“I need to go there. I need to talk to her.”
Sophia opened her mouth and then looked away, a faintly guilty look on her face.
“What?”
“Mara is the one who asked me to set up this lunch meeting. She asked me to keep you busy for an hour. I think she wanted that time to get her stuff from the penthouse.”
“What? You’re helping her leave me?” Trent was stunned by the betrayal, especially since he’d thought she was on his side.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Sophia pleaded.
“I know we haven’t had the best relationship over the years. Mom and Dad are insane, I know that. And you’ve had to deal with their shit a lot more than I have. That can’t have been easy. But I feel like I don’t even know you anymore, Soph. I always thought that no matter how different we were that I could count on you.”
“You can count on me. I’m only doing what I think is best for you. You think it makes me happy to see you in so much pain? It’s just like when Tia died all over again. You never got over that and this girl is just prolonging the pain. She’s not Tia. Bein
g with her won’t bring back the love of your life.”
Trent sat down, defeated. “Tia wasn’t the love of my life. She was a spoiled, selfish bitch who wanted to use me to get to James.” He glanced around, then relaxed when he saw that Tommy wasn’t close enough to overhear.
“What?”
Trent held his head in his hands. Sophia disappeared and then came back with a glass.
“It’s scotch. You look like you could use it.”
With a soft laugh, Trent took a sip of the drink. They sat in silence for a few moments. When he raised his head again, Sophia was watching him.
“Why haven’t you said anything before? Everyone assumed that you were in love with Tia. You were devastated when she died.”
“I was because she told me right beforehand that she’d never loved me. That I was just a shadow of the Townsend she’d really wanted. She’d slept with me hoping to make James jealous. When it didn’t work, she was so upset she slit her wrists.”
Sophia placed a delicate hand on his arm. “Trent, I never knew. I’m so sorry.”
“No one knew. That was how I wanted it. I figured maybe I wasn’t enough for her while she was alive but at least I could protect her memory after she was gone.”
“But who is going to protect you, Trent?”
He finished his drink in silence, her question hanging in the air between them.
* * * * *
MARA STRUGGLED THROUGH the airport, trying to keep track of her two suitcases and her carry-on bag. Part of her wanted to laugh at herself. She’d completely rebuffed all of her brother’s attempts to help. She’d asked him not to fly out to New York or even to pick her up at the airport. She had forgotten how much stuff she’d brought with her. It was a little easier to over pack when you were traveling by private plane and had people to help you.
She emerged from the terminal into the humid air and closed her eyes, inhaling the familiar smell and feel of home. When she opened them again, the dark-haired man in front of her took one of her bags and held out his hand for the other one. She handed it over and had to resist the urge to cry with gratitude at having a brother who loved her so much. Because even though she’d forbidden him to come, it hadn’t stopped him from sending someone else.
“Hi, Tank. Thanks for coming.”
“No problem.”
She fell into step beside him and had to control her urge to just stare at him. Tank Marshall, a giant of a man, worked with her brother for Alexander Security. He wasn’t her type at all but she had to admit there was something compelling about him. Something solid and dependable and real. She also felt completely safe since he was built like a tank just as his name suggested.
Tank lifted her luggage into the back of a shiny black Escalade. It looked brand new and way too nice to be one of the company vehicles that she’d seen Matt drive. She remembered then that Matt had said he’d recently come into an inheritance.
“Don’t let the money change you,” she blurted out suddenly and then flushed. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Tank didn’t seem bothered. He opened her door for her and then waited while she got herself situated. Then he rounded to the driver’s side and swung his big body up into the seat. “It’s okay. Matt told me what’s been going on. So, I understand what you’re saying. And I won’t. I’m lucky that I have someone to keep me grounded. My brother on the other hand, he doesn’t.”
Mara grinned. Big, bad Tank Marshall had a girlfriend? “I didn’t know you were seeing someone. Good for you.”