Deception, p.1
Deception, page 1
Praise for Andrea Hurtt
“COLORFUL, DESCRIPTIVE, FASCINATINGLY PROVOCATIVE… Andrea Hurtt’s Deception, is a WONDERFUL story about relationships and consequences. Just when you think you know what happens next, you realize THAT YOU DON’T! Not by a long shot, because that’s what deception is… a mind trick that lets you think you’ve got it all figured out. At least until everything unravels. This is a FANTASTIC first novel and I can’t wait to see what stories Andrea Hurtt weaves next.”
Deb White- Staff Writer for Nerds and Beyond
“Deception keeps you intrigued from the very first sentence. The writing is so descriptive I felt like I was right there, and when it ended I felt like I lived it! I eagerly await Andrea’s next book!”
Dorothy Chamberlain
“A thrilling tale that pulls you into Grace’s world. The passion, fear and blame that Andrea takes you through on this journey are so real that I found myself biting my nails through the last chapters. I can’t wait to read more of her books.”
Linda Stecker
* * *
“For the bibliophile who is looking for their next addiction, you have uncovered the secret of Andrea Hurtt’s ‘Deception’! This stand-out novel weaves a suspenseful tale of love, deceit, and the necessity of discovering ones own strength and self worth. Her mastery of the pen and attention to detail is a fresh infusion of talent to the literary world and I cannot wait for the next edition!”
Rianna Melton
Deception
Andrea Hurtt
Piece Of Pie Publishing
Copyright © 2019 by Andrea Hurtt
Excerpt from Careless Kisses copyright © 2019 by Andrea Hurtt
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Piece Of Pie Publishing
11923 NE Sumner ST Ste 826515
Portland, OR 97220-9601
Cover by: Just Write. Creations
Editor: C.A. Szarek
For my Family
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Afterword
About the Author
Sneak Peek
Careless Kisses
Chapter One
“Maddie! Where’s our Maddie?” The stage manager called for the star of the show, her.
As she stepped out onto the stage, enjoying the heat from the spotlight, Maddie took over. She fell in love with the boy-next-door her father had told her she could never have. As events unfolded, Maddie learned there was so much more out in the world.
The character went in search of something dangerous, something magical, only to discover she already had everything she desired in her own front yard.
Grace gave the performance of a lifetime—as she did at every single show.
She treated each performance as if it was the most important one of her life, because she never knew when it would be.
The cast took their applause and came back for the curtain call. The noise from the crowd was deafening.
If she did a thousand shows in her life, she’d still never get used to that sound. Her heart beat with the vibrations of the clapping. She felt so alive.
Her theater company was doing a US tour of their current production, The Splendids. Their twelve-week run was almost over. They had two shows in Las Vegas, before finishing in Los Angeles.
She was so done with Vegas. Grace had stumbled during their last show. Disappointed with herself for her screw up, she didn’t want to go out with the cast at the end of the night to meet fans.
She headed back to the hotel, where she could be alone.
Grace plopped down on the middle of the bed she shared with Maxine, one of the contortionists, fighting with tears she didn’t want to shed.
A bag of Reese’s Pieces, her comfort food, was staring at her from on top of her suitcase, like it knew she needed to cheer herself up. She sprung up to get the sugary sweetness.
She curled up on the floor, resting her back against the foot of the bed, pulling her knees up to her chest.
A knock on the door jarred her out of her head. The sense of passing time eluded her, but the bag of candy resting between her ankles was almost empty.
Grace looked at the door. Who could that be? None of the girls she shared with ever knocked. “Yes?” She called from the floor, not wanting to move.
“Grace? Are you all right?” The voice was muffled through the door, but it was Charles, her handsome, yet young, costar.
Over the past five months, they’d gotten to be close friends. She had to kiss him twice a day during productions, but that hadn’t changed their friendship.
“Hold on,” Grace called, doing her best not to spill the last of her candy, as she stood. She failed, and little hard shells tumbled around. She jumped over them. At least she hadn’t crushed them into the carpet. She took a deep breath, letting it out in a huff before she opened the door.
Charles stared, his brown eyes intense, his shoulders pulled back in arrogance. “Really, Gracie? You’re gonna hang out in your room and pout because you tripped? It happens. No one can be graceful all the time.”
She laughed with her friend, tension loosening in her shoulders. He knew, better than anyone, how ungraceful she was.
The only time she pulled off the illusion was when she was on stage.
