One Little White Lie by Loretta Hill Page A

dependent on him for a couple of years. When they broke up –’
    Henry held up his palms. ‘I don’t want to hear this.’
    â€˜Just read it,’ Tom insisted.
    Henry shook his head. ‘Look, Tom, when Mum left Dad, I know that was hard on you. It was hard on me too. But I’m not going to take out her sins on all women.’
    â€˜You’re more forgiving than me,’ Tom retorted grimly. ‘Especially given your relationship track record. It’s not exactly glowing with success stories.’
    Henry frowned as he considered the beginning and end of his last relationship. Fiona had told him everything he wanted to hear when they were first starting out, tailoring her behaviour exactly to his needs. She liked the same things, wanted children some day, believed in his work.
    And then he’d told her about this idea he had for using a sizable portion of his money to create a charitable organization that looked after homeless or abandoned kids. She’d flipped out. All of a sudden it became apparent that she’d marked his money for her own and was anxious not to see his spending power reduced in any way, shape or form.
    Was he destined for this sort of treatment from Kate too?
    â€˜Look, I’m not saying don’t see her.’ Tom’s voice was a tempting lilt. ‘I’m just saying keep H. L. Carter in the closet till the time is right.’
    Henry reflected guiltily on his behaviour that evening, knowing that on at least some level he had a fear of being betrayed. The fact was, it had been so liberating without the banner of his writing pseudonym flashing over his head. There were no author head shots on his books or on his website. Kate would never find out who he was unless he told her. In three months and one week, the media would do it for him.
    Were a couple more dates with her incognito really that bad? A couple more dates for both of them to decide whether they wanted to be together. Was it wrong for him to want her to prove herself as well? He voiced his guilt. ‘I don’t know, I don’t want to lie to her again. It’s not right.’
    â€˜It’s not lying, it’s just leaving something out,’ Tom continued. ‘One little white lie. No biggie. She’ll understand when you tell her the truth.’
    For a moment, the two men just stood there in silence until Tom broke it, his voice gruff. ‘Just think about it. OK?’

CHAPTER 9
    It was unfortunate that an hour before his next date with Kate, Henry’s mother decided to do one of her pop-in drop-ins. Ever since she had moved to town after her last husband divorced her, she’d been prone to these unannounced visits at least once a fortnight. It was one of the many reasons Tom thanked his lucky stars that she had not targeted him for forgiveness.
    When he was younger Henry used to crave a mother who wanted to check up on him. Somehow, however, he wasn’t sure that this was exactly what the former Mrs Carter was doing.
    Tom warned him repeatedly that his mother, who now went by her maiden name Angelina Sparemont, was only living close by because he was rich and she was single.
    â€˜Women like Mum need a sponsor,’ Tom had explained. ‘Unfortunately, at the moment, you’re it.’
    Maybe she did need someone to write her the occasional cheque for the lifestyle she had got used to. But surely there was some part of her that wanted to get to know him better? When she had first come to town she’d been all tears, begging him not to hate her for all that she had ‘not done’ for him as a child. Having wondered and thought about her for most of his life, he couldn’t turn her away. If he were truly honest, the words she had spoken to him that day had been like a kid’s day dream come true.
    â€˜I haven’t forgotten you … I do love you … Forgive me.’
    He had wanted to believe that she’d changed, so