“How do you understand him so well without knowing him?”
“You don’t have to know him to understand the kind of man he is. It’s written all over his face, the way he holds your hand, his stature. This is a painful blow to him, and I’m not surprised to hear that he’s hurting from it.”
“He is, badly,” I say, thinking back to the other night when he was crying in my arms. “He actually told me that I could walk away.”
“Of course he did.” Timmy shakes his head. “He doesn’t think he’s good enough. Why wouldn’t he give you the option to leave? What did you say to him?”
“That I would never. That he was it for me and we would figure this all out when the time came.”
“Did he believe you?”
I let out a large sigh and stare up at the ceiling. “I honestly don’t know. Before you arrived, we had another marriage counseling class. He felt stiff next to me. Nothing terrible happened like in the other sessions, but this time, he wasn’t very vocal and just listened. I think he was going through the motions.” I press my hand to my head. “I don’t know, Timmy. I keep telling myself everything will be okay after the wedding, but I have this sickening feeling it’s not going to be okay. That . . . that this is the beginning of the end.”
Timmy’s brows turn down. “I hate to diminish your feelings by saying that’s crazy thinking . . . but Lilly, that’s crazy thinking. I saw how that man kissed you before he took off. There is no way that kiss is any indication of the beginning of the end.” He pats my leg. “This is all nerves. We just need to loosen you up. Get you to have some fun.” A thought must pop into his head because he grins widely. “You know, I brought some wigs and things with me. Why don’t we ditch the palace and go have some fun?”
I shake my head. “Lara would never let me. They’ve upped the security since the wedding. Unfortunately, we’re in for the night.”
“Not if we sneak out,” Timmy says.
“Timmy, we can’t sneak out.”
“Are you saying it’s physically impossible, or it’s not allowed? Because I could tell you right now these walls have some secret passages, so I bet we could easily sneak out.”
I then recall the secret passageway behind the picture frame right outside my room that leads to the staff quarters. From there, it would be an easy way out to the local bar around the corner.
“There are secret passageways, aren’t there?” he asks with excitement.
“I might know of one.”
He claps his hands. “Let’s do it. We can make you unrecognizable with a wig, give you some whorish makeup, maybe a mole here and there, really throw people off, and we can have a relaxing but fun night.”
“I don’t know,” I say even though my mind has already fallen in love with the idea. “Keller would be mad. Lara would be furious. My security wouldn’t be happy either.”
“That’s why we act like you have a headache, and when everyone leaves you alone, we sneak you out.” He tugs on my arm. “Come on, you need this.”
I do. I need the reprieve from the stress. From the constant pressure of my relationship on the brink of falling apart. One night to relax, that doesn’t seem like it would be too bad.
I twist my lips to the side. “Okay, let’s do it.”
“Really?” Timmy asks.
“Really. But let me handle Keller and my security. They guard my door, so I’m going to need to slip out without them thinking I’m leaving.”
“Okay, so . . . what’s the plan?”
“Let me think on this, we have to execute this properly.”
“Well, I’m all ears.”
* * *
Keller:You sure you’re okay?
Lilly:Yeah, just going to rest for a bit. Thanks for checking in on me.
Keller:Just want to make sure you’re not avoiding me. I know I’ve been an asshole to be around recently. I’m working on it.
Hell, now I feel guilty.
