Page 72 of Second to None

My heart performed a slow, painful turn. “It’s not that easy, sweetheart.”

“Why not?” It was plaintive, not a challenge.

“Because he’s famous.”

“But you’re also famous.”

I shook my head, nudging her back just enough to see her face. “Almost not at all anymore.”

“People want your pictureallthe time,” she said, like that was the very definition of fame. While ‘all the time’ was quite a stretch, I let it slide. Really not the point.

“See, but Cass is a lot more famous than I am. That’s why everyone watches what he does.” I chose my words with care—yeah, I’d been bruised by experiences you could hardly even explain to someone who hadn’t lived through the same. Trapped in a hotel room because a mob had formed outside the building; people screaming in my face, trying to press in closer; a police escort taking us to the airport. Rumours. So many rumours. But no, this wasn’t like that. “So, the thing is that because of that, he kind of made you a little famous too, even though he promised that wouldn’t happen. So now you and I need to be a bit more careful.”

“Will people ask me for pictures?” She perked up at the idea, and yeah, so much for my attempts to teach her that when I got stopped for a selfie, it didn’t make me cool or special, and that I kept her out of it not in order to hug the spotlight, but to protect her.

“No, sweetie—it’s not really safe if strangers recognise you on the street, you see?” I combed my hand through her tangled hair. “Because some people are mean. Or they’re little idiots, like Joey, who thinks it’s weird that your…”Your dad? Emily didn’t really call me that, or only in reference to how others saw us. But shewasmy daughter. “That your dad likes boys, and now they’ll think that it’s not just any boy I like, but a famous boy like Cass. And maybe they’ll have opinions about that, even though it’s none of their business. And then maybe they’ll treat you differently because of that.”

Emily’s forehead wrinkled, the entire concept clearly just a little beyond her. “Different how?”

“They might try to ask you things about Cass and me. Or they might tell you that I’m not good enough for him. Or that he doesn’t actually like boys, that it’s just a mistake.”

“But he does,” she said, very reasonably.

“Yeah, he does.” I smiled slightly and stepped back a little, my hands on her shoulders. The villa was breathing around us, in time with my heartbeat. “Some might try to be your friend, just because you know Cass.”

“But I already have friends.” She hesitated, voice very small all of a sudden. “Are they gonna treat me different?”

“No.” I repeated it for emphasis. “Not your real friends, no. No one who loves you will treat you any differently—not your friends, not me, not your Granny and Grandad. Certainly not Alba.”

“She’s acat,” Emily said with great dignity. “She doesn’t understand that Cass is famous.”

“That’s true,” I conceded even if I wasn’t convinced Emily truly grasped it either. Better that way, maybe.

“But, so.” She narrowed her eyes. “If people I love are the same as always—why does itmatterwhat others do? I don’t care!”

“Because…” I didn’t know how to finish.Because I promised Jess I’d take care of you, always. Because you’re my little girl, and I’m gonna want to protect you from the world. Because I don’t want you to pay for who I am.Nothing felt like quite the right response.

Before I could settle on anything, the doorbell chimed—a crisp note shattering the morning quiet. Fuck, I wasn’t expecting anyone. Had they found us already?

“Stay here,” I told Emily, and something in my tone made her nod quickly, eyes wide.

In the hall, I hit the intercom screen. My pulse dropped, like a reverse rush of blood to the head. Frank—thankGod.

Probably here to pick up Cass’s stuff.

The idea tugged something loose in my gut, left me strangely empty and disoriented. Just hadn’t had breakfast yet, no appetite. Hardly surprising.

I buzzed the car in, a second one following just behind—black, tinted windows in the back. More bodyguards? It wasn’t… No. Cass wouldn’t just… I’d told him to fuck off, and so he had.

He wasn’t coming back.

Frank got out of the first car, two men exiting from the second. Private security, all right—it was in the clothes, the posture. After years of being herded places, I’d learned how to spot a professional. I walked out to greet Frank first, hands in my pocket, face carefully neutral.

Turned out the two other guys were here for Emily and me. “Cass insisted,” Frank said. “They’ll stay with you today and tomorrow, until your departure. You’ll go through the VIP terminal. No crowds, no cameras. And I’m coordinating with a security firm in Manchester, make sure you’ll be taken care of there as well.”

Guilt. Just Cass tying up loose ends, trying to mop up his mess. I felt my jaw tighten. “Thanks, but I can handle myself.”

“I’m sure you can.” Frank lowered his voice. “But this way, you won’t be left scrambling to arrange something.”

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