Genuine Lies Read Online Free PDF

A crushing shyness had caused her to sweat her way through auditions in high school plays. Desperate desire and determination had won her roles, fed the dream … and then there had been Brandon. Amother at eighteen, Julia had changed her course. And she’d survived betrayal, fear, and despair. There were some, she felt, who were meant to grow up early and fast.
    Different dreams, she mused as she slipped into a frayed terry-cloth robe. She wrote about actors now, but would never be one. Knowing her child slept safe and content in the next room left no room for regrets. And knowing her own strength and competence would help her give her son a long and happy childhood.
    She was reaching up to take the pins from her hair when she heard a knock at the door. Julia glanced down at her faded robe, then shrugged. If this was home for the time being, she had to be able to relax in it.
    Julia opened the door to a pretty young blond with lake-blue eyes and a bright smile. “Hi, I’m CeeCee. I work for Miss Benedict. I’m here to look after your son while you have dinner.”
    Julia lifted a brow. “That’s very kind of you, but I phoned my regrets to the main house earlier.”
    “Miss Benedict said that the little boy—Brandon, right?— was tired out. I’ll baby-sit while you have dinner at the main house.”
    Julia opened her mouth to decline, but CeeCee was already breezing through the door. She was in jeans and a T-shirt, her California-blond hair sweeping her shoulders, her arms full of magazines.
    “Isn’t this a great place?” she went on in her bubbly champagne voice. “I love cleaning it, and I’ll be doing it for you while you’re here. You just let me know if you want anything special.”
    “Everything’s perfect.” Julia had to smile. The woman vibrated with energy and enthusiasm. “But I really don’t think I should leave Brandon on his first night with someone he doesn’t know.”
    “You don’t have to worry. I have two little brothers, and I’ve been baby-sitting since I was twelve. Dustin, the youngest, was a late baby. He’s just ten—and a real mega monster.” She gave Julia another flashing smile—her even white teeththose of a toothpaste commercial. “He’ll be okay with me, Ms. Summers. If he wakes up and wants you, we’ll call the house. You’re only two minutes away.”
    Julia hesitated. She knew Brandon would sleep through the night. And the perky blond was exactly the kind of sitter she herself would have chosen. She was being overcautious and overprotective—two things she struggled not to be.
    “All right, CeeCee. I’ll change and be down in a couple of minutes.”
    When Julia returned five minutes later, CeeCee was sitting on the couch leafing through a fashion magazine. The television was tuned to one of the bright Saturday-night sitcoms. She glanced up and studied Julia.
    “That’s a great color on you, Ms. Summers. I want to be a designer, so I pay attention to, you know, tones and lines and material. Not everybody can wear a strong color like that tomato red.”
    Julia smoothed the jacket she’d paired with black evening pants. She’d chosen it because it gave her confidence. “Thanks. Miss Benedict said informal.”
    “It’s perfect. Armani?”
    “You’ve got a good eye.”
    CeeCee flipped back her long, straight hair. “Maybe one day you’ll wear a McKenna. That’s my last name. Except maybe I’ll just go by my first. You know, like Cher and Madonna.”
    Julia found herself smiling, until she glanced back upstairs. “If Brandon wakes up—”
    “We’ll get along fine,” CeeCee assured her. “And if he’s nervous, I’ll call right away.”
    Julia nodded, even as she turned the black evening bag over and over in her hands. “I won’t be late.”
    “Enjoy yourself. Miss Benedict gives great dinner parties.”
    Julia lectured herself during the short walk from house to house. Brandon wasn’t a shy or a clinging child. If he did wake up, he would not