven’t done it until now. It’s not a big deal. Just bring someone with you next time you leave the house. I don’t want you by yourself.” Craig had called him when he wasn’t able to track Sarah down and Jon cut his meeting short. He hadn’t told her that though. His thoughts kept drifting to his dead brother and then back to the stalker. He didn’t know what he would do if anything happened to Sarah.
“Afraid I’ll do another guy on the bar?”
“Yep. Totally jealous.” He was trying not to make a big deal about it but still get his message across. The stalker was a real threat that couldn’t be ignored.
“I wasn’t alone. The girls were with me.”
She wasn’t getting it. Maybe he should just tell her about the stalker. But she’d been through so much already because of him, how could he put her through more? “I’m going for a drive. Will you come with me?”
“Are you scared to leave me alone at the house?”
“No. I just want to share something with you.” He could tell her about the stalker, about how oddly specific the notes had been, and about the tabloid picture of Sarah and him that was embedded in the last one. Shit. How could he tell her? He couldn’t even think about it. He had enough baggage to deal with today. The stalker would have to wait. He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts as she rose, grabbing her purse and phone. She followed him into the kitchen and watched him while he grabbed an imported beer from the fridge.
“A beer for the road? I’m pretty sure the highway patrol frowns on that.”
“You’ll see.” He stuffed it into his jacket pocket and reached for her hand. He weaved his fingers between hers and took a deep breath. He could do this. It would be a lot easier with her at his side.
Silence filled the car for most of the ride. Sarah must have been waiting for his explanation, but the lump in his throat prevented him from talking. He didn’t know what to tell her about where they were going. She’d see soon enough anyway. He slowed near the gate opening and turned onto the narrow road.
Sarah turned to him with questioning eyes.
When his eyes met hers, he nodded. “I
t’s his birthday.”
The car followed the pavement around and around as if it knew exactly where to go, until the grassy hill came into view. Jon shifted the car into park and took a deep breath. Sarah placed her hand on his knee and tenderly kissed his cheek.
“Let’s go wish him a happy birthday.” She opened her door and turned to him. The corners of his lips turned up just a little as he opened his door. She was so much stronger than him. She met him by the front of the car and wove her fingers through his. He glanced up the hill, letting go of her hand and curling his arm around her waist to pull her closer—her warmth giving him courage. “I’ve only brought beer once before. I know you’re not really supposed to drink in a cemetery, but Jack enjoyed a good pilsner. His first birthday after the accident I just couldn’t face the reality and I didn’t come. I felt too guilty. But I haven’t missed one since.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
He stopped and turned to her, placing a hand on each of her shoulders. “It was, Sarah. I made the choice to veer into oncoming traffic. I know I was trying to avoid killing the paparazzo on the road, but it was still my decision. And my actions killed my brother. It is my fault he’s dead.”
“You were only nineteen. It was an accident.”
He shook his head, knowing she was just trying to comfort him, and he started walking again, returning his hand to her waist. “I’ve been coming here a lot more since I met you. I slip away sometimes just to clear my head.” They climbed the hill, and he spotted the black onyx stone in the ground. A fresh single red rose lay across the stone, and Jon wondered if his mother had stopped here earlier in the day or if Jack still had fans after almost five years in the ground. “As long as I can sneak past the paparazzi at the house, no one bothers me here.”
Sarah sat down on the ground next to the gravestone, more comfortable in a cemetery than he expected. She skimmed her finger lightly over the inscribed name. Jackson Alexander Williams. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes, and Jon swallowed hard, fighting back the emotion he felt having her here. He sat next to her on the grass and pulled the beer out of his pocket, setting it on the onyx stone. He twisted the cap off and held it up for a toast. “Happy birthday, Jack.” He took a swig and handed it to Sarah.
“Happy birthday, Jack,” Sarah repeated, before taking a drink and handing it back to him.
Jon guzzled half the contents of the bottle. Then, feeling Sarah’s eyes on him, he glanced up. A single tear dripped down her cheek, and he wiped it away with his thumb. “Don’t cry, beautiful. We’re celebrating his life, not his death. I had nineteen years with him, and I’m thankful for that.” He pulled her against his chest and smoothed his hand up and down her back, as more tears leaked from her eyes. “Honestly, it took me a long time before I could come back here and face what I had done. That whole first year after his death I was such a mess. I didn’t even want to accept his death let alone that I had caused it. Now I’ve got you, and we’re sharing a beer with him. I’ve come a long way.”
“You never really talk about the year after the accident. What happened that was so awful?”
He forgot Sarah didn’t follow the tabloids back then. If she had she wouldn’t have to ask. “A lot happened. It’s not important now. If it was, I would tell you.”
“You know that I can find it on the Internet.”
“I know. But you won’t.” He downed another gulp and handed the bottle to Sarah.
She smiled and asked, “What’s your favorite memory of Jack.”
He glanced across the grounds as several cars slowed to pass each other on the narrow street below the hill. “I have so many great memories of him. He bitched out my dad for me when I wanted to quit acting. It was great; my dad was pissed at both of us.” He paused, searching his brain for a better story. He knew which one he needed to share to show what kind of person Jack was. “And Liam had this huge party once. Well…he always had a party when his parents were out of town, but this one was epic.”
“Did you just say epic?”
