Contents
BELIEVING HER
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
STAY IN TOUCH
SNEAK PEEKS
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 by Love Lust Publishing. All rights reserved.
In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.
Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Believing Her
“I need your help.”
Not words I’d anticipated to hear from my best friend's widow.
I’d known Samantha for years, hadn’t trusted her during any part of that time.
The gold digging b*tch.
But now she’s being transformed before my very eyes.
Almost five years’ worth of memories swirling around.
Disbelief. Uncertainty. Bewilderment.
And it’s damn irritating…
I pride myself on my ability to be a good judge of character.
After all, it’s a requirement in my line of work.
But Samantha’s called everything into question.
Can I believe her?
Can I trust my own memories?
Can I protect her son from being taken away from her?
That’s what she’s asking for…
My help to protect her son.
To protect them both.
***Believing Her is stand-alone read with no cheating, no cliffhangers, plenty of steam, and a guaranteed HEA.***
Chapter 1
Josh
“I need your help.”
Josh Lewis stared at the woman seated opposite him. He’d known her for years, hadn’t trusted her during any part of that time. She knew that, which was why the words had to stick in her craw. Not that she looked in any way pained. If anything, she was as serene as goddamn always.
That serenity had always pissed him off.
He wasn’t sure why, but she’d always gotten under his skin, and as a result, he’d made it his mission to piss her off as often as he could. Just as, he felt sure, she did with him.
Tapping his fingers against the polished mahogany surface of his desk, he murmured, “You must be desperate if you’re coming to me.” He didn’t make it a question, more of a statement.
Her lips tightened with irritation, but then Samantha Garrett, his best friend’s widow, was usually irritated in his presence. It was standard in their interactions with one another.
“As always, you managed to get to the heart of the matter, Josh, with little concern for politeness.”
He raised a brow. “You’re the one looking to me for help. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t need to be polite. Not now Jamie’s dead.”
Despite himself, and though he believed Samantha was a gold digger, he couldn’t deny that the sorrow that washed over her features appeared genuine.
“Why do you try to hurt me?” she asked softly.
Her eyes closed almost of their own volition, then she turned her head away, shielding her expression from him. Through the tight clenching of the lids, he saw pressed together, and found himself stunned at the sight of her tears.
There was something about Samantha that had always acted like a burr under a saddle. He liked to think of her as being tough as nails, but since Jamie’s death he’d seen other sides of her, sides he didn’t like to contemplate because they challenged his view of her.
Quite frankly, that was something he couldn’t afford.
“You know why, Samantha, because I don’t like you,” he told her silkily. Though he was surprised by her tears, he didn’t particularly feel remorse. Not because he was a bastard, and not because he got off on making her suffer, but it was simply that she was to blame for Jamie’s death.
His best friend was no longer around because he’d made the mistake of marrying the black widow sitting opposite Josh.
She lifted a hand and used her pointer finger and thumb to wipe away her tears. As she did, he noticed her nails weren’t polished or even manicured. If anything, they were gnawed down. Bitten to the quick almost.
Nerves?
As Jamie’s widow, he didn’t really see any reason for her to be anxious. His best friend had been wealthy; well, wealthy was an understatement.
Jamie would have left her well provided for.
But even as the thought crossed his mind, he took into account her skirt suit, and though he wasn’t exactly interested in women’s fashion, he knew he’d seen the outfit before. Several times, in fact. Over a handful of years which meant it was old-fashioned now… Something that he would’ve believed was abhorrent to a woman like Samantha. A woman who was out for all that she could get, and who had achieved that when Jamie had died prematurely.
“I had nothing to do with Jamie’s death.” She tightened her fingers around the purse on her lap. Spearing him with a glance, she hissed, “Why won’t you believe that?”
“Jamie almost killed himself trying to make sure you had everything you wanted. He worked himself to death for you. Because you were greedy. Because you wanted more.”
His nostrils flared, and he could feel his blood pressure start to rise.
He hated that she got to him this way. That she could press all his buttons and fire up his temper.
Rifling through a draw in the side of his chrome and glass desk, he found the metallic silly putty that was his version of a stress ball. Grateful the glass was frosted, he manipulated the dough-like gloop with his fingers, and sought a calm he wasn’t feeling.
Apparently, she felt the same way. She gritted her teeth a second then, like she couldn’t contain herself, blurted out, “That’s bullshit.”
“Is it? Is it really?” He shook his head as his fingers clenched down on the putty. “I don’t think so.”
Her lips pursed as she bitterly spat, “He did it for himself. It was nothing to do with me. Nothing to do with Erin either.”
“Now that is bullshit. Jamie told me how important it was he went to Melbourne college.”
