Secrets and Seductions Read online

  She hadn’t. More than three months later, she still hadn’t made any move to apologize. She didn’t have to apologize, really. She just needed to show up one day at the door. With the way he felt about her, that probably would have done it.

  Sometimes he fantasized that she would come to him out of the blue, but she never did.

  Todd wanted to be with Jessica; he would do anything to be with her, but she had to give him a sign that’s what she wanted, too. He wasn’t going to grovel, not after the way she’d treated him.

  Todd pulled into the driveway of his house, parked his car, and hopped out. He unlocked the back door and instantly could smell Sarah’s cooking.

  Ever since Sarah had shown up on Todd’s doorstep, upset about losing her apartment, Todd had let her stay with him. He couldn’t imagine turning her away, not after Jessica had had her fired. Jessica insisted Sarah was a plagiarist, and the Tribune editors had believed her, but Todd didn’t think Sarah would do anything like that on purpose. It was just careless reporting.

  Since moving in with him, she’d become a good friend and confidant. Nothing physical had happened between them. If Todd was honest with himself, it wasn’t for Sarah’s lack of trying. It was because Todd wasn’t ready. He was still hung up on Jessica.

  He inhaled the smell of hearty lasagna and sighed. This is what home should smell like. Todd couldn’t help it. He was an old-fashioned guy. Jessica had accused him of being last-century old-fashioned, but he couldn’t help who he was.

  And now there was no point to even trying.

  “Oh, hey, Todd, you’re home.” Sarah turned around, and he saw she was wearing skimpy cutoff shorts, a clingy tank top, and no bra. The effect was dizzying for a moment. Todd might have been in love with Jessica, but she was the woman who wasn’t there. Sarah was right here. Close. Hot.

  “I was just whipping up some dinner. Want some?”

  “Sure.” Todd felt grateful. “That would be great.”

  Sarah wiggled past him to get a pot holder, brushing him with her chest as she went. Under different circumstances, that would’ve been a huge turn-on, but Todd couldn’t quite focus entirely on Sarah.

  “How’s it going?”

  “Good.”

  “Anybody been by today?” Stupid as it seemed, he had to ask. Actually, he always ended up asking.

  “No, why? You expecting someone?”

  “No,” Todd said. Just hoping.

  “Are we talking about Jessica again?” Sarah asked, wagging a spoon in his direction. “I know you’re still hurting, Todd, but I really think you can do better.”

  “I know, but…” Todd loved this Sarah, the good friend and listener, the one who kept stubbornly but gently trying to help him heal. Todd spent hours talking to her about how much he missed Jessica. It had been such a relief to admit that to someone. Sarah also didn’t seem to mind that he’d pulled back romantically. He just couldn’t jump into a new relationship now. It didn’t seem right.

  “No, buts. I promised to help you through this, and I will.” Sarah gave him a warm smile and immediately Todd felt better. He hated being so wrapped up in Jessica that he couldn’t think straight. While he knew part of him would never get over her, he liked to think that one day he’d be able to get through a day without thinking about her every minute. “Here, have a taste,” Sarah offered, holding up a wooden spoon with the lasagna sauce on it.

  Eagerly, he went forward and she dipped the spoon into his mouth. A bit dribbled down his chin and she wiped up the sauce with her forefinger. Then she popped the finger in her mouth.

  “Yummy, right?” she purred. Even Todd was having a hard time avoiding the sexual tension now. And Sarah was pretty…and perky in all the right places.

  Suddenly, the evening seemed to take on a new dimension of possibility.

  “You want a beer?” Sarah asked him, dipping into the refrigerator. She made sure to bend down low, revealing just how high the shredded cuffs of her cutoffs could rise.

  “Yes,” he said, and swallowed. She fished out a bottle and twisted off the top. “Here you go. Now go sit down while I finish up in here.”

  Todd sank into his favorite recliner and clicked on the TV, beer in hand. He had to admit, it felt good.

  Then he saw the channel in front of him. He’d landed on E! and the entertainment news was on. He stopped abruptly as he heard the report.

  “Star is reporting that Jessica Wakefield, Liam O’Connor’s hot and heavy, is getting divorced. It looks like Liam’s love is leaving her husband for him. But who wouldn’t? Have you seen Liam’s abs?”

  In shock, Todd dropped his beer.

