Page 95 of Love and Lies

“What does someone have to do to get one of your waffles for breakfast?”

I gave a casual shrug. “Have sex with me.”

She nodded slowly. “Do the last two times count, or does it start now?”

“Hmm.” I cocked my head to one side and looked her over as she stood there in front of me, wearing only my T-shirt, her hair undone, and a twinkle in her eye that hadn’t been there the day before. In that moment, I’d have made her an eight-course tasting menu while doing a handstand, never mind waffles. Still, I made a show of having to think about it. “Depends how good it was.”

For a second the smile disappeared from her face, but then she raised her chin defiantly. “Well then, I guess I’ll be getting waffles every day for the rest of my life.”

This time I laughed. “You win that one.”

She planted a kiss on my mouth. “Glad we cleared that up. I’m going to take a shower.” She went to the bathroom and closed the door behind her, but not without casting a look over her shoulder that even a blind person would have recognized as an invitation. Still, I let her wait a little before I followed, shedding my clothes in the bathroom, stepping into the jet of hot water, and letting her pull me under.

A while later, Helena sat at the counter, a mug of coffee in her hand, while I made waffles and she teased me about the fact that—despite being a surfer—I hated getting water in my eyes. These relaxed moments, when it felt like we’d been together forever—I enjoyed them almost more than what had happened last night. Because one thing had been clear to me since the minute she’d woken me up to have sex: I wanted more than that. I didn’t care that she was a Weston and I was a Coldwell, that her parents and my mother would go berserk. I didn’t even care that Helena lived in New York City—and not only that, she also loved the damn place. I wanted her. No matter what that meant for me.

Sensing I was lost in my thoughts, Helena came over and pulled herself up onto the counter. She put her arms around me, gently stroking the nape of my neck, suddenly looking as serious as when she’d woken up.

“Promise me it doesn’t end here,” she said softly.

“It doesn’t end here,” I promised, kissing her tenderly. “Not if we don’t want it to.”

She nodded, but I saw the old doubt in her eyes again, and I knew I couldn’t make it go away. How could I? She knew her family better than I did. It just meant it would be harder. But not impossible. I had never bent to my mother’s will, and I certainly wasn’t going to start now.

But it was different for Helena.

“I’m scared, Jess,” she admitted, and the look on her face was so helpless it broke my heart. “I’m so afraid of losing you again.”

I pulled her into my arms and held her close. “Don’t be scared,” I whispered. “You won’t lose me.” But I knew exactly how she felt. We’d both been lonely, horribly lonely, in a city full to the brim. But now we had found each other, and even though the odds were against us, we had to try to fight for it.

“Good.” She nodded again and took a deep breath. I could practically see her attempting to banish the sinister thoughts from her head. “Now, how about those waffles?”

I grinned, let her go, and went to check on them. “One more minute.”

Springing down from the counter, Helena went over to the couch and opened her bag, which had lain there discarded since last night. She got out her phone and checked it, frowning.

“Is something wrong?” I asked, taking out the first waffle and letting it cool on the rack.

“I don’t know.” She came back over with her phone in hand, staring at the screen. “I’ve got a load of missed calls from my brother, and he’s texted saying I should come home as soon as possible.”

“He say why?” I didn’t want to assume the worst right away—that one of them had found out where she was last night.

Helena shook her head. “No. I texted him yesterday to say I couldn’t stand it at the ball anymore and had gone to Malia’s place. He just responded ‘Okay’—and now this morning all this.” She pressed the call button and put the phone to her ear, but put it down again a few seconds later with a sigh. “Voicemail. Looks like I’ll have to go sooner than I thought.”

I knew what that meant: breakfast was a rain check. And sure enough, Helena came over to grab a waffle off the rack, then gestured to the bathroom. “Better get my Elsa outfit on again,” she said gloomily.

There was nothing I could do but watch as she disappeared behind the bathroom door, with a heavy feeling in my gut that the troubles ahead of us were going to be a lot worse than we thought.

44 Helena

In the bathroom, I took off the clothes I’d borrowed from Jess and put my dress back on again. My reflection in the mirror was somewhat unfamiliar, just like at the Mirage. And although my still-damp hair was hanging around my face in straggles, I thought I looked prettier than usual. Maybe because last night, for the first time in years, I’d actually felt relaxed. Happy.

I went back into the kitchen, where Jess was still on the waffle production line, even though we both knew I couldn’t stay. I stood behind him and put my arms around him, leaning into his back, soaking up his warmth. He turned around to face me, and the look he gave me set a whole raft of butterflies dancing in my stomach.

“I don’t want to go,” I told him, running a hand through his blond curls, so beautifully messy this morning. I didn’t ever want to leave again, I just wanted to stay in this apartment with him and shut out the world.

“I don’t want you to go either.” He smiled softly and pressed his forehead to mine. “I’m hoping you’ll come back, though.”

“As soon as I can,” I promised, and went to give him a kiss. Just a quick one, but he held me close, letting the kiss linger until he seemed to check himself and released me again.