Bittersweet Page 3

  Then again, maybe the rumors rubbed Bruce the wrong way because it reminded him just how desperately he had failed when it came to Annie and the night she’d flat out rejected him.

  He’d had too much wine and had come on hard. Annie had turned him down, and the rejection still stung a little. He had to think that if his life weren’t such a horrendous mess he would never have even done such a thing in the first place.

  “Since when does Caroline Pearce get anything right?” Bruce asked. “She’s a liar.”

  Annie’s ears perked up at the mention of Caroline Pearce. Annie had read the posts, too.

  “Yeah,” Jessica said, “I know she lies. But she can really make it sound true. That’s what makes her so dangerous.”

  “You don’t believe her?”

  “Of course not. Forget about Caroline. You can set her straight later. It’s time to come home anyway. In fact, it’s crucial.”

  “You make a persuasive argument.”

  “That’s my job.”

  Jessica hung up. Bruce looked at the receiver in his hand and then plunked it down. He glanced over at Annie, who was looking at him expectantly. “What did Jessica say?”

  “To come home. They think they’ve found something on Robin.”

  “What?”

  “She didn’t want to give me too many details until she could confirm, but it looks like Robin Platt isn’t who she says she is.”

  “This would be the break we’re looking for.”

  “Or just another wild goose chase.”

  “You have to have faith.” Annie smiled at him. She looked particularly fetching today in her camel-colored tunic and leggings. She sat on his couch with her slim legs crossed at the knee. Back in the day they used to call her “Easy Annie,” but he’d come to know that she wasn’t anything like the insecure high school girl who craved approval from any boy who’d give it to her. She had grown into a beautiful, complex woman.

  Bruce felt a pang of guilt. That night he’d come on to her, he’d treated her badly. It was no wonder she’d turned him down. He’d behaved like a stupid teenager. And he really wasn’t that Patman anymore. He’d thought that being his old self could give him strength. He’d thought if he was a big enough jerk, he could bluster his way through the fear that ate at his confidence daily.

  But he’d just made a fool of himself instead. Annie had stood by him, and her legal expertise was unparalleled. She deserved better than that.

  “I’m sorry,” he told her then.

  “Sorry for what?” A curious expression crossed Annie’s face.

  “For…that night.”

  Annie’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. She knew exactly what he meant. “Bruce, you don’t have to—”

  “No, I want to, Annie.” Bruce took a seat beside her. “I shouldn’t have been so…crass. I’ve just been under pressure and…you deserve better from me. I’m sorry.”

  Annie looked at him a long time.

  “It’s okay,” she said at last. “Really. I understand.”

  For a second, a current of promise ran between them. The spark, the attraction, was still there and both of them could feel it. And neither one was drunk this time.

  For Annie, it was pure attraction complicated by feelings she knew she shouldn’t have. But for Bruce, it was even more convoluted. There was a physical attraction to this beautiful, smart, desirable woman who might be able to save him. Of course he wanted her. Plus, he was a man in love with a woman who had betrayed him, abandoned him, and even deceived him, so it should have been easy. But it wasn’t. Bruce had loved Elizabeth for so many painful years, yearned for her when she was hopelessly out of reach and then finally, when they did come together, it was amazing. Those were the happiest three years of his life. That he should even be considering Annie at all showed how much damage had been done.

  But maybe it wasn’t beyond repair.

  Or was it?

  “Annie…” Bruce began.

  Across the room, Annie’s iPhone dinged with an incoming message. She jumped up, her face flushed. “I probably should get that,” she said, avoiding looking him in the eye.

  “We need to talk, Annie.”

  “Do we?” Annie met his eyes. In them, he saw confusion and struggle and something more. “Not now, Bruce.”

  “When?”

  “Maybe never.” Annie turned away from him. “But there is something I’m going to ask you to do for me.”

  “What is it?”

  “Fly back to Sweet Valley first thing tomorrow. It’s time for us to go home. I can’t guarantee it will be easy for you, but we have to do this. It’s time.”

