Between the Lies (Between the Raindrops #2)

by Susan Schussler

  He knew he would have to backtrack to get her to the point she had been, so he kissed his favorite spot on her neck, the spot that always made her moan. As his hands began to move over her skin again, he whispered, “Someday soon I want to feel you without anything between us.”

  He never wanted to take away her rights. For as much as he wanted to have children with her, he would never do that. He flipped her on top of him and handed her the foil square.

  Jon clasped his hands behind his head as he watched the awareness bloom on his fiancé’s face. She licked her lips and ran both hands slowly down his body to his navel. She smirked as if she knew exactly how much power she had over him. And oh, she had all the power in this relationship. When she touched him, his breath caught, his entire body shuttered, and he closed his eyes to savor the feel of her fingers.

  A growl rose from deep inside as he grasped her hips, and the girly noise that emerged from her throat froze his hands, locking her in place. He couldn’t resist her pleading eyes, though. He couldn’t resist her at all. When he finally released her and she started to move above him, he realized he needed her to slow down. All the talk of marriage and children had pushed him too close to the edge. Knowing she deserved so much but that he would never last with her in control, he wrapped his arms around her and flipped her back underneath him.

  “You are too sexy,” he whispered, settling on his elbows above her and meshing his lips with hers. He wished she’d agreed to get married tonight. His motivation may have started out all warped, but that didn’t change how he felt. He wanted her as his wife. He wanted that claim on her. He knew not all marriages lasted, but theirs would. They were meant to be together. His tongue dipped into her mouth as one of his hands smoothed over her soft body. She had told him the first time they’d made love that she’d never been pushed over the edge of desire until that night. He was the only one to ever do that for her. He could see it in her face now. The connection they had went beyond anything he could have ever hoped for. He wanted to grow old with her. He wanted so much out of their life together and he wanted to start right now.

  He pulled back from the kiss and said, “Promise we’ll get married soon.”

  She giggled the loveliest sound ever. “I promise.”

  Sarah

  An hour later a knock on the door broke the quiet of the room. Sarah’s head rested on Jon’s chest, and her eyes flickered open at the sound.

  “What do you need?” Jon asked as he shifted, covering Sarah with a blanket.

  “The kitchen staff is asking about the evening meal, sir.”

  “Give us forty-five minutes.”

  He got up, turned on the shower to warm, and returned to Sarah on the bed. She hadn’t moved. He grabbed her hand and tugged. “Come join me in the shower,” he whispered in his sexy, you-can’t-argue voice.

  She smiled up at him, shaking her head back and forth. Her head was reeling from the last hour. With all the bad memories and the pending press about Mia’s pregnancy, maybe Jon had changed his mind about having kids right away. It made sense why he had wanted a child. He was trying to fill the void left by Amy Richardson’s actions. But now he’s changed his mind. He only said he wanted not to have to wear a condom. He never said he wanted to make babies.

  Sarah closed her eyes remembering the moment. When he said the words, she imagined it. She wanted it. Her whole body tensed, hoping. If he had said he wanted to make babies, she was sure she would have agreed. With all his hardness pressed against her, he could do whatever he wanted and she wouldn’t have said no. Besides, the idea of having his baby had been growing on her, ever since the doctor had said she was healthy and there was no medical reason why she couldn’t get pregnant. What was stopping them from starting their family? The wedding. They should wait until after the wedding. She wanted that. But what then? Nothing. Her hand ran across her belly as she imagined what it would be like to have a baby bump. Jon’s baby bump.

  It didn’t matter now though. If Jon wanted to enjoy a condom-free life, they could wait to have kids. She had gotten the prescription the doctor gave her filled. The pills sat in her purse waiting for her to make the decision.

  “If I have to carry you, you know we’ll never make it to dinner.” Jon’s words broke through her thoughts.

  He was staring at her. Thank god she was covered with a blanket. She took his outstretched hand to join him in the shower, and eventually they made it to dinner.

