The Truth Be Told (The Truth in Lies Saga #3) (14 page)

McKenzie

The next morning, I woke to the soft hum of Drew sleeping beside me.  Splayed across the mattress, he laid on his stomach, one arm dangled off the bed while the other wrapped around me.  My eyes opened with a flutter, the bright light from the sun seeping in from the window.  I turned my head to admire the man beside me.

The dark burgundy sheet draped over his long, lean, muscular form.  I stretched my aching limbs, purring in contentment.  What was nearly a nightmare of a night, turned into a dream—one I didn’t want to wake from.  It was a shame the dream had to come to an end.  Round two of bridal events began this morning with a brunch for the ladies.  At least I wouldn’t have to endure another encounter with Jonathan until tomorrow at the wedding.

I glanced over at the alarm clock.  My heart jumped in my chest when I realized what time it was.  I shook Drew’s arm.  “Andy, wake up.  We’ve gotta go now.  I’m late.”

Groggy and sleep deprived, he mumbled something about five more minutes and pulled me closer to him.  I wiggled and squirmed, pushing his arm off of me.  “No, now!  I’m supposed to help set up for the ladies’ brunch this morning.”  I shook him.  “Wake up!  Olivia’s gonna kill me.”

Drew rolled over, extending out his arms and legs.  He reminded me of a cat who’d been woken abruptly and wasn’t too happy about it.  “Olivia can go fuck herself.  That’s what they hired a staff for.”

“That might be true, but I still need to get back there for the brunch, you know.”

He rubbed his eyes and threw back the covers, exposing his naked body.  I caught myself staring, a little embarrassed that I was unable to take my eyes off him.  No matter how many times we’d been together, engaging in the most intimate acts known to man, I still marveled at how a man like him even existed, let alone loved me.  His toned stomach rippled as he moved.  The curve of his biceps flexed under his beautiful, sun kissed skin.  He rubbed both his hands on the top of his head and moaned.  “Fine,” he grumbled.  “You win.”

Desire for him stirred up inside me.  I leaned over to kiss him.  “Thank you.”

He pushed my hair back from my face, pressing his lips firmly to mine.  I opened my mouth, inviting him in.  He accepted, his tongue sweeping across mine.  A wave of desire washed over me at the realization of how exposed he was to me.  “Anything for you,” he breathed into my mouth.  

I bit my bottom lip, my heated gaze drifting down his body.  “Anything, you say?”  I skimmed my fingers down his chest, making my intentions known.

In one quick swoop, he had me in his arms and pinned beneath him.  My eyes widened, my breath caught in my chest.  I ran my tongue over my lips, anticipating his next move.  “Absolutely anything,” came his answer in a soft, low moan.  

I whimpered, feeling the heat ignite between my thighs.  The mere sound of his voice made me shiver all over.  A fervent fire ignited between us, the air thick with sexual tension. He captured my bottom lip with his teeth, sucking it into his mouth.  A surge of passion exploded between us.

I slipped my hands between us, raking my nails down his chest.  He winced as his nipples hardened at my touch, but he only spurred me on.  Inch by inch, I ran my fingers over his stomach until I reached his thick, hard length.  I wrapped my hand around him, palm to skin, caressing him.

His intense gaze met mine and our mouths crashed into one another, hard and hungry.  Our tongues tangled together as I stroked him harder and faster.  The sound of his moans was music to my ears.  

Drew slipped his hand down my side, cupping my breast and toying with my firm peak.  Continuing to stroke him, I felt his body jolt.  He pulled back his hips, removing himself from my grasp.  “I want to be inside you,” he rasped.  I nodded, because I couldn’t agree more.  He reached for a condom from the bedside table, ripped open the tinfoil, and slipped it over him.  I wrapped my legs around his hips, lifting up to meet his.  Lost in his touch, I knew now, more than ever, this was where I belonged.  

A couple hours later, Drew and I were back at his parents’ house, attempting to sneak in without being caught.  Our attempts were foiled when Jared met us at the door, looking a little disheveled.  “Dude, seriously, we’ve got to go.  We’re supposed to already be at the golf course,” he told Drew.  “Hi, McKenzie,” he added as an after thought.

