Page 106 of Never Kiss and Tell

“Yeah, make sure you don’t let Sarah decorate your place. She’ll have it looking like the inside of a museum.”

The door opens suddenly, surprising both of us. We both jump, turning in time to see Tom opening the door.

“Everything okay?” he asks, cautiously looking between the two of us.

I open my mouth to ask him to give us some space, but Andi beats me to it.

“Yeah.” She offers him a smile. “Everything’s great.”

She walks to him and places a kiss on his cheek. “I’m sorry for fighting.”

He peeks at me and something about the weird expression in his eyes sets me on edge. I don’t like it. It’s almost like he’s daring me to say something.

Before, I would have hunkered down, cowering away from a man like Tom, just like I did Drew.

“Go back to dinner, baby. I have a surprise for you I want to talk to Bailey about.”

She smiles gently and nods, disappearing out the door and leaving me alone with Tom.

“So, what do you really want?” I ask, lowering my voice so no one out in the party can hear me.

Tom chuckles humorlessly and steps further into the room, shutting the door most of the way behind him.

“You just can’t keep your nose out of things, can you?” he asks dryly.

“Looks like someone needs to step in.” I take a step toward him. “Tell me, why are you so afraid of Andi spending time with me?”

He narrows his eyes, the darkness in the room making them appear almost black.

“Do me a favor and stop filling my fiancée’s head with lies. She’s got enough on her plate already.”

I deadpan at him. “Lies? You mean allowing her to think for herself?”

“You see, Bailey. I was against you coming here. Then, once you arrived, I thought maybe you could actually help her. But then I saw you in the pool with Charlie. A couple days later you’re on a date with Peter. When does it end, Bailey?”

“When do you admit to cheating with Cecilia?”

His jaw tightens and he glares at me.

“You just don’t get it do you?” He stalks toward me, stopping a couple feet in front of me. I can smell the putrid animal urine he calls cologne and it makes my stomach roil. “Andi is happy.”

“Keep thinking that. Maybe you’ll believe it hard enough for the rest of us.”

He takes another step, but a throat clears in the doorway, causing him to jump and spin around.

“You okay?” Charlie asks, eyeing me over Tom’s head.

I nod, hurriedly stepping around Tom and going to Charlie’s side. He wraps his arm around me, pulling me tightly againsthim and planting a kiss to my temple. I don’t miss the look he shoots Tom before leading me away and back to the party.

“How much of that did you hear?”

He grits his teeth. “Every fucking word.”

I nod off on the way home and wake up to Charlie opening my door.

I jump, almost falling out of the truck, before he rights me with a soft chuckle.

“I’m sorry,” I murmur, allowing him to help me slip down out of the truck, groggy and slightly wobbly on my heels. Charlie wraps an arm around me and pulls me into his side to steer me to the house.

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