“How’s everything going?” he says.
“Great,” I say, a little too quickly. “I wanted to say thank you to the Baskervilles. Are they staying for lunch?”
Doc snorts. “Only if it’s poison.”
“Valente,” Bobby warns, handing me the juice. He smiles at me. “The twins have business in Manhattan, JJ, but they know how grateful you are.”
“Do they?”
“That depends,” Doc says, a dangerous glint in his eye. “How grateful are you?”
“Valente,” Bobby repeats. “Shouldn’t you be leaving?”
Doc’s lip curls. “Yeah, typical. Get rid of me as soon as she’s conscious.”
Bobby ignores him. “We’re just gonna have a picnic, JJ. There’s no pressure.”
I sip my juice, willing the sugar to work quickly. “A picnic sounds nice.”
“Enjoy it,” Doc says. “There’s not gonna be nothing nice about our date.”
“I said no sex.”
“That didn’t stop Morelli from licking you senseless at a fine dining restaurant.”
I gape at him. “You know about that?”
Doc’s smile is pure evil. “Who doesn’t?”
I glance at Bobby, who winces. I press a hand over my mouth. “You know too! How do you all know?”
“We have a group chat,” Doc says. “It’s called ‘January Joy’s Tits and other natural wonders.’Bobby can show you if you want.”
“Don’t listen to him.” Bobby takes my hand. “Come on, we’re leaving.”
“If she sucks your dick, I want video,” Doc calls after us, leaving me to wonder how he can get so jealous at the twins for looking at me but be fine with the idea of Bobby and I hooking up.
Just like my date with Eli, there’s a car waiting for us in the driveway. This time a shiny red truck—big and American like the man beside me. Bobby opens the passenger door for me. “I kinda can’t believe we’re doing this.”
“Me neither,” I admit. “Run away before someone stops us?”
He grins. “Definitely.”
I slide inside the truck. It smells nice, like winter fire and peppercorns. It’s also intensely familiar. The same scent that used to waft across the library table whenever Bobby tutored me. That, along with his big brown eyes and cuddly good looks, made me wish he was my boyfriend.
“Did you used to drive this car to Trinity Grammar?” I ask as he hops behind the wheel.
“Ah, no. It would have looked weird for a tutor to have a Benz.”
“Oh.”
There’s a beat and I’m sure we’re both thinking about when I first arrived at Velvet House and discovered my mild-mannered math tutor was actually a criminal bad boy. I still kind of can’t believe it, but so many things have happened, I guess Bobby seems more normal. Except for the fact he killed Kurt, my bodyguard. I thought doing that made him evil, but seeing what Mr. Parker is capable of, I don’t know what to think.
“What’s on your mind?” Bobby asks, as we drive down the gravel path to the front gate.
“My old bodyguards… were they bad men?”
He gives me a sidelong glance. “You’re already having a hard day. Maybe now isn’t the right time, JJ.”