“Shit.  I totally forgot about that,” Drew replied, laughing, tickling my ribs.

“Well, get a move on it,” I playfully scolded him.

Drew laughed, sneaking in one last kiss.  He swatted me on the butt as I moved to walk past him, heading up to my room. I squeaked and jumped.  “Good Lord,” Jared groaned, grabbing Drew by the arm and dragging my man away from me.

All the way up the stairs, I looked over my shoulder to make sure I was undetected.  The thought of Olivia catching me sneaking into the house with last night’s dress on was a nightmare I didn’t wish to endure.

Once in my room, I was met by a perturbed Mackie, who expressed her disappointment with a snotty meow.  She bumped my ankles, twisting and twirling around them until I finally picked her up.  A little smug for getting what she wanted, she purred in my arms, nuzzling her head to my neck.  I chuckled and scratched behind her ears, carrying her with me to the closet.  “I promise, little lady, this is almost over.  You’ll love where we’re going next.  Florida is Mommy’s favorite place in the world.”

I placed Mackie on the floor and started to scramble through my wardrobe.  At the front was the dress Drew had purchased for me.  I smiled, running my fingers along the soft material.  He really did spoil me.  Passing over the dress, I chose a pair of black slacks with a white button down blouse.  Sensible but elegant.  

Undressed down to my bra and panties, I tossed my dirty clothes aside and stepped into my pants.  My bedroom door flew open, startling me, nearly sending me forward before I could pull my pants completely up my waist.  “Knock, knock,” announced a smiling Andie.  She gave me once over and marched into my room, closing the door behind her.  “Looks like someone did the walk of shame this morning.”

She was absolutely stunning in her skinny jeans that pretty much could’ve been painted on her, and a red, off the shoulder top.  Any woman would feel out of place next to her, and I was no exception.  Her light brown hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, and her makeup was movie star perfect.  She pranced over to my bed and plopped down, crossing her knees like she’d done this to me a million times before.  

“I…um…” I stuttered, rubbing the back of my neck, covering my chest with my arm.  If she knew, who else did?  Damn, I shouldn’t have gone for the morning sex.  But he was too tempting to pass up.  

Andie let her head fall back and laughed.  “Don’t worry.  You’re secret’s safe with me.  Bitch-livia has no clue where you’ve been, from what I can tell.”

“Bitch-livia?”

With a flick of her wrist, she replied, “Jared,” as if that said it all, which really it did.  “Anyway, I saw you and Drew sneak in and I thought I’d come up here and properly introduce myself to the women who’s stolen my brother’s heart.  Last night was a bit of a fiasco.  Usually is with our family,” she chortled.

I pulled my shirt over my shoulders and buttoned it up.  “It wasn’t that bad.”  I tucked my shirt in my pants and clasped them closed.

Mackie hopped up on the bed next to Andie, nudging at her hand with her head.  I was shocked.  Mackie never took too kindly to strangers, yet here she was buddying up to someone new.  She curled up in a little ball and allowed Andie to pet her.  I sat down beside them and slipped on a pair of black pumps.

“Don’t be so nice.  Last night was a fucking nightmare.  Gavin was pissed as hell at Father for the three of you disappearing.  We all were. Well, except for Olivia.  What a brown-noser.”

“Don’t be hard on Liv.  It’s her job to ensure everything goes well this week,” I defended.

Andie shook her head.  “She’s not here for a job.  She’s here to steal your man by using our father against him.”

“You all make her out to be some sort of villain.  She’s carrying Drew’s baby, for God's sake.  She has the right to want to glean favor from his family.”

“Honey, let me tell you, your friend wants more than to get our family’s approval.  Her head’s shoved so far up my father’s ass right now, I can’t tell where he ends and she begins.”

That mental image alone brought forth a laugh.  “That’s just wrong.”

“But factual.”

“You don’t care much for her, do you?”

“Olivia means nothing to me.  Drew is all I care about.  He’s been through a lot.  There are tragedies in his past…”

“I know,” I whispered.

“You do?”  She blinked in confusion.

