Page 9 of Whisper Pretty Lies (Lust & Liars #1)

For a second, everyone eats quietly. I do take a few bites. It’s a lovely pasta dish with garlic, butter, and small pieces of veggies in it.

Adam clears his throat. When I glance up, I meet Damon’s eyes. My breath catches. I’m so not ready for any of this.

“We know this isn’t ideal.” Adam steeples his fingers in front of his lips, resting his elbows on either side of his plate.

“We’d planned to continue dating for a year before moving in, since both of you are seniors.

But with your rental home being sold, it makes sense to do it now and only have Heather move once. ”

Mom turns to me and puts her hand over mine. “Think of it as a temporary place, Evan. You’ll be off to college next year. This will be somewhere to sleep this year. Anyway, I’m sure you’ll spend all your free time working on the play and with your boyfriend.”

I don’t think she realizes how often I’m actually home. Even dating Chase, we go out once in a while, but I have homework and things to do. He has football and likes to hang out with his friends. It works out because we both have just enough time to be together.

“You can always have your boyfriend over here too.” Adam gives me a smile like he’s trying to win me over. “We have a pool and tennis courts in the backyard. There’s a rec room in the basement we’ll show you on the tour.”

It’s almost like I can feel the intensity pouring off Damon. When I glance at him, his eyes are narrowed on his father. Not only would I be invading his space, but his father told me to bring my boyfriend into his home, who Damon and his friends might have something against.

My whole insides feel twisted into knots, but I push the pasta around on my plate so I don’t have to look at anyone and force out, “I don’t think he’ll have time. He’s on the football team and if we hang out, he usually likes to go out.”

“The offer stands,” Adam says. He seems nice. I can see why my mom likes him.

After a few more minutes of tense silence while eating, Adam offers us dessert. My mom declines, which is what she does when she wants someone to believe she’s watching her figure. She typically has a serious sweet tooth.

“EvanAnn?” Adam asks. “Dessert? Chocolate cake? Heather said it’s your favorite.”

“No, thank you.” I place my fork on my plate and take a drink of water.

“Okay, well maybe after the tour, when you work up an appetite.” Adam stands and helps my mom to her feet.

I notice the server waiting in the corner to clear our plates. It feels wrong to not wrap it up and save the leftovers for another meal. Or at least put the plate in the dishwasher.

I lay the napkin on my plate and rub my hands together as I stand. This is going down as the weirdest day ever. But I don’t think anything about this year is going to be normal.

Adam takes the lead with my mom and talks about the architecture and designer like he’s personal friends with them.

Maybe he is. I don’t really know anything about this man, except he’s dating my mom and Damon is his son.

We walk to the kitchen first, where a few people are working.

They stop when we enter. After we exit, the noise resumes behind us.

Damon follows us a few paces behind with his phone out.

“This is my office when I work from home.” Adam opens the door, but we don’t go inside.

The wooden desk is massive with a comfy chair behind it. Some shelving holds books and files.

“What do you do for a living?” I figure it’s better to get to know him than to fidget.

“I’m a contracts lawyer.” He gestures for me to follow him farther down the hallway. “In here is the conservatory. Beth, my late wife, used to spend a lot of time out here, especially during her time in hospice.”

My stomach twists. I didn’t know Damon’s mother had gotten sick and died. I don’t dare turn to look at him. Something tells me he wouldn’t want my sympathy. Or to know I understand that kind of pain. I guess he doesn’t have anywhere else to live either.

It’s a huge house. Our rooms might not even be in the same wing.

“We both lost our spouses to cancer.” Mom turns and looks at me. “It’s something we bonded over.”

I don’t think Damon and I are going to have a similar experience. But I give her a nod to let her know I heard her. The first floor is enormous with too many rooms to keep track of. I’m pretty sure I’m going to need a map to get around it without getting lost.

When we go down to the rec room, it’s massive. Plenty of seating. Billiards. Poker tables. A humungous television with surround sound speakers.

“There’s this television, but the theater room is on the second floor if you want to watch movies with friends or play games.” Adam remains pleasant. It really seems like he genuinely likes my mom.

Were all her boyfriends like him? Did she dismiss perfectly nice guys? I don’t know because I never met them. What makes Adam so special?

When he mentioned having friends over, Mia comes to mind. I don’t know if she’d be used to this type of wealth. I didn’t really ask about her socioeconomic status. She went gaga for Hawk though, and if she knows I have access to Damon—forget about it. She’d be here and want to...

My brain stalls out because I would have thought date him, but that’s not what Mia was talking about doing with the guys. No, she wants to fuck them. My cheeks heat.

Maybe I can’t have Mia over, either. Not that it will be a problem this semester. The play will devour all my time. I’ll practically be living at school. By spring, I’ll be used to living with Damon Storm, and we won’t have any issues avoiding each other.

Adam leads us upstairs. “In this direction is the primary bedroom and the children’s rooms are this way.”

My stomach lurches and I’m glad I didn’t eat much for dinner. Adam goes to a door and pushes it open.

“Beth always wanted a girl.” He walks into the bedroom.

It’s a light purple with white-painted furniture. The room is massive. Even the bed is a king. I’ve been in my twin since I was a little girl.

While it isn’t overly fussy, the bedding looks soft and inviting with so many pillows.

“We never really use this room. There aren’t any paintings or wall art, but your mom assures me you have plenty to decorate a room.” He crosses and pushes open one of the two doors. Does he know where we live now? Has he seen it? “Your closet. The shelving is perfect for film equipment.”

My whole closet in our rental is filled with everything I need to direct.

But the contents of my closet would barely make a dent in this extra room.

No windows though. It could be a darkroom.

I glance up at the light fixture and consider changing it to a red lightbulb.

I’ve always wanted to experiment with film.

“Will it work, Evan?” Mom smiles.

I nod. I mean, what else am I supposed to do? Complain about the massive upscale of a room?

“I hope you don’t mind sharing a bathroom.” Adam opens the other door to a large bathroom with a separate shower and soaker tub. It has a dual vanity with a marble top.

Mom and I have always shared a bathroom, so sharing isn’t a big deal. Until I hear a snort from behind me. Oh, why would I share with my mom here? I freeze as I look at the only things near one of the sinks. There’s a razor and a bottle of cologne.

“We do have cleaners, so you don’t have to worry about scrubbing.” Adam smiles. “You’ll have a few drawers to keep your things in.”

My gaze fixes on the other door in the bathroom. Maybe it leads to the hallway? Adam walks through and pushes open the door into what can only be Damon’s bedroom. It’s almost a replica of the purple one, except in a navy blue with dark wood furniture.

His bed isn’t made. Pillows and blankets are strewn all over it.

My stomach flips like someone pushed me off a ledge and there’s nothing I can do to catch myself. This is going to be a long year.