Lie to Me

  "Thank you. Okay, I need to get this off and go meet Freddy. I'll see you both tonight, yes?"

  Kent and Heidi both nod.

  Brooke gasps and turns to me. "You should come, too. We're having dinner with our parents and Freddy's brother, and I'd love for you to join us."

  "Oh no, that's fine honestly. You don't need to invite me along." My face heats. Oh God, I don't want a pity invite.

  "No, I want you there. Please, Savannah," she begs, placing her palms together.

  I open my mouth to protest when Heidi cuts in, "She'll be there. I'll make sure of it."

  I grit my teeth and force a smile.

  Brooke squeals, "Great."

  Yeah, great.

  6

  Kent

  Brooke leaves on a high, like she's not just fucked me over. It's bad enough that I have to see Savannah every day this week, but now, I have to spend the evening with her, too. I can't keep my cool with her, and it's doing my head in.

  Max and Toby would love this.

  I'm back in the storeroom, unpacking yet another box of fucking flat-pack crap. In the studio, I can hear Heidi and Savannah talking. I can't quite make out what they're saying, but I think Heidi is telling Savannah that it's fine she comes tonight.

  Why she doesn't think it's fine after being invited, I'll never fucking know.

  Something isn't right with her. After Freya, who I didn't see through until it was too late, I'm always on high alert.

  "Kent, do you want a coffee?" Savannah asks.

  I look up from the pile of cardboard. She's holding on to the doorframe, peering around the corner. Her dark blonde hair is around her face, falling halfway down past her breasts.

  Gulping, I reply, "Please."

  She disappears, and I sit back on the floor.

  Why does she wind me up so much?

  She's nothing to me; I barely know the woman, but every time I see her, I want to punch something. And I want to tangle my hands up in all that hair.

  Gripping the corner of a box, I rip it open and grind my teeth. I need a drink. Tonight, I will definitely need to drink. A lot.

  Savannah comes back in a few minutes later as I'm laying out the wood planks on the floor. She puts my coffee down on one of the shelves I've already put up.

  "Ha, it's holding," she teases.

  Her comment, giving me a glimpse of a personality again, makes me smile. "Of course it's holding. I'm basically a carpenter now."

  "I'm not sure flat pack qualifies as carpentry."

  "I think you're wrong."

  She tilts her head, and her hair falls to the side. "Don't add carpentry to your CV, Kent."

  When she's like this, I can totally get on board.

  "I don't need a CV."

  "You work for yourself?" Her voice is higher than usual, portraying her surprise. I'm not sure how to take that.

  "I don't like people telling me what to do."

  The soft sound of her laughter fills the room.

  Wow, she laughs.

  "Neither do I. Thankfully, Heidi isn't super bossy."

  She takes a breath, and her eyes meet mine. For a second, my heart stops.

  Savannah shakes her head. "Anyway, I need to get on."

  "Okay ..."

  Did something just happen there?

  It was almost like she realised we were having a civilised conversation, so she bailed. Or maybe I'm reading the situation wrong, and she just has work to do. Either way, I suppose I don't really care.

  I arrive at the restaurant after receiving a text from my mum. She and Dad are waiting at Brooke and Freddy's because Brooke is still getting ready, so they're going to be late. The only person sitting at the table we reserved is Freddy's brother, Bobby. I don't like him.

  Bobby looks up and raises his hand. I give him a smile, pissed off at myself for not pretending like I didn't see him and heading to the bar.

  I slowly walk over. Where the fuck is Heidi? Hell, even Savannah would do at this point.

  "Hey, Kent," Bobby says, adjusting the black cap on his head. His clothes are about three sizes too big, making him look like a lanky prick.

  I dip my head and take a seat on the other side of the table, a couple down from him. "Bobby, how's it going?"

  "Not bad, brother. Parents are still on me to get a job."

  You're twenty-two. You should have a fucking job!

  My parents are paying for dinner tonight, which is the only reason this leech is here.

  I grin at him, seething inside. I fucking hate people who sponge off my relatives.

  Bobby's eyes light up, staring at someone behind me. "Dude, what I would give for a night with that."

  My heart sinks. Don't be her. Don't be her. I crane my neck over my shoulder.

