Tell Me a Lie (The Story Series Book 3) (7 page)
Read Tell Me a Lie (The Story Series Book 3) Online
Authors: Tamara Lush
F
ive-thirty
at night came and went, and it had been forty-eight hours since I’d heard from Caleb. We all moped around, and most of the King employees went home.
Colin still couldn’t look at me without blushing. I wasn’t ashamed of the sexy photos, but out of respect for his sensibilities—who knew
he’d
be such a prude about those things—I avoided talking to him. He appeared relieved.
Some time later, after eating pizza and getting a wicked case of heartburn, I took a Benadryl and then showered again. I’d taken to showering a few times a day since it was the only time I could be alone and cry my heart out. Finally, I lay in bed, exhausted. Sarah joined me and held my hand.
“It’s going to be difficult, but you’ve got to hold it together for the baby,” she whispered. “Anger and sadness won’t help the baby.”
I nodded and the tears returned. I tamped down a little bubble of anger because I wanted people to stop telling me not to be sad.
I had all the reasons in the world to be sad. And terrified.
“Thank you. I wouldn’t be able to handle this alone.”
She kissed my forehead. I immediately felt guilty for my anger. Thank God Sarah was here to care for me.
I had no handle on my emotions; one minute I was awash in tears, the next minute I wanted to scream my lungs out. Most of all, I wanted this nightmare to be over. Naturally, I had a difficult time falling asleep, trying hard not to think about the worst possible outcome: That my husband was alone. Hurt. Scared.
Or worse.
After a few hours, Laura came into the bedroom and lay on my other side in the giant bed to spoon me. I was facing Sarah, and both she and Laura put their arms around me, as if their embrace could keep the baby and me alive. I listened to each of them breathe, and they fell asleep. Sarah snored a little.
I still wasn’t able to drift off, despite the pill, and now wasn’t able to move because of Sarah and Laura. I stared into the darkness, tears streaming from the corners of my eyes.
The bedroom door opened, and my eyes went to the light. I saw a tall man’s broad-shouldered silhouette. For an instant, I thought it was Caleb and my heart soared. I shifted, trying to lift myself out of the arms of Laura and Sarah, but then I realized it was only Colin. As he came closer, I realized he was still in the same gym clothes as when we’d first discovered Caleb was gone. Colin stretched out on the bottom of the big bed at our feet.
The room was still and dark, with only the sound of Sarah’s snoring in the air. And then I heard another noise, like a small choke. It was Colin. My feet pressed against his chest, and I could feel his body shaking. He wrapped an arm around my ankles.
Suddenly, Laura sat up and called him by the nickname only she used.
“Come here, Collie.”
She moved aside and roughly pulled her little brother up so his head was on a pillow next to mine. Now Colin was on his side, his back to mine. I rolled over so I could embrace him. It was awkward because of my belly. Colin’s head lay against his sister’s collarbone. He smelled sour, like sweat, which was so abnormal for him.
The bed shook with his cries, and all I could do was reach my hand over my belly to squeeze and stroke his bicep. He cried and heaved into Laura’s embrace, and she rubbed his back while whispering soothing words. Sarah also turned on her side and held me tight.
A silent sob tore through me. For Colin to be weeping, the situation must be dire. That’s when I knew things weren’t going to be okay ever again.
One by one, everyone but me fell asleep in a tangled pile on tear-stained pillows. I listened to Sarah’s snoring, Laura’s tossing and turning, Colin’s deep breathing. As delicately as I could, I extricated myself from the bed and went to the velvet Art Deco chaise. I sank into the plush cushion, propping myself into a seated position with a round bolster pillow that Caleb had bought so I’d be comfortable while reading. My hand went to my stomach and rubbed, as if trying to soothe my baby,
our
baby, the little human created from the fire and passion of the one true thing I’d ever known.
I inhaled a lungful of stale air and could almost smell the heavy, strangling sadness. Blinked away fresh tears. Would Caleb be found? Was he alive? How would I survive without him? I rubbed my stomach in circles, over and over. Clockwise, then counterclockwise, until the first sliver of dawn sliced through the curtains.
THE END
Don’t miss the next installment of Emma and Caleb’s story. TELL ME A SECRET: Episode Four of The Story Series,
is available exclusively on Amazon
!
K
eep reading
for a preview of Tamara Lush’s standalone romantic suspense novel,
HOT SHADE
. Available now at
Boroughs Publishing Group
.
S
kylar had come here
on business. To ask Luca about the plane crash. To be a journalist. She had promised herself that when she came to Palmira she would start fresh and respect herself more, at least where men were concerned. That’s what her mother would have wanted, and God knew her mom would have been horrified if she’d been alive to see how Skylar allowed James to steamroll her confidence. Then again, Mom would probably also have been appalled by Skylar half-naked in a pool, lusting after a guy she’d just met.
“It’s interesting. Like I said earlier, one of the paramedics told me that the man who saved the injured guy on the beach had a tattoo on his arm.”
“Imagine that.”
Luca’s eyes met hers, and she couldn’t read his expression. She tipped her head, and her wet hair spilled toward one shoulder. “Were you the one who helped the victim?”
Skylar’s heart pounded when he smiled. He was so beautiful that it was unsettling, and the look on his face showed obvious confidence and desire. With previous dates—even the first time she was with James—she’d always had a running commentary in her mind: When will he kiss me? Now? Later? Ever? Tonight there was no guessing.
He reached through the water and wrapped his fingers around her wrist, gently guiding her hand to his shoulder. She automatically drifted toward him, clasping her other hand at his nape.
She was so close that her breasts brushed his chest. His hands lightly cupped her jaw and neck, while her legs and arms and everywhere in between tingled from his touch.
His mouth hovered over hers, and Skylar was acutely aware of his smooth face, his searching eyes, his scorching fingertips on her skin. His soft mouth met her lips, tentative and gentle at first. He tasted like the wine, crisp and cool and new, and Skylar’s lips instantly flared with heat. It was as if the shimmering blue light in the pool had entered her body and pulsed through her.
Luca pulled back and caught his breath, as if the kiss had taken him by surprise, then again pressed against her. The second assault, too, was shockingly sensual. It slammed into Skylar, defeated all her defenses. Almost.
She shifted her head away from his. Her gaze drifted downward, and she was fascinated by the hard surface of his chest muscles against the softness of the water that surrounded them. Trying to catch her breath, she licked her lips, and guilt over kissing a potential source stung her sensible journalist self. It was a stalling tactic to gather her thoughts, although her only desire was to kiss him again.
“You’re not going to answer my question, are you?” she whispered. With half-lidded eyes, he slowly shook his head and kissed her again.
H
ot Shade is
available wherever e-books are sold, and at
Boroughs Publishing Group
.
D
uring the day
, Tamara Lush is a journalist with The Associated Press. At night, she writes fictional romance tales about complicated, sexy men and the women who love them.
When Tamara isn’t reporting, writing or reading, she’s doing yoga, cooking for her Italian husband or chasing her dogs along a beach on Florida's Gulf Coast.
She loves connecting with people on social media. Go to her website at
www.tamaralush.com
and sign up for her newsletter if you’d like details on new releases, exclusive content and adorable photos of her dogs.
