Tell Me No Lies Read Online Free PDF Page A

growing instead of diminishing. I was hurt, embarrassed, depressed, and desperate. Through all these emotions, I had only one thought: I had to show Julian and my parents that I didn’t need any of them, that I didn’t care. I would never let Julian know how much he’d hurt me.
    Taking my iPhone from my pocket, I brought up the address book. There had to be someone in it from my past who could help me. Either that or I really would marry a complete stranger, get my trust fund, pay him off, and be on my way to Lily’s. I’d send a picture of the wedding to Julian for good measure. That would show him.
    Tears bit at my eyes, and it was all I could do to keep them from falling. I couldn’t see the names on the screen.
    Gage’s hands covered mine. “Can I help? You’re shaking.”
    I jerked away. “No.” Then it occurred to me that he was only being nice, and I shouldn’t be so rude. “Sorry.”
    “It’s okay. You’ve had a rough morning.”
    I could see the names on the phone now, but as I scrolled down, I had the sinking feeling that none of them would solve my problem. I lifted my gaze to Gage. “Will you take me to Vegas? I’ll pay you for gas, and whatever more you feel is fair.” He must be missing work by now.
    “You want me to drive you to Vegas?”
    “Yes.”
    “To get married?”
    I nodded.
    “To a total stranger?”
    “Maybe.” Surely something better would come to me.
    He sighed. “Look, I’ll do it.”
    “Thank you. It’s only a few hours.”
    “No, I mean, I’ll marry you. For however long you need. If it’ll help you out.”
    Was he crazy? I wasn’t going to marry a scruffy-looking mountain man rumored to have spent time behind bars, however untrue the rumors were. Wait. I had to remember it wasn’t a real marriage. It was only to get around the trust fund issue and help Lily. Okay, and to get revenge on Julian.
    “At least you know me.”
    “Not really.”
    He frowned. Or at least I thought he’d frowned. I was really beginning to hate overgrown facial hair. “Well, Serenity knows me. She’ll vouch for me.”
    I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Serenity did like him. A lot. I suspected he gave her pieces of apples and carrots regularly because whenever I came home to visit her and Gage appeared, she always hurried to greet him.
    I pulled the pre-nuptial agreement from my pocket. It was rather worse for wear, but I could print more copies from the laptop stuffed in my backpack. “Fine. You’ll have to sign this, first. You get fifty thousand after the annulment, no more. Nonnegotiable.” Fifty thousand would hardly make a dent in my half million, but he didn’t know how much I’d get or about the additional monthly allotment of a thousand dollars for the rest of my life.
    His eyes narrowed and his lips tightened.
    “It’s all I can offer.” I tucked the paper back inside my pack. “Take it or leave it. Otherwise, I’ll have to find someone else.” I was hoping he’d take it because if I couldn’t entice him to do it for that amount, any alternative husband I’d find was likely to be a lot worse. As he’d said, at least I knew him. He had roots, a house, a job. He was a lot better than a complete stranger.
    “I’ll take it,” he growled.
    Well, excuse me. I didn’t know what I’d done to offend him. If he’s looking for more money, too bad for him.
    The food came, the salad made of leaf lettuce and surprisingly good. The root beer was nothing short of miraculous, and one bite of the onion rings forced all thoughts of calories from my mind. Without thinking, I started in on the hamburger, too. I love every wonderful bite, but then I probably hadn’t eaten one since high school.
    I felt Gage’s eyes on me. He’d settled back on the seat and was watching me with an amused smile on his lips. “What?” I said.
    “You have ketchup on your nose.”
    I reached for a napkin at the same time he did, our hands colliding. I laughed self-consciously as he dabbed at