“Yeah. OK? But we were sixteen and it was epic. There were hundreds of people there, everyone we knew, and it was completely out of control. Jack had already made a name for himself in film by eighteen and of course every girl in the place was vying for him. He was out by the pool when he noticed a couple of drunks throwing Liam’s dog in the water. The little white puffball, all of twelve pounds wet, was scared out of its mind. It was the kind of dog that peed if you bent down to pet it. I’m pretty sure it was on doggy Prozac. Anyway, the idiots were trying to impress girls by tormenting it. Jack excused himself from the group of girls that surrounded him and confronted the guys, just as they started feeding it beer. Jack ordered them to give him the dog. He had this really deep voice. I can still hear him saying it.”
“So did the guys give him the dog?” asked Sarah.
“No. One of them tossed it into the air over his shoulder. Luckily it landed in the water. Jack didn’t engage in fights. He had a career to protect. So he pushed the guys in the pool, clothes, phones, and all. He fished the dog out and carried it around the rest of the night, then took it home and kept it until right before Liam’s parents came home. I think he was scared Liam was going to have another party. Jack was always rooting for the underdog. Did you know he saved two kids from the backseat of a car that was on fire on the interstate? He was a superhero.”
“Sounds like he knew what was important in life.”
“Yep. He always had my back. I was never as good as him. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard, ‘It should have been you.’ And it should have been. I know that. I was a fuckup, and he was a better person than me.”
Jon took another drink and passed the bottle back to Sarah. He knew Sarah’s silence meant she was searching for the right words, deliberate and well constructed.
“I’m glad it wasn’t you,” she muttered so softly that Jon had to lean in to hear her.
“You are one of a few,” he said, covering her hand with his.
“That’s not true. You have millions of fans that worship you.”
“And if I wasn’t here, they would cyberstalk someone else.” He knew she couldn’t argue with that. She lay back on the grass with a defeated groan and pulled him down next to her. He propped himself on his elbow as he turned to face her. “Why are you so comfortable here? You act like we’re having a picnic. Most girls would be crawling out of their skin sitting in the grass of a graveyard.”
She turned on her side to face him. “I have graveyard experience.”
He lifted his eyebrow questioningly.
“Well, when I was eleven, a boy moved in on our street, Tyler Rainer. He was twelve, but mature for a boy, and super cute.”
“Was he?” Jon reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “How cute was he?”
“He was so cute that I used to ride my bike back and forth in front of his house for hours.” She laughed and Jon knew it was his expression that brought it on. “Blond hair, big brown eyes, very buff for a twelve-year-old.”
“How does this relate to a cemetery?”
“I’m getting to that.” She paused and jokingly told him with her eyes to be patient. “One day he was out on his bike waiting for me. He asked me if I wanted to race, and we raced to the end of the block. I let him win because he was so cute.”
“Oh, you’re one of those kind of girls. That makes sense.” He couldn’t stop teasing her.
“Would you listen? It was summer, so we met up on our bikes every day after that. Sometimes we would stop and get an ice cream cone, but usually we just rode. One day he turned into the cemetery that we always rode past and parked his bike. He seemed out of breath and at the time I thought that maybe he had asthma. He grabbed my hand and led me to the top of a hill before sitting down. I didn’t care where we were because he was holding my hand.”
“And he was super cute,” Jon added.
“Exactly. We talked for a while, and then he said someth
ing like, ‘It’s nice here, right?’ To which I responded, ‘I guess, if you like dead people,’ and he laughed and laughed. Then he leaned in and kissed me. My first kiss.” She paused with a thoughtful look. “He died a few weeks later of some kind of cancer. I never found out what kind. And he was buried in the cemetery near where we first kissed. I found out later that he had moved to our street because his grandparents were trying to get custody of him. His parents’ religion didn’t allow him to get treatment for his disease and his grandparents wanted him to get treatment. His parents were hiding him from them. I felt bad that he never told me. We didn’t really know each other that well because all we really did was ride bikes, and I felt guilty about that. I wanted to know him better, and I wanted him to know me better. I used to go to the cemetery to talk to him after he passed. He was always a good listener. Is that weird?”
“Is it weird that we’re sharing a beer with my dead brother?”
They laughed as they sat up. Sarah took another drink of the beer and held it out to Jon. He shook his head and motioned for her to dump some on the grass. Laughter bubbled up from each of them again at the ridiculousness of feeding the grass, but a desperate, piercing scream broke it.
“Charlie! Stop!”
A young mother frantically struggled to unbuckle an infant from a car seat as her toddler took off running across the grounds. Jon jumped to his feet and sprinted to catch the child before it reached the narrow road on the other side.
“Gotcha,” he said as he scooped the boy into his arms. The boy giggled as if it was a game, and Jon started laughing at the infectious smile on the toddler’s face. He was so adorable. Jon turned, walking back toward the mother as Sarah joined his side.
“I want one of these.” He tickled the boy’s tummy, which brought on a string of giggles. He couldn’t wait to start a family with Sarah. Maybe their children would have Sarah’s laugh.
Sarah shook her head in amusement.
“Isn’t he cute? How could you not want one of these?” Jon held the dark-haired boy out in front of Sarah and raised his eyebrows questioningly. Sarah smiled as he tucked the child back in his arms. The boy’s mother met up with them quickly as they reached the halfway mark between the two roads.
Between the Lies (Between the Raindrops #2) Page 8
