Where Truth Lies (Love vs. Loyalty Book 2)

by Nia Arthurs

  Trenton had deeply regretted his retreat as soon as he’d acted on it, but in that moment, with Breana leaning so deeply towards him, he’d felt the wide breadth of her innocence, of her sweetly trusting soul, and he couldn’t do it.

  He couldn’t use her to satiate his own desires without any phrases of commitment or love.

  They’d have plenty of time to explore that side of their relationship, and Trenton had no doubts that it would be well worth the wait whenever it arrived, but for now, he wanted to get to know his wife without the haze that came with sex.

  “Sure,” he said and stepped aside to give her the knife. “Could you cut these up for me?”

  Breana nodded and focused on chopping the vegetables. The huge chunks left in the wake of her vegetable massacre left much to be desired, and Trenton returned to her side to still her wrists before she cut herself.

  “Bree, that’s not how you cut vegetables.”

  “It isn’t?” she asked, her eyes wide and the shock in her voice sincere.

  “No.” He gently took the knife from her and demonstrated. “Didn’t your mother teach you not to hold the knife toward yourself?”

  Breana’s eyes dipped in shame, and she wiped her hands against her jeans. The words registered a second too late, and Trenton wished he could take them back. Straining to return the light mood, he handed the knife back to her.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Here,” Trenton said, closing her fingers around the wooden handle. Stepping back, he hugged her from behind and positioned his hands around her wrists. “Do it like this.”

  The brush of his lips against her neck came naturally to him, and Trenton sensed that he’d just kissed all warm showers good-bye—at least while he chose to be faithful to and wait for Breana.

  Releasing his wife to keep physical contact—and the torture that came with not pursuing it further—to a minimum, he walked to the other side of the kitchen and dealt with the ground meat.

  Together, Breana and Trenton created a meal that was not only edible, but tasty. They sat around the table, toasting to their success.

  “It’s good,” Breana grudgingly admitted.

  “What did I say?”

  “See, this is why I didn’t want to compliment you. Your head just got bigger.”

  “I have a perfect head. Everyone says so.”

  “You’ve been lied to all your life.”

  “Ouch,” he winced.

  “Completely random topic here, but how is your mom? I haven’t spoken to her since we came back.”

  “She’s okay,” Trenton said, recalling his latest conversation with her. “She’s tired. The chemo is grueling.”

  “I hope she gets better soon.”

  “Me too,” Trenton mused. “But there’s something else. I don’t know what it is. She seems… heavier somehow. I wish I knew what was going on.”

  “Well, maybe we can fly over there and pay her another visit. She can hide things over a video call that she can’t face-to-face.”

  Trenton’s heart sped up and the thump threatened to drown out every other sound in the room. Breana blinked quizzically at him, but he could no more control his reaction than drag the sun from the sky.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “Nothing,” he said, straining to appear casual. “It’s just you said ‘we’.”

  “Yeah… we should. I’m your wife for the next six months remember? It’s what you paid for.”

  The gooey sensation in his chest hardened and shattered to a million pieces. Breana’s reminder that this was all a sham slammed Trenton with the bitter truth. No matter how deeply he fell for his wife, she did not feel the same way.

  He coughed, his appetite gone.

  “I think I’ll head back to work.”

  “Okay,” she said, dismissing him with little feeling. “I’ll clean up down here.”

  Too disappointed to argue with her, Trenton trudged upstairs and sat before his computer. Afternoon waxed into evening and it wasn’t until the room darkened, that he realized he’d gotten very little work done.

  How could he when he had more pressing issues to think about—such as Breana. Especially Breana. Only Breana.

  Trenton was on the fast track to falling in love with his wife, and she was stuck in the gate. He refused to settle for loyalty, and Breana seemed determined to shy away from anything deeper than that.

  He groaned his frustration and lowered his head to the desk. How was he supposed to convince Breana to tear down the walls and trust him? Money didn’t move her. Neither did his connections or his gifts.

