Venus Transcendent

By Golden Angel

Outed by her ex-boyfriend, Jessica is determined to get comfortable with her unconventional, polyamorous relationship with both Justin and Chris. And that means facing her family and choosing her own happiness, and the happiness of her men, over anyone else’s judgment.

But as the trio approaches their future more united than ever, it’s Liam and Hilary who begin to falter as Liam discovers Hilary has kept him a secret from her own parents. While he’s been falling head-over-heels for his honey-girl, it seems she doesn’t feel quite the same.

Editor’s note: Venus Transcendent is a high-heat romantic adventure that contains elements of MF, MFM, and other extremely mature themes. It is book four in the Venus Rising series and is intended to be read and enjoyed after Venus School, Venus Aspiring, and Venus Desiring. Proceed with caution (or excitement, whichever)!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Golden Angel
• Release date: Aug 21, 2018

Golden Angel

Golden Angel is a USA Today best-selling author, Amazon Top 50 bestselling author, and self-described bibliophile with a "kinky" bent who loves to write stories for the characters in her head. If she didn't get them out, she's pretty sure she'd go just a little crazy.She is happily married, old enough to know better but still too young to care, and a big fan of happily-ever-afters, strong heroes and heroines, and sizzling chemistry.She believes the world is a better place when there's a little magic in it.Sign up to be part of the Golden Angel Legion newsletter and receive a free story, exclusive to newsletter subscribers - https://www.subscribepage.com/goldenangelromanceFind Her Online!Newsletter → https://www.subscribepage.com/goldenangelromanceBookBub → http://bit.ly/2G68e3OFacebook → http://bit.ly/2Ds7c0eGoodreads → http://bit.ly/2rt4rdLInstagram → http://bit.ly/2CkqiqZTwitter → https://bit.ly/38ImcYkWebsite → http://www.goldenangelromance.com

Book preview

Chapter 1

Her hands clenched around the wheel so tightly, her knuckles turned white. Half an hour ago, it had seemed so logical to come here. She'd been on the warpath since she woke up this morning, and it had made her feel unusually aggressive—until now. 

Jessica stared at the house in front of her and wondered if she had the courage to go inside. From the exterior, there was nothing intimidating or frightening about the house; it had looked exactly the same since her childhood. The front lawn was bisected by a walkway which led to the front door, large boxwood bushes on either side of the door had been planted by her grandmother. They were the bane of her mother’s existence, but were too expensive to justify uprooting.

Two cars were parked in front of it, which meant both of her parents were home, probably sitting down to lunch together in the kitchen at the back of the house, so it wasn't as if she had to worry about them seeing her, although for all she knew, they were standing behind the curtain in the living room, watching her. It was impossible to see through the curtain into the house during the daytime, although someone inside the house could see clearly out.

It was all so familiar, so placidly suburban, and yet felt somehow threatening now.

Yesterday had not been a good day, although it had started out great. She'd had a wonderful morning with her boyfriends, Justin and Chris, just spending time with them around the house. In the afternoon, they'd watched a scary movie—which she would only watch during daylight hours while wedged between them so she could hide when necessary—before getting dressed for her friend, Carrie's Halloween party. Even that had started out pretty well, although her friends had asked some awkward questions. She hadn't been ready to introduce Justin and Chris as her boyfriends yet; she'd wanted her friends to get to know them a little first before challenging their ideas about what a relationship looked like, especially since her own family hadn't taken it so well—by which she meant, they hadn't talked to her for weeks. 

Then her ex had shown up. Running into an ex was bad enough, even though she didn't have feelings for Sean anymore, but then he'd practically slapped her across the face with a series of revelations, knocking them into her one by one like dominos, until she toppled over. Her parents had told her brother about her relationship with Justin and Chris after her mother had said they wouldn't. Her brother had called Sean. Apparently, everyone in her family thought she was one big freaking slut, and no one was talking to her about it although they, or her brother at least, talked to Sean about it. Then Sean told everyone in the room, all of her friends who were there, she was sleeping with two guys. Fucking them, as he put it. 

Of course, that news had spread like wildfire, even to friends who weren't at the party. She'd been getting text messages all night. Some of them were pretty awful. Most of the cruel ones were from numbers she didn't recognize, and there was no way she was going to call them to find out if they were even people she knew. For all she knew, Sean had passed her number out like candy to his own friends, people who weren't mutual friends with her, and those were the people texting her. Or maybe they were using some kind of software to change their numbers—she'd heard about stuff like that when she'd watched a news report about bullying. And here she was on the receiving end of it, all because she was in love with two men, and they were in love with her. 

