Page 43 of Protecting You
How did he read her mind like that? It was eerie. And irritating.
“I have no idea what it’s going to look like,” he said, “but I’m prepared. I’ve got it under control.”
“How, how do you?—?”
“You need to trust me.” He backed away enough to peer down at her. His nearness was disconcerting, making her feel both protected and uncomfortable.
Her emotions were all over the place. How could she possibly do this?
“What’s important right now,” he continued, “is that we get our story straight.”
Right. Of course. She flipped back through the conversation and remembered… “My grandparents’ anniversary party is Saturday afternoon. Sixty-five years. Their anniversary isn’t until Monday, but I guess Dad has to be in DC that day.” Typical, Dad putting work before family. “Everyone will attend, and of course I’m expected to be there. We could announce the engagement there. Theoretically.”
“In Shadow Cove?”
She was surprised he remembered where she was from. “Right. The party is at Dad’s country club.”
“Okay, perfect. So we have to leave Charles’s house Friday afternoon. We’re going to my parents’ house first to tell them the news, then driving to Shadow Cove Saturday for the party, where we’ll make an announcement. That’s the plan, and we can’t get out of it.”
“Okay. And where do your parents live?”
“They still live in the house I grew up in. You’ve never been there, but I’ve told you about it. It’s an old property on a pond in central Maine. I don’t want you to share any more details than that.”
She should’ve remembered Callan was from Maine. There hadn’t been a lot of students from Maine in their class at Boston College.
“Is that all fiction? Where do they really live?”
“We’re sticking close to the truth. That’s where my parents really live, and my sister lives nearby.”
“Aren’t you worried Ghazi will be able to find your family, though?”
“Charles Sanders. That’s his name.”
“I know that. I’m just saying… That information is pretty detailed. It’s not like central Maine is densely populated.”
“Thompson is one of the most common last names in the state. I chose my alias carefully. Don’t worry about any of that.”
“Oh. I see. And your sister?”
“Hannah. She’s two years younger than I am, and she lives in Augusta. You’ve never met her, but you will this weekend. You’re going to like her.”
Hannah. Two years younger. “Got it. What do your parents do?”
“They’re both retired, and they like to travel. You shouldn’t need to know any more than that. I doubt any of this will come up but, just in case, it’s good to know enough to make conversation. How about your family?”
“I’m the oldest of five, all girls. The first four of us are all a little over a year apart. So it’s me, then Brooklynn, Cecelia—we call her Cici—and Delaney. Kenzie is the baby.”
His eyebrows hiked. “Wait. Alyssa, Brooklynn, Cecelia, Delaney. ABCD, and then…Kenzie?”
Alyssa couldn’t help her surprise, or the strange wave of pleasure she figured showed in her smile. “Nobody notices that.”
He shrugged. “I’m observant. Why the pattern change?”
“I don’t know. I think it bothers Kenzie, though. Cici used to tell her it was because she was adopted, the brat.”
He chuckled. “I bet it was fun growing up with all those sisters.”
“You can say that because you only had one. Four sisters are…a lot.”