  His good looks, his status, and his many, many expensive toys had been enough to line his lawn with women in the past. Trenton never sought anyone out before, having needed only to snap his fingers to procure a date when he needed one.

  Pursuing anyone would be a first, but he figured it wouldn’t be too hard. After all, Breana was already married to him. At least for the next six months, she was stuck.

  With renewed vigor, Trenton galloped down the stairs in search of his wife. Seeing the spotless kitchen, but no woman in sight, he returned up the stairs and knocked on her room door.

  “Bree?”

  “Just a minute!” He heard the patter of her footsteps and then she threw the door open. Trenton spied the evidence of her unpacking in the clothes littering the bed and spilling on the floor.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hi,” she said.

  Trenton stuck his hands into his pockets, wondering when the first-time jitters would leave as he asked his wife on a date.

  “So, it’s Saturday night.”

  “It is,” she said, leaning against the doorknob.

  Trenton swallowed. “I was thinking… we should go out.”

  “Go out?”

  “Yes.”

  “As in together?”

  “Yes.”

  “Like a date?”

  “I guess that’s the term for it.”

  Breana gazed at him. He could see the wheels turning in her head. Found he really enjoyed watching her think. Realized the desire to peel back her mind and see how things worked in there was quickly rising in appeal.

  At last, she nodded. “Okay. Yeah, let’s do it. Where did you want to go?”

  “I thought we could just drive around, maybe buy some ice cream.”

  She arched an eyebrow, a small smile playing on her lips. “You want to drive around and buy ice cream?”

  “What? Is that too lame?”

  “No,” she said, “no, it’s perfect. I just didn’t expect the Trenton Lorde to come up with a date night so laidback.”

  “What? Did you expect me to rent a helicopter and take you bungee jumping?”

  She shrugged.

  He winked and pressed into her personal space. “Next time.”

  Chapter 11

  ₪₪₪₪₪₪

  She, Breana Elizabeth Moore—daughter of ‘Crazy Mary’ and the unidentified half of a one-night stand—was dating (in the words of Melissa) Trenton freaking Lorde. For some reason, the fact that she’d gone out with him was more shocking than their marriage.

  When Trenton had approached her over a month ago (had it only been a month?), he had done so out of desperation—to appease Cady and Holden Barrington, to weasel his way out of an unwanted engagement, and to satisfy his mother.

  At that time, he didn’t really know her. Hadn’t seen her baggage or her scars. Didn’t care to see them either. He’d only looked at her because of their extreme circumstances and made the best of what he had.

  Even their marriage had not been his choice. He’d been tricked into making a legal commitment to her, a decision that she would never force him to honor at the expense of his free will.

  But when Trenton asked her out on Saturday, he did so willingly. Knowing exactly who she was. What she’d been through. How her past had defined and shaped her. And he still wanted to be with her.

  It was an assu
rance that she’d never received from a man before. Not even Denzel had gone to such lengths to accept all of her, even the ugly parts that she tried to keep locked away.

  Trenton Lorde was chipping at the foundations of her mistrust and was building something far more lasting in its place. Breana wanted to help him tear down those walls, and the desire continued to frighten her.

  “Hello! Hello!” A hand waved in front of her eyes, and Breana jumped to see Melissa in her face. “Mrs. Lorde, you’re a million miles away on this beautiful Monday morning. Let me guess. Are you thinking about your boo?”

  Breana shook her head to clear the haze. “Mel, could you stop calling Trenton my boo? It sounds so juvenile.”

  “He’s your boo, though!” She lounged against the desk and picked at the hem of her green shirt. “When are you inviting me over so I can meet Trenton’s sexy friends?”

  “I don’t know, Mel. When we move into the house on Joy Avenue.”

  Melissa gazed up at the ceiling and sighed. “Joy Avenue, the gated community with houses that have pools in the backyard and satellite television. Oh, how you’ve ascended.”

