Page 22 of The Perfect Lie
“I’m not leaving you alone with my phone,” he said as he pushed his way inside the suite.
“Fine, but I would like to have a smidgen of privacy if that’s okay with you,” I said, as I held up my thumb and index finger a few centimeters apart. I was being a smart-ass, but only because I wanted to sneak in another call.
Patton allowed me to move to the bedroom to talk to Kenzi, but the door had to remain open. At least with the door between us, and the bedroom walls, he wouldn’t know that I would be calling Davian once I finished my call with Kenzi.
I quickly moved the bed, took a seat, and lifted my legs from the floor, extending them out along the thick comforter and crossing them at my ankles. “Kenzi.”
“Oh, my God, Reyna. How are you?” Kenzi’s voice was laced with worry, and I remembered that we hadn’t spoken since the park.
“I’m fine, Kenzi. Actually, I’m more than fine. Davian proposed to me. I’m engaged. Can you believe it?” My face was stretched so tight with a smile, I thought it would rip in two.
“Davian proposed to you?”
“Yes.”
“I’m so happy for you.” The excitement was evident in her voice. “When did this happen?”
“This morning.”
As Kenzi and I continued to talk, she was more excited than I was. Already she was planning the wedding before Davian, and I had even chosen a date. “You have to have a summer wedding. Atlanta is so pretty in the summer. Wait. You are planning on getting married in Atlanta, right?”
“We haven’t talked much about it. We only got engaged this morning,” I laughed, thinking how much fun it was going to be with Kenzi planning my wedding.
By the time our call ended, I was exhausted from Kenzi’s energy. Not too exhausted to call Davian, though. Sliding off the bed, I walked over to the bedroom door, pretending to still be on the phone with Kenzi so Patton wouldn’t get suspicious. I never said good-bye to her, so as far as Patton knew, we were still talking to each other. Gazing out the door, Patton looked up at me, and the only thing I could do was give him a smile and signal to him that Kenzi was talking my ear off.
Backing away from the door, I headed to the bathroom and quietly closed the door. I knew Patton wouldn’t be able to hear my conversation with Davian from the bathroom with the door closed, but if he came to see what I was doing, I could lie and tell him I was doing what every average person did with a closed door.
Taking a seat on the toilet, I searched through Patton’s contacts until I found Davian’s name. It was funny how Patton had Davian’s number listed under ‘Boss-DC.’ I hit the call button and waited for Davian to answer.
“Patton. I’m surprised to hear from you this late. Is everything okay?” God. It felt good to hear his voice.
“Davian.”
“Reyna, what are you doing with Patton’s phone. Is he okay? Are you okay?”
“Yes, we are both fine. Patton let me use his phone to call Kenzi, and since I had his phone, I called you too. When are you coming back to the hotel? I miss you.”
“I’m on my way up now. Let me talk to Patton.”
I could tell by his voice that he wasn’t angry that I used Patton’s phone to call him. Opening the door to the bathroom, Patton stood on the other side with his hand held out. He knew who I was talking to, and he wasn’t the least bit amused.
“Sorry, Davian. I had no idea she would use my phone to contact you,” Patton said as he headed away from the bathroom door where I was still standing.
The last thing I wanted was for Patton to get in trouble for lending me his phone. Once Davian got to the room, I would let him know that it was my fault and tell him not blame Patton.
Patton left the suite with his cell still at his ear. If I had to guess, he was getting an earful from Davian. Pulling my rode tighter around my body, I fell to the bed and placed my hands on my knees. What else was there to do, but wait for Davian? He didn’t sound angry when he asked to talk to Patton.
When I heard the handle to the door turn, I was up off the bed, moving toward the suite door. All I wanted to do was to wrap my arms around Davian and breathe in his scent. Only that didn’t happen. The way he was looking made me feel self-conscious. Crossing my arms at my chest, I stood still and allowed him to walk past me. His scent wasn’t the only one I smelled. “Davian… where have you been?”
“It’s been a long day, Reyna. I’m exhausted.” Was that all he had to say? His excuse was not going to work for me. I wanted answers.
“Were you with her?” I couldn’t bring myself to say her name, knowing I was right.
“Why do you keep referring to Gwen as her? She has a name, as you well know. To answer your question, yes, I was with her.”
Davian left the suite hours ago looking every bit the businessman he was, but now as I looked at him, he no longer wore his suit jacket, and his once-crisp dress shirt was rumbled, and his sleeves were rolled up, stopping just below his elbows. Even his tie hung crooked. “Why would you be with her when you should be with me?”
“You really want to do this now?” Davian turned to face me, throwing his suit jacket onto the chair before moving closer.
