Page 162 of Push

Ian was stealing money. No doubt. I was good at solving cases.

But after three days of Romeo following me around, the only two things I knew for sure were that he had an interesting taste in magazines—quilting, then country living, followed by a well-loved copy ofWildlife Australia—and he was the worst stalker in history. He made no effort to keep himself hidden. He was visible. Noticeable.Everywhere. It was almost like Romeowantedpeople to know he was following me. But why? No clue.

“You have no idea?” Marnie snorted. “I highly doubt that. I’m sure you have plenty of theories.” Her gaze slid back to Romeo. “I’m workshopping some theories right now.” The tip of her tongue skated over her bottom lip.

“Quit objectifying my stalker,” I laughed.

“I can’t help it! Look at him!” She fanned herself with a napkin.

I glanced over my shoulder. I looked. I still didn’t get it. “He’s…a…man?”

“Babe, he’s not a man. He’s a god.” Marnie gave me a sly smile as she sipped her cocktail. “You don’t see it because you’ve always preferred the clean-cut hero type. I like them…edgier.”

“You mean criminal? He probably is, you know.”

“It still works.” She grinned. “I’m surprised Tobes is okay with this, though.”

I avoided Marnie’s eyes and snatched up my glass. “Uh…” I took a huge gulp.

“Gwen!” she hissed. “You haven’t told him?”

“Well…”

Marnie put her drink down and folded her arms. “As your best friend, I get a few hall passes in life to call you out on your bullshit. You’ve got that man of yours running around, smitten like a kitten, trying so hard to be honest with you, and you don’t tell him about this?” She frowned. “Gwen, the Italian Stallion is literally stalking you. I’m questioning your judgment not going to the cops, but even if I let that slide, you can’t keep this from Toby.”

“I know. Shit, Marnie. Iknow.” Nerves—guilt—had me tugging a hand through my hair. “I’m acting like a complete hypocrite, but I also know Toby. He bounces through the world completely oblivious to bad people. He’s got a big heart. He’s too protective. The second he figures out what’s going on, he’ll go all white knight, charge out the front door, and get himself tangled up in a fight…or…” I swallowed heavily. “Or worse.”

Marnie’s hand covered mine. “That needs to be Toby’s choice to make.”

I shook my head. “You know him, Mar. He’s all ‘act now, think later.’ I haven’t figured out Romeo’s angle yet. Toby could get hurt.”

“He’s going to get hurt no matter what. He’ll be devastated you kept this from him.”

I slumped over the table, propping my chin on my fist. “Yeah.” I sighed. “But, it’s not… I’m not…” I growled with frustration. Why was this so hard? “When Toby found out what Ian did, how long did it take him to get into a fistfight? A day?Two?He beat the shit out of him.”

“He would’ve been blaming himself big time for not protecting you.”

“It wasn’t his fault!”

“He won’t see it like that. I guarantee it. Tobes has a one-track mind when it comes to you. He’s a caveman.” She beat her chest with her fists. “My Gwen. Me protect. That’s Toby.”

“Even more reason to stop him from rushing into something headfirst!”

Marnie gave me a sympathetic smile. “Your husband is a grown-up. Treat him like one. He won’t always get it right, but you need to respect him. Let him decide how he’s going to act.” She butted her shoulder against mine. “You guys have been making good progress. You’re light-years ahead of where you were a few weeks ago. Don’t undo all your hard work by not trusting him now.”

Marnie was right. So damn right. “I trust him…” I said weakly.

She leaned over and whispered, “Liar, liar, pants on fire.” She hugged her arm around me and gave me a quick squeeze.

“Enough about my problems.” I waved the conversation on. “We talk about me way too much these days.”

Marnie shrugged. “Sometimes, you’re down, and we talk about you. Sometimes, I’m down, and we talk about me. Our friendship is good like that.”

“As much as I love you for saying that, I think I’ve talked about myself enough this week.”

Her brows rose with interest. “Psychologist?”

I nodded.

---