Irresistible Lies

by Juliette White

  “I don’t want to worry you.”

  The words made her blood run cold. “What happened?”

  “Jake is sick. I think he needs to go to the doctor. I brought him home from school, and he was burning up with a fever. It’s just getting worse.”

  “Oh, no. Poor baby.” She closed her eyes to block Jamie out. He was coming toward her, concern written all over his face.

  “He keeps asking for you.”

  “I’m leaving right now. Give me twenty minutes.”

  She hung up the phone and started grabbing her scattered clothes from the hotel room floor. “Where the hell is my bra?”

  “Who was that?”

  “None of your business.”

  “It was Charlie, wasn’t it?”

  She found her bra and put it on, doing her best to ignore Jamie. All of her thoughts were on getting home to her son.

  “What did he want? Why do you need to leave?”

  Dressed, she grabbed her purse and the folders she had brought with her and made her way toward the door. Jamie stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

  “Move,” she demanded.

  “No,” he said. “You can’t leave like this.”

  She couldn’t read the look on his face well enough to tell what he was thinking, but she didn’t have the time to care. She had to get home.

  “Move!”

  “You’re just going to go to him?” He crossed his arms over his chest in anger. “Are you even going to tell him about this? Or are you just going to lie and pretend it never happened?”

  If he didn’t move out of her way, she was going to mow him over.

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “You listen to me, Jamie Castleton. You get out of my way right now or I swear, I will hate you for the rest of my life.”

  It was probably a little dramatic, but it did the trick. He stepped aside.

  “Grace.”

  “Goodbye, Jamie.”

  He looked like he was going to say something, but she didn’t wait around.

  She had somewhere more important to be.

  Chapter 14

  “Come here, baby.”

  Grace pulled Jake closer, wrapping him in her arms. She could feel the heat radiating from his little body, but he was shivering.

  “I’m cold,” he told her.

  “I’ll warm you up,” she said, kissing him on the cheek.

  His fever was high, but not high enough to warrant a visit to the emergency room. If it didn’t break by morning, she would take him to the pediatrician. Her online search had her pretty confident that this was going to turn out to be a 24-hour virus, but she was still closely watching over her son to make sure it wasn’t anything more serious.

  Nothing tugged at her heartstrings more than seeing Jake sick. She hated seeing his big, blue sad eyes looking at her for relief she couldn’t provide. Illness was one thing she couldn’t protect him from.

  When she had gotten home from Jamie’s hotel, Jake was sleeping on the couch, curled up in a little ball under the blankets. She watched him for at least an hour, avoiding Caroline’s questions and attempts at discussion and focusing on her son. She did some research into his symptoms—fever, chills and a stomach ache—and gathered medicine and other supplies just in case he needed them. She set up shop next to him on the couch, waiting for him to wake up.

  When he finally did, he smiled at her, and it made her feel a little better. She knew she was where she was supposed to be.

  Then he started complaining that his tummy hurt, and she was back in nurse mode, doing anything she could to try and make him feel better. She made him soup and watched him eat it, soothing him with silly stories about her childhood.

  Once he finished eating she tried to get him to sleep, but he wanted her to stay with him. She happily snuggled up on the couch, his warmth temporarily filling a place in her heart that Jamie had left empty.

  “Mommy?”

  “Yes, baby.”

  “Am I going to have a brother or sister?”

  The question was so unexpected she nearly laughed, but she knew Jake would expect be taken seriously. “No, sweetie. I don’t think so.”

  “Why not? My friends at school have brothers and sisters.” He looked up at her, his cheeks burning but his eyes sharp. “My friends Matt and Joe are brothers. They are twins!”

  “Do you want a brother or sister?”

  He wrinkled his nose. “I think I want a brother. Not a sister. Girls are silly. Not you, mommy. Girls at school.”

  She laughed. “I don’t think you need a brother or sister, baby. I like it like this, just the two of us.”

  “Why?”

  A simple question with a complicated answer. The idea of having another baby may have appealed to her in the past, but now, after what had happened with Jamie, she was pretty sure she was as far as humanly possible from ending her time as a single mother. Jamie was history, and she was going to have to say goodbye to whatever she and Charlie may have had.

  Maybe it was for the best. She didn’t need any more heartbreak.

  “I don’t want to share you with anyone,” she told him, winking.

  He giggled. “You’re my mommy and no one else’s.”

  “That’s right.”

  He kissed her on the cheek and curled up against her, closing his eyes.

  She heard her phone, on vibrate, buzz.

  Grace, can we talk? Please?

  Grace recognized the phone number as Jamie’s. She had given him hers when they were in New York, just in case they were separated and he needed to reach her. This was the first time he had used it.

  She typed a response.

  No. Leave me alone.

  Instead of sending the message, however, she slammed her phone shut. The best response, in this case, was no response. If she never answered her phone or left her house, she would never have to talk to or see Jamie again.

  She wished she could go back in time and not sleep with him. It had been so perfect, so wonderful, which just made things worse.

