Page 16 (2/2)

Liao to voice ht now It’s pretty intense"

Hanna scooted closer to hiured Liam would say no, but he sed hard and looked at her "Promise ht nant, and he bribed her to have an abortion and go away"

A sour taste welled in Hanna’s mouth

Liam closed his eyes "I’m sorry to unload that on you I just don’t have anyone else to talk to about it"

"It’s okay" Hanna touched his leg "I’lad you toldto watch I remember when they only had eyes for each other I learned all of my lessons about love from themand now I feel like they were all lies"

"People fall out of love," Hanna said sadly

Liam looked at his phone, then tossed it back into his pocket and took Hanna’s hands "I have an idea Let’s get away from all this for a while How about South Beach? I bet you look gorgeous in a bikini"

Hanna was surprised at the abrupt change of subject, but did her best to play along She ran her hands over Lia, taut body of a swireat I love the ocean"

"I could book us our own private bungalow right on the water We could have a private butler who serves us all of our led self-consciously at the word bed But even though it was crazy, she was half teeous, Miami was a zillion miles away from A

Suddenly, as if on cue, her cell phone beeped loudly in her bag Irritated, she reached into the pocket to silence it, but then she noticed the alert on the screen ONE NEW TEXT MESSAGE Her heart began to pound She glanced around the bar to see if anyone atching A bunch of girls giggled in a nearby banquette The bartender handed a guy a drink and so behind the curtains at the back of the room Whoever it asn’t very tall, but Hanna could sense that he or she had been watching

"Just a sec," Hannathe text Her stomach sank when she realized it was froet too comfy, better ask to see his driver’s license –A

Hanna frowned Driver’s license? What the hell would that tell her? That he wore corrective lenses to drive? That he was a resident of New Jersey, not Pennsylvania?

She slipped the phone back into her bag and turned to Lia about South Beach?"

Lia closer to her "I want to have you all to myself"

He bent to kiss her Hanna kissed back, but A’s e needled her A was horrific and scary, but Hanna knew better than anyone that A’s inforht on What if Liam had herpes sores all over his mouth in his picture? What if he had a different nose? Or what if--horrors--Liae and was actually in his forties?

She pulled away "You know, I technically have a rule," she said shakily "Before I go on vacay with a guy, I have to see his license first"

A bemused smile appeared on Liam’s face "Luckily my license picture is awesome" He reached into his wallet "I’ll show you rabbed her Louis Vuitton wallet frootten only a few e When Hanna studied his ieous No herpes sores No altered nose And he o years older than she was, not in his forties Her gaze traveled over the rest of the license When she noticed the naht past it But then she stopped and looked again

Liam Wilkinson

Hanna’s heart leapt to her throat No It couldn’t be

But when she looked at Liam, the evidence was all there He had the same brown eyes as Tucker Wilkinson The same lazy, people-love-me smile Even his thick eyebroere identical

Liam’s head shot up, Hanna’s license in his hands His face went pale Hanna could see the connections for in his mind "You’re related to Tom Marin," he said slowly "That’s why you were at Hyde last night"

Hanna lowered her eyes, feeling like she was going to vomit all over the velvet couch "He’sher with pain as it spilled out of her mouth "And your father is"

"Tucker Wilkinson," Liam finished dolefully

They stared at each other in horror And then, over the sounds of the frat boys chanting Chug chug chug, the ether in the le She turned and stared at the long glassthat faced the street There, plastered on the as a ripped, neon-green piece of paper It didn’t take Hanna long to realize it was a piece of a Tom Marin flyer her dad’s aides had passed out at the flash edly torn so that only her father’s face and a single letter from his name remained

A lone, bold A

Chapter 14

SPENCER FREES HER MIND

The following afternoon, which was gray and cold, Spencer pulled a plaid scarf around her neck, stepped onto the curb on a side street in Old Hollis, and stared at the ra, she checked the address on the dra in front of the Purple House, aptly named because of the brilliant purple paint that covered every inch of its siding The house was an institution in Rosewood--when Spencer was in sixth grade, she, Ali, and others used to ride bikes up and down this street, whispering the rumors they’d heard about the people ned the place "Someone toldwith bed bugs"