Page 49 of Secrets (The Sins Trilogy 2)
Julie, on the other hand, is glaring at Yuna, then Bobbi. Finally, she turns to me. “You have a soul sister and a bodyguard now?”
I don’t have the mental energy to talk to her about Yuna yet, because I’m still trying to process Bobbi. So I focus on the second part. “I’m just as lost as you.” I give Tony a stare, letting him know in no uncertain terms that I don’t appreciate this particular surprise. “What exactly is going on?”
Tony looks chagrined. “I was going to tell you today—just you, me and Bobbi, but Yuna showed up, who you wanted to meet.” He shoots Julie a baleful look. “And she’s completely uninvited.”
“I need an invitation from you to visit my friend now?” Julie says.
I raise a hand to stop her, because I know that tone. She’s about to launch into a long rant. “Don’t you think you should’ve said something earlier?” I say to Tony.
“It’s only logical,” Yuna says. “If he hadn’t hired somebody, I would have.”
I turn to her, vaguely irritated she’s not on my side in this. She said she’s my friend, not his. “This isn’t helping.”
She shrugs and gives me a look reserved for someone complaining that water is wet.
Meanwhile, Julie moves closer to me, away from Bobbi. “Pretty high-handed of him, getting you a babysitter without telling you first.”
The muscles in Tony’s jaw flex. If I weren’t here, he’d probably kick Julie out.
I rub my temples. There’s no way this is going to get resolved with my two friends watching and throwing contradictory comments.
“Can we talk?” I tilt my head upstairs.
“Yes,” Tony says, his expression guarded.
Bobbi starts to follow, and I say, “Not you. You can stay here and wait.” If she’s around, it’ll be harder for me to say what I need to say, because this is strictly between him and me.
“Should’ve warned the body,” she says to Tony, a little too gleefully.
“The body has a name,” I point out. “Besides, calling me ‘the body’ makes it sound like I’m dead.”
She shakes her head. “Nah. Then I’d be calling you ‘the corpse.’”
My jaw goes slack. She’s serious. How in the world am I supposed to deal with someone like this? It’s obvious she’s only going to answer to Tony, not giving a damn how I feel. And if she’s my bodyguard, doesn’t she have to follow me everywhere? Is she going to go around telling people I’m “the body” or something similarly embarrassing?
I lead Tony to the guest bedroom. I don’t want our bedroom to be a place where we argue.
The moment Tony shuts the door behind him, I whirl around. “Why did you hire someone like that without running it by me first?”
“She’s highly qualified—and a woman. I thought you’d be more comfortable with her. Besides, she’s TJ’s cousin, so I trust her. She also has lots of excellent references. None of her clients has ever come to harm on her watch,” Tony explains, ticking off fingers.
Anger wells up like a wave. He’s being obtuse on purpose. “I don’t mean her. I mean a bodyguard in general.”
He’s staring at me like I’m not making any sense. “Why the hell not? I have TJ; Elizabeth has Tolyan. Her husband has a guy—”
“Yeah, but you’re all important and stuff. I’m just a”—I struggle for the right word, so he doesn’t misunderstand—“a nobody.” And a nobody with a bodyguard is going to look weird as hell. People will whisper. Look at me closely. Wonder what’s wrong with me, when what I really want is just to be normal, like hundreds of millions of people in the country.
He cradles my face in his hands. “You are not nobody. You’re everything to me, the most important thing in my life.”
“But Ton—”
“TJ already knows if it’s between you or me, he needs to choose you.”
I search his face. He means every word. The notion that he would die so I could live is… My stomach roils. I refuse to even consider it. “How can you say that?” My voice is shaky. He told me he loved me, but maybe I never truly grasped the depth of his devotion, or maybe I didn’t want to understand it because I never felt I really deserved it. Not when I’m not whole.
“Like I said. You’re the most important thing in the world.”
My lips go bone-dry, my heart racing. The fact that I’m this significant to him is humbling. And scary as hell. “You know I’m…” My voice is raspy, and I try to swallow, but it’s no use. “You shouldn’t… I’m not…” Perfect. Not worthy of your life that way. I’m too cowardly to voice the thought, so instead I say, “I’m messed up in the head. What if I never regain my memory? How will you feel if you have more of my old friends popping up in your office, wanting to see me or something?”