  Grace loved Jamie. She couldn’t deny that. Being intimate with him brought that love to the forefront so that it could no longer be ignored.

  Now, she would have to go through the heartbreak of losing him all over again, something she wasn’t prepared for. She wondered how long it would take her this time to get through a day without thinking of him.

  It was already so painful.

  Her phone rang. It was Jamie. She waited until the call went to voicemail and then turned her phone off.

  No more of this. The only reason she was able to move on from him last time was because he was in New York and she was convinced she would never see him again. She couldn’t get over him when he wouldn’t leave her alone.

  He cared for her; she knew that. He wouldn’t be trying so hard to get another chance with her if he didn’t. Maybe it wasn’t that serious for him, but he still wanted her.

  But that wasn’t enough. He needed to want their son, too. And she couldn’t trust her greatest secret to him when he didn’t want to be a father.

  Grace saw what he had in New York, with his friends and the brewery. He was going somewhere, rising to the top of the business world. She and Jake would hold him back, just like they would have held him back five years ago.

  He wasn’t ready for her, for them.

  She couldn’t wait around, hoping. It wasn’t fair to her son or to herself.

  She felt a tear slip down her cheek and wiped it away, frustrated with her emotions. She wished there was a switch she could flip that would delete her feelings for Jamie and erase the memories. There were so many happy ones, and tonight she had added more to the collection.

  Idiot.

  Jake shifted against her, snuggling into her side. He was asleep, and she wouldn’t dare move and wake him. It looked like they were going to be spending the night on the couch.

  “I love you,” Grace whispered, gently brushing back his soft blonde hair. “You look so m
uch like your daddy.”

  She found that to be both and blessing and a curse.

  “Is he sleeping?” Caroline entered the room from her bedroom, dressed in silky black pajamas. Her hair was curled and she had red lipstick on.

  “Yes.” Grace looked her sister over, raising an eyebrow. “What’s going on? Having a pajama party?”

  Caroline shrugged. “I guess you could call it that. Will is staying over. He’ll be here soon.”

  “Nice.”

  “Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.” She giggled, and Grace thought it was good to see her sister so happy.

  “Well, try and keep it down in the bedroom. Our little patient needs his rest.”

  “Of course!”

  They spoke in hushed voices, but it didn’t seem like Jake would be waking up anytime soon. He was sleeping soundly, unfazed even when Grace moved him to get more comfortable.

  “How is he feeling?” Caroline asked.

  “He’s alright,” Grace said. “It’s just the fever I’m worried about. I gave him some medicine and I think that made it go down a bit.”

  “Good. Keep an eye on it.”

  “I will.”

  Caroline took a seat on the chair next to the couch. “So, do you want to talk about what happened tonight?”

  Grace pressed her lips together. “No.”

  “Something happened. I can tell. You’ve barely said a word to me since you came home.”

  “Nothing happened.”

  They locked eyes, communicating without words as they so often did, waiting to see which one of them would give in first.

  Caroline finally looked away, shaking her head. “You slept with him.”

  Grace put her finger to her lips and looked meaningfully at Jake. “How did you know?”

  “It’s all over your face.” Caroline sounded disappointed. “Plus, I had a feeling it was going to happen.”

  Grace sighed, resigned. “I wish you could have given me a heads up. It’s not like I wanted this to happen. I have zero willpower when it comes to Jamie, that’s the problem.”

  “So, are you getting back together or something?” Caroline pulled a face. “What the hell happens now?”

  “Cara, stop. You know that’s not possible.”

  “Or smart.”

  “I know. I already know that.”

  “Clearly you don’t. I don’t understand, does your brain drop out of your head when he’s around?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “What were you thinking?”

  Grace felt anger, hot and unexpected, rise within her chest. She already knew she had screwed up, and she didn’t need Caroline up on her high horse rubbing it in. There was only so much of this she could take.

  She carefully got up off the couch, detaching herself from Jake, needing to get away from Caroline before she said something she would regret.

  She made her way into the kitchen, and Caroline followed her. Typical of their fights, Grace was the one to walk away, whereas Caroline liked to talk every issue to death until the air was completely clear.

  “I’m not the problem here,” Caroline said, cornering her with her hand on her hip. “Jamie is. Don’t take your anger out on me.”

  “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

  “Why is that your response for everything? We need to talk about this. This is important!”

  “Now is not the time, okay? I’ve had a really rough day.”

  “You brought that on yourself.”

  “Stop it, you’re supposed to be supportive of me, not make me feel even worse every time I screw up.”

  “Well, if I don’t make my point here, I’m concerned this is just going to happen again, and next thing you know you’ll be crying on the couch, alone and pregnant, and I’ll have to pick up the pieces.”

  Caroline may as well have just slapped her across the face.

  Before Grace could even think of a response, they heard the front door creak open. Caroline’s fiancé, Will, had let himself in with his key, and he walked into the kitchen where the two women were staring daggers at each other.

  “Did I interrupt something?” Will asked, forcing a smile. “I was knocking, but I guess neither of you heard me.”

  “Sorry, babe.” Caroline turned to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Can you give us a few minutes?”

