Sweet Little Lies: Heartbreaker Bay Book 1

by Jill Shalvis

  They’d gone with sitting down and shutting up.

  She’d gotten a call from Jake the second the last of her passengers debarked.

  “You have problems with passengers, you let me kick their ass, you don’t need to do it,” he said. “You’re not alone out there, I’m always in your ear.”

  Literally. They were in constant communication when she was on the water via comms. “Maybe sometimes I want to do my own ass kicking,” she said.

  “My point is that you don’t have to.”

  “It’s a good stress reliever,” she said.

  “Uh huh. As good as sleeping with the guy you haven’t been honest with and then shoving him bare-ass naked into your dumbwaiter to avoid your ex, your boss, and your best friend?”

  The air left her lungs in one big whoosh. “Who told you?”

  “Eddie would snitch on his mama for food or cash, you know that.”

  “And how did Eddie know?” she demanded. “I didn’t tell anyone!”

  “Didn’t have to. Eddie was in the basement at a very intense poker game with a select few when the dumbwaiter opened and out stumbled your boy, pants in hand.”

  “Shirt!” she yelled. “He had his shirt in hand. He was wearing his pants!”

  “Just tell me you told him.”

  “I’m working on that.”

  “Dammit, Pru, it’s like you want to self-implode your own happiness. Promise me you won’t do anything that stupid again until you tell him.”

  She closed her eyes, knowing he was right. Hating that he was right.

  “Pru—”

  “—I hear you,” she said.

  “Promise me. I know you would never break a promise, so right here and now, promise me that—”

  “I promise,” she said. “I’ve always intended to tell him and I will. I get that it’s been two weeks but I’m working up to it, okay? I’m going to tell him soon as the time is right.”

  “Just don’t miss your window of opportunity, chica, that’s all I’m saying.”

  “I hear you.”

  They disconnected and Pru closed her eyes. Hard to pretend something hadn’t happened when everyone in the free world knew.

  She didn’t linger after work like she usually did. Instead she hightailed it out of there. Needing to clear her head, she and Thor walked. Well, she walked. Thor got tired about halfway and stopped. He planted his little butt on the sidewalk and steadfastly refused to walk another step.

  “You’re going to get fat,” she told him.

  Thor turned his head away from her.

  “Come on,” she cajoled. “I want to walk out the Aquatic Park Pier and watch the sky change colors as the sun sets.”

  Thor sneezed and she could have sworn she heard “bullshit” in the sound. And the sad thing was that her dog had more brain cells than she did because he was right.

  She was stalling going home. It was just that she’d come to count on Finn’s company so much. Too much. He made her smile. He made her ache. He made her want things, things she’d been afraid to want. He made her feel . . . way too much.

  Thor hadn’t budged so she scooped him up and carried him out to the end of the long, curved pier. She watched the water and thought maybe this wasn’t so bad. Yes, she’d made a mistake. She’d been with Finn a few times.

  So what.

  Other people, normal people, slept with people all the time and she didn’t see anyone else angsting over it. For all she knew Finn hadn’t given it a second thought, and in fact would laugh off her worries.

  But you’ve slept with him now, as in actually slept, snuggled in his arms all night long . . . And that was more intimate than anything else and it changed things for her. “Maybe I’m just being silly,” she said hopefully to Thor.

  Thor, lazy but utterly loyal, licked her chin.

  She hugged him close. “I always have you,” she murmured. “You’ll never leave me—”

  But he was squirming to get down so desperately she did just that. “What’s gotten into you?” She stopped when he bounced over to a fellow dog a few feet away.

  A small, dainty, perfectly groomed Shih Tzu. The dog stilled at Thor’s approach and allowed him to sniff her butt, and then returned the favor while Pru glanced apologetically at the dog’s owner.

  The woman was in her thirties, wearing running tights and a tiny little running bra, the brand of which Pru couldn’t even afford to look through their catalogue.

  “Baby,” the woman said. “What have I told you? You’re a purebred not a disgusting mutt.”

  “Hey, he’s not disgusting, he’s just—” But Pru broke off when Thor lifted his leg and peed on Baby.

