Coming Home (Vista Falls #4)
Page 20
“I’m willing to give you all that I have. Right here, in this moment. I’m willing to take those vows on our wedding day and make those promises to you, but I need you to do the same.” She leaned in and kissed him. “Think about it, Zeke. Think about those vows and what those words really mean.”
“I am thinking about it.”
“And?”
“In sickness and health, for richer or poorer?” He smirked. “Easiest promise I’ve ever made. I’d never leave you when you needed me. Not for anything.”
“What about loving me, being faithful only to me for as long as we live? That’s a hell of a long time. Especially for a man who enjoys the company of women as much as you do.” She was trying to make light of it, but the thought of Zeke cheating on her made her feel physically sick. If it actually happened, it would shatter her world.
“There’s no one else for me.” He whispered it with such intensity she had no choice but to believe him.
Still, she felt uneasy. “I’m not going to lie—going into this marriage with the feeling that you’re keeping something from me… it scares me. We have to trust each other, to be honest, and—”
“Do you honestly believe every couple has stripped bare and revealed all of their dirty little secrets to their partner? Every stupid, terrible, embarrassing thing they ever did?”
“No, I guess not,” she said, and that made her feel marginally better.
“If we know each other now, right here, in this moment. If we know what’s in each other’s minds and hearts and vow to be honest about everything moving forward, isn’t that enough?”
She wanted it to be enough. She needed to believe in him and in them as much as he seemed to. “It is.”
She smiled against his lips when he kissed her. It has to be.
Chapter Nineteen
Zeke was still wrestling with his conscience the day before their guests arrived. Ever since their talk, Juliette had seemed happy. They’d made love as though they had put all their troubles behind them, but he knew better. His future father-in-law represented a ticking time bomb, and he was on pins and needles, wondering when Carl would detonate and blow Zeke’s world apart.
Juliette was at the seamstress’s, tending to last-minute dress alterations, when he picked up the phone to call his best friend.
Branson answered on the first ring. “Hey, dude. You and that sexy fiancée of yours finally come up for air?”
Zeke smirked. His friend’s assessment of the situation wasn’t far from the truth. They hadn’t been able to get enough of each other the past few days. “Something like that.”
“So she’s obviously okay with everything that went down with your brother.”
“Uh, I haven’t told her yet.”
“What? What the hell are you waiting for?”
“I’m waiting ‘til after the wedding.” He knew it was a shitty thing to do, but he didn’t feel like he had a choice. He couldn’t risk her bailing on him before the wedding. At least if they were married, she’d have more of an incentive to stay and work it out, no matter how angry she was with him for keeping her in the dark.
“Are you crazy? You can’t do that!”
“Why not?”
“Because she’ll hate you if you do that.”
“Why?” Branson was probably right, but Zeke would have rather lived in denial than admit as much to him. “Why will she hate me? She’ll probably be relieved to find out the truth.”
“Yeah, and then she’ll be pissed you didn’t trust her enough to tell her. I know. Her old man knows, for Christ’s sake, yet you didn’t tell her? Come on, you know that’s not right.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to tell her. I do. But this isn’t the time. We’re planning our wedding, man. This is supposed to be the happiest time in a woman’s life. I can’t lay all this on her now. Trust me, it’ll be better when we get back from our honeymoon and things settle down. I’ll just sit her down and tell her the whole story.”
“And you honestly think she won’t lose it?”
“She might,” Zeke conceded. But by then, she’d be his wife. They’d be living in the same house, sharing the same bed. She’d have nowhere to run and hide. Except for her office. Or the house she intended to keep for her mother until Adriana moved into her condo. “But we’ll work it out.”
“Look, I never claimed to be an expert on women, but I do know one thing: they don’t like to get mixed up with guys who lie to them or withhold the truth or whatever the hell you want to call it. Think about it. Would you be able to trust her if you found out she was keeping something this big from you?”
“Depends on her reasons for keeping it from me, I guess.”
“You are such a liar. I know you. How many times in your life have you forgiven someone who’s betrayed you?” He waited for a moment. “Can’t think of a single time? Neither can I. I’ve watched you cut people out of your life for a hell of a lot less.”
He wished he’d never called Branson. He was only making him feel worse—by forcing him to face reality. “What the hell do you want me to do? Her family and friends are flying out here tomorrow. If this thing blows up in my face and she calls off the wedding—”
“That’s what you’re really afraid of, isn’t it? That she won’t want to marry you once she finds out you lied to her.”
“Can you blame me?” he asked, disgusted with himself for letting this thing spiral so far out of control. He should have told her on day one… before he fell in love her.
“I get that you’re scared,” Branson said, lowering his voice. “I would be too in your position. But, buddy, you gotta do this. Like now.”
***
Juliette was at the airport, meeting her crew, while Zeke had to wait at home for the wedding planner he’d hired. She’d wanted to go over a few last-minute details with him.
