Tell Me Lies

Tell Me Lies

Tessa Dayne

             
This book is dedicated to the readers, to the ladies (and gents), who have encouraged and challenged me through the years. Thank you for leaving comments and feedback, for recommending the books to other readers, and asking questions and suggesting ideas. Without you, the reader, I would be a writer without an audience. This is for you.

Chapter One

~*~

Paige Harper looked out the window of the cab, watching the city pass by, her breath fogging up the glass. She dreaded going back to the apartment that she loved so much.  Thanks to her ex-boyfriend, Darren Armstrong, she doubted that she would feel comfortable in her own home ever again.

              The cabbie stopped in front of her building and while Jonas Barnett, her fiancé, took care of the fare and their bags, she stepped out onto the snowy sidewalk. She stared up at the windows she knew were to her apartment, the wind ruffling her dark hair.  She hadn’t thought this would be so hard.  If she had been alone, she doubted she could have even gotten this far.  With a forlorn sigh, she turned toward the front doors.

              “Guess this isn’t going to get done standing here,” she said.

              “We don’t have to do this now,” Jonas said, taking her hand in his.

              Paige turned to stare at him, taking in the shaggy blonde hair he was growing out for his next part, the scar above his smiling lips and the green-blue eyes that held hers and smiled, weakly. “No, I have to do this.  I can’t put Darren behind me until I do.”

              Jonas nodded solemnly.  He knew it took a lot of strength to face these demons.  He wasn’t about to let her face them alone.  Following her inside the building, they rode the elevator to the 14
th
floor quietly, neither knowing what to say.

              When the door slid open, Paige stepped out and walked down the hall.  Standing in front of the door to her apartment, her heart hammering wildly, she nearly chickened out.  She backed up, wanting, needing to leave, and met Jonas’s chest. She looked over her shoulder at him and when he smiled at her, she knew it was going to be okay.  No matter what she felt once she went inside, she had him to lean on.

              Taking a deep breath, Paige unlocked and opened the front door.  Stepping inside, the first thing she noticed was how clean it was, not an item out of place. Funny, she remembered tearing the place apart.  Darcy must have hired someone to come in and clean.  There was no way Darcy Milian would lift a finger to clean.  That was a menial task, one far below the woman.

              Looking around, Paige found that all she could see were her own things. There was no sign of Darren having ever been there.  His paintings, his art supplies, his clothes and everything else he owned were gone.

              Paige headed for the bedroom, and with no small amount of angst, she opened the door.  She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but the room was totally different, fresh and new.  Darcy had the furniture replaced, from the bed to the dressers and end tables.  The comforter that had been on the bed before was gone.  A new, crisp celery green comforter replaced the one she had virtually destroyed.

              Paige went to the bed, tracing the edge with her hand.  Darcy had done so much for her.  She’d never be able to repay her.

              “You okay?” Jonas asked, coming up behind her.

              Paige nodded, not trusting her voice. 

              “Darcy told me she had replaced the bedroom furniture and linens.  She didn’t want you coming home to a nightmare.  She had some people come in, clean the place, remove Darren’s things.”

              “She’s been so good to me, JD.  I don’t know how I am ever going to thank her…”

             
Jonas smiled, holding her close to his chest.  He kissed the top of her head, his lips tender against her hair.  “We’ll find a way.”

~*~

              Paige opened the refrigerator door and noticed how empty it was.  “Well, we aren’t staying here, unless I go to the store and that won’t be easy on Christmas day,” she said, moving the few things around inside.  “We can’t live on ketchup, moldy bread,” she grimaced.  “Or bottled water.”

              “I’m surprised Darcy didn’t stock your fridge,” Jonas commented. 

              “I’m not.  Darcy eats out.  A lot,” Paige said, tossing the bread in the trash. “Unless she has male company…then she orders in.”

              “Too much information…and I have yet to meet the woman.”

              Paige laughed, turning to lean against the counter.  She looked around the apartment, relief washing over her. Her home was somewhere she didn’t have to dread, as she really didn’t ‘see’ Darren in the rooms as she thought she would. 

              “I don’t want to stay here,” she said, eyeing the place. “You have to leave soon. The reporters or your fans will find you here eventually. I want some private time with you.”

              “What about that cabin you spoke of?” Jonas suggested.  “We could go there, couldn’t we?”

              Paige threw her arms around his neck.  Smiling at him, she leaned up and kissed him lightly on the lips.  “That sounds wonderful.  We can stop and see Dad before we head up there.”