  By the time Pru got to her building, Thor had fallen asleep in her arms, which were nearly dead. Seemed nothing stopped him from catching his beauty sleep, not snooty little dogs with snooty little owners, and certainly not the squealing of said snooty little dogs’ owners about the cost of dog grooming and how Pru had let her heathen ruin her “baby.”

  A low-lying fog rolled in to join dusk as she entered through the courtyard, staying close to the back wall, not wanting to be seen by anyone.

  The temps had dropped so she wasn’t surprised to see the wood fire pit lit. She was surprised to see Eddie manning the pit. He waved her over.

  Halfway there she realized the entire courtyard smelled like skunk. When she got to Eddie, she pulled the uneaten half of her sushi lunch pack from her bag and gave it to him.

  “Thanks, dudette.” Pocketing the sushi in his sweatshirt, he poked at the fire with a long stick.

  “It’s going out,” she said.

  “I know. I burned it hot on purpose, I had some stuff to get rid of.”

  “Stuff? Stuff related to the skunk smell?”

  He just smiled.

  A few minutes went by and Pru realized she was still standing there, now with a wide grin on her face. “I’m starving.”

  “Me too,” Willa said from right next to Pru.

  Pru blinked. “When did you get here?”

  “A while ago.” Willa looked into her face and grinned too. “You’re high as a kite.”

  “What? Of course I’m not,” Pru said.

  “It’s a contact high.” Willa looked at Eddie, who had the decency to look sheepish.

  “I had some dead seedlings I had to get rid of,” Eddie said. “It’s fastest to just burn them.”

  “You can’t just burn them out here!” Willa said. “Right, Pru?”

  But Pru was feeling distracted. “I need food,” she said. “Chips, cookies, cakes, and pies.”

  “And pizza,” Willa said. “And chips.”

  “I already said chips.”

  “Double the chips!” Willa yelled to the courtyard like she was placing an order with an invisible waitress.

  Pru laughed at her. “I’m not high as a kite. You are.”

  “No, you are.”

  “No,” Pru said, poking Willa in the arm. “You are.”

  “You both are.” This was from Archer, who’d appeared in front of them.

  “Whoa,” Willa said. “The police are here. Run!”

  Archer reached out and snagged her hand to keep her at his side. Frowning down at her, he then turned and eyeballed Pru.

  She did her best to look innocent even though she felt very guilty. Why, she had no idea.

  “Shit,” he said in disgust to Eddie. “You got them both stoned out of their minds. What the hell did I tell you an hour ago?”

  “You said you’d arrest me if I didn’t put out the fire. I’m working on it. It’s almost out, dude.”

  A muscle in Archer’s jaw bunched. Willa set her head on his shoulder and looked up at him with a dreamy smile. “Elle’s right,” she murmured, batting her lashes. “You do look really hot when you’re all worked up.”

  “I’m not worked up—” He broke off and slid her a speculative look. “Elle thinks I’m hot?”

  “When you’re worked up. When you’re not, she t
hinks you’re a stick in the mud.”

  Archer shook his head and pulled out his phone. “Elle, your girls need you in the courtyard. Now.” He slid both Pru and Willa a long look and added, “You’re going to want to feed them. Oh, and Elle? Remind me that we have something to discuss.”

  Willa smacked him. “You can’t tell her that I told you that she thinks you’re hot!” she hissed.

  Archer lifted a finger in her direction and listened to something Elle said. He let out a rare smile. “Yes, that was Willa.”

  Willa smacked her own forehead. “She’s gonna kill me.”

  Archer disconnected with Elle and pointed at them. “Don’t either of you move until she comes and gets you. You hear me?”

  “Hear you,” Pru said, eyes locked on the pub. The doors were open to the street and the courtyard. The place was full and spilling out sounds of music and laughter.

  Behind the bar, Sean and Finn were elbow to elbow, working hard. Finn was shaking a mixer and laughing at something a woman at the bar was saying to him.