A hand softly touched hers, and she jerked, loosening her grip in surprise. Her fingers tingled as blood trickled back into them. 

Are you sure you're okay to do this? 

Jessica turned to her best friend in the world, Hilary, and tried to smile into her soft brown eyes. They'd been friends for years, and when Jessica had come back from the Venus School and started dating two men, Hilary had been incredibly supportive, doing her best not to judge. She'd succeeded, especially after getting to know Justin and Chris, which is why Jessica had wanted her friends to get to know them first before revealing the true nature of the relationship

No, but it needs to be done. She let out a long sigh and brushed the hair out of her face. Preferably before I lose my courage. I'm here now... so I might as well get it over with,

That's the spirit, Hilary said with a burst of false cheerfulness. You can do it, yes you can! She thrust her fist in the air like a cheerleader and banged it against the roof of the car. Ow!

Despite the ridiculousness of her friend's antics, they surprised a laugh from Jessica, which, of course, had been the intention. The laughter helped relieve some of the nervous tension she was holding inside of her.

Okay... I can do this.

Yes, you can, said Hilary, much softer and seriously. And I'm here for whatever you need.

Nodding, Jessica made herself get out of the car. Small motions seemed to take on extra weight. Had she ever really noticed how much effort it takes to get out of a car before? Unlatching the door, pushing the latch back into place as she elbowed the heavy car door open at the same time, then ducking her head a certain way in order to avoid hitting it on the curved roof, while simultaneously putting one leg out of the car. Now balancing on one leg until she’d gotten the other leg out of the car, then step away and make sure all limbs and fingers are out of the way before pushing the heavy door closed. Focusing on those teeny tiny details, she’d never really noticed before, helped drag out the time before she had to face her parents. 

Each step up the walkway seemed fraught with possibility. She kept looking at the window to see if her parents were watching, if they knew she was coming. Although what could they do even if they did know? Run out the back door and flee? Come out front and tell her she wasn't welcome? Hopefully, not the latter, although imagining the former was kind of funny. 

Pressure on her hand told her Hilary was holding it, giving her a supportive squeeze, sharing her burden. There really was no reason for Hilary to be here other than the fact she was an incredibly wonderful friend. This was going to be a lot of family drama no friend should have to face, but Hilary was doing it anyway to make sure Jessica wasn't alone. Of course, Justin and Chris would have come with her in a heartbeat if she'd allowed them to—or mentioned where she was going before texting them two minutes ago, when she'd first pulled in front of her parents’ house, to let them know where she was and what she was doing. They'd have insisted on it.

She needed to do this part alone. She needed to fight for them, not with them. There'd be other battles they would face together, but when it came to her family, she needed to be the one to do it. 

Hello? she called as she entered the house. The faint murmur of voices from the back of the house cut off immediately.

Jessica? she heard her mom call, then she appeared at the end of the hallway where it ran into the family room. What are you doing here?

Letting go of Hilary's hand, Jessica drew herself upright with all the confidence she'd learned in the past few months and strode forward to meet her mother and her wide-eyed father who had come up to stand behind her.

We need to talk.

All things considered, Hilary thought the talk was going fairly well. Fairly well in that, so far, her presence had kept Jessica's dad in the realm of civility, and Jessica hadn't caved into her parents yet. Not so well in they were still trying to talk her out of her relationship, which was just ridiculous at this point, as far as Hilary was concerned. 

"But two men?" Mrs. Swift said for the umpteenth time. Hilary tried not to roll her eyes; if she’d had a nickel for every time one of the Swifts had said those three words today... 

You sound like a broken record, Mom, Jessica said, rubbing her head. She and Hilary were seated on the couch across from Jessica's parents, who were seated in armchairs. On the coffee table between them—the line of demarcation, as Hilary liked to think of it—glasses of water which hadn't been touched and an assortment of crackers and cheese which only Hilary had touched. The hospitality was something Mrs. Swift had insisted on, possibly in an attempt to make things seem normal. 

