Her head juts back as if she’d been slapped. “The matchmaking business?”
I nod and glance at my bedroom doorway, wondering if I should go interrupt Miles so he can be here when I open it.
Rochelle reaches and clicks on the folder before I have the chance to fully decide. Spreadsheet after spreadsheet opens in the folder, but it’s one name in particular that catches my attention right away.
Feenix Blaylock.
I swallow thickly and quickly shut the laptop before Rochelle can see it too. For some odd reason, I don’t want anyone knowing his last name even if it is fake. Like Andre’s, it’s most certainly fake, and there’s probably a shit-ton of suspicious and incriminating stuff tied to it.
“What are you doing?” she asks with a scowl.
“We should wait for Miles,” I say as a way of an excuse.
She leans away, but the scowl remains. “Okay.”
My mind races. Now that I know his last name, it becomes a little more real, this thing I have for him. The possibility of arresting the man I’m falling for becomes a living, breathing thing. There is no happy ending for me here, but still, it doesn’t sway my heart. Still, it beats only for him. I don’t know how to convince it otherwise, how to tell it that, in the end, it’ll only bring tears and I’ll be forced to pick up my own pieces, yet again.
First my mother, then my father, then Nathan. And now Nix.
No, I can’t tell Miles about this. Not until I look into him myself. I know here and now that there will be parts I keep to myself to protect Nix. I won’t be able to help myself when all becomes revealed to keep things secret, to bury them in the dark. But how far will I go? How deep will I get myself for this one man? Will I go down with him?
A part of me doesn’t care if I do.
Tucking my fear deep, deep within myself, I set the laptop by my plate and fake a yawn. “You know, I’m tired.”
She blinks a few times and checks her watch on her wrist. “It is a little late.”
Jumping on my way out, I ask, “Do you mind? I can give Miles a call tomorrow with this news.”
My phone dings on my nightstand as she gives me a nod and stands. I rise with her, and together, we embrace.
“Don’t do anything stupid, Charlie,” she whispers into my hair. “I’d hate to see something happen to you.”
“Okay,” I murmur into her ear because that’s all I can say. I can’t promise her anything at this point because everything I plan to do is a reckless decision.
She lets me go, reaches for my empty plate, and heads out of my room. Moments later, I hear the apartment door shut, and I take a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart.
What the hell am I going to do?
My phone dings again, and on numb feet, I head to my nightstand. It’s the phone Nix gave me, and I pick it up to read the text.
I clamp my jaw shut.
Nix: Gala in two nights.
Nix: Don’t try to get out of it. A dress will be sent to you tomorrow, and appointments have been made for your hair and nails.
My heart thunders in my chest for two reasons. Reason number one is that I’ll be surrounded by people who might make Miles refuse to let me go. And reason number two is that there is so much I could discover if I don’t tell him I’m going.
Me: Who’s my date?
Nix: Me.
Butterflies flutter in my stomach. Yeah, Miles definitely isn’t going to know about this.
Chapter Twenty-One
Feenix Blaylock
