Page 54 of Vicious Vows

“They don’t even look at me.”

“That might be my fault.” He traced his finger up and down my arm. “They think you’re a flight risk.”

“Why?”

“After what happened with Ricardo, I was pretty clear to all of the team that you were not to manipulate any of them. I threatened that if any of them fell for your tricks, I would personally kill them.”

“Well, no wonder they don’t like me.” I stared at him. “Thanks for adding to the list of friends I don’t have.”

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re not supposed to be friends with the guards.” He took the box from my lap and placed it on the end table. “They are here to protect you.”

“I thought that was your job.”

“With you, I need all the help I can get.” He grinned. “As I started to say, I have to go into the dealership tomorrow. I thought you might like to join me.”

“You want to take me to work? How come?”

“You’ve been cooped up here for the last few days. I thought you might want to put on a pretty dress and be seen.”

“Really?” His observation impressed me. He knew what I needed.

“Or you can stay here with the guards who won’t talk to you.”

“No!” I bolted off his lap a little too quickly, causing a brief twinge of pain in my hip, but it wasn’t enough to stop my enthusiasm. “I want to go with you.”

I hurried up the stairs.

“Hey.” He chased after me. “Slow down. You’re still recovering.”

“I can’t.” I raced into the bedroom with him close behind. “I need to find the right dress.”

He stood behind me as I flung open the closet door and rifled through the dresses.

“I like the teal one, but I might not have the right shoes. And the yellow one is pretty, but I definitely don’t have the jewelry for it.” I grabbed the lavender halter dress with the light purple flowers on the sides. “What do you think about this one?”

“You look gorgeous in anything.” He took the dress from me and hung it back in the closet. “Are you going to tell me what this is about?”

“Picking out clothes to go to work with you tomorrow.” I motioned toward the closet. “I want to look nice.”

“It’s this sudden change in mood that I’m more concerned with.” He reached for my hand and brought me over to the bed. “You had a weird moment when I gave you the phone, and now you’re bubbly and unaffected. What the hell is going on?”

“What?” I bit the corner of my lip, surprised he knew me as well as he did. When did that happen? “I’m excited that you want me to go with you tomorrow. Even if it’s because you’re afraid to let me out of your sight.”

“I’ll admit that leaving you alone makes me a little uneasy, especially after what transpired in Miami, but you’re deflecting. Tell me what you were feeling downstairs.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“Why don’t you let me decide?” He guided me to sit on the edge of the bed with him. “What happened?”

“It’s silly, but when I turned on the phone and saw the lack of concern for me when you took me…well, when I disappeared, it made me realize that I don’t really have any friends.”

“It wasn’t public knowledge that I kidnapped you.”

“I was still off-the-grid, and no one was concerned. My so-called friends didn’t even text to ask where I was.” I curled my legs underneath me and shrugged. “Then it got me thinking how the guards don’t interact with me. I guess I felt a little sorry for myself.”

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