Little White Lies (21 page)

Miranda had been standing at the window staring blankly out at the darkening skies and the nasty storm that was starting to brew when her cell phone rang.  Her stomach knotted instantly, her first thought being that it was Jack. She hesitated for a few seconds before finally putting a halt to the incessant ring.  She’d never been so happy to hear from her sister in her life. 

“Miranda, thank God, I reached you before…or maybe I didn’t.  Are you okay?”

“Of course, I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Then you haven’t read the morning paper?  Oh, what a silly question,” Bri rambled, “obviously you haven’t because you’re in Texas and I doubt they would have any reason to…”

“Bri, for Pete’s sake, spit it out.  What in the world has gotten you so worked up?”

“Well, I…I’m not even sure I should tell you.  Are you alone?”

“I am now.  Holt left not too long ago for a lunch date with his new client.”

There was a short pause before Brianne asked, “What do you mean you are
now
?”

Miranda couldn’t hold it in any longer.  “Oh, Bri, it finally happened.  Holt and I…well, suffice it to say he didn’t go back to his own room last night and it was everything thing I dreamed it would be.  No, it was better than that, it was…the most amazing night of my life.  I know you must think I’m just awful for doing this, but once Holt kissed me, I knew what a mistake I’d made falling for Jack.”

“Um, Miranda, I was afraid you were going to take what I have to say pretty hard, but now you might not think it’s so bad.”

“It sounds serious.”

“It is, or at least I thought it was until you told me about you and Holt.  I ran across it purely by accident and I was so afraid you’d already seen it.”

“Bri, please!”

“Okay, okay.  It’s a wedding announcement, Miranda.  Jack’s wedding.”

Miranda clutched the phone to her ear as the room closed in on her.  “What?  Are you sure?”

“It says Jack Devlin, son of socialite, Rose Devlin.  It can’t be a coincidence and besides he looks exactly as you described him.”

Her head was spinning.  This could not be happening, it just couldn’t be! 

“He must have wanted to surprise me,” she said thinly. 

Brianne’s tone sounded oddly confused.  “I suppose so.  Aren’t you angry about this?  If it was me, I would be furious with him.”

“How can I be mad at him?  He probably thought it was a romantic gesture to have me see our wedding announcement in the paper.  I just didn’t expect this.  I mean, he’s never even said he loved me, so I had no idea he was going to propose.”

“Oh, dear,” Bri murmured.  “I’m afraid you misunderstood me.  Jack…well, he’s marrying someone else, Miranda.  A woman he’s apparently had a long term relationship with named Christa Statham.”

Miranda worked her way over to the sofa and lowered herself down onto the cushions.  “But he…he’s been sleeping with me and…and we just moved into the condo together.  Why would he do that if he was planning on marrying this Christa person?”

Bri sounded as if she was going to cry.  “I wish I knew.  Maybe he wanted one last fling before he got married.  I’m so sorry, Miranda, but it’s not really such a bad thing, is it?  You said yourself that you had made a mistake being with Jack, and now you don’t have to worry about how to break it off with him.”

“I know you’re right, I’m just a little shocked by it, that’s all.”

“I wonder why Holt didn’t tell you.  Surely he knew his brother was involved with this woman even if he didn’t know Jack was going to announce their wedding.  It seems to me, if he was interested in you himself, he wouldn’t have wasted any time ratting out his brother.”

Miranda rubbed her temple.  “I’m not sure what to think.  I didn’t tell Holt about us, but somehow he knew, so I have to assume Jack told him.  If Holt wanted me for himself, what possible reason would he have for covering for Jack?”

“I hate to say this, but maybe Jack realized he’d made a mistake and asked Holt to help…extricate him from the situation.”

Miranda’s heart sank in her chest.  “You mean they planned this together,” she said dully. 

“I could be wrong,” Bri was quick to recant. 

