Uncovering You 5: Confessions (19 page)

I’m let go. A woman, maybe a decade older than Jeremy, stands beaming before me.

Her dark skin contrasts with her white dress and makes her shine with radiant beauty. Her hair is different from the last time I saw her. It’s now blonde.

That doesn’t stop me from recognizing her right away.

It’s Thalia. Fey’s mom.

But what is she doing here—

Of course. Fey has rich parents. It makes sense that they’d have connections required to attend events like this one.

Yet what are the odds of her running into
me
here?

Jeremy, by now, is aware of the disturbance. He turns to Thalia. His eyes flash at me, demanding an explanation.

I want nothing more than to turn away and pretend I don’t know her. But it’s too late for that now.

“Lilly, it’s so good to see you!” Thalia exclaims. “I can’t believe I found you here. And you’re with—”

She looks at Jeremy. Her eyes widen in perceptible shock.

“Jeremy Stonehart,” he says smoothly, offering her his hand. As she shakes it, her eyes go back to me, full of disbelief.

“Jeremy Stonehart,” she repeats under her breath. “I saw you on stage. You were spectacular. My husband speaks of your company all the time.”

“Does he?” Jeremy murmurs. “Would I happen to know the man?”

“Oh no.” Thalia shakes her head. “No, no. He’s just a simple—a banker.”

“Lilly,” Jeremy says to me. “I think it’s customary for you to introduce me to your friend.”

“Oh!” I come to myself with a little jump. I didn’t even notice that Thalia had forgotten to give her name. Her shock at finding me with Jeremy Stonehart must really be something.

“This is Thalia Rosene. She’s the mother of one of my old college roommates at Yale.”

Mention of the university sparks Thalia.

“Fey told me you had disappeared. After you went to work in California, you never called, or emailed, or texted. We all assumed you just got so busy working, but clearly…” she sneaks a sidelong look at Jeremy, full of hidden meaning, “…you’ve managed to integrate yourself into the world you’ve always dreamed of very well.”

I hate the accusation in her words. The silent insinuation. The suggestion that I forsook my closest friends just to be close to Stonehart. That I am nothing more than a gold digger.

“Lilly’s done much more than that, Thalia,” Stonehart says. “She’s been an absolute star at Corfu Consulting. Already, her work is the stuff of legends.”

I stiffen at the easy way the lies spill from his lips.

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t expect anything less of our Lilly,” Thalia says smartly. “We all know how driven she is.”

She turns to me. “Fey is going to be so excited when I tell her that you’re here.”

My stomach, which I thought couldn’t go any lower, sinks all the way to my toes. “Fey is… here?” I ask weakly. I feel sick.

“Not
here
at the gala, no. But she’s on the island with us. She’s staying at the resort. I just know she’d love to see you. You two have so much to catch up on! How about it. Tomorrow morning? Are you free for breakfast? Do you have a cell phone? Oh, what am I asking, of course you have a cell phone.” She digs out her own from her purse. “Here, quick, give me your new number. Fey told me the old one doesn’t ring anymore.”

I look at Jeremy, desperate for an escape. He gives it without pause.

“Here,” he says, handing Thalia a business card. I recognize it as the same one I was not supposed to be given in his San Jose office so very long ago. “That has my personal line on the back. Give me a call to arrange the meeting. I would be delighted to meet one of Lilly’s old friends.”

Thalia gives me a curious look, but takes the card and deposits it into her wallet.

“I’ll call tomorrow morning,” she says.

Stonehart gives a broad smile. Looking at him, you would never expect anything is wrong. “Lilly and I will be looking forward to it. It was a pleasure to meet you, Thalia.”

And with that one sentence, he’s dismissed her. He doesn’t turn away, or direct his attention elsewhere, but the meaning behind his words is clear.

“The pleasure’s all mine,” Thalia murmurs. She shoots me another curious look, and then glances over her shoulder. “I think I hear my husband calling. Excuse me.”

And she turns around and hurries into the crowd.

I watch her go in a stunned silence.

What now?

Jeremy’s hand tightens on my arm. It’s enough to bruise.

“We’re leaving,” he hisses in my ear. “Now.”

He pulls me after him, ignoring calls to stop and chat. Once we’re out in the cool night air, he takes out his phone and dials the limo.

Our ride arrives minutes later. Despite the warm night air, goose bumps line my exposed skin,.

We get into the car. Jeremy remains silent. His jaw is tight, and his eyes are dark.

He terrifies me.

We stop in front of a grand, towering structure a few blocks away. It’s another hotel. Jeremy still hasn’t said a word. I have no idea what’s going through his mind.

I can’t take the uncertainty anymore. “Jeremy, I swear,” I plead, “I didn’t—”

“
Enough
.” He cuts me off with a savage scowl. “The hand has been dealt. The stage is set. Appearances must be maintained. Tomorrow…” his eyes bore into me, “Will be your greatest test. There will be rules.
Strict
rules, Lilly.”

A shiver of fear runs down my spine as I get shades of the man I first met, bound to the pillar, so many months ago. Shades of Stonehart.

“We will meet your friend and her family. But Lilly.” He pauses. The shadows emphasize the hard features of his face.

“If so much as one toe steps out of line… Well, nothing that you’ve been subject to in the past will compare to what I’ll do to you then.”

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