At long last, the Reverend Curtis Black appears to be on the straight and narrow. The all-too-human preacher is a bestselling author now, and he and his wife, Charlotte, are raising two adorable children. But the ever-suspicious Charlotte doesn't trust that Curtis has put his womanizing past behind him. While he's on the road promoting his latest book, she knows that there needs to be just one extra-devoted fan in his flock for him to stray. Charlotte is no angel herself, and she's been keeping plenty of secrets from Curtis while he's been away. Still, Charlotte believes with all her heart that things will be better once Curtis is home again, although she should be careful what she wishes for since love may not be enough to untangle the web of lies she and Curtis have woven for themselves. And in the end, she'll have some tough decisions to make if she wants to salvage her marriage. At long last, the Reverend Curtis Black appears to be on the straight and narrow. The all-too-human preacher is a bestselling author now, and he and his wife, Charlotte, are raising two adorable children. But the ever-suspicious Charlotte doesn't trust that Curtis has put his womanizing past behind him. While he's on the road promoting his latest book, she knows that there needs to be just one extra-devoted fan in his flock for him to stray. Charlotte is no angel herself, and she's been keeping plenty of secrets from Curtis while he's been away. Still, Charlotte believes with all her heart that things will be better once Curtis is home again, although she should be careful what she wishes for since love may not be enough to untangle the web of lies she and Curtis have woven for themselves. And in the end, she'll have some tough decisions to make if she wants to salvage her marriage. Kimberla Lawson Robyis the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of the Reverend Curtis Black series as well as many other novels and novellas. She lives with her husband in Rockford, Illinois. Love and Lies By Kimberla Roby HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright ©2008 Kimberla Roby All right reserved. ISBN: 9780060892517 Chapter One Charlotte It was all I could do not to curse my husband out—my husband, a man who was never home more than a few days at a time, a man who didn't seem to care about his wife in the least, a man who was probably sleeping with only God knew whom. Which is why after five years of pleading with him to change and begging him to spend more time with me, I had finally had enough. I was finally in a place where I would no longer tolerate the world-renowned Reverend Curtis Black or the adultery I was sure he was committing. "So when exactly are you going to be here, Curtis?" I asked now, gripping the phone tightly. "I just told you. In a couple of days." "I realize that, but I need to know a specific day. What I need to know is the time your flight will be arriving at O'Hare." "Well, Charlotte, as much as I hate to disappoint you, I don't know what time." " You don't know? How could you not know?" "Because I just don't." "Curtis, please. Do you think I'm that stupid? Do you really think you can get me to believe that you're coming home this week but your travel reservations still haven't been arranged? Do you really think I'm that crazy?" "Like I said . . . I'll be there in a couple of days." See, it was comments such as this that made me want to do unspeakable things to Curtis. Made me want to snatch him down from that nice little pedestal that thousands of people nationwide had placed him on. What I wanted to do was show him firsthand that being a New York Times bestselling author didn't mean that he could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted to. But I decided instead that I would calmly try to reason with him one last time. "Curtis, have you even thought about the amount of time you spend on the road? I mean, are you even aware of the fact that you've now been gone for two weeks straight, and that once you return, you'll only be here for five short days?" "Charlotte, why are we doing this? Huh? Because you know just as well as I do that my speaking engagements are very necessary. You've known for the last five years that this is what I have to do if you want to keep living the wealthy lifestyle you so desperately wanted when we were first married." "But baby, there has to be some sort of balance," I said, remembering just how miserable I'd been before his publisher had offered him a contract with an initial advance worth seven hundred fifty thousand dollars for one book. "Look, either you want luxury or you want average," he said, sounding impatient. "What I want is for you to be here with your family. Matthew and Marissa need you, Curtis, and I'm tired of feeling as though I'm a single parent. Twelve-year-old boys need their fathers." "All three of my children, including Alicia, know that I love them and that I have a job to do. I've explained to them that it won't always be this wa