  Savannah. Of course it is.

  She looks around the room and then settles on me.

  "You know her, man?" Bobby asks as Savannah makes her way over.

  I turn back around. "She works for my sister."

  Savannah stops at the table, and I stand up.

  "All right?" I ask, ignoring my dick's reaction to the fitted black dress she has on.

  "Yes, thanks. You?"

  My eyes drop to the hint of cleavage. Why does her body have to be so ... perfect?

  When I pull myself together and look up, her cheeks are pink. She purses her lips, looking away.

  This is getting weird.

  I tug the chair out next to mine and nod toward it with my chin.

  "Thanks," Savannah whispers and sits down.

  It's only when I drop back to my seat that I realise I've made her sit next to me. Bobby's mouth is wide in a huge grin. He slips into the chair beside his, so he's opposite Savannah.

  Reaching across the table, he says, "I'm Bobby, Freddy's brother."

  Savannah looks up, blinking in surprise that someone else is there. My traitor of a chest aches at the thought of her only seeing me.

  I swallow sand. What is going on here, and where the hell is the server? I need something strong to drink.

  "Hi, I'm Savannah," she replies, shaking his outstretched hand. She retracts her hand and looks at me. "Are we early, or are the others late?"

  "Brooke isn't ready, so my parents will be late with her. I've not heard from Heidi, but she's never on time. I thought you would have come with her."

  "She offered, but she would have to come past the restaurant to get to mine, so it seemed stupid. I took a taxi."

  "You're drinking tonight, Savannah?" Bobby asks, gaining her attention again.

  "I'll have a couple, but I can't drive anyway."

  Bobby's eyes fall on her arm covered by the splint. "What happened to your arm?"

  "Tripped and fell."

  I don't like the way Bobby looks at her, like she's a meal. Cracking my knuckles under the table, I clear my throat. Thankfully, the waitress stops by our table and takes our drink order. We get single drinks and two bottles of red wine for the table, as that's all my parents, Brooke, and Freddy will drink.

  Savannah surprised me by going for a gin-based cocktail. I thought she would drink pissy white wine or something with bubbles.

  Should she even be drinking at all while on her painkillers?

  Bobby ordered the same beer as me, which annoys me more than it should.

  Savannah reaches into her bag and pulls out her pain medication from the doctor at the hospital.

  Lifting my eyebrow at her, I ask the obvious, "Should you take those with alcohol?"

  She purses her lips again and turns the bottle around to read the instructions stuck to the side. "I'm not sure. I don't think they're particularly strong though."

  "You can't get them over the counter, so I think they're strong enough that you shouldn't drink on them."

  Her lip pulls to the side in a smirk. "You sound like a dad."

  A dad? Weird of her to say a dad and not my dad. Her family isn't around, I know that much, but what happened to her dad?

  She grips th
e bottle and pops the lid open with her thumb. If I'd done that, they probably would have flown everywhere. She's adjusted to using only one arm well.

  The waitress puts our drinks down on the table, and Savannah eyes her cocktail. She chucks two pills into her mouth and takes a long sip of her drink.

  That's excellent self-care there. Take the pain meds with alcohol. I'd probably do it, too, but it does annoy me.

  "Ah, Heidi is here," Bobby says, lifting his eyes above my head to my sister.

  Savannah's shoulders relax, and she turns her head. She's relieved to have someone else here. Can't say I blame her. She's not my biggest fan, and Bobby constantly looks like he wants to attack her.

  I'm not entirely convinced he wouldn't either.

  Savannah stands and hugs Heidi.

  "You good?" my sister asks her, and Savannah nods. "Sorry I'm late. Traffic was bad."

  She takes a seat next to Savannah. I watch them talk. Savannah is so much more comfortable around Heidi; her posture is relaxed, and she's more animated. She's almost normal. But that's probably because Heidi's a woman, and Savannah popped pills with booze.

  I look over to Bobby, who's still staring at her.

  "Mate, you good?" I say, lifting an eyebrow.

  If he's trying to flirt with her, he needs to step it up. Right now, he looks like he'd be waiting for her down a dark alleyway.

