Why Lie? (Love Riddles #2) Read Online Free PDF

she sees me. Frozen, I sit in my car waiting for a reaction, something, anything.
    She drops her gaze and walks away, giving me nothing. Squeezing my eyes closed, I exhale. Then I start my car and go back to work. Pushing her from my thoughts, I focus on all the work I half assed this morning.
    It’s after six and I’m the last person to leave the office by the time I catch up. Instead of going straight to Lola’s, I head home first.
    Changing from my suit into an old tee and a pair of soccer shorts, I pull on my sneakers and hit the canyon trails behind my building.
    One thing that drew me to this place over others in the area is the view of the canyons. The nearness of them made any new construction to disturb that view unlikely.
    I should use the trails more often. Today, I’m wired and a run will hopefully burn off some of this energy so I’m not tweaked when I go back to Lola’s.
    The dry dirt is solid beneath my feet as I tackle one of the harder trails. We need rain. Arid air grates my throat with each breath. I push through the pain, needing it, needing the reminder that hard work pays off in the end.
    By the time I’m on my way home, I’m wheezing. Two glasses of water and a lukewarm shower help. I change back into my suit from earlier. During our brief time together, she had said more than once how they turned her on. When going into battle, the right armor is fundamental.
     

 
     
    “Any bets on if he’ll really be back for dinner?”
    I clear my throat, making Allen and Clarey both jump. It’s so much fun being the subject of everyone’s wagging tongues. In fact, I’m thrilled they all have so little to worry about with their lives that they need to be all concerned about mine.
    Clarey grimaces as she picks up her order and scurries away.
    Allen holds my gaze as I hand him my order. Wisely, he doesn’t say anything. Turning away, I head for the backdoor instead of going back to the dining area.
    All my tables are good for the next couple of minutes so I’m taking five. There’s a small vestibule at the back of the kitchen. From that small room is the opening to the stairs up to my apartment, the door leading back into the kitchen, and the exterior building door to the back lot.
    I glance up the stairway before moving through the door to the back lot. There’s a picnic table across the way where smokers take their breaks. I tried smoking when I was seventeen because my bad-boy loser boyfriend was a smoker. After coughing my ass off, I decided it wasn’t for me.
    The smoke still bothers me but since no one is at the table, I head that way while pulling my phone from my apron. My thumb moves over the screen to call one of my girls.
    “Hey, girlie,” Gina greets.
    “They’re making bets as to whether he’ll be back tonight or not.” I jump right in.
    “Why are you even surprised?” she asks.
    Turning around once I reach the table, I lean against it so I can face the diner. “I don’t know.”
    “You’re the one who poured soda on him and got everyone talking in the first place,” she murmurs, a touch of irritation in her tone.
    Even though I didn’t live full time in Ferncliff during my school years, I still made friends. Gina and Molly are my closest and I am currently still in the doghouse with both of them because I failed to spill the beans on Heath and I hooking up.
    Thing is, I was so caught up in it happening that I didn’t come up for air to share with everyone until it was over. While I was staying with Cecil, I decided it was best to keep it to the two of us. Cecil didn’t know Heath and it was highly unlikely that their paths would ever cross.
    With Gina and Molly, I had to worry about one or both of them saying shit to Heath if they saw him. Things were going great with my whole “don’t share” plan until Heath tried to apologize.
    Sure, I could have quietly acted like nothing happened when Heath strolled into the diner. This is why they say hindsight is