by Ava Wood
Lies in Love
Ava Wood
Lies in Love
Ava Wood
Copyright © 2014 by Ava Wood
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
The following story contains mature themes, strong language, and sexual situations. It is intended for adult readers.
Cover Art:
Designed by: Woodward Photography
To my mother. Without you I’d be lost.
Prologue
Wrecking Ball
“What is he doing here?” Talia eyed Mason’s white Lexus RX450H in the driveway. He must’ve been setting up some surprise for her for after their rehearsal dinner this evening. She quietly opened the front door and tiptoed through her quaint living room, squeezing between her sofa and recliner on the way to her bedroom. She was giddy knowing she would be spoiling his surprise, but her heart plummeted when she heard labored breathing echoing down the hall. The surrounding walls were painted in a tranquil soft blue, but it did nothing to calm her nerves as she crept to the narrow hallway. At the end, she saw her bedroom door cracked open and two naked bodies moving rapidly on her bed. She stomped down the hall and kicked the door open to see Mason’s sweaty frame jerk to face her.
“Oh shit.” Mason’s body was blocking Talia’s view of the woman he’d just been screwing. His wavy chestnut hair was plastered to his forehead. He ripped the rumpled satin sheet from the bed and wrapped it around his waist, moving just enough for Talia to see blonde curls spilling over her pillow.
“Really, Mason? Like I haven’t seen your pencil dick before? Please.” Talia, with arms crossed, stared Mason down, still waiting to see who the long-legged tramp was in her bed. Mason hastily moved toward her and Brandy’s angular face appeared mortified, just as flush as the rest of her naked body, now fully exposed. Talia turned her attention to her fiancé and screamed, “What the fuck? We’re supposed to be getting married tomorrow, and with my friend, no less.” Her stare turned to Brandy, who was now sobbing on the bed.
“I’m so sorry, Talia. I never meant for this to happen. Mason just said he had to get this out of his system before the wedding. Please don’t be mad at me.” Brandy inched across the bed, her mascara streaking down her bony cheeks.
“Holy shit, Brandy. How stupid do you think I am?” Talia grabbed Brandy’s mini dress from the floor and contemplated ripping it, but instead threw it in Brandy’s face. “Get dressed and get the fuck out.”
“Talia, please forgive me. You’re one of my dearest friends. You and the girls are all I have.”
Talia chuckled. “Not anymore. Go to the shop, tell the girls you quit and you’re leaving town. I don’t care where to, just get the fuck out. I don’t want to see your white trash whore face again.”
“Talia, please.”
“Get out.” Talia raised her arm to backhand Brandy, but the other woman was out the door with her dress clutched in her hand before Talia had the chance.
“Baby, I’m sorry. Please let me explain.” Mason fumbled with the sheet like there was actually something to hide.
“How could you? With Brandy? Why?” Talia’s thoughts were disjointed as she fought tears she refused to shed in front of him. He didn’t deserve them. He betrayed her and, as awful as she felt, she had to know more. “How many others?”
“What?” Mason’s gray eyes enlarged at her question.
“How many other women have there been? Was Brandy the first or should I get tested for some tramp’s STD?” Talia moved around the room, snatching up random items belonging to Mason.
“Baby.” Mason was coddling her. Talia hated being coddled.
“Mason!” she yelled, stopping in her tracks. “How many?”
“There was one other, but just once, and I was careful, okay.” Mason stepped closer to Talia. “I just wanted to get it out of my system before we got married. I swear it will never happen again. I did this for us.” Mason’s arms extended to rub Talia’s shoulders.
“Don’t you dare touch me. You don’t get to touch me ever again.” Talia took the clothes in her hands and launched them at his feet. “I want you to leave.” She took a deep breath and began again. “I want you to leave this house and never come back. I don’t want to see your face ever again. Don’t call me, don’t write me, and don’t bother showing up at the church tomorrow because I won’t be there. The wedding is off.”
“What about all the guests? My entire family flew in this morning. This is going to catch them off-guard. They’re not going to understand.”
Talia rolled her eyes at the sniveling man in front of her. “I don’t care what you tell them. You figure it out. Make them understand. All I care about is you leaving this house now. I’m done.”
“What about my‒‒”
Talia’s voice shrieked, “Get out.”
She watched as Mason grabbed the clothes at her feet. His exposed sculpted body no longer had the power over her that it once did. Attempting a juggling act with his clothes, Mason ran out the door. Seconds later, Talia heard the front door slam. She fell to the floor and the tears she’d been struggling to hold in came flooding out. She didn’t know what to do with herself. What would her friends say when they found out how he humiliated her? And her father would be furious when he realized how much money was flushed down the drain on their farce of a wedding. Why didn’t she see the signs of his infidelity? Surely there were signs pointing to his betrayal.
