Read Online Married by Monday (Weekday Brides) by Catherine Bybee - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Catherine Bybee
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Carter painted an ugly picture, but I’m good.”
“ The police don’t escort you away for a private chat if everything is good. Carter is freaked out, and he and Blake are on overdrive trying to figure out what’s happening. You can save us all the trouble by talking.”
Eliza leaned against the wall in the hallway and toed off her heels. How was she going to avoid this? She’d managed to keep her past buried for years. Maybe she could buy some time and figure out a plan. “Some things shouldn’t be talked about on the phone. I’m sure you understand that.”
Samantha hadn’t always lived the perfect life. And when she and Blake were dating, his crazy ex bugged the very phone Eliza spoke on to gain information about their relationship.
“ I understand. Do you want to meet for coffee? Come over to the house?”
As much as Eliza would have liked to ignore Jim and Dean’s warnings, she couldn’t. How much could she tell Samantha? And how wise was it to have Gwen stay with her?
And how soon would Carter be pounding on her door for answers?
“ I need a day or two. And before you say it, I know I can trust you. I just need a little time.”
Samantha blew out a sigh over the phone. “Okay. Promise me you’ll call or come here if you need anything.”
“ You know I will.”
After hanging up, Eliza ran upstairs and changed into two outfits, one hidden under another, and then quickly locked up her house before getting in her car.
Two cars followed her. Joe stayed close, not caring that she saw him, but Jim followed a few cars back.
Within ten minutes, she was in a packed mall parking lot and out of her car.
The crowded mall would have made ditching one person following her easy. Three would take some effort.
Dean weaved in and out of people, easily seen because of the size of his waist. Joe was talking into a cell phone, probably to Carter.
Keeping her sunglasses on, Eliza found the movie theater inside the mall and noted the movie times. The latest young adult vampire movie was about to let out. “Perfect,” she whispered to herself.
At the ticket booth, she smiled at the twenty-something attendant and bought a seat for the latest chick-flick. “One for Ten Million Dollar Bride please.”
Ten bucks later, Eliza was slipping into the crowd. She diverted to the ladies room but not before noting Joe buying a ticket.
Inside a stall, she shimmied out of her loose knit pants and black shirt and tucked them into her oversize purse. Her barely-there shorts fit the teenage style and the shoestring top should have been illegal to wear. She pulled her hair through a trendy black hat with a sparkly cross embellished over the brim. As she was applying gloss to her lips, a slew of giggling teenage girls crowded into the bathroom.
“ Oh, my God that was the best one yet,” one of the girls squealed as the others oohed and awed over the latest teen heartthrob.
One of the girls noticed Eliza standing there and let a toothy grin brighten her face. After a few seconds of chatty teenage noise, Eliza glanced at the obvious popular girl of the group and said, “Love that shirt. Where did you get it?”
The tiny blonde lifted her chin and smiled. “Forever Teen,” she said. “Cute hat.”
Using the desire to impress an older hip girl to her advantage, Eliza complimented the girl’s taste and in a weird way managed to gain her trust. The girls moved like a small mob from the bathroom while others shoved in. Eliza slid her glasses on and melted into their group, chatting as she went about a movie she’d not seen. Thank God the trailers of the film had dominated the movie ads for weeks.
In the small gaggle of teens, Eliza snuck out of the movie theater, right past a clueless Joe. Dean stood outside the door of the theater, but didn’t see her slip by.
“ Do you go to Valley High,” one of the girls asked her.
Do I look that young?
“ UCLA, actually,” Eliza lied.
“ Cool.”
A city bus was pulling up
“ The police don’t escort you away for a private chat if everything is good. Carter is freaked out, and he and Blake are on overdrive trying to figure out what’s happening. You can save us all the trouble by talking.”
Eliza leaned against the wall in the hallway and toed off her heels. How was she going to avoid this? She’d managed to keep her past buried for years. Maybe she could buy some time and figure out a plan. “Some things shouldn’t be talked about on the phone. I’m sure you understand that.”
Samantha hadn’t always lived the perfect life. And when she and Blake were dating, his crazy ex bugged the very phone Eliza spoke on to gain information about their relationship.
“ I understand. Do you want to meet for coffee? Come over to the house?”
As much as Eliza would have liked to ignore Jim and Dean’s warnings, she couldn’t. How much could she tell Samantha? And how wise was it to have Gwen stay with her?
And how soon would Carter be pounding on her door for answers?
“ I need a day or two. And before you say it, I know I can trust you. I just need a little time.”
Samantha blew out a sigh over the phone. “Okay. Promise me you’ll call or come here if you need anything.”
“ You know I will.”
After hanging up, Eliza ran upstairs and changed into two outfits, one hidden under another, and then quickly locked up her house before getting in her car.
Two cars followed her. Joe stayed close, not caring that she saw him, but Jim followed a few cars back.
Within ten minutes, she was in a packed mall parking lot and out of her car.
The crowded mall would have made ditching one person following her easy. Three would take some effort.
Dean weaved in and out of people, easily seen because of the size of his waist. Joe was talking into a cell phone, probably to Carter.
Keeping her sunglasses on, Eliza found the movie theater inside the mall and noted the movie times. The latest young adult vampire movie was about to let out. “Perfect,” she whispered to herself.
At the ticket booth, she smiled at the twenty-something attendant and bought a seat for the latest chick-flick. “One for Ten Million Dollar Bride please.”
Ten bucks later, Eliza was slipping into the crowd. She diverted to the ladies room but not before noting Joe buying a ticket.
Inside a stall, she shimmied out of her loose knit pants and black shirt and tucked them into her oversize purse. Her barely-there shorts fit the teenage style and the shoestring top should have been illegal to wear. She pulled her hair through a trendy black hat with a sparkly cross embellished over the brim. As she was applying gloss to her lips, a slew of giggling teenage girls crowded into the bathroom.
“ Oh, my God that was the best one yet,” one of the girls squealed as the others oohed and awed over the latest teen heartthrob.
One of the girls noticed Eliza standing there and let a toothy grin brighten her face. After a few seconds of chatty teenage noise, Eliza glanced at the obvious popular girl of the group and said, “Love that shirt. Where did you get it?”
The tiny blonde lifted her chin and smiled. “Forever Teen,” she said. “Cute hat.”
Using the desire to impress an older hip girl to her advantage, Eliza complimented the girl’s taste and in a weird way managed to gain her trust. The girls moved like a small mob from the bathroom while others shoved in. Eliza slid her glasses on and melted into their group, chatting as she went about a movie she’d not seen. Thank God the trailers of the film had dominated the movie ads for weeks.
In the small gaggle of teens, Eliza snuck out of the movie theater, right past a clueless Joe. Dean stood outside the door of the theater, but didn’t see her slip by.
“ Do you go to Valley High,” one of the girls asked her.
Do I look that young?
“ UCLA, actually,” Eliza lied.
“ Cool.”
A city bus was pulling up
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