They weren’t, of course, not really. Penelope’s father was a billionaire. Her own father earned seven dollars an hour in a slaughterhouse. But Sydney nodded anyway, taking advantage of the chance to bond.
“More similar than not,” she decided to reply.
Penelope shook her head. “Thank you,” she said politely, her voice even smaller and shyer than before. “But it’s not necessary. I have to give a gift to my dad before the concert starts, anyway—he won’t be around afterward. I just… needed a moment.”
Sydney nodded. So there was still some love underneath the tension between them, however slight. She could hear it in the pauses of Penelope’s speech, as if she herself didn’t want to admit it.
“I hope you enjoy the rest of your party, Ms. Morrison,” she said.
“Please, call me Penelope.” She smiled at Sydney. “Only my father’s guards sayMs. Morrison.”
Sydney smiled back. “Penelope, then.”
As Penelope turned to leave the bathroom, Sydney noticed a small tattoo on the girl’s wrist. At first glance, it looked like an errant line. It took a second for Sydney to recognize it as Italian and translate it in her head.
The heart is wide and deep.
Her mind skimmed over everything she knew about Penelope. Eli was English, through many generations. But her mother was an Italian woman who had been briefly married to Eli and then divorced when Penelope was three. There was so little information about her mother, though, especially after the divorce—word had it that she’d returned to Italy, then passed away years later from an illness.
Sydney couldn’t make a judgment one way or the other about thephrase. Maybe it was a phrase that her mother had frequently used. Maybe it was an Italian saying that Sydney wasn’t familiar with.
Then Penelope was stepping out the bathroom door, leaving Sydney alone.
Sydney’s hand brushed the edge of her waistline, checking for the weight of the parcel’s contents in her secret pocket. Then she headed out, too, keeping her head down as she walked back through the security line. The sadness etched on Penelope’s face lingered in her mind.
Just how much did Eli Morrison control his daughter’s life?
Whatever it was, it was enough for Winter to use. And with any luck, Penelope could be the wedge that cracked her father’s illegal empire.
16
The Superstar and the Tycoon
When the call came for them to head out, Sydney took her place at Winter’s side as they ushered him and his dancers down a private corridor toward the theater’s backstage door.
He had transformed completely by now into his stage persona, his first performance outfit being one of flowing silver that seemed to shift colors under the light. A light sheen of makeup on his face cast him in a mesmerizing glow. There was a new smoothness to his walk, a fresh confidence in his gait, a mischievous lilt in his voice as he called out a joke to Leo and the boy laughed in return. Sydney couldn’t help feeling impressed. It was as if a real person she’d known had disappeared, leaving behind only the idea of one.
They reached the end of the narrow corridor, where an elevator waited for them. Standing in front of the elevator was a line of Eli’s guards, who stepped in Sydney’s way. She felt herself tense on instinct.
“Our own guards,” Leo said enthusiastically. “Look at this royal treatment.”
The closest one shook his head at Sydney. “We’ll escort them individually from here,” he told her. “You may head to your seat in the audience now, Miss Miller.”
Sydney cast Winter a brief glance. Already, he, Leo, and Dameon had each been paired with one of Eli’s handlers.
Leo glanced skeptically up at his guard. “You coming up onstage to dance with us, too?” he quipped.
The man just stared stony-faced down at him until he looked away uneasily. “I mean, you seem like a people person,” he muttered.
Sydney let herself hesitate. This was as far as she could go.
She nodded at the men and took a step away from Winter. He nodded at her. As she looked at him, that stage persona gave way to a glimpse of himself.
I’ll be okay,his eyes seemed to say.
She pressed her lips together, then turned back to the guard. “Fine,” she said.
Leo entered the tiny elevator first, his handler at his side. He gave them a tense smile. “See you all where the fun is,” he said. Then the doors closed on him.