  “Damn it,” he cursed as he scrambled to pick up the bottle and beer foamed all over the carpet.

  “What’s wrong?” Sarah asked. She stood in front of him now, and when he straightened, he found himself at eye level with her chest.

  “It’s just…”

  Sarah glanced over at the screen and saw the picture of Liam and Jessica. “Oh, Todd.”

  “She’s filed for divorce, Sarah,” Todd said now, his voice sounding distant and numb.

  Sarah plucked the beer deftly out of Todd’s hand and put it on the coffee table, and then she sank into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.

  “Oh, Todd, I’m so sorry.”

  “I don’t know what I expected…” Todd rested his forehead against her shoulder and she hugged him tight. “I thought…”

  He realized he really had been naïvely holding on to the hope that Jessica would show up at his door. That they would somehow get back together. Now, with divorce papers in the works, that dream disappeared.

  “That’s why she never made any move at reconciliation. Liam. How dumb I was.”

  Sarah stroked Todd’s hair. “Obviously, she’s in love with him. Nothing you can do about that.”

  Of course, Sarah knew Jessica had been by. There was that afternoon the bitch had come by wearing those killer heels and a snug-fitting dress, ready to beg to get Todd back. But as luck would have it, Sarah had answered the door wearing one of her best teddies and had quickly gotten rid of her. Of course, she’d never told Todd.

  Why would she? Sarah wanted him for herself. She’d been trying for months to seduce him. She wasn’t going to give up now.

  “How could she do this to me?” Todd shook his head.

  “I’m not surprised,” Sarah said. “This is the same woman who left her job supposedly because she loved you and then went running back to it the next day.”

  “Shit. You’re right.” Todd closed his eyes.

  “It’s all just a big game to her,” Sarah said gently. “You deserve someone better.” She rubbed her hand against his shirtfront.

  “Sarah…”

  “Todd, I’m going to say this because I care about you, okay? Jessica is moving on,” Sarah said. “Maybe you should, too.”

  Sarah rubbed herself against Todd, wiggling in his lap. “Maybe what you need is someone who really knows how to take care of you,” she said, and then she dipped her lips to his and started kissing him.

  At first, Todd froze. His heart was broken and he felt a well of despair bubbling up inside him. But another part of him, a deeper, instinctual part, couldn’t resist the comfort Sarah offered.

  As he hesitated, he found himself getting lost in Sarah’s softness, in the wetness of her mouth and her eagerness to please him.

  In that kiss, he realized that she’d been here in front of him for months, eagerly waiting for him to come to his senses. His hands roamed her body and slid under her shirt, caressing her bare breasts.

  She moaned.

  She was offering herself up to him and he would be foolish to turn her down. Besides, he liked Sarah. Maybe more than liked her. She’d been there for him these last few months when no one else had. Certainly not Jessica.

  His body responded to her. The truth was he was a man who’d gone without sex for too long, and as he kissed her, his need turned more urgent. He su
ddenly wanted to have her in every way possible, to show Jessica Wakefield that he was not broken.

  Desire soared in his blood, and he shifted, scooping up Sarah in his arms as he kissed her again. She giggled in surprise as he marched her to her bedroom. They tumbled down on the bed together, and her clothes were off.

  Todd looked at her appreciatively. She was nothing like Jessica. Her dark hair was cropped short; her skin was darker than Jessica’s, and her body not quite as lean. He relished the differences.

  Maybe she would help him put Jessica in the past. Who knew? Maybe she was the right kind of woman for him. Maybe he could love her.

  “Are you sure you want to…?” Todd’s voice trailed off. He couldn’t help asking. He always asked first.

  “More than anything.”

  Todd bent down and caressed her gently, exploring her body, relishing the unfamiliar details, like the crescent-shaped birthmark on her upper thigh. She dug around in the drawer next to her bed and fished out a condom. Once the wrapper was off, she gently tugged it on him.

  He moaned as she guided him straight inside her. He moved slowly, deliberately, as he met her gaze. This wasn’t just sex, he realized with a start. They were making love.

  She had been such a good friend to him, but now she was much more than that. He found himself thinking, This feels so right.

  She responded to him, coming again and again, and with each new climax, Todd felt his own power growing. Sarah would be his way out of the Jessica Wakefield nightmare. She would be his savior. Sarah was his future.

