Free Irresistible Lies by Juliette White Page A

more certain of it when she pulled a
paperback mystery out of her bag and started reading.
    He
watched her for a while as she read, remembering how in college she always
carried a book with her. She didn’t like to read anything at all academic or
classic, and he used to poke fun at her choices. She loved murder mysteries,
the ones where she could play detective and try to guess who the killer was.
She told him more than once that reading was an escape for her.
    That
was all fine, but he didn’t like the idea of her trying to escape from him.
    She
tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and pressed her lips together, and he
thought for the millionth time how pretty she was. Then she turned her big
brown eyes on him.
    “Why
are you staring at me?”
    He
smiled, caught. “Sorry. I was just remembering. Watching you read brought back
memories.”
    “Oh,”
she said, caught by surprise.
    She
was so cute, with her legs tucked up beneath her on the chair. He wanted to sit
next to her and hated that he couldn’t.
    “I
remember you used to read on Sunday mornings while you were waiting for me to
wake up.”
    She
smiled slightly, remembering, and it gave him hope. “I had to find something to
do. You always slept in so late, and if I turned on the TV you would wake up and
be cranky the rest of the day.”
    “Hey!”
He pretended to be offended and she laughed. “I always made you breakfast,
didn’t I?”
    “I
thought it was brunch,” she said, her eyes sparkling.
      “Call it whatever you want. I know for a
fact I make the best damn pancakes you have ever had.”
    “Maybe.
But your eggs are the worst.”
    He
laughed. “I can’t be perfect.”
    “They
were some of the driest eggs in the world.”
    “They
have gotten better.”
    She
raised a brow. “Okay, right.”
    “What
about you? If I remember correctly, your idea of cooking was heating something
in the microwave.”
    Grace
laughed. “It’s not like that anymore. I can cook now. Basics.”
    “That’s
new. What else has changed about you?”
    Grace
shrugged, her face falling. “I don’t know. You tell me.”
    “You
still look the same, mostly.”
    She
pursed her lips like she wanted to say something and then thought better of it.
“You look mostly the same, too. Just more... sophisticated.”
    He
smiled. “I had to grow up sometime.”
    “We
all had to.”
    Grace
looked sad, and Jamie searched for something to say that would lighten the
mood. “Do you still have that dog? The big one that we won at the fair?”
    “Bubby!
I don’t know, I haven’t seen him in years.” She smiled, and he knew she was remembering
the ugly stuffed animal he had won for her at an outdoor carnival held at their
university. She had pointed out the toy to him, and he had tried to win it for
her as a joke. The game had been harder than he expected, however, and winning
soon became a matter of principle. She had watched, choking on her laughter, as
Jamie sunk much more money than the ugly dog was worth into the game, finally
winning her the prize.
    “I
still remember what you said when you gave it to me,” Grace said.
    “What?”
    “You
don’t remember?”
    “No,
what did I say?”
    “You
said, ‘this ugly dog will forever be proof of what you are worth to me.’ You
were so proud of that thing.”
    “Darn
right. I spent 40 bucks getting it. And it was probably worth five.”
    “Not
even. It was missing an eye.”
    “Yet
it was so hard to win.”
    “Only
because you’re not very good at arcade games.”
    Jamie
laughed. “You should have dragged me away from that carnival.”
    “I
tried, but you didn’t listen. When you put your mind to something, there’s no
stopping you.” Grace closed her book, still smiling. “You know what? I think I
will take that coffee. You owe it to me after what you put me through this
week. Two sugars.”
    “And
one cream. I remember.”
    “Wow,
you’re good. Thank you.”
    “My
pleasure.”
    He
went to get the coffee,