Juliette could scarcely believe they were getting married tomorrow. Before she could revel in the excitement too long, her father’s grim face came into view just ahead of the others. What the hell was he doing here?
Before she could ask, her mother rushed forward and pulled her aside. “Please don’t hate me for bringing him along. He heard you were getting married, and he showed up on your doorstep yesterday morning, pleading with me to let him come. He said you were his only child and he’d never be able to live with it if he missed your wedding.”
“Why didn’t he call to ask me if it was all right that he came instead of going to you?”
“I’m sure he thought you wouldn’t agree. But, honey, he is still your father. Doesn’t he deserve to be at your wedding?”
It wasn’t that Juliette didn’t want her father at her wedding, but she had to put her future husband’s feelings first. “Have you forgotten that he made Zeke’s life a living hell? How do you think he’s going to feel about this?”
“Your father told me Zeke called him,” she said, frowning. “He said they’d cleared the air. Zeke didn’t tell you about that?”
“No,” she said, certain her father had lied to get what he wanted. “But now that he’s here, I guess I have to deal with him.” She looked at her friends, who were waiting for their luggage while giving her a few minutes alone with her mother. “Since there’s no way we’ll fit everyone in Zeke’s SUV, do you think you could grab a couple of cabs for yourself and everyone else? I’d like to speak to Dad in private before we get back to the house.”
“Of course, sweetie,” her mother said, patting her shoulder. “Everything’s going to be just fine. Don’t you worry about a thing. I’ve known your father a long time, and I can tell when he’s being sincere. He didn’t come here to start any trouble.”
“I hope you’re right,” she muttered, watching him approach.
“I believe this is yours,” he said to his wife, dropping a black suitcase with a pink tag at her feet.
“It is, thank you,” she said, engaging the handle. “Well, I’ll let you two get going.”
“Excuse m
e,” Juliette said to her father. “I need to have a word with my friends.” As soon as she was certain everyone had a ride back to Zeke’s, along with the address, she returned to her father. “You can ride with me. I thought we should talk about what you’re really doing here.”
He raised an eyebrow but said nothing as he followed her to the parking lot.
She navigated the big vehicle out into the steady stream of LAX traffic before she said, “Okay, so what’s going on? I know you don’t approve of my relationship with Zeke, so I can’t imagine you’re here to wish us well.”
“After my talk with him—”
“You didn’t talk to him.” She took a deep breath. “If you had, he would have told me.”
He stared out the window. “I don’t know why he didn’t tell you. You’d have to ask him, but I can assure we did talk. If we hadn’t, how else would I know what really happened to his brother?”
“What are you talking about?”
He gave her a sidelong glance as though he was trying to figure out whether she was testing him. “Don’t tell me you don’t know. How could he keep something like that from the woman he supposedly loves?” He wiped his brow with his palm. “I wish I could say I was surprised, but I’m not. He may not have killed his brother, but I still think he’s sneaky. Anyone who could pull off a ruse like that must be a skilled liar.”
“He didn’t kill his brother?” She could barely breathe. Was that the secret he’d been keeping from her? But why? “He told you that?”
“Yeah. Naturally I didn’t believe him, so I went to the county coroner. He’s retired now but an old friend of mine, so he told me what he could remember. He said the single gunshot wound was consistent with suicide, not an accidental shooting. But since Zeke was the only one there and he was taking responsibility for the crime, the coroner’s argument was overruled.”
“I don’t believe this,” she said, her stomach roiling in protest. “How could he not tell me this?”
“I told you, Juliette. He’s a skilled liar. If he could lie to you about this, he could lie about anything.” He folded his arms. “I’m telling you he can’t be trusted. Better you find out now, before it’s too late.”
But it was too late for her. She was already in love with the man.
***
Zeke was stunned when Juliette returned to the house with her father. He could tell from her demeanor that she knew. She wouldn’t kiss him when he reached out to her and could barely look at him.
“We need to talk,” she snapped. “But first we need to wait for the others to arrive. Let’s get them settled in then see if we can find a few minutes alone.”
“Uh, sure.”
Her father barely looked at him when they shook hands, and he seemed eager to retire to his room to rest. Shortly thereafter, Juliette’s mother arrived, explaining that the others had stopped to grab In-N-Out.
“I’m sorry about this, Zeke,” Juliette’s mother said while Juliette waited outside for the rest of her guests to get out of the cars. “I’m sure you weren’t expecting any uninvited guests. But when Carl showed up on Juliette’s doorstep and begged to come to his daughter’s wedding, I just couldn’t say no.” She looked worriedly out the window at her daughter pacing the driveway. “In hindsight, I realize I should have called to check with her first, but when Carl told me you and he had buried the hatchet, I thought his visit might actually be a welcome surprise.”
Carl had buried the hatchet all right—right in Zeke’s back. Not that he could place all the blame on the other man. If he’d come clean with his fiancée right after his conversation with Carl, none of this would be happening. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”
“So Carl lied to me?” she asked, pursing her lips. “You and he didn’t make amends at all, did you?”