  At the end, he came with a guttural shout, then crumpled on top of her, exhausted and spent. He cradled her gently in his arms, caressing her hair, murmuring, “Sarah…Oh, God, Sarah. You saved me. That was so good…” as he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

  Sarah lay by his side, eyes wide-open and calculating. After a few minutes, she slipped out of his bed, grabbed her shirt, and tiptoed to her cell phone on the kitchen table.

  She listened to Todd’s snores, waiting for any change in the sound before she clicked open her text messages. There was a long line of communication with Caroline Pearce.

  Todd might not have known it, but in the last few weeks Sarah and Caroline Pearce had become close pals. Sarah had been the one feeding Caroline Pearce information, like that Todd had filed for divorce. Sarah told herself it was only a matter of time; eventually she would convince him to file. Just as she’d finally convinced him to come to her bed.

  Men were simple creatures, she thought. They could be easily led. Like the fact that Todd still thought Sarah had plagiarized Jessica by accident. She hadn’t. She’d copied Jessica’s quotes word for word, just the way she’d been plagiarizing for years. She was still picking up freelance money the same way.

  She would’ve gotten away with the Jessica thing if the bitch hadn’t been so nosy. But she would get her back now by taking away Todd. Sarah knew how much Jessica wanted to be with Todd. She’d seen it in her face when she’d come to Todd’s house.

  Jessica might have gotten her fired, but Sarah was going to make sure Todd never went back to Jessica again. Not now, not ever.

  Sarah texted Caroline.

  IT’S OFFICIAL—TODD AND I ARE A COUPLE.

  Sarah thought about this a moment and then added:

  HE SAYS HE’S GETTING A DIVORCE BECAUSE HE WANTS TO BE WITH ME. HE WANTS TO BE A FREE MAN FOR ME…. SO YOU CAN DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS.

  Let Jessica chew on that awhile, Sarah thought. She could almost imagine the bitch’s face when she read it.

  Sarah hoped she suffered. She heard Todd stir in the next room, so she locked her phone and got up.

  Time for round two, she thought as she wiggled out of her shirt.

  Also by Francine Pascal

  Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later

  Series

  Sweet Valley High

  Sweet Valley Twins

  Sweet Valley Kids

  Sweet Valley University

  Fearless

  Young Adult Novels

  Hangin’ Out with Cici (My Mother Was Never a Kid)

  My First Love and Other Disasters

  Love and Betrayal

  Hand-Me-Down Kid

  The Ruling Class

  Adult Novels

  Save Johanna

  If Wishes Were Horses…(La Villa)

  Little Crew of Butchers

  Nonfiction

  The Strange Case of Patty Hearst (with John Pascal)

  Theater

  George M! (with Michael Stewart and John Pascal)

  About the Author

  © Ben Asen Photography, 2010

  Francine Pascal is the creator of Sweet Valley and is one of the most popular fiction writers of all time. As a theater lover and Tony voter, Ms. Pascal is on the Advisory Board of the American Theatre Wing. Her favorite sport is a monthly poker game. She lives in New York City and France.

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  THE SWEET LIFE #4: SECRETS AND SEDUCTIONS. Copyright © 2012 by Francine Pascal. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

  Sweet Valley® is a registered trademark of Francine Pascal.

  www.stmartins.com

  Cover design by Elsie Lyons

  Cover photograph by KULISH VIKTORIIA/Shutterstock

  e-ISBN: 978-1-4299-5836-3

  Everyone wants a taste of

  The Sweet Life

  New this summer from FRANCINE PASCAL, get ready for the exciting SIX-PART e-serial, THE SWEET LIFE, publishing every week!

  Follow the continuing drama of Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, the beautiful, blonde twins from Sweet Valley in this new adult series…

  Three years after the events of the New York Times bestseller SWEET VALLEY CONFIDENTIAL families have been made, hearts have been broken, and a scandal of epic proportions will rock Jessica and Elizabeth’s perfect world.

  Don’t miss a moment of this brand new chapter of Sweet Valley—to sign up for email reminders and to get the insider scoop visit: WWW.THESWEETLIFESERIES.COM

  On Sale Summer 2012

  This time the secrets are

  More Scandalous Than Ever!

  Is Todd through with Jessica forever?

  Will Annie give in to her desire for Bruce ?

  How far will Elizabeth go to find out the truth?

  Find out in THE SWEET LIFE: Cutting the Ties

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