“No, it all fits too neatly to be anything else.”  Her temples throbbed, but the pain in her head was nothing compared to the pain in her heart.  “I don’t think what happened with Jack was intentional,” she said, more to herself than to Bri.  “Things just got out of hand and we both lost control.  He had to have cared about me at least a little, but I guess he realized he really did love this Statham woman and needed a way out.”

“So you think they concocted this idea for Holt to seduce you just so you wouldn’t make a fuss when you found out about Jack’s fiancé?”

“Or that I would feel so guilty about sleeping with Holt, I would break if off myself.” 

Her laugh was mocking; wasn’t that exactly what she’d planned on doing once she got back home?  How humiliating would it have been to stand before Jack and confess her sins only to learn he was actually relieved?  What Jack had done was wrong, but at least she could understand why he’d done it.  Well, maybe not the part where he slept with her and made her think she meant something to him, but his reasons for wanting to end it.

What she couldn’t come to terms with was the role Holt had played.  Just exactly how had he intended to disentangle himself from their relationship once he was sure she wouldn’t cause any trouble for Jack?  Or maybe he hadn’t thought that far ahead.  Maybe he thought he would just keep using her until he got tired of her then brush her off as coldly as she’d seen him do to other women.

“I have to get out of here,” she said.  “I have to…” A harsh sob tore from her throat.  “I thought he loved me, Bri.  Last night…the way he looked at me, the way he…oh, how could I ever have believed a man like Holt could love me?” 

Tears blurred her vision as she started pulling her clothes from the closet and tossing them on the bed.

“He doesn’t deserve you,” Bri’s voice was uncharacteristically hard, “and quite frankly, I’ve got a mind to tell him just what I think of him!  Get your things packed and I’ll make arrangements for you to catch the first flight out of there.  Your ticket will be waiting when you get there, and I’ll meet you at the airport when you land.”  Her tone softened when Miranda’s sobs became more audible.  “Don’t worry, honey, I’m here for you.  Once you get over the initial shock of what Holt has done, we’ll plot our revenge on that conniving rat.”

Miranda managed a tearful good-bye and hung up.  She didn’t want revenge.  She just wanted to get as far away from Holt as possible so she could nurse her broken heart in private.  Hauling her suitcase onto the bed, she crammed her things inside as quickly as her shaky hands would allow then called for a bellhop.  A notepad with the hotel’s name embossed across the top lay on the nightstand, and Miranda grabbed it up along with a pen so she could leave Holt at note. 

Wiping the endless flow of tears away was only a waste of time so she didn’t bother trying, and big blobs of salty water dropped onto the paper as she wrote.  After a few scribble words she tossed the notepad on the bed then picked up her suitcase and purse and left the room without a backward glance.

                          ***

Holt’s fingers closed around the small velvet box in his pocket as he shut the door behind him.  Miranda was probably going to be a little upset with him for being so late, but once he slipped the ring on her finger she would forget all about being mad at him.  His head had been in the clouds all day and he’d barely been able sit still during lunch with Edward and his wife.  Afterwards he had gone from one jeweler to another searching for the perfect ring for Miranda’s slender finger. 

He’d made love to her in the morning then reluctantly left her to take a quick shower.  It was while he was dressing that he’d looked over and caught her watching him with a sleepy smile.  His heart swelled in his chest and for the first time in his life, Holt actually got butterflies in his stomach from looking at woman.  That was when he realized just how much he loved her and had decided right then and there that he was going to ask her to marry him today.  But not without a ring; she deserved to have him down on one knee with a glittering diamond in his hand when he proposed.

Holt strode into her suite, calling out her name.  When she didn’t answer, he thought she might be taking a shower so he headed for the bedroom.  His footsteps stilled when he spotted the dresser drawers pulled open and completely emptied of their contents.  Something akin to panic twisted in his gut as he went to check the bathroom, knowing all the while that he wouldn’t find her there. 