Mr. Swift sat back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, dark eyes glowering, shoulders slightly hunched—the epitome of an angry father. Hilary had never found him particularly intimidating, only an inch taller than Jessica. He was a slightly balding man who was much more handsome when he smiled, which was most of the time. He had a quick temper, although he usually forgave easily. His anger was a measure of his unhappiness with the situation he had yet to accept. 

They're both very nice men, Hilary said, deciding it might be time to insert herself into the conversation.

While this was definitely a family matter, both of Jessica's parents had often insisted she should consider herself a part of the family. Besides, she was tired of hearing the same arguments, over and over. Mr. Swift refused to apologize for telling Jessica's brother about Justin and Chris, Mrs. Swift wrung her hands anxiously and tried to make the same points to both him and her daughter, and Jessica continued to press that she wasn't going to change her mind.

They both love Jessica and each other very much, and you can see it in everything they do. Unlike Sean, who is doing his best to tell everyone on God’s green earth what a slut Jessica is. He’s blowing so much wind, he could power a mill.

That got a new reaction.

Jessica glared at her, of course. Hilary knew very well, Jessica hadn't wanted to tell her parents about the backlash from Sean's involvement or exactly what had happened when he confronted her. She found it embarrassing. Not to mention, she wasn't sure whether her parents agreed with what Sean was saying. But Hilary hadn't promised to keep silent, and she was outside of the situation, so she had her own opinion of how the Swifts would react, and at the moment, she was thinking she was right. Mrs. Swift was staring at her with her mouth open in a silent ‘O,’ a look of absolute horror on her face. Mr. Swift looked even angrier if it was possible, but not angry at Jessica anymore. He was sitting straight up in his chair, no longer slumped, and his arms were gripping the sides of it rather than crossed over his chest. 

During her one semester of sociology, Hilary's professor had talked about a phenomenon in which a group of people might disapprove of one person's actions until an outside group began to do the same thing. At which point, the original group would often gather around and support the person in their community who they’d previously been judging. Granted, he'd explained it in much more complicated terms, but that was what it boiled down to. It was the same thing with family. You might pick on your little brother, or daughter in this case, but woe betide anyone else who tried the same thing.

He's doing what? Mr. Swift snapped out, cutting off Jessica from whatever she was about to say to Hilary.

Jessica's head whipped around, staring at her father with a look of complete surprise, giving Hilary the chance to answer without interference.

"He announced to all of our friends that Jessica's fucking two guys, of course failing to mention she's actually in a relationship with both of them, one which all three of them take very seriously. Then he called her a whore. Now there are people texting her, calling her a slut, a whore, or all sorts of nasty things. Where would they get that idea, except from him? They're not from numbers we know."

Oh yeah, Papa Bear was pissed, and Momma Bear looked horrified. Hilary hated the situation Jessica was in, and she hated that people were texting such awful things to her, but she didn't think Jessica should hesitate to use what had been happening against her parents. They both looked at their daughter, staring at hands that were tightly clasped in her lap. Hilary hoped they could see the tear sliding down Jessica's cheek.

"Of course, the only reason he knows anything about it is your son contacted Sean, begging him to get back together with Jessica. Not that he deserves her or ever deserved her. Justin and Chris are both worth a hundred of him. They make her happy. They both love her so much, they are willing to share her because she loves both of them. And Justin's mother is completely supportive."

Okay, well, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but she thought they should know there was an approving parent. Jessica was sitting silently, probably doing her best not to strangle her, but Hilary refused to regret joining the conversation. With the limited bits of information Jessica was willing to give her parents, they hadn't been getting anywhere. 

Jessica, honey... is this true? Mrs. Swift asked, leaning forward and reaching out to her daughter, her face and voice gentle.

Yes, Jessica said quietly. Then she cleared her throat, smoothed her hands over her thighs, and looked up at both her parents. At that moment, Hilary had never been prouder of her. Confronting her parents was hard enough, but Jessica had definitely been losing the willpower to finish the conversation. She hadn't wanted to tell them about the more painful aspects of why she had come to talk to them, but without those, how could they possibly understand? Hilary might have begun this part of the conversation, but it was obvious Jessica was going to finish it.

Yes. It's true. He said nasty, horrible things to me, then did his best to embarrass me in front of my friends. And yes, now I'm getting nasty text messages, and I think Sean's the driving force behind them. I'm getting some supportive ones, too, from my true friends. The ones who realize they have no say over how I choose to live my life. She gave both of her parents a piercing look, and Hilary almost cheered. Tilting her chin up, Jessica looked both defiant and determined.

