Tell Them Lies (Three Little Words Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

sucking in a breath when her eyes widened at his fast approach.
    Perfect. She was perfect. And she smelled perfect when he stepped right in front of her, sliding his hand around her waist. Even though she was tall, he dipped his head so that his mouth was right next to her ear.
    He could have licked her, he was so close. He didn't, but he could have. Instead, he did the selfish asshole thing and snuck a quick peck onto her cheek.
    "Please," he whispered. "Please, just play along. I'll explain after the class."
    Pulling in one deep lungful of her clean scent, Kieran pulled back just far enough to meet her eyes.
    Please , he mouthed. The resigned breath that left her completely perfect mouth practically made him slump in relief. And from behind him, he could almost feel the vibrating happiness of his mom, dying to meet her.
    Dying . Bad train of thought. It was enough to snap him back from how closely he was still standing to the yet unnamed creature of perfection.
    "Kieran, is this? Is this her?" Her voice wobbled. It wobbled. And her eyes actually got all teary and shit, one hand reaching up like she just wanted to touch...her.
    And those light blue eyes flicked back to him, just for a second, before she stepped forward.
    "I'm Liz. Liz Peters. It's a...pleasure to meet you."
    "Oh, trust me, the pleasure is entirely mine. I'm Maggie Carter, Kieran's meddling mother. It's so wonderful to meet you, Liz."
    Liz smiled, just a tiny, nervous smile and held out her hand.
    Liz. He inhaled it into his head, let it settle. What the ever-loving hell was wrong with him? It was three stupid letters. But those three letters slowed his heart rate and pushed blood back into his limbs. The panic receded, and he shifted closer to Liz.
    But instead of taking the slim hand that Liz had stretched out, his mom wrapped Liz in her bony arms. And he had to look away at the way that his mom's eyes closed. In relief.
    She looked so relieved that it was enough to shove the guilt back up this throat. The two women separated, and there was a moment of thick, awkward silence.
    "Umm," Kieran started.
    "So," Liz said at the same time.
    And all three of them laughed.
    "I'll go sit down, let you two talk," his mom said, waving a hand. And off she went.
    Liz stared at him, her eyes asking about a million and one questions were not appropriate to answer just then. Kieran scratched the back of his neck, momentarily distracted when a group of middle-aged women came into the room, disrupting the long stretch of silence that he wasn't sure how to fill.
    "Kieran," Liz said, not really addressing him, just testing his name out. "That's your name?"
    He nodded, looking back over his shoulder to make sure his mom was far enough away to not be able to hear them. The table she'd sat at was about six feet away, so she probably couldn't, but she was definitely staring with unconcealed fascination. He rolled his eyes when she winked, and then turned back to Liz.
    It was disconcerting, how seriously she was studying him.
    "And you're Liz."
    "I believe that's already been established."
    He chuckled under his breath at the tight edge of annoyance coloring her voice. "Do you work here? At the library?"
    "I'm certainly not qualified to hold a class on quilting, but I suppose you wouldn't know that about me." He wanted to know everything about her. "But yes, I do work here."
    "Will you be here after the class? So I can explain?"
    The way she nodded was quick and jerky, and it made him want to smooth a hand down her arm because of how nervous she suddenly seemed. Smoothing a hand down the front of her sky blue dress, Liz let out a slow breath.
    "The library closes at eight tonight, I'll be here until then."
    "All right, I'll come back after I bring her home. Should I come back inside when I do?"
    "No," she replied quickly. "Just...I'll meet you out in the parking lot. It shouldn't take long, right?"
    Only forever. "Nope. Not too long at all."
    With another nod, she walked past him,