Thirty minutes later, Sonya emerged from the ICU. The nurses kicked me out. I guess Ive been trying their patience, abusing their visitors rules.
They probably just want you to get some sleep.
She eyed the lumpy bench he was parked on. I could sleep there.
Sonya
Oh, all right. I guess it wouldnt hurt for me to catch a couple of hours sleep at home. The nurses have my cell number. They promised to call if theres any change. She gave him a rare, sympathetic look. You look bushed. You dont really have to stay here with me all the time.
Marvins the one who should be with you.
She glanced away, a sure sign she was about to tell a lie. I told you, hes somewhere in China right now. I cant get hold of him.
Cant you call his company? John-Michael said as they walked toward the elevator. Surely they know how to reach him. And there are satellite phones, you know.
Hes working on an important deal, and I dont want to worry him unnecessarily. He calls me every few days. Ill let him know the situation next time he calls.
John-Michael sure wished he knew what was going on with her. Hed never known Sonya to be so secretiveor to tell so many lies. He and Sonya had had their differences, sure, but shed always been able to trust him. Hed never told Muffy about those frat parties she used to attend that were little more than drunken orgies. Or about the time hed had to rush Sonyas best friend, Cissy Trask, to the hospital when shed had a miscarriage. No one but he and Sonya had known she was pregnant, and no one ever would.
Why now had Sonya decided he couldnt be trusted?
Once they reached the Patterson estate, Sonya disappeared without a word up the curved staircase, her delicate heels noiseless on the Chinese silk carpeting.
John-Michael retreated to his own quarters, a small apartment above the five-car garage. But he was too keyed up to sleep. Instead, he pulled on a pair of gym shorts.
The Patterson estate had its own mini health club, with state-of-the-art exercise equipment, an indoor lap pool, wet and dry saunas and whirlpool.
Foregoing the fancier equipment, John-Michael went a few rounds with a punching bag.
As he moved through a series of jabs and kicks, he thought about the easy friendship he and Sonya had enjoyed when they were kids. Though he was only the gardeners son and Sonya was five years his junior, shed been his sidekick, his little pest, always trailing after him, wanting to hang out with him and his friends. And sometimes hed let her slum with him. Hed shown her how to work on his motorcycle and, at Muffys insistence, how to handle the gun Sonya now kept in her nightstand.
When Muffy decided Sonya needed a bodyguard. John-Michael was the logical choice. Hed just graduated from the police academy, planning a career in law enforcement. Muffy offered him a higher salary than any of the local police departments paid, and shed promised to send him to an elite bodyguard-training school. Hed cheerfully accepted, never realizing he was putting a noose around his own neck.
Muffy had a secondary motive for hiring John-Michael. Shed needed him close at hand to handle any difficulties that came up with Jock, her gardenerwho happened to be John-Michaels father.
The job had gone okay until one night when Sonya attended her first sorority party. John-Michael had gone with her, lurking in the shadows like always, watching as she tried to assert her independence by getting drunk on margaritas. Hed pulled her away from the party before things had gone too far.
Shed been spitting angry with him at first, spouting off about how she was an adult, it was a free world, she would have her mother fire him. Then, when theyd reached the car, shed surprised the hell out of him by throwing her arms around his neck and pressing her lush body up against his. I really am a bad girl, arent I? Before he could answer, before hed been able to think, shed clamped her sweet little mouth over his.
His body had sprung to life, and for the first time hed realized that his charge was no longer a child. She had a womans body, a womans moves.
After thirty seconds of hot kisses and body rubbing, hed pulled himself together and gently pushed her away.
What? shed objected, loudly enough to wake the whole neighborhood. Dont tell me you dont want me. You do. I could feel it.
Dear God. At that moment hed seen the utter folly of what hed done, what hed been about to do. Having sex with his charge, the girl he was supposed to be protecting, would be the grossest sort of irresponsibility he could imagine, not to mention a very short path to losing his job.
The only way to deal with this situation, hed decided, was to end it in a way that was harsh and final, so it would never happen again. So he would never be tempted again.
He gave his punching bag a series of savage jabs as he remembered how difficult it had been to be cruel to her.
Hed forced himself to laugh at her. You dont actually imagine I would be interested in a spoiled little brat like you, hed said, deliberately filling his voice with derision.
The insult had cut, as it was meant to do. Her eyes filled with tears. You kissed me back, she accused.
Im a man, he said harshly. I have hormones. But I also have a brain, thank God, and Im not stupid enough to get it on with Muffy Pattersons daughter.
She would never know, Sonya said in a last-ditch effort to salvage the situation. And it almost worked. Seeing her standing there, more sober now than drunk, her blond hair mussed, her lips full from kissing, hed almost grabbed her and kissed her again. And he wouldnt have stopped with kissing.
Savagely he turned his back on her and opened the passenger door of her BMWher high school graduation present from Muffy. Get in the car. Youre embarrassing yourself.
Do you have a girlfriend? she asked, sounding devastated at the thought.
Thats none of your business. He hoped she would think that meant yes.
Ive never seen you with a girl.
No girlfriend of mine is going to watch while a child orders me around.
He hadnt had a girlfriend. When would he have had time to find one? Hed spent every hour either watching over Sonya or dealing with the disasters his father created. But his ploy had worked. Sonya didnt say another word. And she never again tested her feminine wiles on him.
Back in the present, he took one final swing at the bag. He was out of breath and dripping with sweat, more so than the easy workout should have caused. Time hadnt lessened the intensity of his memories one bit.
