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She gives an exaggerated sigh "Alas, it seems I must end our lunch early I’ve been ordered ho well after all, and needsto try to hide his new rounds of chemo from me" She tucks her phone back into her purse and hooks it over her shoulder "Let’s head back and finish talking on the way They’ll put the bill on raboutside to gusting winds and droplets of rain that effectively savethe conversation

Once we’ve dashed back into the building, she faces me to softly say, "No one is to know about his cancer Understood?"

"I would never tell so so private without perirl, Esas she does "Emily, honey You need to cover those blond roots I’ll text you my hairdresser’s number In the meantime, mascara on the roots It works" She turns and walks away, oblivious of the bowith the impact of yet another secret exposed

My lies are everywhere, sucking est fear is that they ainst Shane Mentally shaking myself, I hurry toward the public bathroom, dash to the back stall that has a sink andat the blond that see Maggie’s advice, I dig out hter shade ofto a ton of hairspray to hide the rest

Task cohing on my mind, and head to the coffee shop, where I hope to find privacy With my phone already in my hand, I place an order, claim my drink, and sit down at a corner table, the sexy, funnyin my mind I’d been seduced from the moment I met him, and now … now I know I’m headed toward love with this man I, of all people, know the death of love is lies

My phone rings and sure enough, it’s Shane Drawing in a cal breath, I punch the answer button "I was about to call you Your father wasn’t feeling well so she cut the lunch short, which suited me just fine"

"How did you even end up at lunch with her?" He doesn’t wait for an answer "Never mind I know the answer She bulldozed you"

"Much like her son, she doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer if she doesn’t want ‘no’ for an answer"

"Unlike her son, she always has an agenda What was she after?"

"She seen myself with her"

"Me," he says flatly "You’re sure?"

"She never confrontedyou, but she did say quite clearly that you and Derek would targetover the company And while it could be coincidence, she took "

"It wasn’t a coincidence," he says tightly

"That hat I thought too, I just didn’t want to assume the worst of your mother" I hesitate "She claims to be concerned about your and Derek’s divide, but she seemed to really want me to think the worst of you"

"And did it work?"

"Not for a ht in the storm of betrayal," he says softly "We’ll talkto be off-site when you finish work One of the partners from my old firm is in town and wants me to meet him for drinks, but I should be done by seven I’ll send a car to get you at six forty-five"

"I need to run a few errands after work," I say, thinking about dyeing"Can the car pick ht?"

"I’ll set it up," he confir an elevator card for you at the front desk and a key to the apartment just in case I run late"

A card and key feel like the trust that I so want to deserve We say our good-byes and ie corneredin a plane crash and I decide that lie is the one that is going to make ht in my storm of betrayal The idea that the lies forced on me by another could make him believe I’m a part of that storm, twists me in knots I have to tell Shane that I lied to Hu and he finds out fro

I leave work at five o’clock, a luxury I am certain I wouldn’t have if Shane’s father wasn’t out today, and make my way to the pharet hoet no reply By seven, I’ve coloredfor solutions By seven forty-five, I’ve dressed in ht blue V-neck tee, wearing tennis shoes, because I have nothing else but heels Co on the car Shane’s sending for me, and I’ve come to the conclusion I don’t want to have I want to tell Shane the truth, I do, but it’s selfish and wrong Once he knows, that’s it, and that comes with a burden he doesn’t deserve or need, not with all the hell he has going on If he stays close to me, he will find out, and that leaves only one option We can’t see each other anyle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true">