Page 42 of Married to Lies

Bryce nodded. “And if you continue dating Q, we could get you a full-time guard starting tomorrow if you want.”

A full-time security guard. That could be another layer of protection against Conrad if his behavior escalated... especially if he suspected that I’d tipped off Quentin about the bug.

My mind tried to twist it all into place, forming an ugly, misshapen pretzel of a plan.

I pressed up from the couch. “I need to get home and think this all through.” Without waiting for them to respond, I turned away and walked through the kitchen, out the front door.

Only when I reached my car did I hear the front door open and Jada call, “Rei, wait!”

I turned just for a moment, blinking my stinging eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Don’t be mad at me,” she pleaded. “Haven’t you ever kept a secret?”

“I have,” I managed, getting into the car. As I drove away, I thought, If I can forgive her, maybe it’s time I tell the truth about my past.

19 Quentin

I woke up on Christmas Eve in my parents’ guest bedroom and pulled back my sleep mask. Light filtered through the sheer curtains, stinging my eyes, so I quickly pulled the mask back down.

For the first time in a long time, I’d slept terribly. Not because of the bed, but because my mind wouldn’t quit replaying my date with Rei. My fingers itched to pick up the phone and call her, beg her to put me out of the misery of this waiting game.

But I tried to follow Bryce’s advice, getting up for my regular morning swim. My parents had an indoor pool. Glass arced over the walls and ceiling, creating a warm greenhouse-style room despite the cold, gray weather outside.

I dipped into the warm water, did my stretches, and started swimming my laps. Moving my body helped get me out of my head. Reach, breathe, pull, kick became the chant in my head drowning out everything else.

But then something or someone disrupted my swim, sending a splash of the salt water straight down my throat. I stood up, water hitting chest level as I coughed and croaked, trying to see what had happened.

Did Simon’s kids somehow know that I was the next one to get married?

Was this how it ended?

But as water sluiced from my face and my vision cleared, I glared at Tyrone’s grinning face. “Big brother’s home!” he yelled out.

I splashed water at him. “What the hell are you doing in the pool?” I looked around, finding a pile of gray sweats at the water’s edge and my parents laughing as they watched nearby.

I stared at them. “I thought you’d get in later tonight?” My voice was still rough and croaking.

Tyrone back floated, spitting water up like a deformed dolphin. “Had to come back early to witness you taking a day off! It’s a Christmas Miracle!”

I rolled my eyes. Mom clapped her hands together like she agreed with Tyrone, and Pops said, “You do work a lot. Not that that’s a bad thing.”

Looking at Tyrone, I said, “You just played yesterday. Shouldn’t you be tired?”

“I’m not as old as you.” He stuck out his tongue.

“You’re just a year younger, dumbass.”

Mom said to Pops, “It’s just like when they were kids.”

Pops grunted. “We didn’t have a pool when they were younger. Just now that they’re rich.”

She chuckled and then hugged his arm. He leaned his head over to rest it atop her curls.

I looked away from them just in time to see Tyrone doing a handstand in the water. I rolled my eyes and shoved his legs to tip him over.

Mom laughed.

Pops said, “Don’t hurt our star player now.”