Love and Lies (10 page)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The next morning
I woke with a smile on my face. Having Eric tuck me in the night before was definitely something I wanted to repeat over and over. Except, I wanted him next to me. I pulled out the shirt I'd bought at the concert. It would go perfect with my Marc Jacobs jeans. It was a fitted baby blue T-shirt with a lemon yellow music staff and notes screen-printed across the chest.

Dressed and ready to get out of my room
, I grabbed my phone and my messenger bag off the bedside table. Mom and Dad never would have let me go to a concert with only my friends.

Mom. The mystery behind her phone call a
few weeks ago still hadn't been solved. Before I realized what I was doing, the phone was pressed to my ear, ringing.

“Hello?”

“Mom.”

“Oh, Carissa. How are you
, sweetheart?”

Hmm. That was a first, Mom actually asking me how I was. When they made their monthly call it went more along the lines of “Carissa, dear. It's that time again. Is there anything you need? All of your classes are going well, yes?” I would answer and the call would be done. No chitchat, no how are you. Pure business.

“I'm okay. How are you?”

“Very busy. Your father recently acquired a new client and is the process of designing a brand new line for the upcoming season. Is there a specific reason you called? I was in the middle of party planning.”

And there was the mom I was used to. Her party was far more important than me. She wanted to get right to the point. I gave a long, drawn-out sigh. Fine. I'd go with her wishes. Again.

“You called a few weeks ago. I thought maybe something was wrong because it was after your monthly call. Remember?”

“Yes, I believe I do. It was a mistake on my end. I meant to call Georgia and tell her not to come in for the day. She was with the cleaning service.”

“Mom, don't lie to me. You don't talk to anyone at the service. That's Sheila's job
, and we both know it. This is important to me.”

“Once I tell you, you must promise never to repeat it again. More than likely you will be unhappy, but you need to pull up your panties and be an adult.”

“Get to the point.” Now I was in a hurry.

She was right on both accounts, I would be mad
, and I needed to be an adult. But she had to tell me what was going on first.

“A young man who was working for us called that day.”

I had no idea what that had to do with me. So what if a young man called them. She’d said something similar though the last time. She’d received a phone call. I realized that the calls had to have something in common, but the what still alluded me

“He was supposed to check in.” I didn’t know why I said that. As soon as I said it, I knew that’s what the call had been about. For a moment I worried my stomach was going to revolt. I hugged myself, trying to push away the worry. This whole situation wasn’t right.

“Yes, how did you know? No, never
mind. That's not important and I need to get back to my planning. Anyway, he called to quit. He told your father that he liked you and didn't want the security detail anymore. Of course, that wasn't part of the contract or a very professional decision. Eric needed to learn that when it comes to business transactions and contracts, you are not allowed to back out whenever you please. Ethan offered to replace him with another person or he could maintain his position. Either way we refused to leave you unattended.”

Unattended. What the hell? At nineteen years old
, wouldn't it be expected that I could take care of myself, make my own decisions? Mom had just told me I needed to act like an adult, yet they didn't even want me without a bodyguard. A secret one at that. Eric, she’d said. That was bullshit. But getting into it with my mother would do me no good. I'd learned that early on.

“
Eric as in Eric Byrne?”

“I believe that is his last name,
but we know I’m not all that good with names. You’ve met I presume.”

Oh
, we’d met all right. Except, wouldn’t she have known that if he was working for them? She should have. I hoped that this was all a mistake.

I told myself
Eric didn’t work for them. The call Monty overheard had been a misunderstanding. The two incidents had nothing in common. They couldn’t. The idea that any one was working as my secret bodyguard infuriated me though.

“
Eric chose to stay on. Is that why you called, to see if he was doing his job?”

“Yes. Ethan said it would be good to check on him. But when you answered
, I couldn't bring myself to tell you. So I didn't. He called me the next day with his weekly check-in. Ethan said the fact that he called without prompting was proof enough he would uphold his contractual obligations.”

I hated that Mom made me question everything I knew about
Eric, but that didn’t overrule my need to know.

“But then he called back and quit. Right?”

“I don't believe so, no. We still hear from him every week. Wait, I haven't spoken with him lately. I'm sure he's called your father though. Eric
wouldn’t repeat the same mistake twice, and Ethan would have told me if the arrangements had changed. Anyway, that's why I called. Now I really must go. Goodbye, Carissa.”

“Bye, Mom.”

