Tell Me No Lies: The Black Orchid, Book 1 (19 page)

It was a private club for a sophisticated crowd and local celebrities, so I was not completely surprised when I saw Jax and some of his friends from the radio station enter the building.

Jax was a DJ for Raleigh’s pop music station, something of a local celebrity and as such, had radio groupies trailing behind him—cute young girls popping bubble gum and rocking the latest cheapie mall fashions. The bright pink bands around their wrists indicated that they were welcome in the club, but they couldn’t buy alcohol.

I rolled my eyes when I saw him. Gian-Carlo followed my eyes across the room.

“You know this man?”

“Yes.” Now wasn’t the time for the complete unabridged history of my sorry love life. “But let’s pretend like he’s not here.” I picked up my Fuzzy Navel and slammed it.

Gian-Carlo smiled at me. “Easy,
bella
. I’m here. Everything is okay.”

I give him a jittery look and took a deep breath.

Gian-Carlo looked at Jax holding center court with his entourage. Even in the low lighting of the lounge I could see his eyes turn dark. “This man upsets you, no?”

I pretended that my ex-fiancé was not here with me on my second date with the new man in my life. Hopefully he would not see me, us, in our dark corner of the room.

“I’m fine.” Time for the old switcheroo. “I’m just worried about my roommate.” I filled him in on the latest exploits of Kael the Bastard.

He was quiet for a moment. “Is he planning to stay around, for your roommate’s sake?”

“Maybe. I know they’re trying to make things work. But it’s possible that he’s cheating on her. And even though she knows this, she’s still giving him a chance.”

“That is no good. Rain will have to see him for the man he truly is before she gets him out of her system. In Italy there is a saying…”

He thought for a moment. “
Come se dice? Si…L’amore e’ cieco
. Love is blind. You know this saying? Love can blind a person to the faults of another. Especially the woman. So often they think with their hearts only.”

I stole a look at Jax. “Yes, I know the saying. We have the same one in America.” It had taken me four years to see that Jax was not the man of my dreams. I turned back to Gian-Carlo’s earnest face. “Rain is smart. I’m sure she’ll figure it out.”

He moved in close and kissed my earlobe. “Enough about your roommate, let’s talk about you.” His voice was deep and soft, and I swore I could hear violins playing when he spoke.

I looked up and who should I see sauntering my way but Jax. I was glad I splurged and bought the fuchsia Missoni dress with straps I was wearing. I felt Gian-Carlo would appreciate me in an Italian designer and he did. All night, he’d had great difficulty keeping his hands off of me. But having Jax see me tonight was icing on the cake.

Jax looked Gian-Carlo up and down and dismissed him with a cocky smirk. I could tell he’d had a few drinks and was feeling froggy. “What’s up, Charlotte, another hot date?”

Gian-Carlo could probably feel my shoulders stiffen. He smiled at me reassuringly and tightened his grip on my hand.

My cheeks ached from the effort to smile. “Hello, Jax. Fancy meeting you here.”

“Just hanging with the crew, enjoying ourselves. Where’d you meet blondie?”

“Not blondie.” Gian-Carlo’s hand moved from mine and he stood. “My name is Gian-Carlo Masciotta.”

I think Gian-Carlo’s accent threw Jax for a momentary loop. He seemed to be at a loss for words, which was very interesting for a man who talked for a living.

Gian-Carlo stepped closer to Jax. “You are a friend of Charlotte, no?”

I tried really hard not to grin. Gian-Carlo was a good four inches taller than Jax. Why hadn’t I noticed how short he was? His shoulders weren’t as broad as Gian-Carlo’s either, but now I was just being petty.

Jax regained his cockiness and appraised Gian-Carlo coolly. “She didn’t tell you? We were engaged to be married.”

Gian-Carlo’s face did not change expression, but his hand tightened around mine. “Then you’re more of a fool than I first thought. Why in the world would you let this woman go?”

I sat a little taller in my seat. Yes, Jax, why in the world wouldn’t you marry me? Even now, I didn’t have a real answer.

He just stood there with a dumb expression slapped across his face. He finally laughed and just smirked at us both.

Grrrrr. I liked my new man’s fire. “Would you be a sweetheart and get me another Fuzzy Navel?”

“You are sure?”

I nodded. “I got this.”

He was cool but eyed Jax like a menacing pit bull before he left.