  Bruce nodded slowly. She was right. “Okay,” he said. “I trust you, Annie. I’ll do it.”

  Chapter Five

  The next morning in Sweet Valley, Jessica felt a little bit lighter as she sat down at her desk after fetching a cup of coffee from the break room. Aaron was a genius for finding the Robin-Mona link, Elizabeth had dug up more dirt at the rehab center, and now it would only be a matter of time before the entire story came out.

  And last night, Elizabeth had called from her hotel to fill Jessica in on what she’d found. Jessica still had a million questions about Robin Platt—now Mona Thomas—but Elizabeth would be home in a few hours to answer them.

  The news even made work a little more bearable. Jessica glanced up, and her eyes locked with Michael Wilson, vice president of VertPlus.net. Michael looked away quickly, his face blank and stoic. Not so long ago, Michael’s face lit up with happy surprise anytime he saw Jessica, and his enthusiasm only increased after they’d gone on a series of hot and heavy dates. Now Michael wouldn’t acknowledge her at all. As much as she’d turned the whole period over in her mind, Jessica still couldn’t explain why he’d gone so cold.

  Just like she didn’t know why Lila Fowler, one of her oldest and dearest friends, wasn’t returning her phone calls. It had been weeks since Lila had replied to even a simple text message. Jessica knew Lila had a lot on her plate, what with her fake pregnancy turning out to be real, but enough was enough already. She couldn’t even text?

  And then there was Cal, the guy she’d met at Steven’s law firm. They’d gone out once, and then he’d never called her back.

  Jessica had begun to feel like a pariah.

  At work, hardly anyone spoke to her these days. Michael had taken away all her clients and Jessica was shut out of anything important. Her own assistant, Emily, the too-much-makeup-wearing redhead, sabotaged her at every turn.

  Most days, she just felt like she was waiting to be let go.

  Just then, her phone dinged with an incoming message from Liam O’Connor.

  I NEED TO SEE YOU. LUNCH?

  Jessica sighed. She didn’t want to see Liam. He might have been one of People’s sexiest men alive and the hottest actor in Hollywood at the moment, but she had decided to break up with him.

  In fact, the last time they’d had lunch she’d tried to end things with Liam but couldn’t quite get the words out. He had been so perfectly nice and Jessica just couldn’t seem to find the right time to bring up the delicate subject. She knew their relationship wasn’t going anywhere, and she thought she needed to end it, but she wasn’t quite sure how. In the meantime, she’d been guilty of avoiding him.

  NO, CAN’T, Jessica texted back. And she couldn’t. She planned to spend her lunch hour talking to Elizabeth about Mona Thomas.

  Immediately, her phone rang. She sent Liam to voice mail, but then he called again. She knew from experience he’d just keep calling until she answered, filling up her voice mail and becoming more and more irate. Eventually, she decided to answer.

  “Why not lunch?” Liam’s voice came over the line, plaintive and pouty.

  “Liam, I…”

  “It’s important, Jessica.”

  “I know, but…”

  “I know you don’t have plans,” he interrupted, his Irish lilt sounding unusually grim.

  “You said last wee
k nobody at work will go to lunch with you anymore.”

  “Liam!” It might have been true, but she didn’t like it thrown back in her face. She knew the rest of the office looked at her like career kryptonite. She couldn’t blame them.

  “Look, they’re daft for not seeing what an amazing woman you are.”

  Jessica perked up at the compliment. This was why it was so hard to let Liam go. She knew she needed to do it, but she hated to lose the last member on her cheerleading squad.

  “And I need to talk to you. Lunch?”

  “I was going to meet Elizabeth,” Jessica said.

  “She’s your sister. She’ll understand if you cancel. And besides, I’ll meet you at your place. I can be there at one.”

  “Liam, she found something in the Bruce case and—”

  “Look, I won’t keep you long. I promise. You can talk to her after. There’ll be time.”

