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"I think I told you once before that I was raised mostly by my Gran. My parents died in a car accident when I was pretty young. My sister Tess and I went to live with Gran from then on, so she's kind of like Mom and Dad all rolled into one."
"What's she like? How old is she?"
My heart lifted a little, thinking of Gran. "She's not like any grandmother you've ever met, that's for sure." I laughed. "She's ... unique."
His brows lowered as he thought about that. "How?"
"Well, she tells dirty jokes in polite company, wears these matched sweatsuits like Beyonce, and refuses to quit smoking pot."
Jace let out a bark of laughter.
"She plays online games pretty much all the time—my sister has to drag her off the computer. And she's turning ninety in a little while. I'm supposed to go, actually."
"To celebrate her birthday in Maryland?" Jace asked.
"Yeah, but I don't think I can." I thought about the sheer complication of taking the trip. The airport, the cameras, the problems I’d be bringing to my sister’s doorstep. She and I had never been as close as I’d like, and I thought part of the reason was my fame and everything that came with it.
He frowned. "Why not?"
The lightness and joy I'd felt in thinking about Gran fizzed out as darker thoughts about reality, about Zac, came back. "I need to lay low and let this mess die down. Pay Zac off to keep him quiet, and hope some other celebrity does something ridiculous to distract everyone soon."
Jace shook his head. "You can't miss your Gran's ninetieth birthday." His tone was adamant. "Is there going to be a party?"
Tess had emailed me, talking about a tent and a band. "Yeah, my sister's putting it together." I'd sent her money and my excuses about why I probably wouldn’t come.
"Good. Talk to your agent. You should go."
I shot him a teasing smile. "Since when does my bodyguard tell me what to do?" I kept my tone playful and light. It was actually really nice having him here, interested in my life.
"Since I can see how much you want to be there. Your whole face changes when you talk about Gran."
I felt myself smile again. "I miss her. My sister too."
"What's your sister like? I can't believe there are two Manchester sisters running around. Men of America, look out." Jace chuckled.
I raised an eyebrow. "We're different. Tess was always a tomboy." I thought about her as a kid, all scraped knees and wild hair. "She runs a water adventure business out there now."
"Water adventure. What does that mean?"
"There's water everywhere in Southern Maryland—bays and inlets, streams and runs. She takes people kayaking, teaches stand-up paddle board, takes people canoeing, jet skiing."
"Fun." Jace grinned like he was imagining himself on a jetski.
"Meh." I'd never been big on getting in the water. I liked looking at it.
Jace laughed. "I wish I could meet her. Does Tess look like you? I can only imagine what a force the two of you must have been in school."
I shook my head, remembering. "Tess never cared much what she looked like. She was into things besides boys and makeup. We were kind of opposites."
"You're older?"
"Yeah."
"You ever think maybe it was hard to compete with you so she went a totally different way?" His tone was soft, like he didn’t want to say anything that might hurt.
I thought about that for a minute. "Tess has always been her own person. I don't think she ever meant to compete at all." Had she? "I don't know. I remember a few situations where she got angry, where she said things about being in my shadow, being the second sister. But I'd always figured that was just sibling stuff. I was older. I got to do things first."
Jace leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, listening intently. "I get that. My brother used to say the same things. Especially when I joined the Marines. He said he couldn't compete with a hero."
