Page 43 of Loving Lies (Granton University 3)

“Then I guess we’ll have to help her come up with a reasonable explanation to give him whenever she feels it’s time.”

“But there is no reasonable explanation except that her ridiculous stupid gene comes out every time she’s in the presence of a hottie. And I’m not just calling her names; I know for a fact how this evil gene affects her. It’s like Tess’s very own scientifically proven disease. But how exactly do you explain it to a clueless guy?”

“Actually.” Tess blushed furiously when Paige and Bailey glanced at her. “He already knows about my stupid gene. I mean—” she flailed a nervous hand “—I told him about how I blurt out crazy things in the presence of men who attract me.”

“You did?” Bailey blinked and blindly sat down on Paige’s bed next to them. “How the hell were you able to confess a thing like that?”

“It was kind of in the middle of one of my stupid-gene, blurt-it-all-out moments. But surprisingly, after that, I felt a lot better and could actually relax around him and, you know, be myself.”

“Holy shit.” Covering her mouth with her hand, Bailey gaped badly until she dropped her fingers and let out a huge grin. “That’s it,” she said with finality. “He’s never allowed to get his memory back again. This guy is good for you. I can’t believe you…you mean, you can seriously be yourself with him? One hundred percent Tess?”

Tess bobbed her head, grinning big time, her chest swelling with joy as Bailey grinned back.

“Oh, my God,” Bailey wailed, wiping away a mock tear…or maybe it was real. “My baby’s got her first boyfriend. I’m so proud.” Then she threw open her arms and hugged Tess hard.

Tess was so startled by the enveloping squeeze, it took her a moment to hug her best friend back. Before she knew it, they were laughing and hugging each other some more, swaying back and forth over the momentous occasion.

Until Paige discretely cleared her throat. “Um, not to be a spoilsport or anything. But maybe we should get back to working on a plan to tell this guy the truth. Especially in light of recent events.”

“Screw that,” Bailey said. “I’m all for sneaking into his hospital room tonight and bashing him over the head again to make sure the amnesia stays permanent. You know, keep him her clueless boyfriend forever.”

Tess immediately frowned at that idea. Anything that involved him and more pain was not a good plan.

Next to her, Paige sighed. “Five minutes ago, you were ready to accuse him of being a serial killer.”

Bailey just snorted and waved her hand. “That was before I knew he was perfect for my Tess. Seriously, Paige. Relax. She was able to open up to him. She doesn’t just do that for anyone, you know. She’s got senses like a dog or something; it’s as if she can smell evil on a person. If this guy got past her shy zone, then he’s fine.”

Flattered by Bailey’s complete faith in her, Tess reached over and squeezed her friend’s hand. “Thank you.” But now she was even more worried because—

What if her dog senses were all out of whack? Just how well could she trust herself? Because when it came to Jonah Abbott, she always reacted the way she knew she shouldn’t.

“In that case, then,” Paige said, “I think we really need to come up with a good game plan to keep him around after his memories come back.”

Tess’s shoulders slumped. What if they never came up with a way to make Jonah want to stay with her? And just how had she gone from simply wanting to help a stranger feel loved to wanting to make her fake boyfriend a permanent one?

Tess couldn’t sleep. Listening to Bailey’s heavy breathing, she pushed the covers off her and rose from her bed.

After she’d spent most of the day talking about Jonah with her two friends, she couldn’t get him off her mind.

Hours into their discussion, Logan had shown up with pizza, so Paige had invited Bailey and Tess to stay and eat with them. The four of them talked and even managed to laugh over a few jokes. But they never really came up with a feasible strategy of how to best explain her lies to Jonah. And that worried her. There really would be no way to explain it, would there? He’d either forgive her or push her away. And the uncertainty of what he’d choose terrified her.

“Did you ever talk to his coach?” Logan had wondered at one point. Tess had to admit she hadn’t yet.

In fact, since the moment she realized she wanted him all to herself, she’d stopped trying to contact anyone on his behalf. And that couldn’t be good. The entire point of this was to help him find someone who cared and who would keep him company until he got his memory back so he didn’t feel alone.

Guilt swamped her. She really did need to approach Jonah’s coach the first chance she got.

She knew she’d grown too close to Jonah, and she was pretty sure he’d grown just about as close to her. But would he change his mind once his memories returned? As soon as he knew who he was, would he return to his old life and abandon her?

In that case, maybe it would be best to tell him everything now, while he was still the Jonah she’d come to know, not the one neither of them knew. Gaining his forgiveness now might be easier than it would be later…when he was someone else.

But thinking about him being someone else, someone she didn’t know, alarmed her. She could only imagine what that same uncertainty did to him.

God, the poor guy was dealing with so much; he had “tangled mess” written all over him. All she’d wanted to do was somehow help him unravel a few of the knots so he could begin to sort his life out again. But she’d managed to somehow get herself tied up right along with him until she felt tethered to him and caught in the middle of his issues just as deeply as he was.

She needed to be close to him now, more than she’d ever needed to be with anyone. She dressed in the dark. Barely daring to breathe so she didn’t wake her roommate, she tiptoed to Bailey’s desk, found her car keys by feel, and left the dorm room.

Pausing in the hall, she waited thirty seconds just to make sure Bailey didn’t follow. But Bailey must’ve been in the

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