  They spent the rest of the week on the boat. It was incredibly blissful, even with Leslie, Nak, and Sam there. Sarah and Jonathan found ways to sneak away. The boat docked at a smaller port a few days after they left Cannes and she and Jon went shopping, just the two of them. It seemed so normal—no one stalking them, no blinding camera flashes—just two people in love, and it felt good.

  The day after their shopping spree, Sarah and Jon got their alone time on the boat’s deck with no helicopters hovering and no one filming. Sarah knew they would never be able to recreate their week at her parent’s cabin, but this week on the Mediterranean was pretty close, and in some ways better. Meals were prepared for them, and lightning never left them without electricity.

  Jonathan had shut off his phone, and Sarah appreciated that they weren’t constantly interrupted by it. Leslie had hers on for a while, but Jon refused to deal with business issues, so eventually she shut hers off too. When their week was up and they all returned for the flight back home, she wished they missed the flight.

  Of course, Isaac sat next to them and started up right away.

  “I had to promise them that you would do a two-week tour through Europe. It doesn’t look very good for the star of the movie that won best drama to not show up for the awards ceremony. Paul Sterling wanted you to accept the award with him. The whole cast was there except you. You didn’t even tell me you weren’t coming back. I thought you were only going to be gone overnight. I kept expecting you to show at the last minute. Paul made some derogatory comment about you not changing. It wasn’t cool just to run off with some girl and disregard the award like it meant nothing. You’re going to have to do this tour. The promoters want to see that you support the film. This film is your ticket to that serious role you’ve been craving. If you don’t back it, no one will see your work.”

  “It’s not as if I got any awards. It was just the film that got recognized.” Jon’s tone showed that he felt as if he’d been snubbed. “And I didn’t run off with some girl, Isaac. I ran off with my wife.”

  Isaac looked at Jon, his eyes the size of quarters. “Don’t tell me you…”

  “Not yet. But she is still my wife, and you need to show her a bit more respect.” Jon smiled at Sarah and ran his thumb gently along her jawline. “I’ll do the tour, if you drop the condescending tone. I’m sorry if it was reminiscent of Atlantic City dealing with Sterling, but Sarah and I needed to get away from the press. Mia’s people confirmed that she’s pregnant, and I knew everyone would assume it was mine.”

  “Is it?” asked Isaac, and Jon slammed him with a death glare. “I guess that breaks a chink in her attempt to woo you.”

  “You think? I’m marrying Sarah. It wasn’t going to work anyway, and someday in the future, after we’ve officially signed the papers, we will have kids of our own.”

  As Jon finished his sentence, Remi joined the conversation. “Is Sarah pregnant? You have to keep me in the loop, Jon.”

  Jon shook his head and said, “I’ll let you know.”

  Sarah smiled and kissed Jon’s cheek as she got up. “I need to talk to Leslie,” she said, though she didn’t really have to talk to her. She just didn’t want her fairy-tale week to end with Isaac and Remi talking business with Jon, but she realized that it already had. She saddled up to the plane’s bar next to Nak and asked him and Leslie if they enjoyed the week as much as she had.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Sarah

  LUNCH WITH MIA—Sarah couldn’t believe she had actually agreed to it. She’d only been
home for three days, and she had to spend today having lunch with her mortal enemy. Sarah had no desire to get to know Mia better. She’d rather scrub out dog kennels in her dad’s veterinary clinic for a week during an epidemic of canine parvovirus than spend an hour with Mia, and disinfecting kennels was the worst job she had ever had. The lunch date was Jon’s concoction, and Sarah would do anything for Jon. So here she was wasting her valuable wedding prep time driving out to Ventura to have lunch with someone she detested.

  They got seated at a booth in a secluded corner—or it would have been secluded if it wasn’t so visible from the large window looking out onto the sidewalk. At least there wasn’t anyone seated near them. Jon didn’t want anyone to hear their conversation.

  “Mia, why can’t you just tell everyone who the father is? Or haven’t you told him yet,” Jon asked after the waitress left.

  “He knows I’m pregnant.”

  “What’s the deal then?” he exclaimed.

