“We can’t let you out of our sight. Not with paparazzi roaming the streets.”
“Seriously?” I whirl on Theo, my pulse hammering tentimes for every second he blinks at me with those devastating eyes. I press my lips together. “Find Naomi and bring her to the hotel,” I tell Winston.
He regards me with mild scorn. “She’s not our responsibility.”
Theo loosens his tie with a heavy sigh. “She will be if she gets in an accident because she’s being chased by paparazzi for her connection with Wren.”
I release a shaky breath, unnerved by the idea of it. “Don’t lose that ego now, Theo. I’m not the famous one in this car.”
“Until those pictures of us get out,” he says, just as another cameraman on a motorbike pulls even with the car. Our driver quickly changes lanes and Theo angles his body sideways so he’s covering most of the window while I sink lower in my seat. “Listen to her, Winston, and bring Naomi to the hotel.”
“And my sister,” I quickly add.
Theo gives me a sidelong glance. “Brooke’s here too?”
“Brought the whole gang!” I force a smile, worry gnawing a hole in my stomach.
Silence descends over us. Theo and I are side by side but not touching, his bodyguard scanning the road for cameras while fielding dozens of texts on his phone.
“What do we do when we get to the hotel?” I ask finally.
“We wait,” Theo says tightly. “We have the entire floor booked, and I’ll make sure you, Brooke, and Naomi are provided with a room.”
“We won’t need to stay the night, will we?” I ask, and I don’tlovethe silence that follows. “Once the cameras are gone, and you’ve killed the story, we can go back home,right?”
“Of course,” Theo says quickly, exchanging a look withWinston that makes me worry I’m about to be held hostage by the British monarchy.
I groan and drop my head to my knees. “This place better have a swimming pool. A hot tub. And one of those waffle makers for breakfast in the morning.”
I’m describing a Holiday Inn, but when the car finally pulls to a stop, I glance out the darkened windows to see a towering luxury hotel. Less “family vacation on a budget” and more “fanciest place I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“I’m guessing that’s a no on the waffle maker,” I mutter as we enter the lobby and come face-to-face with crystal chandeliers and a massive wood-carved ceiling.
“You can order waffles from the kitchen,” Theo says.
“But where’s the fun in eating them if I didn’t pour the batter from a paper Dixie cup and personally flip the waffle maker over?”
His lip twitches as he fights a smile. “I understand most of those words, but not the sentence.”
“Don’t worry about it; it’s a middle-class thing,” I say.
His shoulders slump. When Theo and I were stealing cars and hanging out on grungy bathroom floors, it was easy to pretend that we weren’t so different. Now that I’ve seen the kind of hotel he’s accustomed to staying in, it’s harder to trick myself into believing we have anything in common.
He clears his throat. “This is the Fairmont Royal York. You’re safe from pictures here. The staff aren’t even allowed to carry phones. This is where my family stays whenever we tour Canada.”
“Like when your grandma opened the maple-leaf park?” I ask.
He looks at me warily. “You know about that?”
“It has its own Wikipedia page, unlike my grandma’s favorite pastime: yelling ‘bad answer’ at the TV whenever aFamily Feudcontestant says something stupid.”
Winston stifles a laugh as Theo’s cheeks redden, and I remember how much he hates talking about his family’s legacy. “Where are the others?” he asks his bodyguard.
“Your sister is in a car about ten minutes out,” Winston tells him. “I don’t know about Wren’s people.”
“Find them and get her a key to the Gold Suite.”
“I would prefer if you were not alone, sir.” Winston’s voice carries a note of warning.