  Breana gave her a side eye. She was only playing along with the move to ease Lorraine’s heart. The woman was going through a tough enough time without seeing her generous gift rejected.

  “When do you think you’ll be ready?”

  “I’m not sure. Trenton and I are really busy.”

  “Busy, huh? I know you, Breana. ‘Busy’ means it’s not getting done any time soon.”

  “That’s right. So you can stop bothering me about it and—”

  Melissa perked up. “You know what? Who cares if it’s a housewarming in an actually new house? You got married and nobody was there to celebrate. That alone deserves a party! In fact, I’ll organize everything myself!”

  “What?”

  Melissa rolled off the desk, her eyes bright. “Don’t worry, Breana. You won’t have to do a thing. Oh, this is so exciting!”

  “Wait! Mel! We should talk about this!”

  “I’ll talk later!” Melissa yelled as she scurried out of the room.

  Breana sighed and pulled at a lock of her hair. Melissa was a wonderful person, but when she flew off the leash, there really was no way to control her. What on earth would she cook up now?

  The answer to that question arrived early Sunday morning—well, early for Breana, who strongly believed that the sun rose at ten on the weekends.

  Someone urgently pounded on her door, disturbing her sleep. She rolled over, groaning for the noise to stop. It didn’t. Instead, Trenton’s voice blasted as if he was right next to her.

  “Bree!” he hissed. “Bree, you have to get up now.”

  “Why?” she croaked, keeping her eyes closed.

  “Because Melissa is here.”

  “What?” Breana shot up and jumped out of bed. Her feet pattered against the floor as she ran to the door and threw it open. Trenton stood on the other side, his eyes wide and his arms gesturing for her to meet him in the hallway.

  “She brought friends,” Trenton said. “Should we lock your room door or try to bring all your stuff into the master?”

  “What are you talking about?” Breana moaned, partly annoyed by Melissa’s infringement of her Sunday and partly annoyed that Trenton hadn’t dealt with the problem on his own.

  “We can’t let them find out that we’re not…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean we need to look like a real couple.”

  “Shoot! You’re right!” Energy sped into Breana’s veins and she bounced on the toes of her feet. “Here’s what we’ll do. You distract her while I put my stuff in your room. Okay?”

  He nodded and rushed down the stairs to let her friend in. Breana returned to her room to gather her stuff when she saw Trenton’s shadow in the doorway. She spun and waved her arms at him.

  “Why are you still up here?”

  He turned his face so that his profile was toward her and pointed at his scruffy cheek.

  “You’re joking. We barely have time right now!”

  Trenton had gotten into the habit of accepting a kiss on the cheek before they went to bed each night. She humored him because he never pushed for more, but this was not the ideal moment for romance.

  “Newlyweds, could you wrap it up!” Melissa bellowed from outside. “It’s so hot my bones are melting out here!”

  “You heard the lady,” Trenton said.

  Breana sighed and rushed him. Standing on her tiptoes, she placed a kiss on his cheek. The familiar grin that accompanied their nightly—and now morning—ritual spread on Trenton’s face.

  “Alright,” he clapped his hands and turned for the door, “let’s get this party started.”

  While Trenton ran downstairs, Breana swiped the dresser holding her hair products into a box and spread the bed. She decided to leave her clothes in the closets and drawers with the thought that she could easily explain away their presence.

  When she was satisfied that all traces of their living in separate rooms had been erased, Breana walked downstairs and greeted her guests.

  “Hey!” Melissa cried and wrapped her arms around Breana’s shoulder. “I was wondering when you’d come down.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Trenton said I could throw a party for you two here.”

  “I said she could invite a few of your friends over if you guys wanted to do something.”

  “Speaking of friends, did you invite yours?”

  “Uh…”

  Melissa frowned. “Don’t tell me you forgot.”

  “I did,” Trenton admitted. “I was really busy this week.”

