Page 54 of The Vow Thief
Her hand reached the bar. I smiled before I spoke.“Don't.”
Surprisingly, she stopped. Obedience wasn’t Lily’s first instinct; rebellion was.
I was already behind her. I could see the pulse awake in her throat.
“Are you going to arrest me for trying to buy a book?” she asked.
“No, I am going to walk you back to the front. You are going to pick three things, then you are going to get in the car.”
“And if I don't.”
I pressed my mouth to her ear,“If you ever manage to slip me, I will find you and you will go back to jail.” My voice was a whisper, but I could feel my anger just underneath. I wondered if she sensed it.
She held the bar for one more second, then let it go. When she faced me, the smile she gave me was honed enough to be a weapon.
“You don't scare me, Sean,” she said.“No matter how many uniforms you put on or how many badges you wear, you will never be enough to make me fear you. I’m not my father. You lick my boot, and I just tell you how many spots you missed.”
I slipped my arm around her waist and pulled her flush against me.“Mmmm, Lily. Feel free to project all of your meaningless bullshit on me. Fear would just make you predictable.”
She jerked away and brushed past me on her way back up the aisle. She selected a poetry collection, a blue candle, and a book about sleep. She placed them on the counter and paid with cash I didn't realize she had. She left the store like she was on a mission. I couldn’t help but smile as I caught the door and walked out behind her.
Outside, the sky had shifted from pale to honest blue. I opened the car door for her. She held my eyes before she got in.
I closed her door and walked around the car, a satisfied smile on my face. I opened my door and eased into the driver’s seat. She didn’t speak or even look in my direction.“You still think that giving me the silent treatment is going to break me,” I said.
She shifted in her seat, not looking my direction.“You still think controlling me is the same thing as protecting me.”
I turned the key and started the car, letting the engine tick to a calm. We pulled into traffic without speaking.
Halfway home, she finally spoke,“Matt still thinks about me.”
“That is your problem,” I said.“Thinking about you is not the same as choosing you.”
She stared straight ahead.“Do you ever wish you were the kind of man who did not say things like that?”
“No.”
“I do.”
We took the turn for the long drive that led to her father’s gates. The guards waved us through. The house looked like it always looks, expensive and boring.
I parked by the side entrance. She gathered the bag, stepped out, then leaned down into the open space before I could pull the door closed. The sunglasses were back on. The grin was not.
“Sean,” she said, voice almost gentle.“You are not going to win.”
She straightened and shut the door. I watched her walk to the steps, the bag hanging against her leg, the tilt of her head saying she was already thinking three moves ahead. I waited until she was inside before I put the car in gear.
Once she was inside, I stepped away from the car and called Elliott.
“She’s finished with the session,” I said.“It went longer than expected. She’s still talking about him.”
Elliott didn’t need clarification. He never did.“Matt Taylor,” he said flatly.“Of course she is.”
“She’s obsessed,” I said.“Still trying to rewrite the ending.”
A faint click sounded over the line, maybe a lighter, maybe just his teeth.“From what I understand, Taylor is doing quite well in Charleston. Promotions, new clients, new life.”
“Good for him,” I said, though I didn’t mean it.