  “Have you seen the pictures of you and me melded together? They’ve already named the baby. Mia-thon—that’s what they’re calling it. The fans are rooting for you to claim it.”

  “Great,” Jon said, shaking his head.

  The server appeared and took their order. When she was a safe distance from the table, Mia started up again.

  “All you have to do is own up, Jon,” stated Mia.

  Own up? What the hell was she talking about? Sarah didn’t understand.

  “Even when you’re as careful as you are, things can happen. Oh, but you know that.” Mia grew a conniving smile. “Did Jon ever tell you why he’s so vigilant about condoms? His little oops…has he told you about that? Or is he keeping that from you, too,” she prodded Sarah.

  What a sleazy little bitch. “He has. Jon and I don’t keep secrets,” Sarah volleyed back. She hated that Mia knew Jon so well, that she had carnal knowledge of him. She despised that Mia had a past with Jon because she felt Mia rubbed it in her face every chance she had. Even the fans wanted Mia and Jon together. Sarah was tired of Mia’s manipulation of their life, and she wasn’t going to let her have the upper hand. “We don’t have time to raise your baby, Mia. We’re going to have our own to take care of,” declared Sarah.

  Jon froze with eyes wide. He laid his arm across the back of her chair and leaned into Sarah with a huge smile. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he whispered.

  “Surprise, surprise. I guess it really doesn’t matter how careful you are, does it?” snickered Mia. “Two at a time, the press will EAT. THAT. UP.”

  “Shut up, Mia!” Jon asserted. He looked at Sarah with a confused expression.

  She returned Jon’s glance, apologizing, “I mean…in the future. I’m not pregnant now…but I will be someday, after we’re married.”

  “Oh god. Isn’t she precious? Where did you find her, Jon? She doesn’t want to disappoint you. You want kids, but she’s not ready, is she? She wants to wait until you’re married—how cute. Everybody has a baby out of wedlock in Hollywood these days. Hell, most have two before signing the papers, if they sign them at all. I guess your mommy and daddy wouldn’t approve.” She mocked in a little girl’s voice.

  “You know, I defended you. I told Sarah you wouldn’t be that bad once she got to know you. I didn’t realize that pregnancy would turn you into a raging bitch.”

  “It’s been a long time since you called me a bitch. Wow, I must have really pissed you off,” she chuckled. “I’m not trying to piss you off, Jon.” She paused, not making eye contact. “It happened that night I met up with you at the sushi bar in December,” Mia whispered. “I tried calling you when I found out, but you didn’t pick up. I wasn’t going to leave it on your voice-mail.”

  Jon stared at her, his face unreadable.

  “I thought you’d own up to it. I thought you’d do the right thing. How was I to know you found someone else? That night, you never told me you were getting engaged. How was I to know? All you had to do was tell me. We’ve always been there for each other and now you’re abandoning me, just like everyone else in my life,” Mia admitted, her eyes welling up.

  Sarah whimpered as she rose from her chair and took off for anywhere other than the table. She had just cleared the hostess’s stand when Jon grabbed her wrist.

  “Sarah, stop, please,” he pleaded.

  She yanked her arm free, but he grasped her shoulders, tugging her to the wall near the exit. She shrugged off his hands, but he caged her, one hand pressed against the wall on either side of her, encircling without touching.

  “Would you just listen?” his voice desperate.

  Why wouldn’t he just let her go? She could feel the tears stinging in her eyes. He didn’t need her to have a baby. Mia was already pregnant. It made sense. Everybody knew they were meant to be together. She could feel Jon’s stare, but she refused to meet his gaze.

  “I can’t do this right now. Just let me go. I have to go.”

  “I’m not going to let you go. You’re too upset.”

  She ducked under his arm and took off through the door. Sarah was aware of all the eyes on her, but she couldn’t deal with this. He had lied to her. She had to get away, and she was taking the car. With her head start, she was able to get into her car and almost get the door closed before his hand slipped in and clutched the steering wheel. The tears were streaming down her cheeks. She couldn’t even see straight.

