Chapter 20 Secrets and Lies
SECRETS AND LIES
BECKETT
Ichange, clean up, get myself together—fresh shirt, damp hair, a hint of cologne. I’m reaching for the door when it swings open.
Ashley.
Not my usual gorgeous Ashley, but another Ashley—her hair shorter, lighter, shining, with tones that catch the light, ends curled up around her shoulders. This woman…
My throat goes dry.
I don’t love you anymore.
She isn’t looking at me. In fact, she’s looking anywhere but at me.
But I’m still staring at her. “What did you do?”
Wait, that came out wrong.
Ashley flicks her hair over her shoulder and sets her purse on the bed. “What?” she asks lightly. “Not your style?”
Like she was testing the question without really wanting the answer.
The look in her eyes is defensive, along with the way she lifts her chin. God, I’ve missed her. “No. It looks great… I—” I take a minute to study her. Not just her hair, but the flush in her cheeks, the fullness of her lips. “I love it.”
That stills her, but only for a second.
“Oh, uh. Thanks.”
She turns to stare at herself in the mirror, and my chest tightens.
“I wanted something different.” Then she glances over her shoulder. “How’s your tattoo?”
“Fine.” I shift my feet. “It’s a little tender. Angry at me. Same as you.”
That earns me the smallest smile.
But then she grabs her bag again and starts digging through it.
“I picked up some Aquaphor. You’re supposed to wash it gently a few times a day, and then apply a thin layer of this moisturizer.”
“Thanks. I mean it.” And not letting Sugar’s call distract me, I decide to take action. We’re on a romantic cruise. The boys are with her mom. “I was thinking you and I could maybe—”
“There’s been a development,” she says. She isn’t looking at me.
Every muscle in my body goes taut.
After knowing this woman for half my life, I realize—with a jolt—that I can’t read her anymore. My pulse kicks up.
“Something you need to know,” she adds.
I brace myself for the worst. Scenarios I don’t even want to name.
But Christ.
If she doubles down on her devastating declaration last night…
I don’t know if I’m ready to hear it.
Ashley’s expression twists, but then she sighs again. “Luna thinks I’m pregnant.”
Wait.
What? Did she just say—
I blink. “Are you?”
“No! God no.” Ashley’s eyes widen and then she goes a little pale. “Of course not. But Luna thinks I am. No, strike that. Everyone thinks I’m pregnant.”
I stare at her, waiting for the punchline.
“With your baby,” she clarifies after a second too long of silence. “Our baby. Obviously.”
“No, I—I got that part.” Well, sort of, at least. I hadn’t exactly gotten that far yet. “It’s the rest of it I’m having trouble with.”
She sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“Last night, when you and I were talking outside the party, when I told you I was feeling sick, Babs and Josie overheard. Apparently, it was just enough for them to get the wrong idea. Of course, Babs told Luna. And Josie probably told… God, I’ll bet my mom knows too.
But since we specifically mentioned not saying anything about it to, you know, not ‘steal Luna’s limelight’, she thinks I’m being… noble.”
Ashley’s hands cover her face, and I want so badly to comfort her but before I do, she lifts her head and meets my eyes.
“But I’m not being noble. I’m just a liar. A liar liar with my pants on fire.”
I tilt my head. “Maybe, but your pants are burning for a noble purpose. Because you’re here. We’re both here. For your sister.”
“Yeah, but we’re also lying. And now we have one more thing to lie about.”
I blow out a breath, scrubbing a hand over my face. “So now—what? On top of the whole happy couple act, we’re… expecting?”
“Secretly,” she corrects dryly. “And we have no choice but to play along, but the key here is, even though probably half the ship knows, they have to pretend they don’t know, so I think we’ll be okay.
But the boys definitely can’t hear anything about this.
” Her voice sharpens on that last line, and our eyes lock.
And yeah. That’s the one thing we’re still rock-solid on.
Those two boys better not hear a damn word of this.
Ash and I have been doing everything we can to shield them from the fallout—my long disappearances, the tension in the house. They don’t deserve any of that. They’re just kids.
If someone lets slip that they’re supposedly getting a baby brother or sister…
It’d be one more blow on top of everything else they’re going to have to face when the truth finally comes out.
Mom and Dad aren’t okay. Mom and Dad won’t be living together anymore.
It guts me.
We stand there in silence.
Then I say, quietly, “We can do this, Ash.”
Her head lifts, eyes locking on mine. For a heartbeat, neither of us breathes.
Us. Working like a team.
And maybe more.
She remembers the kiss. I see it in her eyes.
And all I can think is how badly I want another chance to make her remember everything else.