The room was shrouded in an uncomfortable silence. George sat at the end of the room with me, eyes glancing to me and Damon. The sounds of keyboards clacking filled the air as Damon angrily punched number on his laptop.
His eyebrows were furrowed as he stared at his screen, his jaw tightening. He kissed his teeth and cracked his neck. He looked like he wanted to kill someone. I had no idea why he was pissed. He'd been that way since we came back from the meeting.
George's phone vibrated beside me loudly, startling me. He held the phone to his ear, his eyes on me.
"I see."
He looked at me like he'd caught me in a lie. I didn't like that feeling.
"Okay," he hung up.
His lips twitched, his eyes fixed on me.
"What?" I asked.
He said nothing and smiled. He walked over to Damon and my heart skipped a bit.
Did he find out something about me? Was he going to tattle to Damon?
"I have to step out for a few hours, Boss," he said.
Damon didn't reply, eyes on his computer.
"Boss?" he called. There was still no reply.
"Boss!"
Damon looked up. "What?"
"I have to step out. I'll be back before the party."
He nodded. "Okay."
George grabbed his coat and walked back to me. "I'll see you soon."
Oh, I had a bad feeling.
I shot a text to Tara. 'How great are your hacking skills?'
'Do you know who you're talking to?'
I smiled.
'Hack the hotel's CCTV and find out where George's going.
'What's wrong?' she asked.
'Something's not right.'
'Okay.'
"I guess he's your type then," Damon said.
I stared at him. "What?"
"You know, someone not boring like me," his tone was biting.
I dropped my phone. "Damon."
"You're my bodyguard, I didn't bring you all the way over here just so you can go on a date with some guy."
"It's not a date," I said.
Someone knocked on the door and I sighed. I opened it to find a bouquet of flowers shoved in my face.
"Delivery for the lovely Ms. Wells," the man said.
"Uh, thanks," I grabbed the white roses and the designer bags and closed the door. Damon walked over to me and clenched his jaw when he saw the bouquet and the dress. I opened the card.
The dress match your eyes. See you tonight.
I stared at Damon, hoping he wouldn't misunderstand.
Too late.
"Not a date, huh?" he scoffed.
"It's not what you think," I dropped the card.
"Sure it isn't," he grabbed his coat.
I stepped in front of him. "No, let's talk."
"About what? Your new relationship?" he paused.
"How rude of me. Congratulations."
"Damon," I called softly.
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
"I don't have any feelings for Isaiah."
The only person I love is you.
"Then why did you accept his invitation to the party?" his eyes searched mine.
To protect you.
"Ah, let me guess," he clasped his hands together.
"To protect me?" his words were drenched in sarcasm.
I sighed. "Look, I know you don't believe me-."
"Damn right I don't believe a word you say," his chest heaved loudly.
"If I was such a bore, why did you barge into my life and make me fall in love with you?" he walked closer, closing the distance.
"Why do you look at me with those eyes?" he grabbed my shoulder.
"I'm sorry," I searched his eyes slowly. I could see the hurt there; I'd cut him so deeply I wondered if I could fix it.
His eyes softened. "Did you ever love me?"
The question caught me off guard. It was true I didn't start out loving him. It was the opposite, in fact. I'd hated him for being the son of the man who killed Wes. But somewhere along the line, with every minute I spent with him, I found myself falling for him.
"Forget it," he let go of my shoulders, and wore his jacket.
"Don't follow me," he said and closed the door behind him.
I collapsed on the ground, the flowers beside me as I clutched my chest. I'd hesitated when he asked if I loved him not because I didn't but because I knew I had no right to. I wanted to run after him to tell him he misunderstood but the look in his eyes stopped me.
Why did love hurt so much?
My phone pinged.
'He's meeting someone.'
I cleared my throat.
'Who?'
'A PI.'
'You think he found out?' I asked. My fake background was solid enough to keep suspicions off me, but I was slightly worried.
'I don't know. Be careful, Mia'
It was possible George had found out my real identity. I needed to keep him away from Damon. I dialed a number.
"Well, if it isn't the woman who leaves broken hearts in her wake," Kyle said.
I smiled wistfully when I heard his voice.
"Hey, Kyle."
"What's wrong?"
He always had a knack for knowing when something was wrong. Kyle was someone I would consider a friend and was just as skillful as I was. He was the only one I could trust beside Tara.
"Are you still in Illinois?" I stared at the dress.
"Yeah, why?"
"I need your help."