The Little Decisions Series (Jai Courtney)

Little White Lies

"Honey," Jai whined, nuzzling his head against her shoulder, "come on."

She had been on the phone for what seemed like forever. His mother had the worst timing in the world, why did she need to call just as they were getting ready to head out for dinner? The faster they got to dinner, the faster they could come back to their hotel and enjoy a quiet evening.

Why was his mother calling them at 1am? What was so important that she had to be awake in the middle of the night?

Holding up a finger to indicate Jai needed to wait, she laughed. "Oh god, Karen!" She exclaimed.

Calling her had been crafty, Karen knew full well that Jai would have ignored the call. Growing bored with the one sided conversation, Jai lowered himself onto the bed. Resting on his stomach, his head cradled in his folded arms. If she didn't soon end this, he was going to be asleep.

"Married?" She laughed harder at the woman on the other end of the line. Jai's dozing came to a screeching halt, terror striking through him, his eyes wide. "No, but that is hilarious as hell. You know how Denzi is, he says the most random things.."

Smooth.

She had lied to her new mother-in-law like nobody's business, a skill to admire. Jai smirked as she continued to calm his, no doubt frantic, mother on the other end of the line. "Jai is in the shower, we've got dinner plans, but I can get him to call you tomorrow?"

Rolling his eyes, Jai stifled a groan, why did his mother need them anyway? Hadn't she heard? They were on vacation, a retreat of sorts, to reconnect and to celebrate a late birthday. At least that was the official statement Jai had told everyone. Nobody needed to know they had added Honeymoon to the list.

"Okay, we love you too. Yes, I will let him know." Her final words before saying "Goodbye" and ending the call.

Puffing out her cheeks with a hard breath, she turned to Jai, her hand running through his freshly washed curls. "I did the right thing, didn't I?"

"Uh, you mean lying to my mother?" Jai rolled onto his back, squinting at the over head light. "Yes. It isn't the first time I've lied to her about something to spare her feelings."

"If you say so." She raised a brow in skepticism.

Plenty of times, she had attempted lying to Cora, not that it had ever worked. Her mother should have been a PI or an interrogation specialist, because Cora could give a look and make anyone confess. Lying to Karen had felt wrong, but had she not then there was a risk of everything being blown out of proportion and she wasn't ready for that.

"I do, now you need to finish getting dressed if you want to eat. If it were up to me, we'd be fine to stay here and stay naked," Jai teased shifting around to sit up and get off of the bed.

Since they'd arrived two days ago, they had been so into one another, they barely left the room. She would have loved to explore the city more, maybe another time, because the two days they had spent in their hotel room wrapped in one another – literally and figuratively had been absolutely perfect.

Paris was dazzling, the lights, the sights, and the few minutes she had actually been outside of the hotel were almost better than she had ever imagined it to be. The small balcony had the cliche Paris views, not that she was complaining, last night they had left the door open as long as they could to watch the city lights. The bathroom had a view just as amazing, complete with the sexiest tub she had ever saw in a hotel. Everything about this room was perfect, she never wanted to leave.

Jai had gone above and beyond, surprising her with the last minute trip, although he insisted it had been carefully planned and prepped for months. Before leaving Los Angeles, there had been strict instructions, via Jai, not to call either of them unless there was a dire emergency. His sister was in charge of Denzi and Dorito for the five days they were away, which left Jai with much ease.