being, I refreshed my email one more time—
“Alexander Thorne, get in here now!”
—no new messages.
I sighed, shut the damn thing off, and then pushed through the dressing room door to see not only Cynthia, but Ryan, who was currently sitting in my makeup chair.
“I’m sorry, but did you get lost?” I said, as Ryan spun around and closed the magazine he was reading. “Your desk is out in front of mine.”
Cynthia was leaning back against the bench that housed her makeup and hair-styling products. I looked between the two of them, and the curious expressions on their faces made me frown.
Something was going on, something more than me running late. “Okay, what’s happening here?”
“Huh? What do you mean?” Cynthia smiled a little too brightly as I walked in. Then I eyed Ryan.
“What?”
“You look guilty. Or…like you’re hiding something. Like you’re both hiding something. So, I’ll ask again. What’s going on?”
Ryan turned his attention to Cynthia, who shrugged, then he held out the magazine to me and said, “Page twenty-five.”
I frowned, took the magazine, and flipped it open to where I’d been told. There, staring back at me in bright colors, were images of Sean and me outside of Luigi’s. In one we were holding hands, in another, Sean was kissing my cheek, and across the top was the headline UNDERCOVER BODYGUARD TAKES ON A WHOLE NEW MEANING. JUST HOW CLOSELY DID HE GUARD THORNE’S BODY?
Oh. My. God. I took in the two-page spread again and then skimmed over the article, and as the words began to sink in, I knew exactly why Ryan and Cynthia looked so scandalized.
There, laid out in clear detail, was Sean’s name, his real job as a detective with the Chicago Police Department, and the fact he’d been undercover as my boyfriend the whole time to protect me from my crazed stalker. A fact that neither Cynthia or Ryan had known until—I was guessing—right this second.
I opened my mouth, trying to think of what I was going to say to them, but for once in my life, I had nothing. How had this happened? Who had talked to them? Shit. I needed to call Sean.
I held up a finger, about to tell Cynthia to give me a sec, but she said, “Don’t even think about going anywhere until you sit your ass in that chair and tell us in very explicit detail how you made your sexy undercover boyfriend fall in love with you for real. Because, honey, we want to know.”
I let out a chuckle and nodded. “I will, I promise. But I need to go and call Sean really quick. If he hasn’t seen this already, he’s going to be shocked, to say the least.”
“Uh, the very least. Did you read this part?” Ryan snatched the magazine back. “‘Chicago Police Detective Sean Bailey was brought in undercover to play the role of Alexander Thorne’s boyfriend in an effort to apprehend Mr. Thorne’s stalker back at the beginning of this month. I think we can all agree he excelled at this particular job, and it seems that this role is one that the detective has decided to step into in real life. Don’t they make a handsome couple?’” Ryan held the magazine to his chest and nodded at me. “Very handsome.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”
“And you are a big, bad liar.”
“So is he…Bailey’s brother?” Cynthia grimaced as though she already knew the answer to that.
“Yes. His oldest brother. I’ve known Sean most of my life.”
“And you never dated?”
“Uh, no. Sean is—was always straight.”
Ryan’s jaw all but hit the floor. “I can’t believe this. You ended up with a hot cop who not only saved your life, but fell in love with you and switched sides? What am I saying, of course you did. You’re Alexander Thorne.”
“Yes, my life is a real walk in the park.”
“Wow. We have a lot to talk about.” Cynthia pointed her comb at me. “Go make your call, but hurry. I still need to make you gorgeous, and you still need to give us the dirty details.”
I nodded and fished my phone from my pocket as I backed out the door. As it swung closed behind me, I sent off a quick text to Sean warning him about the article. I was about to head back inside when my cell vibrated in my hand. I glanced down at it, and the name on screen took the wind out of my sails.
I leaned against the wall and stared at the message