  “Well…” Jessica hesitated. She knew Liam, and she knew he wouldn’t give up until she’d said yes. Maybe she did need to deal with him first.

  “I’ll be there at one,” Liam said.

  “Fine,” Jessica sighed. Liam first, then Elizabeth.

  Chapter Six

  Lila Fowler Matthews was standing behind her immense island in her giant kitchen in Sweet Valley. The granite countertop just hid her emerging belly bump from the True Housewives of Sweet Valley cameras, set up at opposite sides of the kitchen.

  This was a big day. It was a special live broadcast of True Housewives. When she’d told the producers about her pregnancy, they couldn’t have been more congratulatory, probably because they knew they had just landed a ratings bonanza. They’d asked her to put off telling the rest of the wives and had decided to shoot a live show at her house to capture the big announcement. This would be the first time she revealed the emerging baby bump. Until now, she’d mostly been wearing baggy clothes that disguised everything.

  Under different circumstances, Lila would’ve been thrilled. This was the kind of attention she’d been craving her whole life. Unfortunately, nearly all of the attention she’d received on the show so far was negative.

  Lila was still the most hated housewife in Sweet Valley, and she had no doubt her pregnancy news would do nothing to change fans’ reactions.

  Not after what they’d already learned.

  She’d faked her first pregnancy and her miscarriage, all for some ratings and to win back her husband from that evil Ashley Morgan, who’d tried to steal Ken away practically in episode one. She’d gotten Ken back all right, only to lose him again when he found out that she’d never been pregnant at all. Ken saw the whole drama as one big publicity stunt.

  Lila could still see the heartbreak on his sweet face. Normally, she didn’t let things like that bother her. Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones, but she felt bad about it. Even she knew she’d gone too far.

  She put her hand on her belly and sighed. She felt the little rise of a bump and still couldn’t quite believe she was going to be a mother.

  In fact, she nearly wasn’t.

  She’d only just decided to keep the baby. She’d struggled with what to do through nearly the whole first trimester. She’d stayed up many nights wondering whether she was really ready for motherhood or whether she should just march down to the clinic and make everyone’s lives a little easier.

  She wasn’t even sure she wanted to be a mother. She had never been the maternal type, never even wanted to have kids who might, after all, steal some of the spotlight meant for her. But she came to realize that as self-centered as she sometimes was, this was one time she couldn’t actually put herself first. As much as it would make life simpler, she just couldn’t do it. Every time she made the call to set up an appointment at the clinic, she would hang up right after the receptionist answered and cry.

  Sure, it was probably the hormones rushing through her veins, but she also believed that the baby growing inside her might just be a gift. After all, the baby was her very last link to Ken. He might never forgive her and they might never be together, but she’d always have this baby.

  And, with a baby, she’d never be alone. Not the best reasons to be a mother, probably, but they were the ones she had. So she went with them.

  She sighed, took a drink of ice water and glanced around at the other Housewives chatting at the kitchen table. Ashley looked curvaceous as usual in a clingy miniskirt. Devone was dressed in a yellow maxi-dress, which made her cocoa-colored skin glow. Marina, sitting on the edge of her chair, pursed her lips and channeled her inner Eva Longoria as she took a sip of her martini. Marina and Devone chatted away about some recent club opening both had attended.

  Still hidden, standing behind the counter, Lila knew the other wives had no idea what was coming. She suddenly felt very alone and very pregnant. She wished her real friends and family were here, not the fake ones. She missed Jessica, frankly. But ever since reading those mean and completely below-the-belt messages Jessica had sent on Facebook, Lila wasn’t even sure if they were friends anymore. Jessica had written “You’ve been selfish your whole life and now you’ve finally gotten what you deserved.” Lila’s feelings were beyond hurt.

  Lila felt like the world was suddenly a place with too many sharp angles. She just wanted to sit somewhere cozy and soft, in clothes with elastic waistbands, surrounded by people who cared about her.

