Between the Lies (Between the Raindrops #2)

by Susan Schussler

He slid his good hand around her waist to pull her closer and said, “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

  She shook her head, realizing he was still stuck on the stalker’s note while in her head his telling Mia first was the biggest problem. Why was he so blind when it came to her? She wouldn’t put it past her to be behind the leaks to the press. Maybe the stalker would get Mia. A smile edged her lips. She could only hope. Sarah knew her mind was going off the deep end. If there wasn’t a baby involved, then it would have been all right, but not now. She should just ask Jon if it was his baby before she drove herself insane.

  She stared at him for several seconds. What would she do if it was his? She still hadn’t figured that out. She couldn’t ask him until she knew what to do. Her mother always said, “Don’t ask questions if you don’t want to hear the answer.” They’d been through so much in the past few days, and his head was all messed up with the stalker.

  “Is it OK with you if we have a bunch of my relatives over on Sunday? Mom invited some people over for a graduation party, and I think it would be more secluded if we had it here.”

  “Do we have to?” He looked down at her apologetically. “What if one of them is the stalker?”

  “Why would any of my relatives want to hurt us? It’s a good thing I’m getting my second degree in psychology, and I can recognize your paranoia as post-traumatic stress disorder.” She gave him a look that said “you are so cute.”

  “It won’t be any trouble. Mom ordered the food from an Italian restaurant. All we have to do is open the doors and let people in. You have to admit this house was built for entertaining.”

  He bent down and groaned against her neck before connecting his lips to her skin. “Everyone will know where we live,” he whispered and kissed her again.

  “We could make them meet at Mom and Dad’s and blindfold them for the ride over. Or…we could make them ride over in a hockey bag in the trunk.”

  He pulled back with a scowl. “That’s not funny, Sarah.”

  “It is funny. You just need to lighten up. It will be fine. You’ll see. My family is not known for its stalking tendencies.”

  “The house is going to end up in the tabloids.”

  “It’s going to end up there anyway. It’s one of my friends, right? And they’re coming over tonight,” she said sarcastically before kissing the side of his head.

  “Just be selective with what you share with them. They don’t need to know about every doctor’s appointment or luncheon on the schedule. Tell them after the fact, not before. Maybe it will slow down the paparazzi’s ability to track us.”

  “I will. It just slips out sometimes, but I’ll be careful.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Sarah

  WHEN SARAH’S FRIENDS came over a couple of hours later, the four girls sat around the pool. They weren’t able to swim because the weather wasn’t quite warm enough, but they enjoyed just being together. Jon was in the house on the phone with the lawyer, still working through the paparazzi mess they had left in California.

  “Did Mia come out with the baby daddy’s name? I’ve been checking the Internet, but the pregnancy still isn’t out there,” said Jessica, looking toward the house as if expecting Jon to hear her.

  “As far as I know, she hasn’t,” answered Sarah.

  “So did you ever ask Jon if it was his?” asked Megan, and Sarah knew what was coming next. Jessica would climb onto her soapbox about cheating men.

  “You don’t seriously believe that Jon could have fathered Mia’s baby?” Jessica stared at her wide-eyed.

  “I don’t…” Sarah stammered. “I don’t think it’s his. He’s just never denied that it was his. And I don’t want to ask because if I ask that means I don’t trust him. How can we get married if I don’t trust him?”

  “Exactly,” blurted Jessica. “You can’t get married if he is already cheating.”

  “He’s not cheating. I found at least six or seven other guys online that could have fathered it. It just crossed my mind when I found those pictures of her with him from December.”

  “I saw them. They didn’t look so bad. It’s not like they were making out,” added Alli.

  Sarah looked to Alli, knowing Megan had probably told her about the pictures.

  “The only reason I have any doubts is because of Mia. She wants Jon. And Jon talks to her. He says they’re just friends, but sometimes she knows more than I do about our lives.”

  “Like what?” asked Jessica.

  “Apparently there’s a stalker sending threatening letters, and Jon told Mia but didn’t tell me. She’s the one who told me about it.”

