Page 120 of Lovestruck at Sundown
That’s how Aaron and I communicated. It was simple and complex at the same time. I knew he was being weird. He knew he was being weird. But by saying he wasn’t, I knew he meant: “I know. I’ll stop being weird.” And so that was that.
I was grateful to still have Aaron with me. My dad never got back to me after I begged him not to send Aaron away, so I assumed he was staying. Since that day, I’d been living with the fear that any day, I would get a call from Miss Patty to let me know I was on my own now. But the call never came. A perfect psychological torture technique if I ever saw one. He knew I’d always be worried about it if he never gave me a definitive answer. And I wasn’t going to ask Miss Patty about it and risk reminding my father how much I cared about this.
We spotted a man wearing sunglasses and pointing his cell phone at us. But he fled the moment he saw us and got lost in the sea of people before Aaron could go after him. Not that he could do much, anyway. We’d learned the hard way these people were complicated to deal with.
I had too much on my mind to care.
When I returned to the table, Lily approached me. “Are you feeling better? Serena told me you had an upset stomach.”
I placed a hand on my belly and rubbed it to look more convincing. “Oof, yeah! I think that burger we had at lunchdidn’t agree with me!” I shouted over the loud music. “But I’m feeling better now!”
I opened my clutch and pulled out William’s credit card extension he gave me a few months ago. “William said I should pay today’s tab with his Amex!”
“What? No!” Lily shrieked. “Why would he do that?”
“Because he loves you! And I love you! And he has more money than I do!”
“You’re such an Aries!” Lily shook her head at me with an exasperated laugh.
“Tell me something new!”
A SECRET RENDEZVOUS:We spotted Billie Murphy and her bodyguard, Aaron, sharing an intimate moment away from prying eyes in a Vegas nightclub. *Exclusive photos inside!
BILLIE’S FORBIDDEN EMBRACE:William Sjöberg’s girlfriend, Billie Murphy, caught in a cozy hug with her trusted bodyguard—what’s really going on?
ROMANTIC TENSION?The mysterious closeness between Billie Murphy and her bodyguard, Aaron, raises eyebrows at Lily Young’s Vegas bash.
BODYGUARD SCANDAL:Sparks fly between Billie Murphy and her bodyguard, Aaron, as they share a private moment at a Vegas hotspot.
BEYOND PROTECTION:Are sparks flying between William Sjöberg’s sweetheart, Billie Murphy, and her vigilant bodyguard, Aaron? Insider scoop revealed!
A NIGHTCLUB FLING?Shocking photos capture a tender embrace between Billie Murphy and her bodyguard in Vegas—stirring uprumors of an affair.
CLOSE COMFORT:William Sjöberg’s leading lady, Billie Murphy, finds solace in the arms of her bodyguard, Aaron, in a Vegas nightclub—speculation arises!
Naomi’s response to media inquiries was very clear, but they refused to drop the subject. It’s like they were waiting for an excuse to finally lash out on me.
“The embrace was a tender expression of grief marking the anniversary of a dear friend’s passing. Any assumptions beyond that are inaccurate and it’s a shame that it’s been misconstrued. It’s disheartening to see private emotions exploited. Billie’s respect for William and their relationship is unwavering.”
But nothing she could say stopped them. It only fueled the media to further the storyline. More photos of Aaron and me were published. Casual things like him opening the car door for me would be cause enough to report on. Or whenever he stared at me, as if that wasn’t in his job description.
William insisted he didn’t care, that the entire thing was ridiculous and something else would come up and people would eventually forget about it.
But this went on for weeks.
The tabloids were relentless in their obsessive and speculative reporting on Aaron and me. T-shirts were made. #teamwilliam and #teamaaron were trending on Twitter. The fans, both Aaron’s and William’s, were furious. I was the villain toying around with their poor, fragile hearts.
“What if Naomi and Aaron fake a relationship?” Tobias said during one of our dinners. “They’re already living together. It makes sense. It’ll put an end to the gossip once and for all.”
William and I stared at each other. It was a brilliant idea. That would definitely get the media to back off. For a while.
William and I were headed to the second floor, knowing both Aaron and Naomi were home so we could talk them into accepting to partake in the fake relationship ruse.
“It’s open!” Naomi shouted after we rang the doorbell. They were expecting us. I’d texted Aaron to let him know we wanted to talk to them.
We stepped inside, and Naomi was fixing herself a panini. Another one was already waiting on a plate with chips on the side. Probably Aaron’s. He was barefoot and reading a book in the living room, which he put down on the side table after seeing us coming in.
“You guys hungry?” Naomi said. “I can’t cook for shit, but I’m making paninis.”
