Cheater (Curious Liaisons 1)

I studied her lithe body out of the corner of my eye and tried to remind myself of all the reasons we were actually going through with this.

“I have an idea.” I pulled the car onto the freeway and turned down the music. “What if, instead of telling everybody a story, we just tell them it’s none of their damn business?”

Avery’s eyes twinkled, and her lips spread into a beautiful smile. “Thorn, I think that’s the smartest thing you’ve ever said.”

“I’m not sure that’s a compliment.”

“Since I’m never going to make it a habit to compliment you, I’d just take what I can get if I were you. Beggars can’t be choosers.”

I glowered and then barked out a laugh. “Fine.”

She reached for my hand.

And the entire thing felt normal.

If normal was taking one giant step backward into a past I’d rather forget—and facing every single person I’d hurt by not admitting my feelings earlier for the girl sitting next to me.

Like when they originally started happening.

Which was long before the day of the rehearsal dinner.

Or in a vain attempt to jump into her bed because I was so damn miserable with my choice to marry her sister.

Unfortunately, the car ride didn’t take long, which meant that we were in front of my childhood home sooner rather than later.

I turned off the ignition.

Avery let go of my hand.

“It’s one traumatic night with our families,” she said, more to herself than me. “And then we carry on with our lives and try not to figure out whatever this is between us, alright?”

“Oh, so we’re not trying to figure this out?” I was surprised she wasn’t overanalyzing every little thing or asking to see my phone, or imploding over the fact that never once had I said we were exclusive.

“Nope.” Her hands trembled in her lap. “If I think past today, I get freaked out, not because I’m afraid of commitment.”

“Because you’re afraid of me,” I finished for her.

She didn’t deny it—how could she, when it was the truth? However ugly honesty may have been, at least we both knew where we stood.

Her lack of a denial hung in the air. It was the perfect moment for me to tell her how I felt—that what was happening between us was real—but I wasn’t confident enough in my ability not to cheat.

And that’s what sucked.

Which made me a horrible human being.

Because I wasn’t sure if there was something broken inside me that made sure I stayed far away from any sort of relationship for fear I would hurt someone—even if that someone were myself.

“Thorn?” Her eyes were filled with a sadness that I alone was responsible for. “Let’s just focus on today.”

“Today,” I repeated, lifting her hand to my lips and kissing her smooth coconut-infused skin. “I can do that.”

“Now”—she puffed out a breath—“let’s go face the firing squad.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me one bit if your grandfather brought his guns over to our house just so he could clean them in front of me.”

“Rest assured, he’s gone completely blind in his left eye. I highly doubt he’d be able to hit a moving target.”

“Great, Avery, I’ll just practice my zigzag.”

Her laughter wasn’t at all comforting as we joined hands and approached my childhood home.

It felt weird walking into my house with Avery by my side as more than a friend. I wondered if I should seem more excited about our fake engagement.

Hell, we’d made a mess of things, and now I had the worst partner in crime that history had ever seen. The girl couldn’t lie to save her life, and at least 80 percent of the time she picked a fight with me just because she couldn’t help herself. Now we had to spend the entire night pretending to be a couple in love and lying to the people who knew us best. Right, what could possibly go wrong?

Try everything.

“LUCAS!” Mom screamed my name like she hadn’t seen me just a few days ago and held open her arms while my dad lifted his beer in acknowledgment and continued talking to Avery’s grandpa, Lewis.

“Mom.” I kissed her soft cheek and pulled back while she examined Avery from head to toe and then burst into giant, wailing sobs. “Mom.”

Avery gave me a panicked look.

“Just let her cry it out.” I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “Huh, is that light new?”

“Just installed it last night.” Dad wrapped an arm around Mom and handed her a paper towel.

“Sorry, kids.” She blew her nose. “I just—it’s happening, this is really happening.” She leaned in and whispered, “It’s just like old times, and we’re so excited.”

