Things Liars Fake: a Novella (a #ThreeLittleLies novella Book 3)(36)

“I love you… oh! Oh god… mmmm…”

Bang.

Bang.

Bang. A picture on the wall behind my back falls, hits the hard wooden top of the dresser, and crashes to the ground with the telltale sound of broken glass.

We don’t care.

We can’t stop.

“Oh shit, oh f*ck,” Dexter grunts when we come at the same time. A wet kiss is planted at my temple, his chest heaving from his accelerated heart rate.

Then, after a lengthy silence, “How are we going to explain that broken whatever-that-is to Collin and Tabitha?”

He pulls away from my body, and I fumble to find the ties of my dress. “I’ll probably just tell her the truth. I don’t think she’ll be mad.”

I hear the sound of his zipper being pulled up, his belt being buckled. “Where’s the damn light switch?”

Hands pat the wall, his voice fading as he nears the door.

The lights go on.

I blink rapidly to block out the blinding light, seeing nothing but…

Pink.

Pink, pink and more pink.

A white crib against the wall. A rocking chair with a little gray stuffed elephant in the corner. The letters “LKE” monogrammed in white, interlocking script in the center of the opposite, powder pink wall.

“Holy. Shit.” Dexter breaths.

My mouth falls open, and I slap my hand over it to conceal my dread. “Oh my god. We just sullied a baby nursery with our fornicating!”

Which means…

“Oh my god. Tabitha is pregnant.”

And not just pregnant—but pregnant pregnant. As in: she must be at least twenty weeks along if they already know the sex, have picked out a name, and decorated an entire nursery.

All the pieces of the puzzle slide into place: new bigger condo closer to the suburbs. Tabitha quitting her day job and writing from home. Collin taking that desk job at his firm so he wouldn’t have to do any more traveling.

Her loose fitting shirt. Collin practically glued to her side all night, fawning all over her.

This party.

“Oh my god,” I repeat with a horrified gasp. “Dexter. They’re telling everyone tonight. That’s what this is.”

“A baby.” We say the words together in wonderment.

“A girl,” I breathe, the first twinge of envy planted inside my soul.

“Holy shit.” He’s rooted to the floor. “Collin is having a f*cking baby.”

He says it with such shock that I can’t help but wonder…

“Do…” I gulp nervously, smoothing a hand down my dress to flatten the wrinkles out. “Do you want kids?”

I have to ask because, well. I do. Want kids, that is—so terribly. And I might only be twenty-five years old, but my biological clock has been ticking since the moment I met Dexter.

He is it for me.

“Of course I want kids.”

I am it for him; I can see it in his eyes.

Hormones raging, our shy gazes meet.

Then our mouths clash.

“I love—” I murmur into the corner of his mouth.

“—You.”

“We can’t stay in here.” One of us whispers.

“How are we going to—”

“—Look them in the eye?”

Eventually we come up for air, fixing our clothes, and my long hair. One last, long lingering kiss before together, we step through the door.





Daphne loves me.

Yeah, we’ve been dating for the past few months, but I didn’t actually think she’d be the one to blurt it out first; I assumed it would be me.

And now that I know, I can’t stop watching her from across the room. My girlfriend. My best friend.

Loves me.

I watch as she flits from aunt to uncle, to college friends. I watch as she shimmies to the make-shift bar and pours herself a glass of wine. Grabs a beer from the ice bucket.

Watch as she makes her way towards me, this beautiful, gorgeous woman.

I push the glasses up my nose, shifting my focus to Collin as he leans in and whispers something in Tabitha’s ear. She nods, biting her lower lip.

He clears his throat, preparing to speak, and I know exactly what’s about to come next.

Daphne makes it to my side in time, handing me a beer bottle as Collin announces, “Everyone. Can I have your attention for a second?”

His arm goes protectively around Tabitha, and now that I know their secret, my eyes fly to her stomach. Straining to glean any signs of a baby bump, but not seeing one.

“First of all, thank you all for coming on such short notice. We have some exciting news that we didn’t want to share online, and we’re glad you could all make it.” His voice breaks with a crack, emotion playing with every breath taken. “Tabitha and I… we…”

He looks at his parents.

Her parents.

Tabitha reaches between them and clasps his hand and I see him squeeze it.

Solidarity.

A team.

“Tabitha and I…” he begins again, clearing his throat and blowing out a puff of air. “We haven’t been together long—not even a year, but when you know, you know, right?” The small gathered crowd chuckles. “For me, meeting Tabitha was love at first sight.”