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“Does Silvan’s family have a lot of enemies or something? I thought you were just a driver.”
“Men in families like Master Silvan’s always have enemies, Miss Bradwell.” Turning and reaching for the door handle, he says, “Shall I?”
I nod and thank him, so he opens the door.
Mom waits inside, wide-eyed. “What the hell was that?”
Trying for glib, I tell her, “I don’t like surprises as much as you do.”
She continues to stare at me, but when I don’t offer another word and I take out my phone, she seems to take the hint that I’m not going to expand upon that thought.
My phone vibrates and a text from Silvan appears on the screen. It reads, “Having a good time with your mom?”
My heart jolts, and I glance up front to see if it looks like Hugh has told on me, but I can’t tell. All I know is Silvan hasn’t checked up on me before now. I thought he was letting me enjoy time with my mom uninterrupted.
“Yes,” I type back cautiously. “Thanks again.”
“Anytime.”
I swallow, waiting a second to see if he types anything else. When he doesn’t, I ask, “Are you still in New York?”
“Yeah. About to catch a show with my mom before we head back.”
“On Broadway? That sounds like fun.”
“I’ll have to bring you sometime.”
I’d like that.
My fingers freeze when I realize the thought that just flitted through my mind.
No, I would not. Am I crazy?
Shaking my head to clear it, I try to think what to type back, then I decide I should probably type nothing.
I need to stop talking to him. He’s making me feel strangely comfortable with this profoundly dysfunctional relationship he’s trying to lure me into, and I need to put a stop to it before it goes any deeper.
I can’t bring myself to cut off the conversation at such an unnatural place, though, so I type back, “We’re heading to dinner now, so I should probably go.”
“Okay,” he responds. “Enjoy the rest of your night.”
“You too,” I answer politely, without thought.
“I will,” he answers with a winky face.
My eyes narrow with suspicion, but I suppose he was only responding in kind. Maybe the wink is because I was being polite to him when he knows I shouldn’t have been. Sometimes it occurs to me a moment too late.
My rationalization makes sense to me, but I still feel uneasy as I tuck the phone away inside the new Marc Jacobs purse I bought myself at the first store we stopped at.
“Everything okay?” Mom asks.
I look up, startled.
For a second, I completely forgot she was in the car with me.
Silvan has a way of making the rest of the world melt into the background when he has my attention.
“Yeah,” I lie, trying to feign nonchalance. “Everything’s fine.”