  Elle appeared in a siren red sheath dress that screamed serious business. Her black heels echoed the statement. “What’s going on?” she demanded, hands on hips. “Archer pulled me out of a meeting with the building’s board—”

  “Was the owner there?” Willa asked. She looked at Pru. “None of us have ever met the owner. He’s exclusive.”

  “Elusive,” Elle corrected, narrowing her eyes on each of them, and then Eddie.

  Who unlike when he’d been dealing with Archer, actually sunk in on himself a little, seemingly sheepish. “I didn’t realize,” he said.

  “Oh for God’s sake.” Elle took a deep breath and looked a little less uptight. She took another and sighed. “I need pizza.”

  “Right?” Willa said, grinning.

  “Count me in.” This was Haley, who arrived from the elevator in her white doctor’s coat, looking quite official.

  “You’re still doctoring,” Willa said.

  “Nope,” Haley said, pulling off her lab coat. “The smoke and commotion drew me down here but I’m done for the day, thankfully. It was a busy one.”

  “Spence come in for glasses yet?” Elle asked.

  Haley bit her lower lip. “I saw him, yes.”

  “And?” Elle asked. “His eyesight is bad, right?”

  “I’m sorry, I can’t say,” Haley said. “Or HIPAA would drag me away in chains. He’ll have to tell you himself.”

  Elle stared into her eyes and then smiled. “Yeah, he got glasses.”

  “Damn,” Haley said. “I hate when you do that.”

  “She reads minds,” Willa told Pru.

  “Like magic?” Pru asked, awed.

  “Not magic,” Elle said. “You all just wear your every single thought on your sleeves.”

  “Oh, look at you, dear,” Mrs. Winslow said to Pru, coming up to her with a wide smile. “You look amazing.”

  “Uh . . .” Pru looked down at herself. She was still in her usual work uniform of a stretchy white button-down and navy trousers and boots. “Thanks?”

  “Must be all the sexual activity with Finn,” the older woman said. “Intercourse does wonders for your skin.”

  Looking shocked, Willa nearly swallowed her tongue. She turned to Elle, who shrugged.

  “You knew?” Willa asked.

  “When are you going to get it? I always know,” Elle said.

  Pru admired a woman who always had the answers. She really hoped Elle shared some of them because she could really use a few right about now.

  “Burgers and hot dogs!” a guy yelled walking through the courtyard. It was Jay. He owned the food truck that usually sat out front, but now he had a tray strapped on him and was making sales left and right like he was going up and down the rows at a baseball stadium. “I’ve got beef burgers and six inches of prime sausages here! Get ’em while they’re hot!”

  “Six inches would do me just right,” Mrs. Winslow said wistfully. “I wouldn’t know what to do with seven or eight.”

  Try nine, Pru thought and clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from saying it out loud.

  “Something you want to share with the class?” Haley asked.

  Most definitely not, but the vultures had the scent of roadkill and were circling.

  “Oh, she’ll talk,” Elle said, staring into Pru’s eyes. “She’ll talk over a loaded pie and a bottle of wine. Girls, let’s hit it.”

  And she walked off.

  “She’s so badass,” Willa whispered, staring after her. “I mean look at that dress. She’s badass, kickass, and she has a great ass. It’s really not fair.”

  “I can hear you,” Elle called out over her shoulder without looking back. She snapped her fingers. “Put it in gear.”

  And Pru, Haley, and Willa followed after her like puppies on a leash.

  Chapter 24

  #SuitUp

  Pru had no idea how Elle did it, but by the time they got to the street, there was an Uber ride waiting on them.

  “Lefty’s Pizza,” Elle said to the driver.

  “I thought you were on a diet,” Haley said, climbing into the car.

  “Some days you eat salads and go to the gym,” Elle said. “And some days you eat pizza and wear yoga pants. It’s called balance.”

  “I always eat pizza and wear yoga pants,” Willa said. She gasped. “Does that make me unbalanced?”

  “No, actually, it makes you smarter than me,” Elle said with a small smile.

  Willa sighed. “Or maybe I’ve just given up on men.”

  “That’s only because you dated a few frogs,” Elle said.