He told himself she must have gotten scared and run back home and there was no reason to be alarmed.  He’d half expected her emotions to be in turmoil this morning, but when she’d seemed as happy as he was to wake up in each other’s arms, Holt had simply counted himself lucky and not given it another thought. 

He should have known leaving her alone would be a big mistake; it gave her too much time to brood over what she considered infidelity on her part and probably just as big a transgression on his.  It was a minor setback, that was all.  He would call and try to calm her down, and if that didn’t work he would stay here just long enough to meet with Edward and his lawyers in the morning then fly back and make her listen.  He’d gone through too much to lose her now.  And once he explained everything, once she understood how elaborate his plan had been to win her love, surely she would forgive him.  Right?

Holt raked his fingers through his hair.  If he was so confident it would all work out, why did he still feel sick to his stomach?  With a grimace, his eyes moved around the room, noting the haste with which she’d packed her things.  Some of the drawers hung half opened while others had been yanked almost completely off the rollers.  With a sinking heart, he realized just how hard she’d taken it.  What an idiot he’d been not to comprehend that a woman like Miranda would think that what they had done was unforgiveable.  It hadn’t occurred to him before because he’d known all along she wasn’t really being unfaithful to Jack.

He headed for the door with a purposeful stride.  It was time to call an end to this charade before it was too late.  Just before he left the bedroom, Holt glanced back at the bed where he had so recently made love to her.  His eyes narrowed, zeroing in on the pad and the elegant handwriting he instantly recognized as Miranda’s.  His legs felt like lead as he retraced his steps across the room, then nearly failed him completely when he picked up the pad and read the brief message.

I know about Jack’s engagement.  How admirable of you; pretending to have feelings for me so I wouldn’t cause trouble for your brother.  I won’t bother either of you again, please show me the same courtesy.

Holt stared at the tear stained paper, his jaws clenched so tight it was a wonder he didn’t crack a few teeth.  His mother told him the engagement wouldn’t be announced until sometime next week and he had counted on having those few extra days to forewarn Miranda.  How she found out about it was simple enough to figure out, but the conclusions she had jumped to because of it were far from the truth. 

No wonder she cleared out of here as fast as she could.  Knowing how Miranda felt about him, she had to be crushed by the idea he had only been using her.  All he’d wanted to do was love her, instead he’d hurt her so bad she had run off, crying and broken hearted.

He couldn’t call her now, he thought despondently.  There was too much to say, too much that depended on getting her to listen to the entire story.  If he called her, she would only hang up.  No, he had to see her face to face and he couldn’t put it off for even one day.  He would tell Edward there was a family emergency and that he would fly back in a few days to meet with the lawyers and go over the contracts.  He wouldn’t lose the deal over delaying the meeting and even if he did, Holt didn’t really care.  All that mattered was finding Miranda and making sure she never got away again.

                     ***

Brianne greeted her with a sympathetic hug.  “I’ve got one of the spare rooms all made up for you.  I didn’t think you would want to go back to the mansion and have to explain anything to Missy.”

“Thanks,” Miranda whispered hoarsely.

“Oh, you poor thing,” Bri fussed.  “You’ve practically lost your voice from crying so hard.”  She steered Miranda towards the luggage carousel.  “Don’t worry, I’ll make you some tea with honey when we get home and then shuffle you off to bed.  You probably want some time to pull yourself together before we talk about it, and you really look like you could use a good night’s sleep.”

Miranda let her sister prattle on while they waited for her luggage, but once they loaded the suitcase in Bri’s trunk and were on their way, she asked if they could make a quick stop at Jack’s condo.  She knew he was out of town for a few more days and this would probably be the only opportunity she would have to gather her personal belongings before he returned.  Bri wasn’t very happy about waiting in the car, but Miranda convinced her Jack might come home while she was inside.

“If he does, honk the horn and then stall him so I have time to get out.  I don’t think I can handle talking to him right now.”