"I love Justin. I love Chris. They love me. We work together. I don't believe there is anything inherently wrong with our relationship, it's just different. I don't think there’s anything wrong with me or them or us. She took a deep breath, obviously steeling herself for what she was about to reveal. They've asked me to move in with them." 

Both of her parents gasped slightly at that, but Jessica just ignored them and continued.

"I will be moving in with them by Christmas. I want you to meet them, but that's up to you. However, it's up to me how much contact I will have with you, and if they are not welcome in this house, I won’t be here either. Not for holidays, not for birthdays, not for anything. I'm not asking for your approval of what I've chosen to do with my life, though it would be welcome. I'm just asking for your acceptance and tolerance."

With that, Jessica stood, Hilary scrambling to her feet beside her, wondering if she'd ever seen those expressions on the Swifts' faces before—complete shock, consternation, and dismay. They also seemed to have lost their voices, but for the moment, she decided it was a good thing. Normally, Mr. Swift did all the talking, but right now, he really just needed to listen. 

I've been waiting weeks for you to call, Jessica said quietly. I can’t tell you how much it hurts you didn't, or how the first thing I hear from you came out of Sean's mouth. I gave in, I came to you. I hope you understand now how serious I am about my relationship with Chris and Justin, and I will not be swayed from it because of silence from you. The ball is now in your court, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Like a queen, Jessica swept out of the room with Hilary close behind her. She doubted Jessica's parents could see their daughter was trembling, they were so immersed in shock from having Jessica lay down the law. She could tell doing so had taken a lot of willpower and courage on Jessica's part. They left the house, Jessica moving almost like a zombie, and Hilary was glad the Swifts didn't come chasing after them. Jessica was definitely going to need some time to recover. 

Catching up to Jessica halfway to the car, Hilary wrapped her arm around her friend's waist. Brilliant. That was incredible, she said. I'm so proud of you. I'm sorry I brought up things I know you weren't sure you wanted to tell them.

No, it's okay, Jessica said, giving her friend a wan smile. Curving her arm around Hilary's waist, she gave her a half-hug back. I was really mad for about five seconds, then realized I shouldn't be. There was no point in going to talk to them if I wasn't going to tell them everything. Communication... woo.

You did great, Hilary said soothingly as she took the car keys from Jessica. It was obvious her friend had a lot going on in her head right now and was much too distracted to drive. So, where to?

I feel like I've been asking for a lot of girls nights lately...

That's okay, you've had every right to, Hilary said with a grin. Tell you what, last time we ate lots of junk food and skipped the booze. This time let's just go for the booze and skip the junk food.

A small smile worked its way onto Jessica's face as Hilary pulled away from the Swift residence. That actually sounds pretty great. She pursed her lips thoughtfully. Maybe a little bit of junk food.

Pizza and cheesy bread?

Mmm, with lava cakes.

Garlic butter dipping sauce...

So, when do we go to the gym?

After the hangover's gone.

They both laughed, and Jessica reached over to grab Hilary's hand, squeezing it hard. Hilary smiled and squeezed back. She didn't think this was the end of Jessica's problems; after all, she was still getting those nasty texts. Not to mention the fact her parents hadn't come around yet, although Hilary thought they would now. The important thing was the first step had been taken. 

Are you sure you don't want to spend tonight with Justin and Chris? she asked.

Jessica shook her head. I need some girl time to just... chill. They'll want to know what happened and what I said, and I don't want to go through it all again right now. I want to just turn off my phone, forget about my parents, forget about the assholes, and have a girls night with you. I'll talk to them tomorrow.

Sounds fair to me, Hilary said cheerfully. She was sure Jessica was right, and while if she was Justin or Chris, she'd be dying to know what was going on, it should be up to Jessica to tell them. Which meant Hilary should probably wait until tomorrow to contact Liam. He'd ask the same questions, and she didn't want to talk to him before Jessica talked to her men. Tomorrow morning, she'd text him good luck before his meeting, then talk to him in the evening. By then, Jessica would already be with Chris and Justin. 

Monday evening, Liam was alone in his dojo, doing his best to clear his mind. It was not an easy prospect, considering he'd been pretty embarrassed this morning when he'd introduced himself to Hilary's mother, and she hadn't known who he was. Not to mention a little upset. Why hadn't Hilary told her mother she had a boyfriend?

