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Back Her White Lie
Chapters (72)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Chapter One
  4. Chapter Two
  5. Chapter Three
  6. Chapter Four
  7. Chapter Five
  8. Chapter Six
  9. Chapter Seven
  10. Chapter Eight
  11. Chapter Nine
  12. Chapter Ten
  13. Chapter Eleven
  14. Chapter Twelve
  15. Chapter Thirteen
  16. Chapter Fourteen
  17. Chapter Fifteen
  18. Chapter Sixteen
  19. Chapter Seventeen
  20. Chapter Eighteen
  21. Chapter Nineteen
  22. Chapter Twenty
  23. Chapter Twenty-One
  24. Chapter Twenty-Two
  25. Chapter Twenty-Three
  26. Chapter Twenty-Four
  27. Chapter Twenty-Five
  28. Chapter Twenty-Six
  29. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  30. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  31. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  32. Chapter Thirty
  33. Chapter Thirty-One
  34. Chapter Thirty-Two
  35. Chapter Thirty-Three
  36. Chapter Thirty-Four
  37. Chapter Thirty-Five
  38. Chapter Thirty-Six
  39. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  40. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  41. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  42. Chapter Forty
  43. Chapter Forty-One
  44. Chapter Forty-Two
  45. Chapter Forty-Three
  46. Chapter Forty-Four
  47. Chapter Forty-Five
  48. Chapter Forty-Six
  49. Chapter Forty-Seven
  50. Chapter Forty-Eight
  51. Chapter Forty-Nine
  52. Chapter Fifty
  53. Chapter Fifty-One
  54. Chapter Fifty-Two
  55. Chapter Fifty-Three
  56. Chapter Fifty-Four
  57. Chapter Fifty-Five
  58. Chapter Fifty-Six
  59. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  60. Chapter Fifty-Eight
  61. Chapter Fifty-Nine
  62. Chapter Sixty
  63. Chapter Sixty-One
  64. Chapter Sixty-Two
  65. Chapter Sixty-Three
  66. Chapter Sixty-Four
  67. Chapter Sixty-Five
  68. Chapter Sixty-Six
  69. Chapter Sixty-Seven
  70. A letter from Jackie
  71. About the Author
  72. Also by Jackie Walsh

‘Oh, thanks Lucas. You are so kind to me. Remind me to marry you,’ I say, taking my phone from my bag to check the missed calls. ‘Sorry, it’s on silent.’ I always keep my phone on silent when I’m at work and I must have forgotten to switch it back on. There are four missed calls. Three from Lucas and one from a number that I don’t recognise.

‘Shit,’ I say. ‘I’ve missed a call. I hope there is nothing wrong with the wedding.’ I start to spiral – maybe it’s the band cancelling? Or the hotel is double-booked? Or the flowers aren’t available?

‘I just need to call back and find out.’

‘You have to eat something,’ Lucas says taking the phone from my hand. ‘You can make your call when you’ve finished eating.’

‘But what if there’s a problem?’

‘Don’t worry, Tara, the problem will still be there after you’ve eaten.’ Lucas knows that if there is something wrong I’ll go into a tizzy and won’t be able to calm down for hours, never mind eat. I’m lucky to have a man who knows how to calm me down, with reassuring phrases like, don’t fret about it, no one will remember tomorrow, or, in the grand scheme of things, I doubt it really matters, or, don’t worry about it, no one died. I don’t actually like when he uses that last one. Because someone did die. And I do worry about it.

‘Well, just a little bit. I’m not hungry.’ I’m more interested in finding out who that missed call is from.

‘You do know you’re going to have to relax when we get to Australia,’ he says, handing me a fork.

‘There’ll be nothing to worry about then,’ I say. ‘The wedding will be over.’ I smile at him, lifting the fork to my mouth, hoping the body at Huntley Lodge doesn’t spoil everything. I can’t let Lucas see my worry. I have to act like everything is okay. ‘It will be all sun, sea and sex from then on,’ I say.

Lucas laughs, leaning over the counter to kiss my forehead. ‘Well, if you insist.’

I’m sitting on the sofa sipping a glass of wine, my feet tucked between Lucas’s legs when I suddenly realise I never called that number back. I glance over at the clock on the cooker. 9.45 p.m. It’s probably too late now, I think, deciding to ring first thing in the morning.