The Fidelity Files (Jennifer Hunter #1)(99)

Shit.

"No," I said frantically. "Not odd at all. Well, okay, I'm paraphrasing a little. I mean, there were a few lines of dialogue going back and forth before he came out with the engaged line. It's not like that was the first thing out of his mouth."

"Oh," she said, and then fell silent again.

"Trust me." I filled in the pause. "I know odd situations. And this was definitely not one of them. A textbook case of being madly in love with the person he's with and not interested in meeting, talking to, flirting with, kissing, or going home with anyone else. Plain and simple."

I heard another sigh come through the phone, and I was fairly confident I had managed to dodge that bullet successfully.

But then she asked, "So now I guess we have to figure out what I should tell Eric." As if it were the most obvious next step in the world.

"Nothing!" I blurted out quickly... maybe too quickly. This was one of those tiny details I hadn't completely thought through yet. It's like what they say about committing murder: Everyone makes at least three mistakes. Three details that never even cross your mind as the adrenaline of committing a crime is pulsing through your veins.

This would be one of those details.

In my adrenaline high of not following through on the promise I had made to my best friend and then lying to her about it, I hadn't even thought that she might suddenly decide she wants to tell Eric about the successful inspection.

"What do you mean, I shouldn't?" she asked doubtfully. "Why shouldn't I? He deserves to know. I want us to be honest with each other. Plus, I want to commend him for passing. Positive reinforcement."

"He's not a dog, Soph." I tried to release a mocking chuckle, but it came out more like a snort.

"I know, but...I just think..."

"There's no reason he has to know," I interjected.

"But why?"

My mind raced. I had to come up with something good – and fast. "Well, Sophie," I said, "think about it. You can't tell your fiancé – the man who asked you to marry him, to be with him for the rest of your lives – that you had absolutely no trust in him at all. So much so that you actually hired someone to hit on him in a bar! And not just anyone...your best friend! He'll think you're crazy."

Silence ensued on the other end. She was considering this. "I guess you're right," she said with hesitation.

"Of course I'm right! I mean, as of right now, to him I'm just some lame-ass random chick at a bar. It doesn't have to be any more than that."

"Yes, but what about what you said the other day? About when he meets you again?"

I swallowed hard.

Good question.

Overlooked Murder Detail #2.

"Well..." I paused, pulling bullshit right out of my ass. "That's easy. I doubt he'll even recognize me. He barely saw me for a minute. Plus he was drunk."

Oh, my God... Please buy it, PLEASE BUY IT.

"You really think he wouldn't recognize you?"

She wasn't buying it.

I swallowed again, refusing to give up. "Sophie, be reasonable," I began with a tone that unmistakably implied she was being ridiculous. There's nothing worse than lying to someone and then making them feel stupid for questioning your cover-up. "The bar was dark, he'd had a few drinks. I'm sure my face just blended in with all the other random girls in the crowd."

I held my breath and waited for her response.

"That's true," she admitted thoughtfully.

I released the breath.

"But you said the other day that if he does recognize you, it will be really weird. And I just don't want him to figure out what we did and then get mad that I didn't tell him about it. Maybe I should just tell him. I mean, honesty is the best policy, right?"

"No, it's not!" I shot back.

Spoken like a true professional.

"It's not?" Sophie questioned. "Jen, you're acting weird. If anyone should be an advocate for honesty in relationships, it's you."

"I know, I know. I just think that sometimes there are things that people don't need to know. Especially people you care about. I don't think he needs to know about this. Telling him will just cause more problems than the honesty is worth."

She contemplated again. "Maybe you're right."

"And trust me. He most definitely will not recognize me."

And this time, I didn't need my special mind-reading superpowers to know with 100 percent certainty that I was right.



AFTER I hung up the phone the silence of my bedroom overwhelmed me. I lay in the dark, thinking about what I had just done. What it would mean tomorrow when I woke up. And the day after that.

Would I ever be able to look Sophie in the eye again?

I mean, sure I've lied to her plenty of times in the past. The last two years had been one huge lie. But those were virtually harmless, right? They didn't even affect her...directly. This was something much bigger. This was a very important piece of information that I'd promised to deliver to her and then failed to do so.

And now she'd be making a decision based on the possibly false information I had supplied her with and it could affect the rest of her life!

I felt sick to my stomach.