Page 27 of Clever Deceit

He shrugged one shoulder, but I could see his mouth curling up in a grin. “Maybe. But I find that I hate Tony more. He's the one I really want to piss off.”

I laughed at that and nodded, wrapping my arms around him and burrowing into the space between his shoulder and his neck. Was I worried about going out there and inviting Tony and Mark into our business? Yes.

But Warren was right; I didn't want Tony thinking we were scared of him. Because we weren't.

And having Warren by my side made it a whole lot easier to remember that.

***

WE WENT TO THE BEST restaurant in town, and though it didn't have anything on any of the restaurants in Chicago—or even some of the larger towns around here—we got dressed up and pretended that this was a big deal. Warren opened the door for me and ushered me in like we were going to a big, fancy place, and I curtsied at him and walked through the doors, all smiles and butterflies at the way he was treating me.

The whole place went quiet as soon as I stepped in, though, and that eliminated both the smile and the butterflies.

I glanced around at the people inside and saw that they were all staring at me and Warren, their eyebrows lifted and their mouths caught open as they stared. The place was dead quiet... and then suddenly broke out in a flurry of whispers, people turning to each other and hissing some things that I couldn't quite hear.

Though I guessed I didn't really have to hear them.

Everyone in town knew I'd been dating Tony, and they had to have noticed when I suddenly disappeared. Most people would know that my mom had been in an accident and I'd come flying home, and further, that the house right next to mine had burned down not long after that.

Who knew what sort of rumors Tony himself had been spreading about me in my absence and now that I was home. Sure, I'd been raised in this town and knew almost everyone by name. I'd grown up with their kids and gone to their houses for cookies and lemonade. But Tony and his dad were the money in town and had probably paid off everyone who'd take payment. They employed a lot of these people.

They had the power. And if they said I was no good or that I was causing trouble for them, people were going to believe it.

I stared at men and women I'd known since I was a girl and watched as they whispered to each other about me. And I met each of their eyes and stared at them until they looked away, flushes rising in their faces and their shoulders slumping a bit.

Good. I hoped they felt guilty. I hoped they felt stupid for saying whatever they were saying and maybe even believing it. And I hoped they knew that I didn't care what they thought. I had just as much right to be in this town as they did, and they couldn't make me feel bad for coming home when my mother needed me.

Warren reached down and took my hand, squeezing it slightly like he knew exactly what I was thinking, and then we walked forward and told the hostess that we needed a table.

“For two?” she asked hesitantly.

“Obviously,” Warren returned.

She jumped a bit, but then nodded and collected two menus from behind her stand. We followed her to a corner booth and slid in, turning toward each other the moment she was gone.

“Well, this is awkward,” I said quietly.

Warren just chuckled. “They should be the ones who feel awkward. Can you imagine being stupid enough to believe whatever it is Tony and his dad are saying about us?”

“You think it's about us?”

“Of course I do. You don't think you're the only one they're talking about, do you?”

When I didn't say anything, he chuckled and leaned toward me, pressing a soft kiss to my lips.

“And why do you think you'd get all the attention, hmm? You don't think I'm just as important as you are?”

I... hadn't thought of it that way at all. “Of course not! I guess I just assume they'll be going after me.”

“Do I need to remind you that it was my house they burned down?”

I made a face at him. “And do I need to remind you that I was in it when that happened?”

He took my hand again. “Let's not talk about him. I'm taking his name off the list of acceptable topics for dinner.”

It was a good thought. Really, it was. And I would have liked to agree to it because my brain needed a break from all the thinking. The problem was, my brain didn't want to take a break. I wanted to know more about the girl who'd taken a restraining order out against Tony. I wanted to know what he'd done and how she'd gotten a court to agree to it. Where had she filed for it? What did it say?

And where was she now? Was she still alive? Would she be willing to help us if we found her?