Title:
A Stunning
Accusation
Author:
Sarahbeth
Caplin
Release
Date: June 22, 2015
Find on Goodreads
Adelaide Scott is a
25-year-old relationship advice columnist for Stunning! Magazine. Her new
boyfriend, Jordan Johnson, is a renowned photographer for Sports Unlimited. On
the surface, he is everything a woman should want: Good-looking, hilarious, and
charismatic. Their relationship seems perfect, and Addie slowly allows herself
to consider a future with him…until his ex-girlfriend confronts them
at a bar, and accuses Jordan of raping her, turning their world upside
down.
It doesn’t help that her best friend and editor,
Kiersten Sharp, sees rape as a black-and-white issue, with no shades of doubt.
Addie is about to discover that the truth – in all its forms
– is complicated, and not at all what she
expects.
I
was no closer to a new column idea by the end of the workday than I was that
morning. Well, to clarify, there were
always ideas; just nothing worth printing that
would garner the same kind of attention as the one my readers loved most. If I
were truly desperate, I could always piggyback off that column and write a
series of other attention-getting accessories to attract
men.
It was as if I
turned Tracy Cavanaugh into a pin-up doll, where I borrowed her shoes, her
hair, her clothes…her things. But
what would happen once I peeled that all away? Then there would be just the
woman, herself, to dissect. All the inside stuff that made up who she
was.
Would
anyone want to read about
that?
Without much
difficulty, I shoved the thought away, because it was Jordan Time. He suggested
Mochahitos, a place known for serving alcohol and coffee, my two favorite
things (though to my knowledge, they had yet to make a drink that was both a
mocha and a mojito).
“Make
good choices,” teased Kiersten as I slung my bag over my shoulder.
Like I needed any reminders.
Jordan was already
waiting at the bar when I got there. I hope I didn’t look too eager
as I set my bag on the counter and took the chair next to
him. Be cool. Be
Stunning. “What are you drinking?” I
asked.
“Coffee-flavored
stout,” he answered. “Wanna
try?”
He pushed the
bottle toward me. I exhaled before trying a sip because it was a stout, a drink
I knew I’d hate. I don’t like beers that are thick enough
to be a meal.
“It’s
good,” I told him, and then signaled the bartender.
“I’ll have what he’s having,
please.”
“So,”
Jordan said. He turned to face me. “There’s someone I want
you to meet. She’ll be here
shortly.”
My stomach clenched
at the word she. His next hookup partner? A secret girlfriend? I supposed
either possibility was inevitable, since it’s not like he ever
promised me anything serious. I realized I was acting a bit paranoid. Still, it
would have been nice to get a heads up before springing this new woman on me
out of the blue in a casual
moment.
In fact, I grew annoyed,
and opened my mouth to rip him a new one, but I was
interrupted.
“Hi,”
chirped a child’s voice. We both looked down, and I wanted to kick
myself for being so paranoid. The greeting came from to the toddler from the
photo in his wallet.
“Zoe!”
Jordan scooped her up, which she loved, judging by her breakout smile.
“Where’s your mom? You’re too little to be in
here by yourself.”
“Potty,”
Zoe answered.
“Ahh.
Okay. Well I guess you can chill with us while we wait for her to come back.
Addie,” Jordan said. He settled Zoe in his lap and rested his chin on
the girl’s head. “Meet my niece, Zoe. My favorite person in
the whole world.”
“Hey
there,” I said. I had to stop myself from extending my hand, as if
toddlers knew how to
handshake.
I’m
not the best with kids, but Jordan clearly adored her. My uterus almost skipped
a beat.
Not before too
long, Jordan’s sister showed up. “Do you mind watching her
for a few minutes, Jordy? I’m so behind on this research paper, I
only need maybe twenty minutes to look some things over. Your next drink will
be on me, I
promise.”
“You know
you don’t need to bribe me to hang out with this girl,”
Jordan responded, bouncing Zoe on his lap, which made her laugh and laugh. I
almost couldn’t handle this cuteness. “Hey, this is my
girlfriend Addie, by the way.”
Girlfriend! Addie?
Seriously? I felt as shocked as I was
honored.
“Oh, wow,
hey. Sorry, I’m so rude. Nice to meet you Addie, I’m Elise.
I’d love to stay and chat, but I have so much homework.
We’ll talk later?” She disappeared to a table across the
bar before I could respond.
What
just happened here?
While Jordan
ordered a scone for Zoe, I nursed my drink and tried to think of what to say.