She picked herself up off of the floor and put a plan in motion. She would have Mason out of her life sooner than he would ever expect. She grabbed her last trash bag from the kitchen and began gathering up all of Mason’s things: his clothes, his shoes, his toiletries. God knows he didn’t add anything else to the house that she had purchased for them as an engagement present. He couldn’t even handle buying replacement trash bags. The man was a lawyer and had contributed nothing to their relationship, including himself. She’d be damned if she wasted her last trash bag on him now.
When the bag was overflowing she walked outside and emptied all of the contents onto the hearty green front lawn and returned inside to gather more of his things and repeat the process. Mason would be sorry he ever met her when everything was said and done.
When the last of Mason’s clothes had been deposited on the front lawn, Talia stepped back inside with the empty trash bag in hand and slid to the floor. The glass of the front door burned her back as tears continued to trickle down her cheeks. She was determined to make a plan to save herself from the embarrassment of Mason’s unfaithfulness.
She decided she would keep his affair with Brandy a secret. She didn’t want anyone’s pity for the sack of shit excuse of a man that Mason was. She didn’t want to feel less than adequate for his indiscretions. She refused to divulge anything that played out today, rumors be damned. She didn’t care what people thought as long as she was rid of him and her dignity stayed intact. No one needed to know the why, just that she was done. She would be the strong one, the woman who left a man that she had no future with. She would be the woman who others envied, beca
use she put herself first and didn’t stay in a relationship out of propriety. And she would never let a man betray her the way Mason did. Not for looks, or money, or power.
As she wiped away the last of her tears, an unseasonal downpour began, drenching the clothes strewn across her yard. Talia thought of all of Mason’s dress shirts being destroyed by the mud and muck, evoking laughter from her lips. She wasn’t sure how, but she’d find a way to get through this. No man would ever hurt her like this again.
Chapter 1
Fighter
Talia hung up the phone and blew a sigh of relief. She was finally rid of the last reminder of Mason left in her life. The house they shared was sold and no longer a constant reminder of the betrayal she felt. She’d suffered for months dwelling on her mother’s reminder that she just wasn’t good enough.
“Maybe if you’d been a little more supportive of Mason, he wouldn’t have turned to other women.”
She’d never be able to forget the disdain in her mother’s voice when she’d called to tell her the wedding had been cancelled. Her mother, the woman who couldn’t tear herself away from her lavish life with her new, loaded husband in California, was the sole person she had confided in and this was the sympathy, or lack thereof, she got. Talia was just thankful that she’d demanded a small wedding and had a limited amount of people to notify about her failed marriage attempt. The embarrassment of telling everyone she cared about was enough to drive her into seclusion for months if it weren’t for the fact that she had a flower shop to run.
Sick of dwelling on what happened more than six months prior, she spun to return to work and found her younger sister, Sara, staring at her.
“Everything okay?”
Talia hated the way Sara hovered since her breakup with Mason. She wondered if Sara would ever come to terms with how abruptly their relationship ended. Talia knew for certain that Sara didn’t buy the sole excuse that she and Mason would never work. Talia wouldn’t tell anyone else how inadequate she felt after his indiscretion, especially after her mother’s accusation. Sara had been there for so much of the relationship that Talia just couldn’t tell her the truth. Not after Sara felt she knew Mason as well as her. But neither of them knew the real Mason. Deep down, she wondered if anyone ever did. Talia nodded in answer and began to walk away when Sara stopped her.
“Was that about the house?” Sara had been moping about the sale of Talia’s home for weeks.
“Yes, Sara, it’s gone. And it’s for the best.” Talia turned back.
Sara’s gray eyes stared at Talia, making her uneasy. Why did it feel like Sara was trying to read her mind or make her change it? She refused to accept that Talia was moving on. Living in the quaint apartment above the flower shop was the best fit for her. She didn’t need the reminder of Mason’s infidelity. She was happier within the outdated walls of her second-floor apartment. It was charming, homey, and extremely convenient being just above her flower shop. And there were so many memories with her father there. It was a storage attic turned bachelor pad that her father, she, and Sara occupied after her parents’ divorce. Her mother had moved across the country and left them behind, only taking their baby sister to North California. It was just another reminder that Talia would never be enough for their mother.
Sara was more like their mother than she was willing to admit. She was judgmental of everything Talia did and hasty and most of the time extremely oblivious. She may have gotten their father’s looks, but she didn’t have his blasé, non-intrusive demeanor. Where Sara had their father’s gray eyes, Talia’s were green with a touch of amber hugging her iris. Sara’s hair was blonde and wavy, just like their dad’s while Talia’s was auburn and board straight. And Talia’s nose turned up while Sara’s was perfectly straight and balanced. Talia hated that she resembled their mother so much, knowing she was nothing like her. When those gray eyes brimmed with tears, Talia finally spoke. “Sara, it’s just a house. I’m sure one day I’ll have another. There’s no need for the waterworks.”
With an indignant stare, Sara returned, “I loved that house. Why did you have to go and end things with Mason?”
Talia’s jaw dropped. Was her sister really taking his side? Even if Sara didn’t have all the facts, was it necessary to continually bring this up? “Did you really…?” Talia turned to her, tight-lipped. “Get back to work and stop nosing in my personal life.”
