Page 52 of Taming Grumpy Dr. Beast

She grabbed a kitchen towel and swatted at me. “Go. Tell Lily to come down for dinner in about fifteen minutes.”

“All right, all right.” I held up my hands to fend her off, and walked backwards out of the kitchen, laughing.

Patches ran in between my feet excitedly. I was surprised to see him out of Lily’s room. She’d taken to keeping him close. As the dog yipped, I laughed. It was like he knew where we were headed. Once I turned onto her hallway, he darted several yards in front of me. When he reached Lily’s door, he pawed at it.

The door opened to let Patches inside, Lily didn’t notice me. As I edged closer, I heard voices through the cracked door. I didn’t want to interrupt, and figured I’d come back in a few minutes to let her know about dinner.

“Lily, you need to say something.” A female’s voice rang loud and clear.

I stopped, knowing I shouldn’t eavesdrop, but couldn’t stop myself.

“Crap, my ear buds must have disconnected. Ugh, I know Cece.”

“If Jaxon finds out from someone other than you, it will not end well.”

My body froze. I’d started to trust Lily, to open up to her.

What the hell?

“I know. It’s just, I don’t want him to hate me.” Her voice dipped into a whisper.

“The truth will set you free,” her friend replied.

“Maybe, but what about the fallout from the person you lied to? The truth sets you free, but the consequences suck. How do I even bring it up in conversation?”

“You’ll think of something, Lil.”

“What am I supposed to do? Casually say, so hey, Jaxon, how’s the weather we’re having? And oh, by the way, my dad’s not really sick. I lied to you.”

“Well, heissick,” her friend said. “Just not in the way you let on.”

“You know what I mean. It’s still a lie.”

My body stiffened as my limbs grew cold. It had happened again. I’d let someone in and they’d betrayed my trust.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” I threw open the door so hard it hit the wall behind it.

Lily whipped her head around to face me, her eyes growing wide.

The split second of silence weighed heavy in the room. I gave a disbelieving shake of my head, still wrapping my brain around her deception. How had I not seen past the lies she’d been telling me?

My face tightened as I shoved her betrayal into the recesses of my mind and shot her a hardened look. This was the last time I’d let my guard down around her. I should have known better, too many times my trust had been betrayed for me to believe she was any different.

“Oh shit. Cece, I’ve got to go.” Lily clicked the button to shut down her screen and waved her hands in front of her. “Jaxon, it’s not what you think.”

“Not what I think? Did you or did you not just tell your friend you’ve been lying to me this whole time?” Fire raced through my veins, replacing the ice that had started when I realized the conversation was about me.

“Well, yes, but—” Her voice broke off mid-sentence.

“There are no but’s.” I roared, throwing out my hands.

She flinched.

I refused to back down.

“If you’d justlisten.”

“To what? More lies?” I crossed my arms over my chest.