  “That’s an extremely nice way of saying that I’m a loser magnet. And I couldn’t get rid of that one frog either. I still owe Archer for stepping in and pretending to be my boyfriend so he’d back off.”

  “That’s not why he backed off,” Elle said. “He backed off because Archer threatened to castrate him if he contacted you again.”

  Willa gaped. “He did? I was wondering at how easy he made it look.”

  “And you can make it look easy too,” Elle told her. “Next time you want to lose a guy, just tell them ‘I love you, I want to marry you, and I want children right away.’ They’ll run so fast they’ll leave skid marks.”

  Willa snorted. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Thirty minutes later they were in a booth, one bottle of wine down, another ready to go, and a large pizza on its way to being demolished. Pru’s stomach hurt, but that hadn’t slowed her down any.

  Willa pulled a book from her purse. “Have either of you been to that new used bookstore down the street from our building?”

  “I download my books right to my phone,” Elle said. “That way I can read while pretending to listen in on meetings.”

  “Your boss doesn’t mind?” Pru asked.

  “My boss knows everything,” Elle said. “And one of the things he also knows is that me doing my thing allows him to do his thing.”

  Made sense.

  “Plus, I know where the bodies are hidden,” she said. Probably she was kidding.

  “Well, I like the feel of a book in my hand,” Willa said and looked at Pru.

  “I go both ways,” Pru said and then blushed when they all laughed. “You know what I mean.”

  “I do,” Willa said and handed her the book. “Which is why I bought this for you.”

  Pru eyed the title and choked on a bite of pizza. Willa had to pound her on the back while Pru sucked a bunch of wine down to try and appease her burning throat. No go. “Orgasms For One?” she finally managed.

  Willa nodded.

  “Um . . . thank you?”

  “I bought it after you told us that you hadn’t dated in a while but before I heard about the dumbwaiter, so . . .”

  Pru sighed. “So everyone knows about the dumbwaiter.”

  “Little bit,” Haley said. “What we don’t know are the deets.”

  Elle pointed at Pru. “You. Finn. Go.�
�

  “It’s . . . a long story.”

  “I love long stories,” Willa said.

  Elle just arched a brow. She didn’t like to be kept waiting.

  “Might as well start talking,” Haley told Pru. “She’ll get her way eventually, she always does. I’ve found it’s best to give in earlier than later. Besides, I’m tired.” She accompanied this statement with a wide yawn.

  Pru rubbed her aching stomach. She was starting to feel sick. “Maybe we should postpone this for another day. When I haven’t eaten my weight in pizza.”

  Elle didn’t break eye contact with her. She didn’t budge a muscle, not even to blink.

  Pru sighed. “Fine. Maybe something’s happened between me and Finn, but it’s not going to keep happening.”

  Willa grinned. “So you did sleep with him.”

  “Past tense,” Pru said, her gaze still held prisoner by Elle’s. “Even if I wish it wasn’t.” Dammit. “Where did you get this super power?” she demanded. “I need it.”

  Elle smiled. “I’d tell you but—”

  “—But she’d have to kill you,” Willa finished on a laugh. “Love it when you say that.”

  “Except you never let me say it,” Elle pointed out.

  Pru’s stomach turned over yet again and she put a hand on it. “I really don’t feel so good.”

  “Because you’re holding back on your new BFFs,” Willa said.

  “I like you for Finn,” Elle said to Pru. “He hasn’t chosen anyone in a long time. I’m glad it’s you.”

  “Oh, no. That’s the thing,” she said. “It’s not me. I mean, it was great. He was great. And when I was with him, I felt . . .” She closed her eyes, the memories washing over her. “Really great.” She could still hear his low, sexy voice in her ear telling her what he was going to do to her, and then his even sexier body doing it, taking hers to places it hadn’t been in so long she’d nearly forgotten what it was like to be in a man’s arms and lose herself.

  “So why is it over then?” Haley asked. “Do you realize how rare ‘really great’ is? I haven’t had ‘really great’ in so long I don’t even know if I’ll recognize it.”

  “You’ll recognize it,” Elle said, looking at Pru, waiting on her answer.