One Tiny Lie – Jennifer Youngblood Page 0,2

the two of them got engaged.

Everything had happened so quickly that Luna hadn’t told Beverly or Todd that she was going out of town. To cover her tracks, she’d called them both the day after she left, claiming that she was visiting a college friend in Nashville.

Luna explained that her friend had been injured while hiking and was in the hospital. It was better to keep the story as close to the truth as possible. Still, Luna felt like a sleaze for lying to Beverly and Todd.

Beverly sat up taller in her seat, pulling the tie of her robe tighter around her waist. “Okay, we need to talk about our lunch meeting today.”

“Lunch?” Luna asked dubiously, her hands cupping the mug. Her brain was still a bit cloudy from the travel. Also, she was trying to make sense of her life … wondering how Hudson Davenport was going to play into her future.

“Yep, Juliette’s joining us.” She gave Luna a meaningful look.

Luna’s eyes widened. “Oh.” She took another drink of herbal tea. Juliette Davenport was Hudson’s mother. Part of the reason Ava had wanted Luna to switch places with her was because Ava was being pressured into marrying her childhood friend Hudson Davenport.

“Has Hudson given you any indication of when he’s going to propose?”

“No,” Luna answered carefully. An invisible fist gripped her stomach as she swallowed. If Beverly knew how tenuous things were between Hudson and Luna right now, she’d freak.

The faint lines around Beverly’s eyes and mouth tightened as she nodded. She forced a smile. “I’m sure it’ll happen soon.”

Luna reached out and squeezed Beverly’s hand, just as Ava had done that day at the diner. “Everything will be okay.”

Moisture rose in Beverly’s eyes as she let out a long sigh. Her hand went up around her neck. “I know you think your dad and I are terrible for wanting you to marry Hudson.” Her voice hitched. “It’s not just because of what it will do for the vineyard or our family.” Her eyes softened with pleading. “The two of you would be great together. If only you could see what I see. Hudson’s crazy about you.”

Luna fought the urge to laugh. Hudson might have been crazy about Ava at one time, but he certainly wasn’t crazy about Ava or Luna, rather, now. If only. An awkward silence passed. “How are things going with the vineyard?” Luna asked cautiously.

Beverly’s lips formed taut lines. “With our loans, we should be okay for a few more months. After that …” Her voice trailed off as she stared into the distance.

Luna felt for the Gileses. They were desperate for a solution that would put their vineyard and winery back in the black. Hudson’s family owned a large, booming vineyard that had been in his family for three generations. A marriage between Ava and Hudson would not only create a powerful dynasty, but more importantly, it would give Beverly and Todd the financial backing they needed to keep the vineyard solvent. Luna wasn’t sure what details Beverly and Todd had worked out with the Davenports, but evidently, they were being promised a truckload of money if the two families joined in a marriage. Interesting that the Davenports were so keen on the idea of their son marrying Ava. Maybe it was a rich people fetish, a way to keep all of that money and influence contained within two families.

The marriage had been a source of contention for Ava and her parents. Ava didn’t want to be forced into marrying a man she didn’t love. Also, Ava was tired of her parents trying to run her life. That’s why Ava had wanted to switch places with Luna—so she could escape her life and have room to spread her wings. Luna, on the other hand, had always felt trapped by her life of isolation with an eccentric adopted mother whose heart had been broken by her husband a long time ago, and she never got over it. Luna’s adopted father was a pediatric dentist. When Luna was six years old, he fell in love with his dental hygienist and divorced Luna’s mom. He was now married to the hygienist and had a passel of kids. Luna had never felt much of a connection to her adopted father. She resented him for all the pain and anguish he’d caused her mother. While Luna’s adopted mother provided a decent income for the two of them, there were large chunks of time when she’d shut down emotionally, making