  “Seriously, Caroline? Let it go now, you’ve made your point.” Grace turned to leave the room, eager to get back to her son.

  Caroline reached out an arm to stop her. “Wait. We’re still talking here.”

  “Is everything okay?” Will asked, concerned.

  “Not at all, actually.” Caroline’s voice was dripping with disapproval. “Grace slept with Jamie.”

  “Oh.” Will shot Grace a look of sympathy. “Okay, well, it’s not the end of the world.”

  There was a reason Grace liked this man.

  “Thank you, Will. Caroline seems to think it is.”

  Caroline groaned in frustration. “We need to have a serious discussion about this!”

  “Caroline-”

  “What about Charlie? How could you do this to Charlie?”

  “Caroline!” Will shook his head at her. “You’re being cruel.”

  “This is none of your business.” Grace struggled to keep her voice down, but the stress of the last few hours was pushing her to her breaking point. “This isn’t your life, it’s mine, so stay out of it.”

  “How dare you say that to me! Of course it’s my business.” Caroline’s face was getting redder by the minute, mirroring Grace’s own. “I’ve been here for you through everything these past few years. I’ve been here for Jake every minute of his life. He is a son to me just as much as he is to you, so everything that involves him is my business.”

  “I’m not belittling everything you have done for us, Caroline,” Grace said. “I’ve never been anything but grateful. But you’re not my mother, and I’m not a child. You can’t get mad at me because I’m not living my life the way you want me to.”

  “It’s not about what I want, it’s about what’s best for you!” Will put his hand on Caroline’s shoulder and opened his mouth to speak, but she ignored him. “You’re so blinded by your memories of Jamie that you’re not seeing the danger here!”

  “What danger?”

  “Of you falling in love with him again!”

  Grace slammed her hand down on the counter. “Too late! Sorry! I already did.”

  Caroline gasped, and Will sucked in a breath through his teeth.

  “I’m still in love with him. Maybe that makes me an idiot. At this point, there’s nothing I can do about it except try to move on from him. But I’m not crying on the couch, am I? I’m not asking you to pick up the pieces. I’m handling it. So leave me alone.”

  Caroline swore under her breath, and the two sisters stared at each other.

  “Mommy?” Grace spun around to see Jake looking up at her with tired eyes. “Why are you fighting?”

  “We’re not fighting,” she said, reaching down to scoop him up. “We were just talking. Sorry we woke you.”

  He yawned, looking adorable in his blue pajamas with trains on them. His innocent presence sucked some of the tension out of the room.

  “How are you feeling, big guy?” Will asked.

  “Better,” Jake said. “My tummy still hurts.”

  “Let’s get you in bed,” Grace said, kissing him on the cheek.

  “Can I sleep in your room?”

  “Of course, baby.” She shot a look at Caroline, who was looking at the two of them with concern. “Let’s go.”

  Jake slept like a log, which Grace knew because she spent the majority of the night watching him. Her mind took on a life of its own, replaying every moment she and Jamie shared since he showed up in Virginia.

  Yep, she was definitely still in love with him.

  She knew what she had to do.

  Chapter 15

  Jake’s fever broke in the middle of the nig
ht, and he was back to his old self the next morning. Grace was tempted to keep him home from school, call in sick and spend the day with him, but she knew she had to face her problems sooner or later. She got Jake ready for school, passing Caroline in the hallway on her way to the bathroom without saying a word.

  Grace drove Jake to school and headed off to work, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. She hadn’t been this nervous in a long time.

  “Charlie?” She knocked on the door to his office, hands shaking.

  “Come in.” He smiled at her, but his smile faded when he saw her expression. “What happened?”

  She closed the door behind her and took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry to do this.”

  “You’re making me nervous.”

  “This isn’t about you, it’s about me.”

  He swept a hand through his dark hair. “Are you... breaking up with me?”

  “I slept with Jamie.”

  There. She said it.

  It didn’t make her feel any better, just a lot worse.

  Charlie sat down in his chair, his mouth open in shock. “Wow,” he said after a moment. “I guess I should have expected that.”

  Grace wanted to cry, but knew she had no right to. She hated herself for hurting him. “I’m so, so sorry. I went to meet him last night, and it just happened. You deserve so much better than that, and I wish I could have given it to you.”

  She could tell that Charlie’s mind was racing. She recognized his expression as one she had seen in the conference room a million times. “Okay. Hold on. Let’s think about this rationally.”

  She sunk down into the chair across from his desk. “You must hate me.”

  “No. I don’t.” He folded his hands together. “The way I see it, we were never exclusive. We never had any agreement on that.”

  “Agreement?”

  “I called you my girlfriend yesterday, but you never confirmed it.”

  He spoke as if their relationship were a business transaction.

  “That doesn’t make it right, what I did. It doesn’t excuse it.”

  “It might,” Charlie said, his voice completely calm. “I suppose I’m equally to blame in this whole thing. I practically forced you on Jamie. You told me you didn’t want to work with him, and I knew you two had a history.”