“So…girlfriend, huh?” Not too eager, not too
emotional. I hoped.
“Well,
yeah,” He broke the scone into smaller bites for his niece.
“What did you
think?”
“I
don’t know.” I shrugged. “You just made it seem
like we were…”
“Well
maybe that’s how it started.” He reached for my hand with
his free one, as the other gently cradled his niece. “But I like you.
I assumed you felt the
same.”
Keep
calm, Adelaide. I forced myself to take another swig of beer.
“Of course.” As much as I’d have loved to know
when he realized I was a keeper and not just a fling, I switched to another
topic instead. “So Elise seems
nice.”
“Yeah,
she is. Just constantly tired and overworked. She finally decided to go back to
school after she had Zoe, and she’s determined to graduate within a
year. Not bad for a single
mom.”
My next question
– assuming I could have found a tactful way to put it – was
going to be about Zoe’s dad, since I noticed Elise didn’t
have any rings on her left hand. “You must be very proud of
her.”
“I am.
I’m proud of both my sisters. Emma is a junior in high school and did
better on the ACT than I did. And she kicks my ass in chess.”.Now
mindful of the impressionable girl in his lap whose face was covered in scone
crumbs, Jordan cooed, “I mean, butt. Don’t say
‘ass,’ Zo-Zo. Uncle Jordy has a potty
mouth.”
“Potty
mouf!” Zoe cried, releasing a spray of crumbs. Jordan shook his head.
“What can I do? I’m her favorite babysitter, but also her
worst influence.”
It was hard for me
to reconcile these two sides of him: Jordan, the high-profile photographer with
a girlfriend list as long as my arm, and goofy Uncle Jordy, fun-loving family
man, charmer of adult women and two-year-olds. I was about to say, “I
highly doubt that’s true,” but was interrupted by a frail,
redheaded woman who just entered the bar. She stared directly at us. I only
noticed her because of the fiery brightness of her hair – the
merciless eyes that locked onto mine gave me an unexpected shock. I jerked my
head back to Jordan. “How long can you go before teaching her your
dirtiest jokes?” I
asked.
“Hmm…”
He continued to hold Zoe with one arm as he grabbed his beer and took a big
gulp, pretending to ponder. “Those will have to wait until
she’s much older. Like kindergarten.”
“Will
Elise approve of that?”
“Elise
will be grateful to have someone else to blame so people don’t think
she’s the one who corrupted her.”
My laugh, though
genuine, was louder than I’d anticipated, as the red-haired
woman’s intense stare continued to freak me out. Her gaze locked on
Jordan’s back, but Jordan didn’t face her, so he had no
idea. “So, you come from a family of potty mouths, I take
it?”
“I
wouldn’t say that, exactly. My parents…well,
let’s just say, we try to hide that side of ourselves when we’re
around them.”
“I
see…” I stopped speaking as the woman started walking
toward us. Her eyes continued to bore holes in Jordan’s back, but she
wobbled as she stepped closer. Was she drunk? No, more
like…nervous.
“Hey.”
Squeezing Jordan’s knee, I jerked my head in
what’s-her-face’s direction. “You know that
woman?”
By the time Jordan
turned around, she stood in front of him, close enough to almost feel her
visible anger. Her eyes widened and her face grew red like her
hair.
“Jordan
Johnson?” she said. “Is that you?”
Jordan’s
forehead creased as he stared her down. Cautious. There was a flash of
recognition in his eyes, mixed with surprise, and, then, dread. He knew her.
And however he knew her, it looked like he wished he didn’t.
“Um, yeah. What are you doing here, Sam? I thought you moved out of
the city?”
This Sam was so
thin and short statured, with a baby-looking face to match, she could pass for
a high school senior. Her eyes darted around like a spooked horse’s
as she shook her head. “You,” she exclaimed, voice shaking
while pointing a trembling finger.
“You!”
“Look,
Sam, I’d love to catch up sometime, but I’m kind of with my
new girlfriend
here.”
I relished this
moment, the second time in the same hour I’d been referred to as
Jordan’s girlfriend. But the euphoria didn’t last long,
because the next words out of Sam’s mouth were piercing and
unforgettable:
“You
raped me.”
Beth is a
stay-at-home author, blogger, editor, and freelancer in northern Colorado with
a degree in English Literature from Kent State University and an MFA in
progress at Colorado State. Her first book, Confessions of a Prodigal Daughter,
ranked #51 in Amazon's top 100 bestselling books on personal growth in
May 2015.
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