Time (Laws of Physics #3)(38)
“STOP.” I buried my face in my hands. “Please, stop. I do not want to know about you and Matt.”
My sister chuckled. It sounded sinister.
I wasn’t laughing, because now I was concerned. Photos of Mona with my parents, coming to visit me in the LA hospital had surfaced, but the photographer had mistakenly assumed she was Lisa. Since we hadn’t been photographed together—because there’d been no opportunity—rumors of my involvement with Mona’s twin sister had already faded.
My family knew about us. According to Mona, Leo knew, but I hadn’t talked to him since our disagreement. Obviously, Lisa knew, and if you didn’t count Tyler or Gabby, which I didn’t, that was about it.
It’s not that our relationship was a secret. It wasn’t. We just weren’t advertising it. Keeping things quiet, being private, especially when everything was so new and we saw each other so rarely, seemed to be an unspoken desire we had in common.
But if my phone was hacked, and the photos we’d been sending each other were leaked, it would make national news for sure.
Lifting my head, I frowned at Marie. “Okay, do you mind? Can you ask Alex to help?”
“I already did.” She picked an invisible piece of lint off her jeans. “It’s being taken care of as we speak. The invoice will come from Cypher Systems, just make sure it gets paid. He’s very expensive.”
“Thank you. Whatever it takes. I don’t want any pictures of her out there. It would be, uh, not good.”
Marie’s eyebrows flickered up a half inch. “You mean, it would be terrible. For her. And her career.”
“Yeah. Exactly.” I scratched my beard, which was now thick and bushy. I should have thought of this. Crap.
“Are you two keeping things secret for a reason? I get the sense that no one here knows about your relationship.”
My sister’s tone, like she was choosing her words carefully, had me inspecting her. “It’s not a secret, but I don’t think the crew knows. They might suspect.” I thought back to the argument Mona and I had in front of everyone in Aspen, and how we’d missed dinner the last two nights. “Honestly, I have no idea. Charlie and Ruthie were in Aspen with us, but I don’t think either of them were paying much attention. And, I mean, from the outside looking in, it’s not like we make much sense. Plus, according to Leo, Mona has this reputation with his friends of being completely disinterested in musicians.”
“Do you think dating you will impact Mona’s career?” Again, her tone seemed suspiciously careful.
“What do you mean? In what way?”
“I’m not certain, because I’m not a stunningly gorgeous and brilliant twenty-one-year-old PhD student in astrophysics, who is also the daughter of two hugely famous—but also slightly ridiculous—pillars of the global music community.”
“Are you asking if, by dating me, she’ll have even more difficulty being taken seriously?”
Marie’s gaze moved up and to the left. “I don’t know. It’s not like she’s inconspicuous, no matter who she dates. But I do know, just from watching famous couples trying to navigate the media, how one of you acts or behaves will definitely make an impact on how the other is perceived.”
“I guess that makes sense.” I shared a glance with my sister.
She’d given me a lot to think about, issues I might’ve already been aware of subconsciously, but hadn’t consciously considered. If how I behaved, the choices I made, had consequences for Mona, well, then I was determined that my choices would be stellar from now on.
“Hey.” I gave Marie a grateful smile. “Thank you for your help getting my phone secured.”
“No problem.” She smiled sweetly. But Marie was sweet. “What are older sisters for? Oh! And before I forget, I asked Mona to be a bridesmaid.”
I flinched, my head rearing back, not sure I’d heard her correctly. “You—you what?”
Marie cupped her hands around her mouth and mock-shouted, “I asked Mona to be a bridesmaid.”
I rolled my eyes. “I can hear just fine, Hufflepuff. I’m just surprised.”
“Why? She’s great.”
“Yeah. But you barely know her.”
“Well, you’re in love with her, which means so am I.” My sister shrugged, her blue eyes twinkling. “And, may I say, you have exceptional taste in women. She is a friggin’ delight.”
“She is, right?” Unable to stop my grin, I dropped my eyes to my hands again, thinking about her goodbye kiss before she left. Obviously, she couldn’t kiss my mouth. So she’d kissed the tips of my fingers—all ten—and my forehead, cheeks, chin, nose, and temples.
“You know who she reminds me of?”
“Janie?” I guessed, only because Marie’s friend Janie was also brilliant.
She tilted her head back and forth, her eyes narrowing as she considered. “Um, yes, her too. But I was actually going to say Matt.”
“Matt?” Again, I reared back, but this time I frowned. “Don’t get me wrong, you love Matt, therefore so do I, but what about Mona reminds you of Matt?”
Matt Simmons was Marie’s fiancé, a super good guy, and a nerd. Matt was great, really great, but he didn’t make me want to write poetry until sunrise.