“Yes, because his parents wanted that. Not me. I just want Erin to be safe, and in a school where he’d be among his peers with high-security so he’d never be in danger from the crazies. Nothing more, nothing less. I don’t think that’s for a lot to ask for my only child,” she snarled.
Deciding they were getting nowhere, Josh folded his arms across his chest and rocked back in his chair. “We digress,” he said softly, squeezing hard on the putty. “What help do you need from me?”
She sighed, shook her head. “I shouldn’t have come here,” she said, mostly to herself he figured.
As she made to stand, he leaned forward. It was a dick move, considering he’d made it h
ard on her to ask him, but he murmured, “What is it, Samantha?”
“You only want to know so you can hold it against me. Or even worse blame me for something else that isn’t my fault.” She huffed out a laugh. “In fact, I was crazy to even think you’d want to help. The last thing you want is for Erin to be with me. You probably think he’d be better off with Jamie’s parents, even though they sure as hell messed up where he was concerned.” She tightened her lips, standing fully upright. “I’ll be on my way. I’m sorry I disturbed you.”
He scowled at her, his spine stiffening as he figured out what she was talking about. “What the hell… Frank and Janice want custody?”
She stared down at him, terror flooding her, making her delicate features freeze in a rictus that pained him, giving him an answer even in her silence.
For all that he didn’t like the woman, for all that he believed Jamie had worked himself to death because of her, he truly thought Samantha was a good mother. Having had a terrible one himself, he recognized the signs of a decent parent.
Sighing, he gently prodded, “Tell me, Samantha. You obviously thought I could help you.”
“Only because I have no idea where else to go, and I figured as much as a dick you are, you’d want the best for Jamie’s son,” she snapped. “I must have been insane thinking…” She blew out a breath, lifted a hand and rubbed her forehead. “I need to get out of here before I lose it. You always do this. Always. When will I learn?”
He blinked. What the hell was she talking about?
Josh watched as she shook her head, almost as though she were having an inner conversation that was irritating her. Then, she didn’t disappear as she’d threatened, instead pinned him with a gimlet stare. “Do you think Frank and Janice were good parents?”
The question surprised him, but he was honest enough to admit, “No.”
“Why not?”
Unease filtered through him. Janice and his mother, Elizabeth, were best friends. And anyone in Elizabeth’s circle, he didn’t trust.
Somewhat clinically, he explained, “Well, Janice drinks too much, and Frank is a workaholic. He also has a pretty bad gambling addiction.” Not that that manifested itself normally. Multimillionaires didn’t usually worry about petty bets, after all. Frank played the stock market like a fiend. Dropping millions like whores dropped their panties.
She seemed to appreciate his honesty, because she whispered, “You loved Jamie, didn’t you? That’s why you’re always so mean to me. Because you love him, and you think I was using him.”
“Yes,” he said gruffly, his hands once more tightening around the putty. The death grip made his knuckles ache. “I loved Jamie. Like a brother.”
“So, knowing what you do of his parents, do you want his son to be raised by them?”
He studied her, not too surprised by her words having surmised that was the situation, but still shocked that Frank and Janice wanted custody.
Just like Elizabeth had with him, they’d palmed Jamie off on a nanny from birth to adolescence. Why they’d want a four-year-old, Josh didn’t know.
But then, they could just do the same. Shove Erin with a nanny. Take him away from the one person who actually gave a damn, his mother.
“I think you need to start from the beginning, Samantha.” He dropped the putty, placed both sets of his fingers against the desk once more, and in a conciliatory tone, said, ”Take a seat and tell me what’s happening.”
Chapter 2
Samantha
The urge to unburden her soul, to reveal all the nasty details of what she was embroiled in with Frank and Janice, was enormous. But she’d be a fool to trust this man. Joshua Lewis, Jamie’s best friend had never liked her. She’d never understood why, not while Jamie was alive anyway. After his death, she’d learned things she wished she could forget.
It was almost laughable to think that she had had any control over Jamie. Josh seemed to believe that she forced him to work all hours godsent, that she’d been the reason for his heart attack. But she’d had about as much control over him as a drunk driver did over their vehicle.
Jamie had been destined to crash and burn long before he met her.
Though that belief soothed her, it was more like a silent prod. A reminder. Jamie’s death had liberated her from the prison that was her marriage. Yet, the only good thing Jamie had done with his life, the only good thing that had come from their miserable matrimony, his parents were trying to steal from her.
She wasn’t about to let that happen, not even if it meant dealing with this bastard here.
“You want coffee?”
Surprised by Josh’s sudden politeness, she frowned. “Why? Will you dose it with arsenic?”