  “So he’s keeping things from you now and you’re talking to Mia?” Jessica shook her head in disbelief.

  “I didn’t want to talk to her. She called while Jon was in the shower. She just kept calling and calling and I was sick of seeing her face light up his phone, so I answered it. I hate that she knew about the stalker and I didn’t. It kills me.”

  “I have a solution. I say you get a hold of Jon’s phone and you take a picture of the biggest, grossest pile of feces you can find. Your dad has to have something you can use down at the vet clinic. You replace Mia’s contact picture with the poo picture and then every time she calls, Jon will see her for what she really is,” added Megan, and they all broke out laughing.

  “Seriously, that has to stop. You have to tell Jon he can’t talk to his exes anymore, especially her,” announced Jessica before taking a sip of her iced tea.

  “She’s coming to the wedding.” Sarah’s head hit the back of her chair and she looked up at the budding trees. She did not want Mia at the wedding—not after the way she’d treated her.

  “I still think your best revenge is going to be looking hot when she’s a beluga whale,” said Jessica.

  “Maybe you could just forget to mail her invitation,” added Alli. “If she doesn’t get the invitation, she’ll get the hint.”

  “The wedding planner is getting them out and if I asked for her name to be removed, Jon would find out. I’m just going to ignore her. I’ll be fine.”

  “That’s the best attitude. Everyone’s attention will be on you and how hot you look in your dress. She won’t even be noticed,” added Megan.

  “Can we see your dress? I can’t believe you’ve kept it from us. You have to at least have pictures,” said Alli.

  “I have a couple in the house. After all the garbage going on with the leaks and the paparazzi knowing our schedule better than I do, I wasn’t going to trust electronics with the picture. Come on. I’ll show you.” She actually had a picture on her phone, but she didn’t want to make it sound as if she didn’t trust her friends. “We were completely targeted on our flight home. The paparazzi knew exactly what time to expect us at LAX. It was ridiculous. None of the BS with the guy fondling me would have happened if our flight information hadn’t been leaked. And Jon would never have been arrested either.”

  “I read somewhere that airport personnel and doctor office receptionists get kickbacks from the paparazzi for information,” announced Megan.

  She was obviously still trying to clear her name.

  “I’ve heard that, too. I just feel like we have this big bull’s eye on us all the time. It’s draining.” That could have been the case. It could have been a combination of people leaking her and Jon’s life. She was probably just taking the leaks too personally.

  “I can’t wait to see your dress. Who’s the designer again?” asked Alli.

  “Does it matter?” Sarah still didn’t want to reveal too much, but Megan was probably right.

  Alli looked at her as if she were crazy. Then she shared the look with Megan, and Sarah could tell she wasn’t fooling anyone. Her friends knew she was holding back and it was stupid. Why was she doing it? She could trust her friends. She told them the designer, and Alli squealed with delight.

  “I love her. She knows just how to balance old world with contemporary styling,” Alli
declared.

  “I know. I love her, too. And she’s not so big that everyone has seen all her work. I love the dress. She designed it just for me.” It felt good to be able to talk to her friends about the dress. The only other people that Sarah had shown her dress to were Leslie and Jon’s mom, Lara. The girls reached the master bedroom. She had stored the pictures in her journal, knowing it was her most protected place. As she dug her journal out of the drawer next to the bed, her friends gawked at her spacious room.

  “Your closet is bigger than my bedroom.” Jessica twirled around in the center of the room like she was ballroom dancing. “Now you just have to fill it up with clothes.”

  “If I ever have enough clothes to fill that room, you can shoot me, because I would definitely be mad,” Sarah said, laying her journal on the bed and taking out the pictures.

  “I could fill it,” declared Alli. She took the photo from Sarah. “Oh, Sarah, your dress is gorgeous.”

  All the girls sat on the bed next to her to glimpse the photos.

  “I don’t have the right shoes in the picture, and there will be more detail at the hemline, but that’s it.” She handed it to Alli.