  “I had a feeling,” Melissa said. “That’s why I got back up.”

  At that moment, the front door opened and Jamison stepped through.

  “Jamison?” Breana and Trenton said as one. “What are you doing here?”

  “Ms. Melissa called me on Tuesday asking that I invite your friends this afternoon and also that I come in to help with the barbeque.” He turned and whipped out a set of prongs from his bag.

  “You did what?” Trenton thundered.

  Melissa grinned sheepishly. “You have an awesome assistant.”

  Breana nudged her friend in the shoulder and hissed. “Jamison isn’t some kind of slave. Why did you ask him to do that?”

  “I didn’t force him. I just asked and he said yes.”

  “Jamison, I’m so sorry,” Trenton said and placed his hand on the man’s shoulder. “If you want to go back home, I won’t say a word.”

  “Are you kidding, sir?” Jamison said, his face bereft of emotion. “I’ve never been invited to a party thrown by this family, and I won’t reject an invitation now.”

  “Oh.” Trenton looked stunned. “Well, stay if you want.”

  Melissa beamed from ear to ear and whispered. “See, it’s all working out.”

  “You and I will discuss this later,” Breana said quietly.

  “Until then,” Melissa pushed her toward the stairs, “go and get ready. People should start coming around noon, and we still have a ton of things to do.”

  Trenton and Breana obediently showered and got dressed. By the time they returned downstairs, the hall was filled with a variety of people dressed in light, cool clothing and wearing brilliant smiles.

  Breana had been nervous about her own ‘friend’ count, as she honestly didn’t consider many people friends. Melissa circumvented that problem by inviting all the women from her office—sans Cady who wouldn’t be returning until Monday.

  Trenton’s friends seemed to mingle well with the women who had come on Breana’s behalf and they all offered their whole-hearted congratulations.

  The hours flew by as she migrated from group to group, accepting well-wishes and hearing about Trenton’s college days from his friends.

  Over everything else, Breana enjoyed watching Trenton relax with the people he cared about.

  Seeing him smile filled her with warmth,
and she could stand watching that grin all day. Unfortunately, as evening turned to night, something dark and foreboding gathered on the horizon, threatening to steal that glow.

  “Look who’s here?” Melissa called, hauling on Breana’s shoulder and pointing to the man in the doorway.

  Breana gasped as Denzel stepped into the living room. His expression was determined and decisive. And the worst part? He was looking directly at… her.

  Chapter 12

  ₪₪₪₪₪₪

  Trenton laughed as Michael Barrow took a swig of his drink and continued his recounting of the idiotic stunts they’d pulled in college. Trenton wasn’t too ashamed to admit that he’d run the gamut of bad ideas when he was younger.

  “You were always getting us into trouble,” Michael laughed.

  “I also warned you guys that my plans were dumb.”

  “Dumb? We almost got arrested! More than once.”

  “Yeah, right,” Trenton said, shaking his head. “Name one.”

  “Our third year at UWI,” Michael shot back.

  “Oh yeah,” Landon Jefferies recalled. “When we snuck into the security room to try and steal the keys to our dorm, we got busted.”

  “And they didn’t even have the keys!” Michael shook his head.

  Trenton grinned. “Let’s look at this realistically. Who’s more at fault here? The guy who came up with the ideas or the punks who followed him?”

  “It’s fifty-fifty,” Michael said. “I’m just glad you settled down because you were one crazy dude. You had a chip on your shoulder the size of Central America.”

  “I was out of order,” Trenton agreed. “Those weren’t my best years.”

  “But they sure were a lot of fun.” Landon brightened. “Remember that time when you and that girl from the Bahamas—”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Michael lifted his palm. “That was the old Trenton Lorde. Let’s not drag insignificant little details into his happy life and mess up the good thing he has going.”

  “And what a good thing he has,” Caleb Velasquez chimed in. “If I had a wife that looked like Breana, I’d settle down like that.” He snapped his fingers.