Page 47 of Bae

To be frank, I didn’t trust a therapist. My reality was I would go there to heal and spill my deepest pain and thoughts… only to have them all sold to the highest bidder and wind up as front page news.

Dramatic?

Unfortunately, no.

We learned that the hard way the night I lost Evie. Someone on the hospital staff leaked the news to the media. It was the reason we were attacked by paparazzi on the way out. I didn’t have the luxury of being anonymous. Our pain was something others paid to see, a fact I would never be able to comprehend.

I parked close to the house, glancing in the rearview, making sure no one followed me up the drive. A car followed me the entire way; the tail started the second I hit the main road by the compound. It slowed when I turned onto this street, but I knew it was likely parked down on the road.

The press knew better than to step foot on my in-law’s property. Tony would eat them for lunch in court. And Romeo… Well, I wasn’t sure how much more he could be pushed before he retaliated, too. My husband was not the kind of man who tolerated what he considered threats to his family.

In fact, he’d been relatively mild in handling everything they’d put us through. If you considered mild a huge stone wall around twenty acres of private land, some sort of family escort to and from my job at the shelter, a media ban, and unlisted phone numbers for everyone in our family.

Even though I was almost sure the reporters following me hadn’t come onto the property, I checked the mirrors before expelling a relieved sigh.

I shut off the engine and tucked the keys in my bag, but before getting out, I glanced across the way, to the white, stately looking pool house where Romeo used to live. So many good memories in that little house.

I heard a sound, sensed movement near the main house, and turned. Valerie was standing in the backdoor, holding it wide, looking at my car with surprise on her face. I smiled sardonically to myself.

I was probably the last person she expected to see today.

Since it was clearly too late to chicken out and run away, I pulled up my big girl panties and stepped out of the car, taking care to hit the locks from the inside since I already stashed my keys.

“Rimmel!” Valerie called. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine,” I assured her. “Romeo’s fine.”

She watched me walk the short distance to the house, then stood back to permit me inside.

“Is Tony here?” I asked, turning to see her close the door behind us.

“He’s at the office,” she answered. “I just put on some tea. Would you like some?”

“Sure.”

Valerie waited while I pulled off the navy boyfriend-style blazer I wore. It was from Topshop. Ivy picked it out, as she did all my “presentable” clothes. Yes, I was actually wearing real clothes today. I figured a visit with the monster-in-law warranted it. After all, the last thing I needed was to see the judgement in her eyes about my state of dress and be totally pissed off before I even said what I came here to say.

Besides, it was good for me to get out of the sweats and comb my hair. I hadn’t been doing that much at all lately. Since I hadn’t been doing appearances with Romeo or out anywhere really, dressing nice hadn’t been a priority. After all, the animals at the shelter didn’t care what type of pants I wore, as long as there were treats in the pockets.

They were my kind of crowd.

I hung the blazer on a nearby hook, then placed my handbag on the one beside it. It was a Kate Spade, something else Ivy picked out.

I moved to tug off my tan fur-lined boots, but Valerie waved me away. “Just leave them. I know how you love your boots.”

“They keep my feet warm.” I smiled. In addition to my usual fur-lined footwear, I was wearing a pair of white skinny jeans and a taupe V-neck tee that felt like silk against my skin. It was a longer length so it covered my butt, which made me feel okay about wearing white jeans.

“So you keep saying,” Valerie replied and moved toward the kitchen. “I’ve been looking online for a pair for myself. There are so many to pick from. How do you ever choose?”

Valerie was going to buy a pair of the boots I wore?

I glanced around to make sure I was in the right house.

“Honestly?” I said, evilly anticipating her reaction. “I got these at Target. They were on sale.” She probably didn’t even know Target sold shoes.

“Oh really? That’s where I buy my paper towels.”

See.

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