  The girls oohed and ahhed over it, and Sarah felt elated. When they were done looking at the photo, Sarah stowed it back in her journal and tucked the book into her nightstand.

  “Tell us what really happened at the airport. Your mom said the paparazzo copped a feel?” asked Jessica, leading everyone out of the room. “The Internet didn’t mention he groped you.”

  “He was checking to see if my breasts were real or if I had gotten fake ones at the plastic surgeon. Jon broke his jaw.”

  “The punch was all over the Net. Is that what happened to Jon’s hand?” asked Alli.

  “Yeah. The cast is removable, and his hand should be healed by the wedding, so I have no regret there. The guy deserved worse. If I ever see him again, I’m going to kick him so hard his junk falls off.”

  “I’m surprised Jonathan didn’t kill him,” stated Megan.

  “Sam stopped him, I think. As it is Jon got arrested and now Remi wants us to sell our wedding photos to one of the better tabloids and donate the money to a charity benefiting abused women. She says it would make the right statement by taking the profit away from the vultures and giving it to the victims. Brad and Angelina donated five million from their wedding pictures. I know ours won’t be worth that much, but if the money goes to a good cause it will be worth the exposure.”

  “Did Remi say how much money she expected the pictures to bring in?” asked Alli.

  “Maybe a million. It doesn’t matter. The pictures will be exclusive. The photographer we hired and my mom will be the only ones with cameras the whole weekend. All electronics have to be surrendered as you board the plane to the island. The luggage will be checked. Anything that has a camera or Internet gets locked up for the weekend. I would suggest not even bringing electronics on the trip.”

  “Wow. No electronics for the whole weekend. I don’t know if I’ll be able to go,” said Jessica.

  “Yeah. That seems a bit harsh. Are you sure you can deal with not having a phone?” asked Megan.

  “I’m looking forward to it.” Sarah didn’t have the heart to tell her friends that she would have her phone but they wouldn’t be able to have theirs. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust them, but yet it was. Still, in the back of her head, she felt something was off with them.

  “Your mom is going to take pictures?” asked Alli.

  “Kate’s going to take candid shots of the reception and the extracurricular activities, like the beach party and parasailing. We wanted someone we could trust, who would be in the thick of everything, and besides, she volunteered. You know how she loves taking pictures. She’ll have a camera at the ceremony too, but we didn’t want her to miss any of it because her view was blocked by a camera. And this way we’ll be able to control the pictures that get released.”

  “That’s so smart. And if you provide the pictures, the fans will be happy. It said on the Internet that you and Jon already got married. Jon called you his wife? Did he, or was that a total lie?” asked Jessica.

  “He did. The whole ordeal was like a circus. It was just a reaction. He wasn’t giving away a secret wedding or anything.”

  “You aren’t starting your family yet, are you?” added Jessica.

  “No. You sound like Kate. I went to the doctor today, though. I haven’t made any decisions yet, but I got a prescription, so at least I have that option.”

  “Even if you wait a couple of years. You’ll be way below average. The average age to have a first child is thirty.” Megan smiled. “That’s so underachieving of you.”

  “Ha-ha.” Sarah rolled her eyes. “What’s going on with you? You’re not seeing Chase anymore, are you?”

  “No. He’s called a couple of times, but I haven’t seen him since I gave him that phone back. I don’t want to deal with him. I can’t believe he did that to me,” said Megan.

  “Did he admit it?” asked Sarah.

  “No, but he said something about helping me distance myself from that Hollywood guy.”

  Sarah turned to her in surprise. So he was the source of the leaks?

  “He was talking about Liam, not Jonathan. I don’t know what Chase did, but I’m pretty sure he had a stalker app on my phone, and he kept acting all jealous about Liam. As if I even had a chance with him. Chase said something personal about Liam that he wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t invaded my privacy. He was acting really weird about the whole thing.”

  “Stay away from him, Megan. He’s not worth the trouble,” stated Sarah. She didn’t want to know the details.

