Agatha gives me a smile. “Oh, Lily. I know Ryder. He would never hurt you.” Her smile disappears dramatically, and she narrows her eyes at Ryder. “Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, of course,” he blurts.
“Did you tell Dad? Or Adam?” I ask.
Agatha turns her attention back to me, and her expression softens. “No, my dear.”
“But…why not? They sent me here to keep me safe.”
“Are younotsafe?”
“I… No, I’m safe.”
“Then they don’t need to know.”
I gape, waiting for an explanation. She shifts her gaze between me and Ryder, then lets out a sigh. “Your father and brothers have the best of intentions. But you and I both know they’re being far too overprotective.”
I nod.
“So I wasn’t going to directly disobey their instructions and take you out myself. But if the opportunity presented itself, well, who was I to stand in the way?”
In all truth, Agatha is EXACTLY the one who should be standing in my way. But I’m not about to tell her that.
At our silence, Agatha sits up a little straighter. “So. I still will not have done my due diligence unless I properly interrogate you two.” She looks at Ryder. “What are your intentions with Lily?”
“Oh. Well…” He hesitates.
I glance over at Ryder, curious what his response will be.
My wild imagination says he’s going to confess to Agatha that he’s fallen for me, that we have a connection unlike any he’s ever experienced, and he wants me to be his forever. That the moment we touched, he knew we were meant to be.
Or something like that.
Back in the real world, his eyes dart over to me, then back to Agatha. “At first I came here because I felt like Peter would want me to come check on her. But now, I feel like Lily and I have become…friends.” He looks over at me. “Don’t you think so?”
Okay,fine, it’s not exactly the reaction I’m dreaming of. But it’ll do.
“Yeah,” I reply. “I do.”
Agatha glances at me, then back at Ryder, and quickly grins. “Lovely.” She looks at me. “And you welcome his friendship?”
I nod, maybe a little too enthusiastically.
“In that case, I see no reason to put a stop to this. Ryder, you’re welcome to come visit Lily and take her to the theater to play the piano. In this way, I’ll feel comfortable with her being out, as well. My conscience will be clear that her protection is guaranteed. But”—she holds up an accusatory finger—“no funny business.”
My face flushes hot, and Ryder coughs next to me. “You don’t have to worry about that,” he says after he recovers.
Cool. Cool, cool. Ryder doesn’t even think of me in that way.
“Excellent,” Agatha continues. “And you don’t have to climb the tower anymore. You can climb the stairs from now on.” She purses her lips into a mischievous smile. “I was wondering how long you’d keep scaling the wall.”
“I would have kept going,” he says without hesitation. “Lily is worth it.”
Agatha beams and pats my hand. “I agree.”
My chest tightens and my eyes sting. I haven’t been surrounded by such confidence in my worth in a really, really long time. And it feels really, really good.
“All right, now that that’s settled,” Agatha says. “Ryder, you can follow me down the stairs. Good night, Lily.”