She didn't hear me because I spoke to dial tone. But I didn't care.

Not ten minutes later my phone started ringing again
.

“
Hello?” The number on caller ID was unknown, and my voice was rough.

A female voice responded to my greeting,
“Eric asked me to call and invite you to dinner at the diner down from your apartment.” Her voice was robotic. It sounded like she was reading off a card. An odd request, but I had to see what Eric was up to.

As I approached the front of the diner I noticed a plethora of flowers all around the entrance. There were
reds, yellows, oranges, and purples. Every color of the rainbow. It was breathtaking. When the door opened and the bell chimed, the smell of hamburgers and French fries wafted through the air. My stomach growled.

Eric sat at a table in the corner of the diner. He didn't look up when I walked in. His nose was stuck in a book. It was funny, at least to me, that Eric was a book freak. Around other people, he tried to portray that he was a badass. I guess he felt like he couldn't let his guard down or he'd get hurt. But when he was with me, he let the walls down.

The chair made a screeching noise as I pulled it away from the table. Eric peered over his book. He nodded toward the drink sitting closest to me. “It's Dr. Pepper.” Then went back to his book.

I didn't look at him, but I took a drink anyway
, in hopes it would help the scratchiness in my throat, still tight from the emotion after talking to my mom. Dr. Pepper was my favorite, although I tried to only drink it on special occasions. Caffeine and I were not good friends.

“
What are you reading?” My voice was shaky. Eric didn't answer. “Eric?”

He looked at me.
“Hmm?”

“
I asked what you were reading.”

He closed the book then sat it on the table.
“Oh, just something I picked up earlier. I'm glad you came.”

“
We need to talk,” I said.

“Talk about what?”

“
Oh, I don't know. Maybe what arrangement you and my parents have. Then we'll talk about why you're working for them.”

Eric sputtered
, and his brow furrowed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I wanted to believe him, but a sliver of my heart cautioned me
not to let all my walls down just yet. Something wasn’t right. Maybe Mom had his name wrong.

“Are you sure? Because
I called my mom and she mentioned something about a young man who worked for them. You see, she called me on the first day of the semester. The only time they call me is the fifth of the month. So I have to assume this young man is here at school with me. Today, she let it slip that his name was Eric, but he hasn’t called and checked in.”

Eric scrubbed his hand down his face. “I’m not working for your parents, princess.”

Maybe, he wasn’t working for my parents, but I still wasn’t convinced he knew more, but wasn’t saying. 

I looked again at the flowers
and my mind wandered. They were simple, not extravagant, but someone had taken care of them. The realization that Eric would do that for me, if I’d let him, settled in my chest. He’d already taken care of me at the concert, listened to me without judgment when I told him about Igor. Damn my mother for her manipulation skills. Eric hadn’t given me a reason to doubt him, but my parents had more than once. I owed it to him to be more understanding, give him the benefit of doubt.

“Do you think we’re going t
oo fast? I mean, we haven’t known each other that long.” I would try to trust him more, but I couldn’t rid myself of the suspicion completely. The coincidences were too great. Time. I needed to time to figure it all out.

“Why would you say that? Are you unhappy, Carissa? I thought things were good.”

“They were, I mean are. It’s just…I don’t know. This conversation with my mother is messing with my head. Could be that I just need a couple of days to clear it all up.”

Eric released a long sigh. “That’s understandable. Do what you need to do. But please, before you make any decisions about us, there is something I should probably tell you.”

What? Had he been working for them after all and now that I wanted time to think he was going to tell the truth? Regardless that I knew my mouth gaped; I couldn’t make it close.

“Oh
, no you don’t. There’s nothing between your parents and I, so don’t go getting any ideas. My deal is personal. Today’s not the right time though. Considering everything else, I don’t want to add to your confusion.”

“That’s going to drive me crazy
, you know. But like you, I understand. So whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here.”

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

On Tuesday
, I took advantage of my afternoon classes and slept in. Everything with Eric and my parents had taken a toll on me. My mind was beyond exhaustion, so I slept longer and harder than I had in years. Even though I didn't feel a hundred percent, I still felt better and wanted to look better too.

Dressed and ready to get out of my room
, I grabbed my phone off the bedside table to call Alec. The only way to break free of the funk I'd been in was to take my mind off everything. But when I opened the door, I found Alec standing there with his hand raised.

“
Good morning, sunshine.” Alec leaned in to give me a kiss.