“Us too!” Avery said in a strangled voice. I shot her a pleading look while she quickly hugged my mom and then linked arms with her, abandoning me to my father and a very angry-looking Grandpa Lewis.

“Lewis.” I nodded toward him and then held out my hand.

He stared down at it and grimaced. “We killed traitors back in Nam.”

Interesting, please tell me more about how you killed people for less than what I did four years ago. “And we’re all so thankful for your service.”

He grunted, then pointed at his good eye and back at me. “Don’t think I won’t be watching you like a hawk.”

Thank God he was half-blind.

“I’ve got my eye on you, son.” He let out something that sounded a hell of a lot like a growl, then left me and Dad in blissful silence.

“Is he wearing a pink shirt?” I asked once the man was out of earshot.

“Can’t tell pink from blue, poor bastard.” Dad sighed. “Besides, bright colors are easier to see; last week Tess lost him in the grocery store and only located him because he was wearing yellow and telling anyone who would listen about Agent Orange.”

“How . . . nice for him.” This. This was why I rarely came home. Everyone in both our families was certifiable.

Which is also why it was so sad when they stopped spending time together.

One thing was for sure—our families belonged together. Both dads slightly crazy, the moms loud, and the one living grandparent who talked about the good ol’ days when everything cost a nickel.

Gas? A nickel.

Shoes? A nickel.

Meat? A nickel.

According to Lewis, everything was a nickel.

Which also meant that, to him, everything in this day and age was too damn expensive.

I sighed and weaved through the halls toward the loud chatter in the kitchen and braced myself for the impact of seeing the rest of the Black family for the first time in four years.

I noticed Tess first. She was wearing a short black dress with white pearls and had a white apron with a dog on it wrapped around her petite body. Her reading glasses were perched on the top of her head, and she had a glass of white wine in her hand.

“Lucas Thorn.” One penciled eyebrow arched, then the other; her red lips pressed together, and then she was walking toward me. The kitchen fell silent.

“I’m so happy to see you.” Her smile was tense. That made sense. The last time I’d seen her she was sobbing her

eyes out and holding Kayla after Brooke confessed I’d kissed her. And that was before I’d called off the wedding.

I hugged her as tightly as I could, hoping to at least convey in that hug that I was sorry, so damn sorry.

She relaxed in my arms and kissed me on the cheek. “I can’t say I’m surprised—I know how close you and Avery were.” No accusation tinted her voice, but I couldn’t be sure if she was being honest and kind or passive-aggressive. “I wasn’t surprised at all to hear the good news.”

Please let the good news be the marriage and not some other random made-up story that I had to lie about.

Avery saved me by snaking an arm around my waist and shrugging. “Thanks, Mom. We’re really excited we were able to reconnect.”

“Yeah.” A familiar voice echoed through the kitchen. “And we’re all dying to know how that happened.” Brooke threw back her glass of wine and zeroed in on Avery and me with an intensity that had me wanting to both strangle her and run in the opposite direction. Her hair was dyed a fake red that made her face look harsh, and her dark eye makeup didn’t help, nor did the slutty white dress that showed enough boob and ass to make her look like a prostitute.

“I think”—Avery glanced up at me—“that’s a secret we’d like to keep between us.”

I could have kissed her for that save.

So I did.

Hard.

She gasped against my mouth as I mauled her in my parents’ kitchen and shoved all the doubt anyone may have had about us out the window. Take that, nasty witch.

When we broke apart, Avery’s chest was heaving. God, I wanted to devour her right next to the cheese plate.

Her cheeks bloomed with a pretty pink before she laid her head against my chest and laughed. “Sorry, got a bit carried away.”

Tess sighed happily, then poured more wine. “This really is wonderful—we’ve always wanted Lucas to be a part of our family, and now he will be.”

“Yay,” Brooke said sarcastically from her spot near the bar.

I was about to tell her to shut the hell up when Kayla appeared from around the corner, wearing a dress that was even more scandalous than her sister’s. Red, with a plunging neckline, plus high heels and dark makeup to complete the look.