“I just realized I don’t have your number—your new number,” I said, trying to deflect. I reached for his phone, putting my number in and then texting myself. “There. Everything is as it should be. Guess it’s easy to overlook when we’re always together.” I gave a shaky laugh.
My deflection didn’t go unnoticed. “You don’t need to hide, Abs. I’m here to protect you. I’ve always been here to protect you.”
“Not always,” I whispered.
The bed was too hot, the sheets stuffy. I sat up, throwing the Egyptian cotton off and stretching. Warm Spanish air drifted in through the window, sliding along my shoulder blades.
“He’s not like your other problems, Abigail. You can’t stuff him into a box and act like he doesn’t exist.”
I dragged a nail along my thigh, hating his words, hating how he could always rip away my armor.
“I know he’s one of you,” he said more softly.
I looked over my shoulder, barely catching Theo’s eyes.
The door to my wing opened and our tenuous connection snapped. I quickly dressed, throwing a threadbare pink sweater over a vintage Chanel skirt. If Theo and I were caught together, he’d be taken off my assignment. Nothing would happen to me, because as a Crowne it only mattered if I tried to love him, if I tried to marry him and be with him.
And that wasn’t happening…
Theo didn’t care. He slid languidly into his gray jeans, cavalierly putting on the same shirt he’d worn the night before.
Gray was in the sitting room, leaning against the door.
His blue eyes sparked with suspicion when he saw us, but all he said was, “We’re doing a DiCaprio tonight, you in?”
My eyes lit up. “Really?”
A DiCaprio was named after Leonardo DiCaprio from his scene in Titanic where Rose sneaks down into the basement. We would go out and party with the peasants—Gray’s words. Usually I wasn’t invited, because they never invited me to anything unless they had no choice.
An uncontrolled bubble of excitement filled my chest.
I heard Theo scoff beside me. He never approved of doing a DiCaprio, mainly because we usually left the “peasants” in some kind of trouble, whether it was emotionally or legally. Gray raised an eyebrow in his direction before landing back on me.
“Unless you want to stay on this Spanish Alcatraz.”
“No, no. I’ll meet you.”
Gray nodded. “See you tonight by the pier.”
I chewed my bottom lip so Gray didn’t see my smile. I could hardly contain my excitement. All I’d ever wanted was to be included.
Theo blocked the door almost instantly after Gray left, arms folded.
“You’re not going.”
“Why do you get to tell me what to do?”
He shifted, biceps, triceps, and deltoids flexing in a truly unfair way. “Because I’m your—”
“Your what, Theo?” I interrupted.
We still hadn’t labeled it, whatever this was. My bodyguard? My best friend? My bully? My boyfriend? Or simply nothing at all? Another long, pressure-filled minute passed.
In the end, he never answered.
I eyed the diary still in his hand. “Why are you hiding your mom’s diary from me?”
“Why are you hiding your texts?” he countered.