              Jonas groaned, leaning his head against hers.  “Meeting Dad, huh?  I guess it had to be done sooner or later.”

              “Well, I can call and see if the boys will be around too.  Get them all out of the way in one stroke, if you’d like.”

              With a chuckle, Jonas nodded.  “Send me to the executioner’s block with a smile, why don’t you?”

              Paige rolled her eyes, reaching for the phone.  She quickly dialed her dad, surprised that he answered on the first ring.

              “Dad, what were you doing, sitting by the phone?” she asked, twirling the cord between her fingers.

              “You said you were coming home today. I’ve been waiting for your call.”

              “Are you going to be home tomorrow afternoon?  I’d like to come over. I’ll cook too.”

              “I’ll be here.  I’ll call Marc and Ryan, bring the whole family together.  We have Christmas presents here for you.”

              “I have presents for you too. Um, Dad, I’ll be bringing someone that I want you to meet. His name is Jonas and he’s pretty special to me.”

              “Oh…okay. Do you still want the whole family here?”

“Yes, the whole family being there is a good thing, Dad. I’ll see you tomorrow okay?”

              “Okay, we’ll see you both tomorrow. Six o’clock for dinner.”

              Paige heard the soft click and smiled as she hung up the phone.  It would be good to see her family, to tell them about Jonas and the baby.  None of them had ever liked Darren.  She hoped that wouldn’t be the case with Jonas.

~*~

              Paige stood looking out the window at a snow covered Chicago.  Coming home had been hard, but she had been able to do it. Dropping the curtain from her fingers, she turned and found Jonas standing in the doorway.

              “How long have you been standing there?” she asked.

              “Not long,” he said, easing from the doorway.  “You look sad.”

              “I’m fine, just have some mixed emotions. I am glad to be home, but it still hurts to be here too. The city holds some bad memories now.”

              “We will create new memories for you, the two of us together,” he said, taking her in his arms.

              Paige laid her head against his chest, her arms wrapped around his waist.  His heartbeat thudded gently in her ear and she smiled, despite the dread she felt in her heart.

              “Will you be all right?” he asked, kissing the top of her head.

              “With you by my side, yes.  I wish we could go to the cabin now.”

              “Tomorrow.  If you are feeling up to it, we will go tomorrow,” Jonas said, rubbing her back.

~*~

             
After a dinner of takeout Chinese, Paige and Jonas lounged in the living room in front of a blazing fire.  Paige leaned against the hard plane of his chest, her hand resting along her stomach.  She stared into the fire, mesmerized by the red and orange flames that licked the wood.

              “Penny for your thoughts,” Jonas whispered in her ear.

              “I was just thinking about being home again.”

              “Are you worried about telling your family about me?  About the baby?”

              Paige looked over her shoulder at him and smiled, reaching her hand up to cup his stubble covered cheek.  “No. I’m not worried about telling them about you, or the baby, for that matter.  I am worried about what exactly to tell them about all of this. I can’t lie to my family, Jonas.”

              “Then we won’t lie to them. We told my family the truth and they stood behind us,” Jonas said.  “Your family will stand by you, too.”

              “I just want to put the whole ordeal of Darren behind me.”

              Jonas held her tightly, his head resting on top of hers. Whatever it took, he would protect Paige and the baby.

~*~

              Jonas woke to brilliant sunshine spilling into the bedroom, caressing his face with the bright light.  When he stretched and rolled to his side, he was surprised to find Paige missing.  Flinging back the covers, Jonas slid from the bed, reaching for a pair of jeans.  Tugging them on, he surveyed the bedroom.  Paige wasn’t in the bedroom and he didn’t hear her in the bathroom either.

              Jonas stood and pulled the jeans over his hips, buttoned them and padded barefoot across the room.  He opened the bedroom door and headed into the living room, where he found Paige unpacking a grocery bag.

              “I called a local delicatessen and had breakfast delivered.”

              “Coffee…” he groaned, reaching for a cup.

              Paige grabbed a bagel with cream cheese and added a sugar packet to her cup of coffee.  “I guess after lunch we had better go to Dad’s.  We can’t hide out here forever.”

              “I know,” Jonas said, reaching for her hand.

              “Then we can head to the cabin. It will be so nice to have you all to myself for a few days. At least until you leave for Spain,” Paige said, hiding the trepidation she felt at Jonas leaving her.