Page 78 of Mercy (The Sins Trilogy 3)
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ivy
Although I tried to sound brave in the car, my stomach feels a little queasy as the elevator carries us up toward the penthouse. I’m sure it’ll be cleaned up, the broken things replaced, the fridge restocked and so on. But that doesn’t mean the unwelcome scene from yesterday isn’t popping up in my mind.
Bobbi, standing at parade rest just inside the doors, is the first into the foyer once the elevator stops. Tony follows, entering the six-digit passcode plus his fingerprints on the new high-tech lock. The door clicks with a small beep, the light turning green.
We enter together. The foyer is gleaming, and three pots of lavenders stand in the corner, perfuming the air with the lovely, calming fragrance.
A giant of a man I’ve never seen before nods at us. The suit he has on must be custom-made, because he looks like a grizzly bear just before hibernation. His hands alone seem bigger than basketballs, and he’s squinting like he wants to hit something—or somebody.
“Hey, boss. Bobbi.”
I blink at his low, richer-than-cream voice. He could be a successful baritone if he has decent pitch.
“Thanks, Paul,” Tony says.
“Oh, it was my pleasure. TJ asked me to keep an eye on her. Yuna, I mean. She’s nice.” He smiles shyly, his cheeks going pink.
Oh my… Does he have a little crush on my best friend? Yuna’s such a physical opposite—willowy and delicate.
“You can go now,” Tony adds.
“Sure. If you need me tomorrow, I can come back.”
“That’ll be great. Good night.”
Yuna waves from the Steinway. “Good night, Paul!”
Even his ears turn red as he waves back and leaves.
I turn to Tony when the door closes. “Who’s that?”
“One of the bouncers from Z. Very good guy.”
“Single?”
He nods.
“I think he likes Yuna.”
Tony scoffs. “What makes you think that?”
“Did you see how he was blushing?”
“He blushes around women all the time. But that doesn’t mean he likes them.”
I look at Tony skeptically. “I don’t know. Yuna’s very charming.”
“Of course she is. I’m just saying it’s kind of a thing for him.”
We go into the living room. The couch with soiled and damaged cushions is gone, replaced with a similar one in soothing green. Fresh tiger lilies sit in crystal vases, and I marvel at how thorough a job Tony’s people have done.
My gaze darts to the kitchen. Nothing on the floor there, of course. All the fragments from the shattered mugs and plates were swept up and taken out.
Tony strokes my back soothingly. “All back to normal.”
I’m never going to forget how the place looked after the break-in, but I’m not going to dwell on it anymore. This is as normal as things can be. As normal as Tony can make it, with all his enormous money and influence, because he loves me and wants me to have the normalcy I crave. I smile up at him. “I know. I’m just being a little silly.”
