Unbroken (The Secret Life of Amy Bensen #3.5)(15)

PART FIVE




Go Bold or Stay Home

THE NEXT MORNING I STAND IN the kitchen, a cup of coffee in my hand, a smile on my lips as I wait for Liam to return from his meeting with Josh. I’m still riding the high from Liam’s proposal yesterday and the fun we’d had decorating the tree. I even put on a pale pink lace long-sleeved top with my black jeans and boots today, to match the diamond on my finger. Liam picked a special ring and I want him to know how much I love it, and him. Missing him, I grab my cell phone from the counter and glance at the time—eleven o’clock—eager for an update on the meeting, now two hours long. I’m remarkably at peace with the decision to bring Josh into this, now convinced it’s the right move.

I’m also unsurprised that we weren’t able to reach Chad to talk about it. My brother believes that staying off everyone’s radar, including ours, will protect us.

My phone beeps with a text, and I set my cup down and quickly push the button, thinking it’s Liam. Instead, it’s a message from Tellar: I’m here. Don’t freak when the alarm buzzes. He’s never warned me before; does he think I’m spending my first few hours of solitude in months running around naked? I’m about to reply when the garage door buzzes with a security warning.

I refill my cup to hear “Morning, Sunshine” behind me, and Tellar rounds the island and makes a beeline for the coffeepot.

“What if I had been naked? You didn’t wait for my reply.”

He grabs a cup from the cabinet, the jagged scar on his jawline I’ve never had the courage to ask about in view. “Liam wasn’t here,” he says, reaching for the pot. “I figured it was a safe gamble you’d be dressed.”

My cheeks flush. “I owe you for that one,” I say, as he reaches for the sugar and pours enough in his coffee to bake a cake. “My God, your dental bill must be outrageous.”

He shrugs and leans on the island across from me. “You only live once. I’m going to enjoy my sugar.”

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said that about pizza,” I say, inspecting his navy suit and noting how neatly slicked back his light brown hair is. “Why are you looking all Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard today?”

“Now that we’re back from the beach house, I need to be ready to run in the same powerful circles Liam does.”

“Of course.” It hits me that I don’t recall Liam taking any business calls at the safe house, and selfishly I’d never once noticed, let alone wondered how that impacted him. Just like when I’d asked him to run away with me and leave everything he’s ever accomplished and established behind.

“Hard to believe Liam has a Christmas tree,” Tellar comments, pulling me back into the conversation.

“Oh. Yes. We do. We didn’t like any of the choices Liam ordered,” I laugh, recalling the decorating process. “Liam turned the alignment of the ornaments into a precise architecture project.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. Architecture is his life. Aside from you, that is.”

I feel rather queasy that Liam has ignored his business matters these past weeks. I can’t remember the last time he touched a pencil to a design.

“I’m helping my sister put her tree up tonight,” Tellar continues. “Anything to lift her spirits.” He scowls, the deep scar on his cheek making the look quite menacing. “That bastard ex of hers is doing a number on her.”

Forcing myself to focus on the conversation, I ask, “He’s giving her trouble?”

“He’s giving her the cold shoulder, and it’s killing her when she shouldn’t give a shit. They were together five years when he decided to give his secretary a go. She caught them in his office the night before Thanksgiving.”

“Yikes,” I say. “I guess my lonely holidays weren’t so bad after all.”

He levels me with a stare. “You won’t be alone this year or any year going forward. You know that, right?”

“Yes, I know. And it’s wonderful.”

His eyes light with approval and he lifts his cup in a toast. “To all kinds of wonderful.”

“To all kinds of wonderful,” I repeat, clinking my cup to his.

“Starting with the big party tonight,” he says. “I understand we need to take you shopping for a dress.”

“I have a few dresses Liam bought for me a while back. I need to go see if anything will work.”

He snorts. “Unless it’s dripping with gold, it won’t. That event will be a money farm.”

I almost choke on a sip of coffee “A money farm?”

“That’s what all those people will be there for. Farming money.”

“You’re making me really excited to attend.”

He shrugs. “Just keeping it real.”

“Thank goodness someone does.” Keeping it real, when so much in my life has been absolutely fake, is exactly what I love about Tellar, and why I have to corner him while I have this chance. “How do you feel about us being back and Liam roaming the streets without you?”

“What happened to all that brave talk you just fed me?”

“I’m braver about myself than about Liam.”

“Be bold or stay home,” he says. “And bold is the right move, Amy. I know you’re nervous. How can you not be after all you’ve been through? But the steps taken now will establish your freedom, and safety, for years to come.”