Page 85 of A Very Un-Shakespeare Romance
“Seems she’s starting to like you,” Tara commented. “I knew she’d come around.”
“Come around?” He stopped himself from giving her a summation of how much shit that cat had dished out against him because the feline settled on his feet for a moment before trotting off and jumping into the Suburban.
Tim poked his head out, his shoulders shaking with repressed laughter. “Has a miracle dost appeared?”
Robbie walked over and closed the door on his brother’s grinning face. “Don’t say anything,” he told both Tara and Lily, who were both silently laughing beside him.
Soon everyone’s laughter faded as the Suburban started. Robbie watched Reagan bravely wave from the passenger window, only to hear Tara audibly sniff. He turned to see her waving frantically back, a bright but slightly forced smile on her face. He couldn’t see if Cassidy was giving her little wave from her car seat and felt a pang in his chest.
Agent Petris honked the horn as they backed out of the driveway. The guy had impressed Robbie with his ability to relate to the girls—he’d been willing to puff like a dragon and had no trouble calling Reagan Princess Pixie. Still…it hurt to watch them go.
Tim gave one final wave from the car as they started down the street, and Robbie caught one last glimpse of Billie, who had his eyes face forward, like he was honing himself for the next challenge.
He wanted to call them back immediately and not let them out of his sight. Be there every moment to assure them everything was going to be okay. Instead, he lifted his hand and waved, forcing his own smile as they disappeared from view. When they were out of sight, he wanted to bend at the waist for a couple of deep breaths to release the pressure cooker inside him, but he didn’t want to upset Tara. God, protecting family was going to kill him.
Brotherly love mixed in with all that other messy emotion inside him, and he felt his Adam’s apple bob up and down in his throat as he tried to swallow it all down. Tara gave another loud sniff. This separation—even for a day—must be killing her if he was feeling like his body had been put in a trash compactor.
Lily put a hand to his back, a quiet reassurance that was still so new…yet so welcome. She knew when he needed a little touch here and there, and when she needed to step in. In a short time, she’d woven her way into his life, and he wanted to wrap her presence all over him. The peace she brought him, the sensation his father had told him to look for, filled his chest.
Which was a good thing, because as he turned to face Tara, she was dabbing at her eyes. The sight cut him straight to the bone. “Tara, it’s going to be—”
“Don’t mind me!” She laughed shakily. “Little mommy meltdown in process, but not too bad. I’m not going to let it screw up my makeup.”
Sheila walked over from the edge of the garage, after giving them some privacy, and smacked his cousin gently on the back. “No worries, Tara. Tyler’s only going to rub it off later.”
Okay, he didnotneed to be reminded of that. He knew it was important for the agent and Tara to look cozy, but his stomach flopped when he thought about watching the staging.
“Then I’ll stop worrying right now,” Tara said in that same brave voice as Tyler came out of the garage, pocketing his cell phone.
“Good.” Sheila shared a look with Lily. “Hey, Ty, Lily didn’t give you a fake name, so what are we going to call you? Agent Hotstuff won’t work obviously.”
The agent was grave as he glanced toward Sheila, thoughtful and assessing. Robbie was starting to see why Lily thought so highly of him. Agent Darren had empathy. He would connect well with people, especially ones in difficult situations. Not everyone had that ability.
Robbie wasn’t sure he did, but then again, he wasn’t used to bringing his emotions to the job. Lily was different. She didn’t wear her heart on her sleeve so much as she did in her eyes. He thought her way was tougher. The troubles and hurts victims experienced could rip your heart out if you let it.
“I think Tara should pick my cover name,” the agent finally said with a warm smile at his cousin. “If we were dating for real, what would my name be?”
The request made Tara laugh, and Robbie sent the agent an appreciative smile. Okay, distraction worked.
“Yeah, Tara,” Robbie added. “I know all the names of your old boyfriends since I interviewed them all.”
“Grilled, you mean,” she practically scoffed, more sadness slipping from her face.
“Guilty, and I’d do it again.”
Lily’s warm smile eased some of the tension in his chest. “So, we have a list to crib from,” she said with extra humor in her voice. “Are you going with an old classic name or something—”
“A little naughty,” Sheila interrupted with a wink.
Naughty?Robbie wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole. He also wanted to cheer Tara up.
Tara wiped her eyes with new authority, shaking off any lingering sadness, and got that familiar gleam in her eye. “How about Tom? Because Tom Brady is still my favorite fantasy, being a Pats fan, and we’re going to be looking all physical in our videos. Plus, you’ve got those abs. Tyler, they should be illegal.”
“That’s why he became an FBI agent,” Sheila bandied back. “It was part of his plea bargain.”
Lily was fighting laughter, but Tyler only gave a wan smile. “Tom works. No need for a last name since we don’t want anyone looking deeper. Also, I just got off the phone with the Charlotte office. Agents Johnson and Mathers will be here tomorrow, and they’ve rented the house across the street. Told the owner the false story about their little romantic getaway. She’s given them the code to the back door, so we’re all set.”
“Terrific,” Lily answered, flicking her gaze to the blue two-story with a similar architecture to the rest of the houses in the area. “The view isn’t as great as ours on the beach, but it does have nice, big windows for surveillance.”