“We talked. I stated my case, but he seemed reluctant to believe me. Honestly, I’m not sure how he feels now.” Nor did he care. The only thing he could think about was Juliette’s reaction to the news he wasn’t a killer. Just a liar.
The next few minutes passed in flurry of activity as Zeke greeted Juliette’s friends and accepted their congratulations on the upcoming nuptials. They all seemed happy for them, but Zeke knew firsthand how easy it was to pretend everything was fine when it wasn’t.
As soon as Juliette had shown everyone to their rooms to get settled in, she returned to the foyer where Zeke was still rooted to the spot. “Can we go outside to talk? I’d rather not have an audience for this.”
“Lead the way,” he said, gesturing to the French door in the kitchen leading to the backyard.
Outside, she leaned against the patio railing facing the water, the ocean breeze rustling her hair. “Is it true? The story you told my father about your brother’s death?”
He could tell she was trying to hold back tears, but they free-fell as soon as he said, “Yes.”
“How could you?” she cried, whirling on him. “How could you tell a man you despised yet not tell the woman you supposedly love?”
“Please don’t question how much I love you.” He stepped toward her, but when she recoiled at the threat of his touch, he let his hands fall to his sides. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you first. Obviously I should have. But there’s no way I would have told him if I hadn’t planned to tell you.”
“When?” She glared at him. “When did you plan to tell me? After we were married?” She must have seen his guilt on his face because she stumbled back. “Oh my God! I don’t believe this. That’s exactly what you intended, isn’t it? Why? So you could have some assurance that I’d stay with you even if I couldn’t trust you?”
“Sweetheart, please. You can trust me.” He felt desperate, but he had no idea what to say or do to make her feel better about what he’d done. He was an idiot, plain and simple. And there was no way he could justify it.
“How?” She angrily swiped at the tears coating her cheeks. “How the hell am I supposed to trust you? You’ve been lying to me ever since we met.”
“I know, but with good reason.” That sounded stupid even to him.
“You had a good reason for lying to me?” she asked, sounding incredulous. “This I gotta hear.”
“I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me.” He scraped his hands over his face. “I thought you’d think I was just trying to excuse what I did, and I didn’t want it to come between us.” He gripped his chest. “I wanted you to get to know me. The real me. I figured once you knew me, the kind of man I really am, you’d understand that I did what I had to do to protect my family.”
“What does your family have to do with this?”
Clearly her father hadn’t told her the whole story. “It would have killed my parents if they’d found out my brother took his own life. They would have spent the rest of their lives blaming themselves, wondering what they’d done to contribute to it or what they could have done to prevent it.”
“So you think losing both sons at the same time was easy for them?”
“Easier than the alternative, I thought.” He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I was wrong. I was just a dumb kid doing the best he could in an impossible situation.”
“But you’re not a kid now,” she said, her expression still filled with anguish. “You’re a grown man, and you know the difference between right and wrong. And I don’t care what you say. You can’t possibly justify lying to me about something this important.”
“You’re right,” he said, wishing he could hold her and find some way to make her feel better. “There’s no excuse for what I did, no excuse for lying to you. But honestly, I feel like I was falling in love with you from the first night we were together. It all happened so fast.”
“It did,” she said slowly, looking as if she was considering his words. “Too fast, maybe.”
He’d sensed this was coming, but it didn’t make it hurt any less. “What are you saying?”
“I need time to process all of this, figure out what it means for us.”
“I can’t.” She shook her head violently, stepping back. “I can’t do this here, with you. I can’t think about a wedding or a future with you until I work through my feelings.”
He didn’t blame her for needing a break from him, but he felt as though he was living his worst nightmare. He’d kept the truth from her because he didn’t want to lose her. Yet he was losing her anyway… and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.
Chapter Twenty
Juliette had barely left her house in a week. She was supposed to be on her honeymoon, planning her future with the man she loved, not moping around the house and trying to evade her mother’s attempts to feed her. She loved her mother, but she’d be glad to have her house to herself again so she could brood in peace.
When the doorbell rang, she pulled the blanket over her head and burrowed deeper into the couch. She hoped it was a delivery person, not another well-meaning friend checking in on her. She had another week off work and planned to spend it the same way she’d spent the last week. Hiding. Being miserable. Thinking. Brooding. Wondering if she’d made a huge mistake walking away from the man who loved her.
“You have company,” her mother said, frowning when she saw Juliette’s head peek out from under the blanket.
“I can’t see anyone like this,” she hissed, thinking about her oversized sweats, bleary eyes, and matted hair. “Just take a message.”
“I’ve come too far to deliver a message through your mother.” Zeke’s sad half smile said it all. “You look the way I feel.”
She glared at her mother for failing to warn her Zeke was her visitor. So much for family loyalty. “Gee, thanks, Mom.” She sat up, running a hand through her hair, though it was pointless to try to restore order. Not even a brush could have done that. “What are you doing here?”