“Yes, I’m gonna pout. But you might as well come pout with me. You screwed up too.”
He stepped into the room, but didn’t see the spilled Reese’s on the floor. Crunch crunch under the soles of his boots had Grace whirling around.
She shoved him out of the way. “Stop! You’re ruining my candy!” She squatted down to scoop up the salvageable pieces, popping some of them into her mouth.
“Ick! Grace! That’s wrong! It’s been on the floor.”
“It’s Reese’s. The five-second rule applies.”
“I think it's been over five-seconds.”
“I don’t care.” Grace jumped on the bed and grinned.
Charles sat on the edge of the mattress, putting his hand on her knee. “So, back to what you said a second ago, about me screwing up. What the hell? I am always perfect.”
“My ass! You laughed when I tripped. It was so out of character. Louis would’ve run to Maddie’s side. Not laughed at her!”
As hard as she tried to be mad, he was right.
It was silly of her to beat herself up over it. A misplaced cord had caused her to trip, not something she’d done.
“Well, if I screw up next week, which I am sure will, you’re allowed to laugh at me. Fair enough?” His expression said he was serious.
“Why do you think you’ll mess up next week? As you said, you’re perfect.”
Charles wasn’t perfect. He was very much a screwball when not performing. Their rehearsals were always so much fun because he messed around half the time. However, much like Grace; they let everything else go and allowed their characters to take over when they went on stage.
“My brother and some of his buddies are gonna be there.”
“So?” she asked.
“So, I’ve always looked up to him. Like any little brother, all I’ve ever wanted was for him to be proud of me. This is my chance to show him what I’ve become, so I’m sure I’ll screw it up.” He smiled and patted her knee again before he ran that hand through his tousled blond hair. “I don’t know which show he’s coming to. He’s busy, or so he says. But he guaranteed me he’d be at Saturday’s Benefit Masquerade.”
“Will you introduce me? I’d love to meet him.”
“I guess. He’s closer to your age. It still surprises me they got an old lady to play a teenager,” he teased about their eight-year age difference.
“Old lady! Who’re you calling an old lady?”
“You, of course.”
She shoved at him, playfully, but hard, sending him crashing to the floor.
He landed with a great humph, followed by laughter.
Grace peered over the side of the bed.
He was still sitting on the floor. “Yeah, you and my brother will get along just fine. He likes to beat on me, too.” Charles crawled back to the bed. “Everyone loves my brother.” He sounded almost…sad. “Well, have a good one. I’d better go.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Sure. See ya in the morning, Graceless,” he called, and the door shut b ehind him.
Charles and the entire production team arrived in Los Angeles on the Monday evening of their last week. They’d saved most of the company’s marketing funds for this last hurrah.
The cast did multiple photoshoots, most of which were out in the hot California sun. They quickly learned a nice day wasn’t conducive with full costumes and wigs.
“I think I’m about to lose this wig,” Charles pointed out to the PR woman, standing off to the side, supervising.
“Agreed. Let’s get you all out of costume.”
That left normal street clothes as their only options. He had no problem switching from the khakis, white button up shirt, and brown vest that made his Louis costume and into his faded bluejeans and black sleeveless shirt. Now he was comfortable.
Grace, on the other-hand appeared uneasy out of her costume. She crossed her arms below her chest, pulling the white off the shoulder shirt tight over her full breasts.
Charles looked on hungrily.
“They want to get a few of just you two,” the photographer’s assistant said, pulling Charles and Grace aside.
They followed to where there were a few dead tree trunks lying scattered about, the sun beginning to set behind them, scattering rays of pink and orange.
“I know you do this pose all the time,” the photographer called. “But if you’ll bear with me, Charles, can you please lift her. And Grace, don’t forget to pop that left foot out behind you.”
He had to hold back a grin as his hands slipped around her waist in a familiar pattern. But this time it felt different. More… personal.
“Charles, now go down on one knee, bend the other and put your foot on the ground.”
He got down in the dirt, trying not to kick up more dust, positioned like a man in love about to propose.
“Sweetie,” the photographer said, turning to Grace. “You’re going to let him dip you back. Yes, like that. Now look into each other’s eyes.”
He stared into the depths of her blue-green orbs, loving how her long lashes fluttered as he held her gaze. There was nothing he wished for more, than to stare into her eyes forever.
“Grace,” the photographer said. “I need you to look more in love, like your costar is doing.”