  “I know. I’m not going to see him anymore.”

  The rest of the evening went by quickly. Too soon, the girls piled back into Megan’s car and headed back to the house they rented during the school year. Part of Sarah wished she could go with them, just for old time’s sake, but the thought of bringing a bodyguard wasn’t appealing. It was easier to just have the girls over to her house.

  Sarah climbed the grand staircase and found Jon lying in bed, reading on his tablet. As she undressed, she could feel his eyes on her. “The girls have to study for finals. We’re not going to get to see them much until next week. Should we go to the lake, or get settled in the new house?”

  “I like the cabin idea. Maybe it will rain and the power will go out again.” His dimple sunk into his cheek as he smiled. “We can get settled in the house anytime. How much longer will your parent’s lake home stay off the media’s radar? We should enjoy it while we can.”

  Sarah frowned as she pulled the covers back and slid into the silky cotton sheets. She had forgotten that the paparazzi were likely to find the cabin. She had always thought it was protected somehow, but it wasn’t. It was public record that her family owned it. “I guess we should enjoy it while we can.”

  She rolled over and reached for her phone, which was sitting on the nightstand. She had a couple of commitments while they were in Minnesota, but she didn’t think any of them were this first week. She needed to check her calendar. As she grabbed her phone, she bumped her journal and it clattered to the floor. She thought she had put it back in the drawer. Why was it out?

  “Were you reading my journal?” She leaned over the side of the bed and picked it up.

  “No. Do I look that stupid? Don’t answer that.”

  His comment made her chuckle. No, Jon would never touch her journal; she knew that. She must not have put it away. She browsed her calendar, noting nothing was scheduled until the party on Sunday. Then she set her phone on the nightstand and stashed her journal in the drawer before snuggling next to Jon.

  “Flip over,” he said, and when she did, he wrapped his muscular arm around her waist, spooning against her. Heaven. She drew comfort with each expansion and deflation of his chest. There was nothing that could compare to being in Jon’s arms.

  Chapter Twenty

  Sarah
>
  THEY SPENT THE NEXT two days at the lake. The lake water was like an ice bath and prevented them from swimming or doing any water sports besides boating. Living in California had messed up Sarah’s sense of normal. The lake wouldn’t be truly warm until the Fourth of July. She hadn’t thought this trip through.

  Much of their time was spent in front of the TV watching movies, and on the porch overlooking the lake drinking hot chocolate. It wasn’t the same as their last trip. Sam and Raul had come with them, making it impossible for Sarah and Jon to recreate last summer’s romantic week. But Sarah had accepted their usefulness. If Raul and Craig had been with them at the airport, Jon wouldn’t have broken his hand on that paparazzo. And the guy never would have gotten close enough to molest her. She wasn’t going to fight Jon about security anymore.

  Sunday brought the graduation party with Sarah’s relatives and as Sarah suspected, the house was perfect for entertaining. Even with the rain keeping the gathering inside, there was more than enough room in the great room to seat everyone, and the basketball court was great for letting the kids run around, just as Jon had predicted. Sarah’s mom had ordered plenty of food, and the relatives were completely enthralled by Jon.

  No matter what her fiancé did to make Sarah the center of attention with her relatives, the conversation seemed to rotate back to him. Sarah was getting used to the effect Jon had on a room of people, so it didn’t surprise her. She just wished her relatives were different. She helped her mom restock the trays of pasta and bread and talked to her friends and her cousin Ronnie while Jon worked the room.

  “How are you doing, honey?” Kate asked, pulling a hot pan of rigatoni out of the oven.

  “I’m fine, Mom.” Sarah leaned against the granite counter top and pushed a tendril of hair out of her face.

  The crowd in the living room burst out laughing, and she could hear Jonathan say, “And that’s why I will never go paddle boarding with Jake Gorboni ever again.” Sarah smiled. She’d heard the story before and it was hilarious. It involved a group of girls that Jake was trying to impress, a school of fish, and Jon’s paddle getting broken.