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Tia let out a sigh.
“It’s a long story, Celine. I’ll give you the details when I meet you. But the short version is that I’m staying at Leo’s house as his daughter’s nanny.”
“Sure. Hey, listen… was Marcus very upset with me?” I asked hesitatingly.
The tactful silence on the line told me everything I needed to know. Marcus was upset. And he had every right to be upset.
“He’ll come around, Celine. He’s not the kind of man who holds grudges. And also, you had every right to try and protect yourself. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!”
“I was so blind about him,” I cried.
“Maybe, but it wasn’t without reason. If Marcus wants to be with you, he has to understand that you come with a certain baggage. You don’t have the privilege of trusting someone as easily as he does because if something goes wrong, then the consequences will be far worse for you than for him. I get why you reacted the way you did, Celine. It might have been wrong, but it wasn’t unnatural. So don’t beat yourself up too much about it,” said Tia.
“I’ll try,” I mumbled.
“Say… about those pole dancing lessons… any chance you could teach me how to do it?”
I smiled in delight.
“Of course, I can teach you,” I began, but my face fell when I realized she couldn’t come here. “But where? Your brother is probably still watching my house.”
“Why don’t you come to Leo’s house? I’ll send someone to pick you up because it’s quite far from your house.”
My heart skipped a beat as I remembered that Marcus lived there too.
“Umm, won’t Marcus be there? I’m not sure he’ll like me going to his house.”
“The three brothers and their aunt all have separate wings in the house, Celine. He won’t even know you’re in the house,” replied Tia. “Please say you’ll come, and bring Rose, too. I’m dying to see both of you.”
I agreed reluctantly and made plans to visit her the next day after lunch. I had another session with my only client, and then picked Rose up early for a quick lunch before we headed to the Donovan Estate. I was glad Tia was safe there because from what I’d heard, it was as heavily guarded as the White House.
Rose and I were ready by two pm. Tia still hadn’t sent me any details of the car that was supposed to pick us up. Just before I could call her, a car drew up outside my door. And my phone pinged with a text from Tia. She had sent me the number of the car, but there were no driver details.
I opened the door only after I confirmed from my window that it was the right car. But I froze in my tracks when I saw Marcus getting out of the car.
He stared at me stonily until Rose almost launched herself at him. He grabbed her before she fell, and his face softened as he smiled at her.
“How are you doing, Rosie Posie? Read any newspapers today?”
I swallowed over the dryness in my throat and found my voice.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m your ride to the house,” he said shortly, still looking only at Rose.
“Why?”
“Just in case Monani’s men are still watching you,” he explained. “We don’t want them to know you’re meeting Tia. They will be very suspicious and might follow you if you drive off in a strange car, but there’s nothing strange about me picking you up.”
The tiny sliver of hope that had fought its way up through the debris of my heartbreak gave up and died. He wasn’t here because he missed me. He was just trying to keep Tia safe.
“I need to fix Rose’s car seat,” I said politely and waited for him to get out of the way.
But he nodded to the chauffeur who took the car seat from me and fixed it into place. I got in and strapped an unhappy Rose into the seat, but she kept trying to wriggle out of it, reaching her little hands towards Marcus.
He leaned across me and grabbed her hand.
“I’m right here,” he murmured.