Footsteps padded from the front of the shop to the workroom and Reina came in with her chocolate eyes twinkling. “Dios mío, Talia, these flowers are beautiful.” Reina clutched the bouquet of red and pink roses with green dianthus and baby’s breath added in for contrast.
“Wade picked the flowers. I just put them together for you.” Talia’s job was so ironic. She hated love, or at least the idea of it. She wasn’t truly sure that real love existed. And here she was on Valentine’s Day putting together last-minute flower arrangements and filling balloons for doe-eyed men and women on this puerile day.
“They’re beautiful. The most beautiful I’ve ever received on Valentine’s. Thank you, Talia.” Reina hugged Talia, her coal hair brushing Talia’s cheek.
“You’re welcome. Now get back to work. All of these orders aren’t going to fill themselves.” Talia walked away to return to work. Her job came first, making it easier to bury her feelings when they tried to rise to the surface. She’d followed in her father’s footsteps working through her stress and worry. Like him, the business came first in her life. She wanted to see it succeed as it did when he ran things. She returned to a pile of red roses waiting to be primped and presented to the next sappy customer in line.
“I don’t know what to do with her anymore.” Twirling a candy-striped carnation, Sara grumbled to her coworkers, Camey and Reina, while they arranged flowers alone in the back room. The girls had grown up together and came on after Talia took the shop over from her father. Camey, all petite and willowy with turquoise eyes and that little mouth of hers, brought life to the shop. She always had stories to tell about her conquests that had them in stitches. And Reina, with her Latin spunk and take-no-prisoners attitude, kept them all in check. “She has to be hiding something. She’s definitely not herself. The new stud in her nose is proof of that. There’s just no other good reason for her to be so frigid.” Talia had inadvertently broken Sara’s heart each time she pushed her away a little more.
“I’ve tried talking to her, but I can’t get through. Something just isn’t right with her. It’s become more evident each time we go to Satin. I’ve seen some pretty hot guys look her way and she gives them this death glare that promptly scares them off. It’s like she’s completely closed off to men.” Camey placed a pale pink rose in a vase before reaching for more baby’s breath.
Sara looked down at the carnation she’d been abusing. Its stem was now broken in half. “I don’t know what to do, but I can’t continue to see her like this.”
“Mami needs to get laid.” Reina was still grinning over her flowers that sat just a few feet away. “I’m never cranky after Wade rocks my world.”
Camey chuckled at Reina’s assumption. “I’m not sure that’s possible if she’s scaring all the men off with a look.” Tying organza ribbon around a crystal vase, Camey finished her arrangement. “It’s going to take some serious convincing to get Talia laid.”
“We’ve got to try. She needs something to get the stick out of her ass. I can’t handle her bitchiness much longer.” Sara had thrown the carnation away, her usual bubbly mood completely gone. “We need a plan of attack for tomorrow night. There’s bound to be at least one guy at Satin that is up to taking on Talia’s eternal PMS.”
“We’ll see.” Camey grabbed her arrangement and carried it to the back cooler for pickup.
“It’s worth a shot, mija. I don’t think she can get much worse.” Reina kissed Sara on the cheek as she passed her with her completed arrangement. “You better get that order done before she comes back here and chews your ass.”
Sara wave
d her off. “Yeah, yeah. I’m on it.”
The girls were all dressed in short, clingy dresses, with the exception of Talia. She wore a knee-length denim skirt, a black button-up blouse safeguarding her akin to a nun, and a pair of ballet flats. There was definitely nothing about Talia that said fuck me, now. Sara knew the girls would have their work cut out for them tonight.
Sara’s plans seemed more difficult to carry out when she saw the post-Valentine’s crowd bumping and grinding on the dance floor. Couples filled the place and Sara’s idea was smothered. Talia groaned in Sara’s ear but Sara tried to make the most of the evening, slipping her arm through Talia’s and leading her to the tables overlooking the dancers below. She winked over her shoulder at Camey, hoping she’d have some luck finding a willing party to sweep Talia off her feet. She knew she couldn’t rely on Reina, as she had already made her way to Wade, who was occupied behind the bar.
Leading Talia upstairs, Sara found a single table with two vacant seats. As they approached she surveyed the men at the other tables, but they all had dates. The pickings this evening seemed to be rather slim. This might not have been the best night to try and put their plan into action.
Rising from the table, Sara was determined to do something. “I’m going to get drinks,” she yelled over the raucousness of the crowd.
Talia didn’t speak. She stared daggers into a couple at the next table and waved Sara off. It was rather discouraging.
Sara squeezed past patrons and finally found Reina at the bar gawking googoo-eyed at her boyfriend of fourteen months. There was just enough room for Sara to squeeze in next to her. She ordered her sister’s usual vodka martini, adding a margarita for herself, then spoke. “I’m afraid tonight isn’t going to be the best night to put our plan in motion.”
Reina sipped at her mojito as she turned to survey the club. “Just wait. Fate is on our side.”