  Bobby shifts his eyes to me. "I'm fine. So, Savannah, how is working in the fashion industry?"

  "It's great, thanks. I love it. What do you do, Bobby?"

  I smirk.

  "I'm looking for the right gig. I want a career, not a job."

  Savannah nods and presses her lips together. She knows what that means, too. She knows he's a lazy shit, waiting for the perfect job to fall in his lap. News flash: it ain't gonna happen.

  She brushes her hair over her shoulder, and a blast of coconut almost knocks me off my chair. I ball my hands.

  "Right. So, what do you do all day?" she asks him.

  When I recover from the hair incident, I snort at her sarcastic comment laced with judgment that she asked so innocently.

  "I live with my parents."

  "Oh," Savannah replies, not mentioning the fact that he answered a completely different question to the one asked. "Well, I hope you find something soon." She doesn't elaborate, but I can almost hear her mind shouting, For your parents' sake.

  "Thanks. Good thing I'm single, right?" He kicks his eyebrows up.

  I'm not sure if he's dissing himself or trying to tell her that he doesn't have a girlfriend. Either way, I don't think she's going to be impressed by him.

  Not that I know what kind of guys she's into.

  He's clearly into her.

  She wouldn't go for someone like him though.

  I look between them. She doesn't seem interested.

  Not that I give a fuck.

  "Ah, here's the happy couple," Bobby says.

  We all get to our feet, besides Bobby, and greet my parents, my sister, and her fiance.

  My mum instantly makes a beeline for Savannah. Heidi has friends, but she's never been close to anyone or had a best friend; she's always been too into her clothes designs and researching how to make it as a fashion designer. She talks about Savannah a lot, so my mum is over the moon that Heidi has a girlfriend to talk to.

  "It's lovely to meet you, darling," Mum says to Savannah.

  "You, too, Mrs Lawson," Savannah replies.

  I wince.

  "Mrs Lawson is my mother-in-law." Mum rolls her eyes. "Please call me Judy. So, Heidi tells me you're doing fantastic at the studio."

  "I'm glad. I really love working there."

  "You girls need to get out more though. Heidi never goes out."

  "Mum!" Heidi groans from beside Savannah.

  "Oh, don't Mum me. You're only twenty-eight. You should be out in the evenings, looking for Mr Right. When dinner is over, you girls should hit a club."

  Growing up, Mum and her best friend, who is still her best friend, would go out almost every evening. They still go out a couple of times a month.

  I agree that Heidi should do more than work, but I'm sure as hell not encouraging her to go out and meet lots of random men.

  We take our seats again. Mum boots Bobby out of his seat, so she's now opposite Savannah, much to Bobby's disgust.

  "What about that club that just opened on the corner, opposite Nandos? Junction, I think it's called."

  "Judy, will you give them a break?" Dad says.

  "That's what I'm trying to do, Harrold. Look at your menu, and stay out of women's talk."

  Dad shakes his head, discouraged, but he still grins. He knows what Mum is like--fucking interfering. Though I enjoy it when it's not my life she's meddling in.

  "Maybe we'll do that, Mum," Heidi says through gritted teeth to appease our mum.

  "Are you single, Savannah?" Mum asks.

  Savannah freezes, cocktail glass to her lips. She blinks, swallows, and then lowers the glass. "Yes, I'm single."

  "Mum, relax," I say, picking up my beer.

  "Relax? Why are you telling me to relax, Kent? I am relaxed. I just want to get to know the beautiful girl sitting next to you a bit better."

  I grip the neck of the bottle harder. It's fun when Mum is doing this to my sisters but less so when it's to a practical stranger. Besides, I didn't like the look in her eye when she asked Savannah if she had a boyfriend or the emphasis on "you" when speaking to me. She has a plan, and I have a feeling it's not one I'll enjoy.

  The fact that Savannah is still here is a miracle.

  Shifting in her seat, Savannah takes another sip of her drink, a longer one this time.

  "You okay?" I ask her when Mum's attention is taken by Brooke.

  I'm leaning closer, and I instantly regret it. Why does she smell so good?

  "Er, I think so."

  Heidi leans over Savannah's shoulder. "Sorry, she's crazy."