Jax laughed when Gian-Carlo was safely a few yards away at the bar. “He takes himself and his hair way too seriously. Where’d you find him?”

He glanced at Gian-Carlo who was leaning against the bar waiting for my drink to be made and watched Jax with a hawk eye.

“Around.”

He looked me up and down. “New dress, new shoes…looks like you’re enjoying yourself.”

“About time I did.”

He shrugged, looked over his shoulder and saw Gian-Carlo walking our way. “Just watch out for those pretty boys.”

He was gone by the time Gian-Carlo handed me my drink.

When I got back to the house, I stood in the doorway of our kitchen, watching Rain stir a large bowl of batter with hard jerky movements.

She looked up and scowled at me. “I need to test his faithfulness. I read this article on how to figure out if your man is cheating on you. The author suggested I ask one of my girlfriends—one that I can trust—to come on to him and see what he does. That way I’ll know firsthand if he’s trustworthy.”

I personally thought this idea sucked and would not be volunteering my services.

“Which is where you come in,” she continued as she poured batter into muffin tins.

I looked at her blankly.

“I want you to be the one. I want you to flirt with Kael and then tell me if he takes the bait.”

She looked at my you-got-to-be-kidding face and laughed. “You hate him right?” A not very happy sounding laugh. “So I know you’ll tell me the truth, no sugar coating.”

I shook my head.

“You wouldn’t lie to me. Regardless of our issues, I know that at least about you. What do you say?”

I try to imagine how that scenario would play out. No, I couldn’t do that. Not with our history. I shook my head again. “Sorry, you know I love you but I’m not getting involved with this mess.”

Rain opened the oven and gently placed the pan inside. “You’re right. It’s a stupid idea. Either I trust him or I don’t.”

“I opt for not trusting him.”

She grabbed bowls and spoons and dumped them loudly into the sink. “I choose to trust him.”

“And if he screws up again?”

“Then I’ll end things.

She said this without enthusiasm and I could see the hurt on her face. No matter what, I hated to see her in pain. Which is what had motivated me to do everything I’d ever done where Kael was concerned. Save my best friend from pain. Not that she appreciated it.

“When he gets back you should confront him. Look him straight in his face and ask him about New York. You can tell when he’s lying, right?”

She turned on the hot water and poured dish detergent into the sink. Her energy seemed to have disappeared. She took a deep breath but didn’t answer.

“I could always tell when Jax was lying. I saw a show about it once. There’s something called ‘tells’. Stuff people do when they’re telling a lie, like looking to the right or fidgeting with their hair.

“Jax would always put his sunglasses on before he lied. Even indoors. It was ridiculous really but a dead giveaway.”

She looked at me, tears suddenly streaming down her face. She tried to smile and then pressed her palms to her forehead as if she had a migraine. “Yeah, I know what you’re talking about. When Haley and I were kids, I could always tell when she was telling a story. She’d get this silly grin on her face and bite her thumbnail.”

She let out a small sigh. “But I can’t tell when Kael is lying. He always appears to be telling the truth.”

I bit my tongue. That’s because he was a compulsive liar. But now was not a good time to tell her that. “So, what are you going to do?”

She turned back to her sink of dishes, scrub pad in hand, refusing to look me in my eyes. “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”

“Gian-Carlo says you’ll have to see Kael for what he is, that no amount of telling you what to do will move you to action.”

She looked at me, her face blank. “Who is Gian-Carlo and why are you talking about me with him?”

“He’s the new guy I’m dating.”

She set the sponge on the counter, dried her hands on a towel and faced me. “I’ve noticed you’ve been going out more lately, but you never mentioned a new guy.” Her lips twitched, as if she weren’t sure if she should be happy for me or not.

“Remember that Italian restaurant you told me about?”

She nodded slowly. “Yeah?”

“Well, he’s the owner.”

“Is that right?” Her face twisted into something ugly. “I never imagined that you’d go there, meet him and start dating. I also met him. He’s the one who told me about the place.” She made an odd face. “Are you dating him because of me?”

“Why would I do that? I didn’t know you knew him when I met him, and he never mentioned that he knew you.”

“There’s no way he could make the connection. We never exchanged names. But I guess now you’ve told him all about me and my personal business, huh? What else did
Gian-Carlo
say? Why are you discussing my personal life with him anyway?”