What the man was asking for; it came naturally for Charles. Not because of his stellar acting skills either. He had been infatuated with this woman for over five months. Since the day they’d met.
The photographer kept moving around them, getting shots from different angles, reminding them to stay still.
Then he asked them to kiss.
“What!?” Grace asked.
Charles slid his left hand up from the nape of her neck, where he’d been holding her steady, into her beautiful chestnut hair. “It’s okay,” he encouraged, not taking his serious gaze off her. “We’ve been doing it everyday for five months. You kiss me in every show. Twice, actually.”
Grace let out a small breath before putting one hand on his chest. “Yes, we do. But right now we aren’t Maddie and Louis, we are Grace and Charles,” she whispered, so only he could hear.
I know. The show is almost over and I can finally pursue you properly.
He leaned down, taking all the time in the world, allowing the photographer the opportunity to get good shots, and for the anticipation. He waited a lifetime to kiss Grace again.
This kiss would be different.
Stage kissing wasn’t the same as normal everyday kissing; people’s lips didn’t completely touch. It was more like kissing just above or below the lips, never full contact, and certainly no tongue.
This time, Charles kissed her full-on.
He tried to part her soft cherry lips to further taste her, wanting more. The sweetness of her calling out to him.
Grace pushed at his chest to break away.
“Come on, Grace,” he said in a breathy whisper. “We need to do this. It’s important. It’s to help promote the show.”
“Like hell it is!” She tried to get out of his arms, but his fingers stayed entwined in her hair.
He would not let her go.
Charles gripped a little tighter and leaned close again, pressing their bodies together. He could feel the pounding of her heart against his hard chest. “Relax, Grace! Let’s do this. It’ll make some awesome pictures. You need this as much as I do.”
“Excuse me,” was all she could get out.
His words came out exactly as he meant them, but not what he should’ve said to her. He quickly tried to recover.
“You know, the good press. You wanna get picked up by some movie production as much as I do.”
“We can keep going if you kiss me the right way!” Grace snapped.
“I was kissing you the right way,” he mumbled under his breath.
Chapter Two
Grace stood in the shower, letting all the dust, grime and emotions wash down the drain with hot water cascading over her tired body.
Charles was her dear friend, the one she’d always talked to about anything. Not this. He was the one she needed to talk about, not talk to.
How could he do that? Kiss me so … intimately?
Tonight was the benefit masquerade. She’d been looking forward to it all month, but after how things had gone at the photoshoot; all she wanted to do was spend the evening alone in the shower.
I know I have to go. Maybe it’ll improve my mood. Besides, I don’t have a choice.
The five hundred dollar per plate ticket went to helping fund children’s theater programs in low-income areas. Part of the benefit was also a “dating auction”.
The bidding started at one hundred dollars, and included one dance with the “date” and a photograph on the dance floor. Most of the female cast had volunteered to be auctioned off.
She hadn’t volunteered.
She’d been drafted.
If it hadn’t been for charity, she’d run for the hills.
She kept those kids in her mind, as she shut the water off and wrapped a towel around her body before stepping out.
Grace looked over at the gorgeous midnight-blue ball gown that hung from the door. It was supposed to make her feel like Cinderella.
Now she didn’t even want to put it on, because it meant she’d have to face Charles again. Her emotions couldn’t handle it.
Things would be different between them now, no doubt.
She’d only have to kiss him two more times.
Not that the unexpected kiss was bad; she’d felt his lips brush against hers so many times the past five months. She knew the softness of his lips like a lover, but that wasn’t what they were.
It wasn’t a shocker that something like this could happen; she’d seen it before in other companies. When actors were on the road with the same people for such a long time, in such intimate situations, relationships were bound to form.
Grace and Charles had a connection, a friendship she cherished. But nothing romantic. She had put a stop to that the first week they met. Or so she’d thought.
Sometimes just one kiss could change everything. It could’ve sent them into a completely new type of relationship, overcoming the eight-year age difference. Or it could ruin their friendship forever, which was what she was afraid of.
She’d invited her best friend, Hope, to fly in from Washington and join her for the final two shows. Also, to the masked ball. She’d arrived that afternoon and they’d planned to get ready together.
As Grace slipped into her gown, all thoughts of her encounter with Charles fell away.
“Oh, Gracie! Your dress is breathtaking!” Hope said, stepping into Grace’s hotel room. She held a huge garment bag in one hand, and a red rose in the other. She held it out for her dear friend. “This is for you!”