“
Well, good morning to you, too. Like the new hair color. The blond highlights work for you. What’s going on? Why are you here?”

Logan stepped through the door and pushed Alec out of the way
, he held a white box and an envelope. The box looked similar to the one my favorite confectionary shop used for their chocolate-covered strawberries. I yanked it out of his hand and lifted the lid. A grin spread across my face. I’d been right.

“
Wha—” He stopped mid-sentence to watch me bit into the melt-in-your-mouth treat.

I moaned with ecstasy.
“Oh, my God. You brought me heaven.”

The strawberry squirted juice all over the place, the chocolate coating melt
ed instantly at my bite. Using Alec's shirt, I wiped the juice off my mouth and grinned at him. Alec checked his shirt with a smirk plastered on his face.

“
It's fine, chill out.” I took a bite of another strawberry. “What's all this for?” I asked as I waved my hand over the gifts. “My birthday's over.”

Alec shrugged and sat on the couch. Logan
tapped the envelope against his thigh. I reached for it, but he whipped his hand back before I had a chance to get a good grip. After waving it in the air and laughing at me while I jumped up and down to get it, Logan finally surrendered.

It opened with ease.
Someone had gone to great care to find the card. It was carefully crafted out of construction paper. On the front was a bear similar to the one on my cupcake, but this one had a sun on its belly. I beamed at Alec. “You did this?”

He nodded toward
the card.

There were tickets of some sort inside the card. Wha
t was it with Logan and tickets? Not that I would complain about the Sage tickets, that show was off the chain, and the night had been damn near perfect. I held the pieces of paper in the air and studied them. Two airline tickets and two concert tickets.

“
Who? Why? How?” I rasped.

Logan started to get up to catch me if I fell, but didn't move from his spot while Alec rushed to my side.
“From us,” Logan answered. “Well, me really, but I guess you could say Alec helped. We thought you might want to get away. Eric wanted to come over with us, but he said he had to take care of some stuff.”

Normally
, I’d have worried about the “stuff” Eric had to handle, but this time I did my best to shrug it off. There was no reason to think his plans had anything to do with the conversation we’d had about him working for my parents. I plopped onto the arm of the couch, silent.

“
There are only two tickets in here.”

“
Yeah, they're for you and me,” Logan said with caution. “It's my birthday present to you. The real one, Sage was just for fun. I was hoping you'd say yes.”

I reached out to Logan to give the tickets back, but he put his hand on top of mine to stop me.

“I can't, Logan. Besides the fact that it's too much, I can't go with you alone.”

“
Just think about it. If you want to go, the flight for San Francisco leaves Thursday, and we'll be back Friday afternoon.” Logan pushed my hand away, kissed my forehead, and left.

I looked at Alec.
“Did you really help him plan this?” I wasn't sure what to think.

A short nod answered my question.

“Why?”

“
I did it for you,” he said. His words were so quiet I almost missed them.

I began to spout off about how full of shit he was if he thought that would work on me, but he held two fingers against my lips.
“I did it because you need to get away for a day or two and clear your head.” He paused, and I nodded. “This is what I meant.”

“
Yes, but—”

A
gain, Alec interrupted me. “But nothing. Eric isn’t exactly happy, but when I told him you’d come back happy, he caved. So go have some fun. I know you like Blue Monkeys, almost as much as Sage. It's only a few days.”

I took a deep breath. I thought about what he'd said. Why would I run from my troubles? Then again, was it running if I intended to come back?

Even though Alec said Eric knew about the trip, I still worried about what he thought. I reached for my phone, but Alec's hand shot out and stopped me.

“
Don't call him,” his hushed whisper turned sharp.

“
I need to know how he feels.”

“
No, you don't. Look, you told me once you never wanted to be controlled again. If you call him for his permission, he's in control.” Alec stared me down. He was right, I had to make this decision on my own. Damn him for being the sensible one.

“
Fine, I'll take your advice and go. I swear if this turns out poorly you are going to take the blame.”

“
Deal.” Alec grabbed my leg and pulled me off the arm of the chair and down to the couch. I started to kick at him, but he let go, causing me to fall onto the floor. “Go get packed. I'll call Logan.”

What harm was there in going to a concert with a friend? Granted
, said concert was in another state and I'd be sharing a room with Logan. I may have seen this as a trip for friends, but Logan could have other ideas. Which meant I'd have to make certain he didn't try anything and knew up front we were only friends.