I glanced up to meet the same aqua eyes I’d grown to love so much.  She examined me for a moment and then smiled.  “It’s sad.  My father’s a fool for not seeing how good you are for Drew.  The man I saw downstairs just now was happy and healthy.”  She patted my knee.  “And very much in love.”

It was one thing hearing those words from Jared or Drew, but a whole other hearing them from someone who was a complete stranger.  Something about that made me wonder if maybe Jared didn’t have a point.  Maybe Olivia did know and was biding her time to confront us.  That thought made me a little sick to my stomach.  I pushed the idea aside.  It was no use worrying about it.  The truth would be revealed soon enough.

“I love your brother very much,” I admitted.

“I have no doubt about that.”

We sat in silence, petting a very content Mackie.  Andie had a larger than life persona, much like Drew, but she also seemed to enjoy the simplicity of a quiet moment.  It was safe to say, I liked Andrea Wise, and could see myself becoming good friends with her.

“We should probably head downstairs.  I’m sure brunch is being served, and from the sounds your stomach is making over there, you’re starving.  I swear, didn’t my brother feed you before forcing you to make the walk of shame?  Some lay he is,” she teased.

My cheeks burned from the blush that blazed beneath my skin.  Andie stood up, laughing.  “C’mon.  We got a stuffy party to endure.”

I patted Mackie once more, put down fresh food and water for her, then followed Andie down the stairs.

The party was in full swing by the time we made it outside to the pool deck.  Olivia buzzed around from table to table, all smiles and laughter.  She wore an ivory dress that tied in a large bow above her belly, with gold sandals.  She looked up at me, and I could tell she was furious.  “Finally decided to join us, I see?” she seethed.  She marched over to me, grabbed me by the arm, and pulled me away from the crowd.  “Where were you this morning?  I tried calling you.  You were supposed to help.”

“I’m sorry.”  Damn me and my cellphone.  I was the world’s worst with them.  I hadn’t even looked at mine today. “I overslept.”

Olivia cocked her head to the side.  Her anger melted into a twisted smile.  “Yeah.  I bet you did.  You got laid last night.”

“What?” I gasped.  “No.”

She rested her hands over her belly and laughed.  “You’re glowing.  You so got laid last night.  So how was he?”

Oh, God.  This was it.  She was about to expose me and my traitorous ways to all of Morgan’s guests.  I shook my head, frantic.  “How was who?” My voice rose several octaves.

“Jared?  You both disappeared about the same time, and neither of you came back to the party.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out you two went off together.”

I clapped my hand over my face.  “It’s not like that.  You’ve got it all wrong.”

“I think it’s exactly like that.  So, tell me everything.  I want all the juicy little details.”

“McKenzie,” a voice called out from over the crowd.  I glanced up from behind my fingers to see Andie waving me over to a table where Kat, Morgan, and Natasha were all seated.

“There’s nothing to tell,” I explained, “because nothing happened between me and Jared.”  I slipped around her to join the only people I knew in this crowd.  Olivia followed behind me, snickering.  “You’ll tell me eventually.  You can’t keep this secret from me for long.  I’m your best friend, you know.  We share this type of stuff.”

She was my best friend, but if she only knew the secrets I kept.

At the table, I sat between Natasha and Andie, and all I could think about was mine and Jared’s conversation from the night before about him having a threesome with them.  Natasha was an absolute sweetheart.  She was sweet and funny, but a little shy at first.  When individual conversations broke out around the table, she scooted in a little closer to me and said, “So, I guess you and Jared are close?”

I swallowed my bite of melon, thankful for something in my stomach.  The last thing I’d eaten was that sushi roll I commandeered last night, and I was starved.  “We’re good friends.”

“That’s all?” she persisted.

I took another bite, savoring the sweet juice sliding down my throat.  I couldn’t wait until the quiche came out.  This fruit wouldn’t last me long.  “Yeah.  We’ve been friends for years.”

“With benefits?”

I swallowed wrong and nearly choked on my food.  All conversation at the table stopped and everyone started looking at the woman who couldn’t eat a simple piece of fruit properly.  Andie reached over and patted me on the back a couple times.