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“About two hours ago,” Franky said. “When you didn’t return by lunchtime, she got worried. You know that the staff never encroaches on your privacy, so we tried to reach you first.”
“We were somewhat occupied,” I told Franky.
Checking my phone, sure enough, there were several missed calls from Davies and Franky, and there was a text from my dad asking if everything was okay.
“Yeah,” Franky quipped. “I can see that.” She paused when Ciaran came to stand next to me, putting his arm around my waist. If it wasn’t clear that he and I were an item, it would be now. “Your parents left New York City early and are on their way back. They’ll land at LAX a little after ten tonight.”
Ciaran’s shoulders slumped against me. Groaning, he said, “I’ll take full blame. It was my fault. I forced you to drive me there.”
He showed me a text string with Theresa that pretty much asked the same thing, if he was all right, that she loved him, and that she’d be back in town tonight.
“No one is getting in trouble,” I said. “And you didn’t force me, Ciaran. I offered, remember?”
I kissed Ciaran’s temple and I pulled him into a hug. He melted into me. It’d been a long two days for Ciaran. And it wasn’t over yet, either.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the flood of ever-changing emotions flit across Franky’s face. She’d never seen me this affectionate with anyone. It had to be strange to witness.
Stranger still that it was with Ciaran, my stepbrother.
Then Franky snapped out of it. She’d been working for the Hollywood elite long enough to have witnessed her share of insanity and this probably didn’t rise to the top.
“Okay,” she started as she cut up the brownies into small squares. Problem-solving Franky was back. The corner of her mouth twitched. “So I know where the hickeys came from. Let’s set that aside for the moment.” She placed brownies on small plates and handed one to me and another to Ciaran. “What about the bruises on your face, Matty?”
“Andy,” I answered.
Franky nearly choked on her first bite of the brownie. “As in Andrew Jones, Miss Paulina’s grandson?”
“One and the same.”
“Stefon’s not going to like that.” Her jaw tightened.
“Yeah, well,” I said, “in my defense, Andy was attempting to blackmail me and my friends.”
She choked again and instead of taking another bite, Franky put the rest of her brownie in the sink.
“Just how many people are blackmailing you, Matty?”
“Two,” I said with a humorless chuckle. “That I know of.”
“Matty’s not telling you everything,” Ciaran blurted. “You see, I also know Andrew Jones, but I know him as Drew, my high school guidance counselor.” There was a nervous edge in his voice.
With that, Ciaran filled in the details for Franky’s benefit, and ended with, “Drew created an elaborate three-year plan to get me in his bed. The sad thing,” Ciaran said, his voice cracking, “is that it almost worked.”
“I’m so sorry, Ciaran.” Franky hung on every word and shook her head with disbelief. “It’s like a real-world soap opera and Andy is a real-life dickbag. Crime, betrayal, sex, fighting, matchmaking, large sums of money, and blackmail. Was there a car chase?”
“I knew something was missing,” I joked. Ciaran didn’t look amused. “Sorry. I know it’s not funny.”
“It’s just that I’d hoped to have more time to ease our parents into, well, you know, the idea of us.”
“Will you tell your mom what happened?” Franky asked. “I know it’s not easy to talk about that kind of stuff with our parents, but I bet she’d want to know, especially since Andy—er, Drew—used her as bait.”
“Oh, God,” Ciaran gasped. He sat on a stool and covered his crestfallen face with his hands. “What if…what if she tells Stefon, and it impacts their relationship? I refuse to be the reason their marriage breaks apart.”
“Knowing Dad, it won’t change his feelings for Theresa, but it will impact his relationship with Andy. Andy will lose all his connections to Vaulteneau Enterprises, to include the business dealings he conducts on my dad’s behalf.” I rubbed his shoulders and kissed the back of his neck. “That said, it’s up to you on how much you want to tell your mom.” He leaned back into me and I wrapped my arms around his chest. “I’ll support you either way.”
“Thanks,” Ciaran murmured.
Franky watched our interaction. When her eyes softened, I knew she was in our corner. She might not understand it, but she had our backs, and it meant more than she’d ever know.