Was it because they came from different backgrounds? It was obvious her parents must be pretty wealthy, considering the amount of money her mother had ended up pledging to the program, which was great for the program. In one morning, he'd managed to get enough money to do a test run, selecting one or two scholarship students to take classes sponsored by the philanthropists he'd met with today. If it went well, he could start looking into expanding the program. when he’d spoken to Mrs. Bryant, she hadn’t seemed to care about where he came from or the fact he was running a dojo instead of investments, so he didn't think that could be it.

Maybe Hilary hadn’t known her mother was going to be one of the people he'd be presenting to. He really didn't think she'd keep something like that from him. But then again, he hadn’t thought she'd keep something like having a boyfriend from her mother either.

Unless she didn't consider him her boyfriend.

Although he hadn't seen it until after, she'd texted him about halfway through his presentation, wishing him luck, saying she and Jessica had stayed up late the night before and taken off of work, and that the talk with Jessica's parents went okay.

So far, he hadn't responded to her. He didn't quite know what to say. 

Hey, Liam. Are you okay?

He opened his eyes to see Cara, who had assisted him in putting together the presentation, peeking into the room. She was dressed in her regular street clothes, obviously on her way out after doing paperwork in the office. Petite and pretty, she was a very curvy young woman who didn't look the least bit threatening, but she was the equal of most of the men in the studio. Someone who didn’t know better might make the mistake of treating her like a cream puff and end up on his ass for the trouble.

I'm fine. He forced a smile. We did good today.

Yeah, we did, she said, walking inside the room to stand at the edge of the mat. Because she was wearing shoes, he knew she wouldn't come any closer without taking them off. But you don't look okay.

I'm fine, he said, then grimaced as he realized he'd just repeated himself. A small smile bloomed on Cara's face, more of a smirk than a smile, really. It's just been a long day.

Girl trouble? she asked, and Liam shot her a look. Cara shrugged. What? It's not like I couldn't hear you talking to Mrs. Bryant.

Yeah, well... Liam floundered, trying to figure out how to respond to that. Although he and Cara had known each other for several years now, they'd never really talked about their lives outside of the dojo. I just need to talk to her, he muttered. 

‘Her’ being your girlfriend? If she even is, considering she apparently didn’t tell her mother about you. There was a hint of impatience in Cara's voice, and a little of indignation as if she was insulted for him. Strangely, it made him feel like defending Hilary. Then Cara's voice changed, gentling, hinting at something more intimate—subtle, but present. You deserve better than a girlfriend who hides your existence. You deserve someone who wants everyone to know you're her boyfriend.

Startled by the change in Cara's voice, Liam looked up at her. It wasn't often Cara could look down at someone, she was so short, but looking up into her eyes, he saw something he hadn't noticed before, and he didn't think it was because of the angle. Damn it. Not exactly something he needed right now.

I don't know that she's hiding my existence; I just need to talk to her. Communication is what makes a good relationship, so I'm not the best boyfriend right now, either, he said, blatantly ignoring the invitation in Cara's eyes. Standing up, he stretched and walked over to his bag. I'll see you tomorrow.

See you tomorrow.

There was a bit of wistfulness in Cara's voice as she walked quickly out the door. He blessed her for being subtle; otherwise, things between them could have become awkward since they had to see each other every day. Keeping his back to the door until she had gone, Liam realized he wasn't the slightest bit tempted to go after her. He wanted to go to Hilary's and demand to know what the hell was going through her head. A few months ago, if Cara had shown interest, he might have convinced himself to see where things would go, but now, all he wanted was Hilary.

What he'd just told Cara was true though, he was a bad boyfriend. Instead of talking to Hilary about what had happened this morning, he was sitting around, sulking. He hadn't even texted her back, thanking her for wishing him good luck or telling her how the presentation went. In fact, he'd turned his phone on silent and hadn't glanced at it since receiving her first text. Talk about avoidance, not exactly the reaction of a mature, thoughtful boyfriend.

Well, at least now, he could admit he was being a dumbass.

Digging into his bag, he pulled out his phone. One text from Justin, asking how the presentation went, two from Chris, one asking the same thing, the other wanting to know why the hell he wasn't responding. A missed call from Patrick. And three texts and one missed call from Hilary, but no voicemails. 