  People like Ken. Her old Ken. The one who adored her.

  That’s who she really missed. Sweet, caring Ken. Being with him was the closest Lila ever came to loving anybody.

  Lila glanced up and got the cue from the producer. It was time to do the big reveal.

  It was now or never, Lila figured. Already, the Twitterverse was alive with rumors she was putting on weight.

  And frankly, announcing she would likely be a single mom was better than being fat. Anything was better than that.

  Lila was wearing a loose-fitting sweater and leggings with the waistband tucked underneath her growing belly. She’d have to get maternity wear soon, but for now, she was still squeezing into regular clothes. She had on a formfitting tank beneath the loose sweater. Everyone would be able to see how pregnant she looked when she took off the sweater.

  And that was the point.

  “Ladies, I’m so glad you could come to my house today,” Lila began. “I’ve got an announcement to make….”

  Ken Matthews sat on the couch in the shabby apartment he’d hastily rented after moving out of the mansion he had shared with Lila. Ken had picked the first open rental near the football stadium and he hadn’t even bothered to furnish it other than to throw in a futon and a big flat-screen TV.

  He’d been devastated and hurt and all he cared about was getting as far away from his wife as quickly as possible. Where he lived or how he lived didn’t really matter anymore.

  Luckily, the guys on the team hadn’t given him too much grief. He was still their quarterback, still the guy they looked to as team leader. None of them made jokes, at least where he could hear, and he appreciated that. Lila had humiliated him in the worst possible way. He felt like such an idiot for believing anything she’d ever told him.

  The worst part was that part of him still loved her. Maybe part of him always would. He hated that.

  He had practice later, but for now, all he wanted to do was chill out. He popped open a can of Coke and took a sip as he pulled up the guide to see what was on. Instantly, a new episode of True Housewives of Sweet Valley popped up. On the bottom of the screen, the message “Live Special!” blinked. What was so earth-shattering that they needed a live show to announce it?

  He shouldn’t have cared.

  He should’ve changed the channel instantly, but something made him hesitate. Maybe it was the shock of seeing Lila right there, front and center, looking so pretty it physically hurt him. Why did she have a right to glow like that? Her looking so good felt like she was just twisting the knife—again.

  Turn the channel! a voice inside his head told him. Wha
t are you doing watching this trash? Why do you even care what she’s doing on that stupid show?

  But part of him did care. He hated to admit it, but it was true. Just seeing Lila wasn’t enough. He wanted to hear what she was saying. He turned up the volume and took another deep swig of his drink.

  He was just in time to hear the words “I’m pregnant” come out of Lila’s mouth.

  Excuse me? Ken put down the Coke can. He kicked up the volume another notch. He couldn’t have heard right.

  The other Housewives—Ashley, Devone, and Marina—all laughed.

  “I’m serious,” Lila said as she shrugged off her sweater. There was what looked like a small bump under her tank top, but Ken wouldn’t believe his eyes. “This time.”

  “No way that’s true,” Ken muttered, shaking his head. “She’s got padding under there. God, there’s no stopping her!”

  “Go on, feel it,” Lila offered to Devone. But before she could, Ken jumped up and turned off the TV.

  Hurt and anger bubbled up inside Ken as he paced his small apartment. All the dark emotions surrounding Lila’s first fake pregnancy and fake miscarriage came rolling back, knocking him down. How dare Lila do this to him again? Did she really think he was dumb enough to fall for that a second time?

  Was she so desperate for sympathy and affection that she’d stoop this low again? Lila had to be loved, no matter the cost, and she just couldn’t help trying to get his attention.

  Well, she got it, all right. And this time she wasn’t going to like it, either.

  He grabbed his car keys from the counter and stomped off to his car. He was in such a fury, he flung open the door of his precious Porsche 911 convertible, almost cracking the hinges, jumped in, and with his foot to the floor screeched out of his parking space. He would show everyone what a liar she was. No way was he going to let her get away with this trick again.