Page 60 of Homebody
Pressing her forehead and both palms against the door he’d just left through, she let the sobs come.
Chapter Thirty-One
Dean had to wonder if he was destined to always,always, find the worst possible messages on his cell phone when he powered it back on after landing.
Last time he’d flown he’d been plagued by texts from Lara and his mother. This time it was a bunch of texts and a voicemail from Juniper. What the hell was that about? Was Atlanta cursed for him? That thought was enough to make him stop booking flights with a layover here.
Hell, it was enough to make him ditch his phone altogether. Live like a luddite. It made him long for the olden days when a man could travel in peace without people annoying him. Damn technology.
Scowling with annoyance and an equal amount of dread, he ignored the three texts demanding he call her back and instead opened the voicemail.
He pressed the cell to his ear and Juniper’s smug voice filtered out.
“Hey, Dean. So it turns out your little girlfriend Bessie or Jessa or whatever her name is, was paid to date you. Paid! By your mother! I heard Ruby and your mom celebrating at the salon this morning, bragging about how well their planworked. How easily she reeled you in and kept you busy while you were home. Just thought you’d like to know. Looks like you should have hung out with me instead, huh?”
What the hell?
Stunned, he stood right there in the middle of the concourse in Atlanta, not moving, barely able to breathe.
Of course his first thought was that Juniper was lying. But since he’d already left town with no date for his return, what motivation would Juniper have to make up such a crazy story?
Although just being mean might be enough for her.
This wouldn’t be the first time. Or even the worst lie she’d told him. Juniper pretending to be pregnant after one of the times they’d broken up took the prize for biggest and worst lie. But this…
His head spun. It couldn’t be true. Tessa had slept with him! Many times. If it was all a lie, why would she do that? It didn’t make sense.
But the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Red and Ruby swarming him with Tessa in tow that first night at the bar. His mother’s mysterious, incessant texting during his time home, so out of character for her. As out of character as how strangely she’d been acting lately.
Tessa saying yes to that first date so quickly when she didn’t even know him…
Jeezus. Had Tessa ever liked him at all? Or was it all just an act? If it had been she deserved an Academy Award for her acting. To be able to pull that off, the woman had to be diabolical. Completely devoid of all feelings.
Thank fuck he hadn’t texted Tessa something sweet at the crack of dawn when he’d been sitting in Albany waiting for the flight to board. Oh, he’d wanted to but it was too early and he didn’t want to wake her. He also didn’t want to look like a needy teenage girl looking for attention and make a fool of himself.
Little did he know what a fool he’d been.
This unholy alliance between Tessa and his mother did explain how Tessa had been so cool and collected when they’d said goodbye. It wasn’t like he’d expected tears but he had thought there would be something more.
He should have known. The clues were there.
Angry. Confused. Numb, which was preferable to the pain that was going to hit when the numbness subsided, he needed to talk to somebody.
Not Tessa, that was for sure. Not his mother either. Not yet. He was too enraged. He’d end up saying something he’d regret. Definitelynothis teammates.
That left one person who knew both him and Tessa. He navigated in his contacts list, tapped the screen and waited through the ringing until he heard, “Sinclair. Hey. What’s up?”
Without a hello, Dean launched right into the situation. “Tessa’s been lying to me.”
There was a moment of silence before Liam said, “Oh. You okay?”
“Am I okay? Well, let’s see. My motherpaida woman—one I truly liked—to date me.”
“Ah. Yeah. That’s a tough one. But in Tessa’s defense, she needed the money. She has some hefty grad school loans to pay back. It’ll be hard for her to work more hours or get a better job until she finishes her thesis. You okay?”
Grad school? Thesis?No. Dean was not okay. There were even more lies than he knew about. He felt like a freaking idiot.
When he could get the words out and not just sputter in anger, he said, “So now you’re telling me that she not only withheld the very critical piece of information that my motherpaidher to date me, but that she’s also been hiding that she has like a frigging doctorate degree too?”
