on your private terrace? Sneak into my room at night?”
“Sneak into my room,” he corrected. “Someone noticed me going into your room the first time. Mine is at the back where it’s off-limits. We’ll have our privacy.”
“From the other guys but what about your mom? You said she wants you keeping up the act too.”
“Mom is in bed by ten and up at five every day. Weekday or weekend. Holiday or a standard-issued Tuesday. If we work around her, we’ll be fine.” He pressed a kiss to the back of my head. “Are you fine? With hiding, I mean.”
“I wish we didn’t have to hide. It’s been a long time since I’ve entertained the thought of a relationship. I reconciled myself to a lifetime of occasional hookups, but then I had to accidentally run into you again.”
Preston glided a finger down my thigh, popping goose bumps in his wake. It was a solid reminder for why I no longer regretted that second meeting.
“We have more good reasons to hide than we do coming out and blowing up your engagement to Delilah. It kills me that a man like August Winthrop should get what he wants. It’s even worse that he should succeed in destroying your family.”
Another finger joined the first. The two tapped a melody on my bare flesh. “What if we’re star-crossed lovers meant to run away together?”
“I despise Romeo and Juliet even more than Cinderella.”
“Typical.”
“Hey.” Laughing, I smacked his thigh. “You don’t know what about me is typical yet.”
“But I’m going to find out.”
“Yes.” I raised my head to receive a slow, lingering kiss. “You are.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Mm-hm,” I replied.
“That insane siren theory. Where did that come from?”
“No need to call it insane.”
“Sorry,” he said. “I meant batshit crazy. That’s the one we settled on.”
I giggled. I also couldn’t understand how he kept getting me to do that, but discovered another reason to agree with Rosalie. There was something about goofy Du Pont boys and their big golden eyes.
“You don’t trust anything that comes out of a handsome man’s mouth,” he continued. “Was it a bad breakup? Was it... Nathan?”
“No,” I whispered honestly. “This started way before Nathan.”
“Do you want to tell me?”
I hesitated. Confession may be good for the soul, but there was something to be said for knowing when to keep your mouth shut.
I thought of Preston holding me on the playground.
“I had this friend,” I began, “who got into a bad situation with a dangerous man. She got away from him, but a man like this doesn’t give up. He doesn’t accept n-no.” I stopped, took a breath, and tried again. “He chased her across the country. Tracked her down wherever she was and charmed, bought, lied to, or hurt anyone who stood in the path to her.
“She’s lived in fear of him for years, Preston. She walks down her street jumping when a car she doesn’t recognize passes by. She has to change her phone number every few months because he tracks them down and sends her messages promising to find and get her back. And he has found her,” I whispered. “Three times. Each time... he made her regret the lengths she put him through.”
“Holy shit,” he breathed. “What about the police? Restraining orders? Why isn’t this guy in jail already?”
“I told you he’s a dangerous man and his family is even worse. They ran our town. The police didn’t even respond to calls where their names were mentioned. Her parents’ money didn’t make a difference since his had just as much.
“There was one officer who did the right thing. She tracked her down after he tried to get away with her. She rescued her and left her partner to bring him in while she took her home.” I shook my head, brushing against his chin. “He never made it as far as the station parking lot. When she realized he’d gotten away, the cop told her and her parents to run. She wouldn’t receive anything resembling justice in that town.”
“She’s been running from him ever since.”
I flipped over and hugged him, snuggling into the crook of his neck. “He changes his name and his appearance as quickly as it takes him to buy a new identity. He dumps cars seconds before the license plate alert goes out.”
“You said her parents had money. What about bodyguards?”
“They tried that. He paid one of them twelve times his salary to drive her directly where he was hiding,” I said. “And that’s what it