“I don’t know, because he’s interested?” I took a step toward her and laid my hand on her trembling arm. “Maybe you haven’t noticed, but he and I have gotten really close lately.” I could feel my lips forming into a tentative smile. “He’s helped me get over Jax. He’s been a really good friend to me.”

Rain relaxed for the first time since Haley told her about seeing Kael in New York.

“Is it serious?”

I nodded. “I think so. He really likes me, curves and all.” I felt tears crowd my eyes. “He’s perfect for me, Rain.” I couldn’t help but gush. “Just perfect for me.”

Finally, her cheeks lifted into a smile and she hugged me, albeit awkwardly. “I’m happy for you, Charlotte. I’m sorry for the way I’m acting. It’s Kael, he’s got me acting crazy. I’m happy for you. Truly, I am.”

Even though my conversation with Rain had ended on a positive note, I couldn’t wait to leave our house. I’d texted Gian-Carlo and he’d told me to come right over. Twenty minutes later, I was relaxing in his home, Rain and her histrionics forgotten for the moment.

Chet Baker murmured over tinkling piano keys. I got to watch Gian-Carlo’s butt in form-fitting Italian jeans while he made us pizza to go with our Pinot Bianco. Could life get any better?

I walked up behind him and planted a kiss on his neck. His cologne tickled my nostrils. He smelled spicy like oranges, cloves and cilantro. He grinned at me over his shoulder, “Sit,
bella
.” He gestured at the barstool to his right. “And keep me company.”

I did as I was told, hiked up the skirt to my lemon-yellow dress, hopped on the stool and watched him make the pizza dough from scratch. “You’re so sexy when you cook.”

He turned to me and blew me a kiss. We chatted about our work and families for a while.

“So, how are your roommate and her boyfriend? Have they resolved their differences?”

I thought it was sweet that Gian-Carlo cared about my friends. He was constantly asking me how they were, and if he could do anything to help them.

“Despite my warnings, Rain is still seeing Kael.” I made a face. “They seem to be in a good place.”

“I’ve heard so much about your roommate, I feel like I know her. Do you have a picture?”

“A million on my phone.” I reached for my purse, dug out my phone and searched the photo gallery, looking for a picture of us together, one that showed me to my best advantage of course.

Found it. I’d lost ten pounds, five of which I’d quickly regained. We’d celebrated by buying new bathing suits, me a racy blue string bikini and Rain, a magenta-colored, one-shoulder, asymmetrical one-piece.

We were side-by-side, almost touching, with our backs to the camera, looking seductively over our shoulders. Haley had taken the picture and made us do a bunch of silly model poses.

I handed him the phone, mentally willing him to zero in on my toned thighs and butt.

He gazed at the phone, a soft smile lingering on his lips. I exhaled. He obviously liked what he saw.

“This is your roommate?”

“Yup, that’s Rain, the one with the man problems.” I glanced at him, wondering if he remembered meeting her.

Smiling, he handed me the phone. “You look great in that bikini,
bella
.”

Face flushed with warmth, I locked the phone and shoved it back in my purse. “Thank you.” He didn’t say anything about Rain so maybe he didn’t remember her. Then again, she was gorgeous and had a face a guy couldn’t easily forget.

“Does she look familiar to you?”

He gazed at me. “I don’t know. Should she?”

I watched him for a moment checking for signs of insincerity but I could only see genuine puzzlement. I felt stupid for thinking every guy only had eyes for Rain and never me.

Maybe she just wasn’t his type. Maybe she hadn’t made an impression on him. Smiling with satisfaction, I rocked back on my heels. “I mentioned your restaurant and she said that she’d met you.”

His eyebrows lifted slightly and he looked past me as if he were recalling a Rolodex of faces. “Ah,” he finally said. “Let me see the picture again.”

I handed him the phone and he looked at it, a quizzical glint in his eyes. “Her hair was different on the day I met her. And of course, she was fully clothed.”

That made sense. Rain with voluminous curly hair was different than Rain with sleek, straight hair.

He returned the phone to me and nodded. “So yes, I
have
met your roommate. Briefly. But only once.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Is she the one with all the romance troubles?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah.”

He returned to the counter and began kneading a small ball of dough. “Why don’t you like this Kael guy? Is it because you think he cheated on her in Jamaica?”