  “Please. I just need some time to process.”

  “Why are you acting like this, Sarah? Just stop and talk to me.”

  She threw the car into gear and pulled the door closed when Jon finally let go. A loud thump reverberated through her BMW, and she glanced in her mirror to see Jon staring after her, shaking his head.

  Jonathan

  He pounded his fist on the back of the car as she drove away. What was wrong with her? He couldn’t understand why she suddenly took off running. What had she said? “You lied to me.” What had he lied about? OK, maybe Mia was as bad as Sarah had made her out to be. That wouldn’t cause her to make such a big scene though. He had never seen her so distraught. He slid his phone from his pocket and typed out a text to Sam.

  Jon: Can you track Sarah’s phone? She took off and I don’t know where she went.

  Sam: She’s not going to be happy.

  Jon: I know, but I need to make sure she’s safe.

  Taking a deep breath, he turned back to the restaurant. Mia was still inside. He just wanted to leave, but he still had to deal with her.

  As he came through the door, the hostess addressed him, “Is there anything I can help you with, Mr. Williams? A car service? A cab?”

  Shit. Jon shook his head and continued back to the table where Mia waited. He collapsed in his chair across from her. The salads had been delivered. Jon wasn’t hungry anymore. Mia’s sugary smile didn’t help.

  “I take it she isn’t so keen about me having your baby.”

  Could Sarah have really thought he would cheat? He told her he wasn’t the father. Why would she think he lied? He scratched his forehead trying to make sense of her words. “You lied to me,” she had said.

  “Leave it alone, Mia.”

  “She made quite a scene. Crazy that one. Unstable. You could have anyone, Jon. Hell, you could have me for god’s sake. Why her?”

  Jon took out his phone, ignoring Mia. Several minutes had passed since he sent the text to Sam. He should have located her by now.

  Jon typed, Did you find her yet?

  “You know that’s rude. You shouldn’t text at the table.” She took a bite of her salad.

  Jon bit his lip, swallowing the explosive words he knew would spill if he opened his mouth.

  Sam’s reply flashed onto his screen. It looks like she’s headed home. I’ll let you know if she goes off course. Jon felt the tension in his body start to dissipate. He would let her cool off and then she would stop being so irrational. She would have to know in her heart that he wouldn’t cheat. He looked up at Mia, who was making her irritati
on obvious by the way she kept tapping her nails on the table.

  “Seriously, if she can’t handle a little joking around, how are you two ever going to make it? She’s not resilient at all. The press is going to destroy her long before the wedding.”

  “You don’t get it, Mia. She’s my more. Sarah is the only person who truly sees me as a person, not just a movie star. She doesn’t look at me as a way to raise her status in Hollywood. She doesn’t see dollar signs when I kiss her. She wouldn’t care if I gave up acting all together, because all she wants is for me to be happy. She accepts me for who I am. I don’t have to put on a show with her. She’s the most genuine person that I have ever met, and I will be marrying her. I’ll leave Hollywood if I have to.”

  “I guess she draws her line of acceptance at you having a baby with someone else,” Mia snarled before taking another bite of her dry salad.

  Jon rubbed his fingers through his hair, summoning strength. “So you were saying,” he slid his salad to the side of the table and glared at Mia, “you slept with one of my buddies that night at the sushi restaurant? Or was it just some guy in the bar?”

  Mia rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t just some guy off the street.”

  “Which one of my boys was it? Nick? Not that I give a damn, but we’ve always had an understanding about exes, a man code. It doesn’t really matter, though, having a baby with you should be punishment enough.”

  “Where’s our food? I’m starved.” Mia looked around, straightening the napkin on her lap. She glanced back at Jon. He was glaring.

  “You need to tell him.”

  “I have told him, and he doesn’t want anything to do with the baby…something about his wife…blah, blah, blah. I don’t even remember.”

  “You slept with Chris? What the hell were you thinking?”

  “I wasn’t looking for a commitment. A married man isn’t going to tell anyone, especially you, Jon.”