Hey, how'd the presentation go? Well, I hope!

Finally, feeling less hung over... I hope this morning went well! Call me when you get a chance? I'm home all day.

Missed call.

I just talked to my Mom. I'm so sorry... please call me, Liam.

Asshole. 

He groaned and dropped his head against the wall, which fortunately was padded, or it would have hurt a lot more than it did. What a jerk. Her last text had been sent hours ago, and he'd been lost in his own little world of being angry, without even giving her a chance to explain. Guilt rose in him. Dealing with Hilary could be so damned confusing, not in the least because today, he'd just realized how much he was starting to care about her.

It had hurt when her mother hadn't known who he was—not his pride, although that as well, but his feelings. So he had his reason for acting like a jerk, but the mature, the right thing to do would have been to call her. Maybe not immediately after the presentation, but soon after. He shouldn't have been ignoring his phone all day.

Was he still in high school? It seemed like the kind of thing an adolescent would pull, ignoring his phone and sulking in an attempt to punish her. Although he hadn't actually intended it that way, looking at her texts, he knew that was probably how it would feel to her. It was a selfish and thoughtless thing to do. If she’d done the same thing to him, he’d be pretty hurt.

He hit reply.

Hey, sorry, I didn't get back to you sooner. I haven't had my phone on me all day. The presentation went really well. Can I come over so we can talk?

Hopefully, she'd say yes. Hopefully, she'd answer at all. Pulling out his jeans, he quickly changed his pants just as his phone buzzed, and his heart jumped a little in his chest.

Yeah, I'm home all evening. When do you think you'll be over?

A sense of relief went through him. The tone of the text message wasn’t the most welcoming, but at least she wasn’t shutting him out. Even if he'd been a jerk, playing childish games and sulking, it was obvious, Hilary wasn't that kind of person. He vowed not to be that kind of person again, either.

I'm just about to leave the dojo. Twenty minutes ok?

Sure, I'll see you then.

It was amazing how a good dose of guilt could mitigate anger and hurt. If he'd talked to Hilary earlier this morning after the presentation, he'd have been riding high on a wave of justified anger. Now, he felt like they'd both done something wrong, and he just wanted to cuddle up with her and make it right.

Chapter 2

Staring at her phone, Hilary tried to swallow back the wash of tears.

Considering the fact, she hadn't heard from him all day, then that awful phone call with her mother when she'd realized why he was avoiding her calls, she'd hoped for the best and prepared for the worst. As much as one could prepare, anyway. He must be coming over to break up with her. Why else would he avoid her all day, then say nothing other than he wanted to come over?

Or maybe he really had just been away from his phone all day. She didn't want to get too optimistic—being an optimist was a major blessing sometimes, except she'd had to learn at a young age, assuming the best didn't always mean it would happen. A lot of the time, things hurt a lot worse, the disappointment was a lot harder if she had convinced herself of the best possible outcome. It was better to think about both the very best and the very worst possible outcomes and put her money on the worst. That way, she could always be pleasantly surprised.

She really hoped she was going to be surprised tonight, but there was a ball of anxiety in the pit of her stomach, which had been growing all day. She thought Liam must be busy, but it had taken him a really long time to get back to her, much longer than usual. That didn't necessarily mean anything, but some instinct had made her feel anxious, especially since she thought he'd call her right after the presentation.

At first, her anxiety had been that the presentation had gone poorly. Still, she'd hoped he would realize she would want to know about it, to support him.

Then, this afternoon, she'd had the most awful conversation with her mother.

Why hadn't she listened more carefully the last time she'd talked with her mother? She couldn't remember her mom saying anything more specific than wanting to find a new charity project. Obviously, she'd found one. If only Hilary had known it would be Liam's! Not only had she embarrassed her boyfriend and her mother, she knew her mother was about Hilary’s non-disclosure, and she could only imagine Liam felt the same if not worse. The conversation with her mom hadn’t been comfortable.

How could you not have told me you have a boyfriend?

It just hadn't come up yet.

"But I ask you every time I talk to you! You always give me the same answer. Have you been lying to me every time I talk to you?"

Not every time, Hilary had muttered—but often enough.

Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was? For both him and me?

I'm sorry, Mom.

"Why on earth, didn't you tell me? What possible reason could you have had for not telling me you have a boyfriend? You aren't embarrassed about him, are you? He seemed like a very