His nostrils flared with irritation again. She spied the irritated gesture, but refused to wince.
Samantha could quickly manage to ascertain if someone in the vicinity was angry, was getting aggressive. She’d seen the signs, had come to recognize them over time. Back when her father had beaten on her mother, and then, though she’d vowed never to be in the same position as her mom, when Jamie had begun hitting her, she felt sure her experience with abuse had saved her life more than once.
Well, until his drug use had grown out of control.
Then, Jamie’s mercurial moods had led to his fists connecting with some unfortunate part of her body with little to no warning.
Unlike his best friend, however, Josh wasn’t volatile. In fact, he was anything but. He was cool, calm. Far too collected, because she truly believed that in any given situation, there should only be one control freak in a room. Considering she labeled herself as one, it was no wonder being around Josh, regardless of his opinion on her, was always disconcerting.
If Jamie was a tidal wave, Josh was a calm expanse of ocean. Fitting, considering the cerulean blue of his eyes. She’d always been wary of him. He was too handsome for her own good, any woman’s own good, and as a result, Samantha avoided him. The last thing she’d wanted back in the day was to anger Jamie, and even innocent flirting with his best friend would have been enough to…
Well, she didn’t have to think about that now.
She was safe.
Safe to look at the man opposite her, a man who loathed her, but she could still check him out.
His hair was like black silk, and despite herself, her fingers had always longed to feel the crispness through her fingers. His olive skin gleamed with vitality, contrasting beautifully with his gemlike eyes. His nose was Roman, his forehead strong with golden brown brows that perfectly framed his features. His mouth was mobile, the lips somewhat delicate in his utterly masculine face. In his expensive suit, and with a silver gleam to the thread, and a light blue linen shirt, his coloring was perfectly offset. The suit, tailored to his body, showcased his strength, as well as his leanness.
What if she had met Josh that night instead of Jamie? If he’d been the one to…
Shaking off the thought, and suddenly desperately in need of coffee, she whispered “Yes, I really would like some coffee.”
He nodded, unconcerned by her abrupt about-face, and he pressed a button. The white noise of the intercom sounded, and he murmured, “Jane, can you bring some coffee in, please?”
“Of course, sir.”
He clicked off, then bridging his hands in front of him, murmured simply, “Explain.”
Where to start? The beginning was buried deep in the roots of her marriage, and most of what she had to say he wouldn’t believe. Like everyone who knew her husband, he thought Jamie was perfect. The golden boy. The image Jamie had worked so hard to maintain over the years.
In death, that image had further been immortalized. And she knew he would love that. Even from his place in hell, the licking flames scorching his feet, he’d be looking up, laughing with glee. His memory was absolute. Changing it was something she simply couldn’t do. Even if the truth of her situation rested within that sorry tale.
She blew out a breath, and wished it was as e
asy as ABC. But nothing had ever been that simple for her. A quick fling with the golden boy had resulted in a pregnancy. She’d lost her virginity to Jamie, and had been gifted with a child. She’d never asked him to marry her, but he’d insisted, and relieved not to be doing the parenting thing alone, she’d agreed. By then it was too late.
It was always too late.
She’d been ensnared in his trap, and the rest had been a particularly nasty history.
“Erin recently visited Frank and Janice. He doesn’t often because usually, I make arrangements and they cancel them.” And wasn’t that the truth. For every ten get-togethers she arranged so that his grandparents could get to know their grandson, they managed to make it to two. “Erin said something,” she whispered hesitantly. “Something that he doesn’t particularly understand what it means, but he said it nonetheless.” She fell silent, unsure of how to carry on.
“Like, ‘out of the mouths of babes’?”
Her smile was tight. “Yes, exactly like that.” She gulped. “When they realized what he meant, they weren’t happy with it. They demanded to see me and told me that they were going to fight me for custody because I was obviously besmirching Jamie’s name in Erin’s eyes.”
Josh scowled. “They’re going to fight you for custody over something a four-year-old said?” he asked, obviously seeking clarity from her words.
Samantha’s laugh was bitter. “Yes. Ridiculous, isn’t it?
“Ridiculous isn’t the word. Especially considering Janice is hardly maternal.” His scowl deepened, turned darker. “What the hell did he say?”
She swallowed, and suddenly her tongue felt very thick. “If I tell you, you won’t believe me.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “What Erin said, it’s the truth? You said he didn’t particularly understand what he meant. But it’s no lie?”
“No, he doesn’t understand it, but it’s the truth.” She wondered if she sounded as dogged as she thought she had. “You won’t like it,” she warned.
Believing Her: An Enemies to Lovers Fake Fiancé Romance Page 1