  Savannah turns back to my sister, and it's only then that I realise how much she turned toward me, too. Her whole body was practically facing straight on.

  "No, she's sweet. It's nice that she cares so much about you."

  Did Savannah's mum stop caring about her?

  Heidi's eyes widen, but she laughs. "I suppose she means well. Are you up for getting wasted here tonight? I think I'm going to need to."

  Savannah laughs, tilting her head to the side. She holds up her cocktail. "I'm definitely up for that." Twisting back, she adds, "Kent, are you getting drunk with us?" Her mouth snaps shut, and she goes statue-still, like she's just realised that she basically asked me to get drunk with her.

  I swallow.

  Her stormy grey eyes stare back at me.

  "Sure," I breathe, somehow finding myself agreeing.

  "You three are going out?" Mum says.

  I jump, startled, and my gaze snaps away from Savannah.

  "No, we're staying here longer." I clear my throat since it feels like I swallowed concrete. "When I take my sister to a club to meet strangers, I won't be drunk. I need to make sure they're not dickheads."

  "Language," Brooke sings, smirking at me.

  She looks between me and Savannah with a look she got straight from Mum. They both look happy. Mum is beaming, her eyes wide and fucking glowing.

  I turn away from them all.

  Nope. Not happening.

  7

  Savannah

  What is going on tonight?

  Between Heidi's no-boundaries mother and a couple of moments--or what I perceive as moments--with Kent, I'm ready to run away. There have definitely been some looks between us; I'm not imagining that.

  Judy keeps the cocktails coming though, which I'm extremely grateful for, as she has absolutely no problem with asking personal questions. I don't know how long I can be around her because I have no clue how I will handle it if she asks questions I can't answer. Some things that happen in life are too much to bear. Some people can work through any obsta
cle or heartache and come out stronger, but for others, all you can do to keep breathing is pretend.

  I'm counting on Heidi or Kent to stop her when she asks something I sure as hell won't be answering. So far, she's not touched on my family. No one knows the truth. They all think I'm just not close with my parents and that I cut them out of my life.

  It's not a total lie. They don't know I have a sibling, grandparents, and an aunt and uncle. Hell, they think I've only ever dated once. I've had a very serious relationship.

  Just the one. Never again.

  I glance at the kitchen door on the far wall. Come on, bring our damn food. How long have we been here? We put our food order in about twenty minutes ago. It must be coming soon.

  Kent has been weird with me since our most recent moment. I don't think anything would have happened if we hadn't been interrupted, but I can't be sure. He jumped away from me, and since then, all I can see of him is his shoulder and the back of his head. He's deep in conversation with Freddy.

  Though I have a feeling, the football conversation Kent initiated is a smoke screen. He's worried his mum will pick up on what happened. I saw her delighted expression though. Thankfully and probably by some miracle, she hasn't made a comment.

  I won't relax until we're out of here though.

  "You seem tense," Heidi whispers as she leans in.

  She's perceptive.

  Giving her a fleeting smile, I grab my cocktail. "I'm fine. Just hungry."

  And waiting for your mum's questions makes me anxious as hell.

  If I refuse to answer, they'll know something is up.

  "Yeah, the food doesn't usually take this long to come out here."

  Great.

  In front of us, Bobby stretches his arms over his head. "So, ladies, is it invite-only to drinks after dinner?"

  I stiffen. The guy is a lazy creep, and he keeps staring at me, so I have no desire to spend any time around him when he's drunk.

  Yes. Heidi, please say it's invite-only!

  Kent bumps into my arm as he straightens up, and out of the corner of my eye, I see him turn our way.

  "Nah, you can join us, bro," he replies. His mouth tightens as he glances at me, like he knows how awkward I feel around Bobby.

  Did he do that on purpose?

  Why would he? I mean, he's not my number one fan, but surely, he wouldn't be that spiteful. As if anything he does or says still surprises me. He blows hot and cold constantly.

  "Ace!" Bobby cheers, his eyes landing on me as he dips his chin. I think he's supposed to look seductive, but he looks psychotic.

  Yeah. Ace.

  Heidi strikes up a conversation with Bobby, so I turn to the devil himself.