Free Tell Me Lies by Tessa Dayne Page A

never been.  And it was so far out of the way, that Paige could have snuck Barnett in and no one would’ve been the wiser.
     
    “Damn!” he said aloud, startling the waiter that had come in for another tray of hors d’oeuvres.  It was possible that Barnett fathered that baby.
     
    Possible, but highly improbable.  It wasn’t in her nature.  Well, there was no time like the present to find out once and for all.  She was here somewhere, and he was sure that Darcy had told her he had left.  She wouldn’t be hiding now. 
    Taking a glass of champagne from the counter, he downed it in one gulp, fortifying his resolve to confront Paige.  Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he stumbled from the kitchen and back into the crowd.
     
    ~*~
     
                  Paige stared at the closed door, grateful that Darcy had taken care of Darren, making him leave.  She was thankful that the confrontation with him had gone unnoticed to all the other guests.  She wouldn’t be able to face them had they noticed it.
     
    “Shall we return to the party?” Jonas asked, gesturing towards the door.
     
    “You go ahead.  I just need to gather my thoughts.  I’ll be out soon,” Paige said, unclasping her fingers from his.
     
    “You sure?  I can wait for you?”
     
    Paige smiled, tilting her head a little.  “I’ll be fine.  Go on…go find that artist friend you made.  I am sure he would like to continue his conversation with you.”
     
    “I don’t want to leave you,” he said.
     
    “Go,” she urged.  “I’m fine.  Really.”
     
    Jonas glanced at the door.  He didn’t want to hover; he just wasn’t ready to leave her yet.  “I’ll be close.  If you need me…”
     
    Paige laughed.  “Go, Mother Hen.  I am fine.  I’m just going to relax a few minutes, and then I will join you.  After all, I don’t want to miss the midnight bell.  I want my kiss.”
     
    “That won’t be all you get,” he reminded her, wiggling his eyebrows.
     
    Paige laughed and watched as he left the room, the door closing quietly behind him.  She could still hear his remarks from earlier tonight.

 
    “I like those thoughts right where they are,” he said gruffly, capturing her fingers in his hand. “And when the clock strikes midnight, I am whisking you away from that party and playing out those thoughts,” he said.
     
    “Is that a threat or a promise?” she asked.
     
    “Take it however you want, Paige. But before the clock strikes the twelfth stroke, we will have a private party of our own.”
     
    Even now, those words sent tingling all through her body.  Smiling, she stood and smoothed the wrinkles from her dress.  If Jonas had plans to take her to bed at the stroke of midnight, who was she to protest?  Looking around Darcy’s bedroom, Paige spotted candles and decided to borrow them to make their rendezvous a little more romantic.
     
    Paige crossed the room and grabbed three of the candles. Darcy wouldn’t mind, she thought. With a satisfied smile, she turned toward the door and let out a startled scream, dropping the candles to the floor.
     
    “What are you doing here, Darren?  You were told to leave.”
     
    “We have unfinished business, Paige,” Darren said, moving further into the room.
     
    Paige stared at him, her gaze moving around him to the door.  He stood between her and the door.  Movement from his position caused her to return her eyes to him.
     
    “We have nothing between us, Darren.  Nothing.  Now get out of my way,” she said, her voice a lot calmer than she felt.
    Darren placed his hands on her arms, squeezing slightly.  “We are not finished.  I want answers, Paige.  And I want the truth!” he yelled, shaking her slightly.
     
    “Let go of me!” she cried. She had planned to tell him the truth, just not like this. He was drunk and on the verge of being violent.
     
    “Damn it, Paige!  I want answers!  Is this baby