Unfortunately, his formerly easygoing friendship with Sonya had been a casualty of that ill-begotten evening. Shed never forgotten, or forgiven, his rejection. For almost ten years, hed had to endure her coldness and hide the desire he felt for her, a desire that had only grown fiercer as shed matured into an intriguing woman.
Hed tried to resign, and Sonya had tried to fire himnumerous times. But gradually, John-Michael had come to understand the complex dynamics of his job. If he wasnt employed in a position that kept him constantly on hand to handle Jock, then Jock would have to go.
And to send Jock away from the Patterson estate, the only home hed ever known, would kill him.
SONYA HADNT REALIZED how tired she was. When next she woke, it was dark outside. She checked her clock and was horrified to discover it was after two in the morning.
And to send Jock away from the Patterson estate, the only home hed ever known, would kill him.
SONYA HADNT REALIZED how tired she was. When next she woke, it was dark outside. She checked her clock and was horrified to discover it was after two in the morning.
Her first thought was that theyd been protecting her from bad newsthey being John-Michael; Tim, the chauffeur; June, the secretary; and possibly Matilda, the housekeeper. Muffys staff had always sheltered Sonya from all unpleasantries.
She sat up, rubbed the sleep from her eyes and switched on a lamp. Her cell phone was right there next to her, with no messages. Grateful that shed had the foresight to put the ICUs phone number into her cells memory, she dialed.
Your mother is actually doing much better, the night nurse told her. The new antibiotic therapy is working. Shes been drifting in and out of sleep, but she did wake up long enough to drink some water. She asked about you.
Sonya was already on her feet. Ill be there in twenty minutes.
No, you dont have to do that, the nurse said firmly. I asked your mother if she wanted me to call you, and she said no, absolutely not, that you needed your sleep.
That sounded like Muffy, Sonya thought with a frown. The benevolent dictator, issuing orders from her sick bed.
Shes fine, really, the nurse insisted. In fact, theyll probably move her out of ICU tomorrow.
That news brought a flood of relief. Sonya hesitated, then decided it probably would serve no good to rush to the hospital in the middle of the night if Muffy was sleeping and in no immediate danger. If she wakes again, tell her Ill be there first thing in the morning, she said. Unless she needs me sooner.
After the call, Sonya felt better, but there was no way she was going back to sleep. She was, in fact, hungry. Shed hardly eaten a bite since Muffs surgery several days ago. She threw on a robe and wandered downstairs to the enormous, restaurant-grade kitchen, certain there would be several tasty dishes in the fridge. That was something she could always count on.
As she entered the huge white-tile-and-chrome room, she flipped on a light so bright it hurt her eyes. The stainless steel appliances gleamed with a recent polish, and the room smelled faintly of fresh-baked bread. As top dog among Houston society mavens, Muffy often gave elaborate dinner parties, for which she had Eric, a Cordon-Bleu-trained chef, prepare gourmet delights that were sure to be written up on the society page and in the food section. And for every day, they had Erics mother, Matilda, a traditional Southern cook down to her bones.
The glass-fronted refrigerator was crammed with dozens of ceramic storage dishes, neatly stacked and labeled with the contents and the throwaway date. Sonya perused the labels, wrinkling her nose. She was not in the mood for Erics dill-crusted sea bass with Parmesan cream sauce, or marmalade-glazed pork medallions and shiitake mushrooms. Then she spotted something that appealed to herMatildas macaroni and cheese. Pure comfort food and a guilty indulgence she and her mother sometimes ate when they were dining alone.
She pulled it out and stuck it in the microwave.
Slowly she realized she was no longer alone in the room. John-Michael stood in the doorway, looking adorably rumpled in gym shorts and an old T-shirt bearing the logo of Close Protection, Inc., where hed gotten his bodyguard training.
Are you okay? he asked. He had this uncanny ability to know whenever she stirred at night. He always noticed when lights went on or if anyone made the slightest noise. She wondered if he ever slept or if he sat up all night, ever vigilant.
I got hungry, she answered. I dont think thats any reason to call out the National Guard. She immediately felt guilty for sniping at him, though. Sorry. Its been a rough few days. You want some macaroni and cheese?
Sure. He went to the fridge and poured himself some milk. Without asking, he pulled out a bottle of her favorite cherry-flavored mineral water, uncapped it and set it out for her.
He knew her so well, probably better than her own mother did. And it irked her. Shed actually been looking forward to escaping his knowing eyes once she was married. Now that wasnt going to happen. She saw herself in twenty years, thirty years, fifty, still single, still living in Muffys house, McPhee still watching over her with his eagle eyes. Still waiting for those few moments when he could escape her and go to whatever girlfriend he would undoubtedly have. Hed probably still be shadowing her every move when they were both in the nursing home. Gawd, what a depressing thought.
I called the hospital, she said. Mothers doing better. She drank some water and told the nurses not to call me.
Already back to her bossy self, huh? But McPhees smile was of pure relief. She didnt blame him. Muffy was a kind employer, if a tad inflexible. She paid her staff far more than the going rate to inspire their loyalty, and it worked.
But McPhee was genuinely fond of Muffy, too. As hard as Sonya was on McPhee, she knew he wasnt completely self-serving.
When the microwave dinged, Sonya took out the dish and scooped generous portions onto white, bone-china plates with gold rims, the only kind Muffy would have in her house. She had a thing against plastic and thought stoneware was almost as bad. Sonya and McPhee sat at the kitchen table and ate with monogrammed sterling forks.
Mmm, I love this stuff, McPhee said.
We better enjoy it while we can. I imagine well see some changes around here when Muffy gets home. Matilda and Eric will have to prepare heart-healthy meals.
Matilda will screech like a banshee over that, McPhee said.
Shell have to get used to it. Ive been telling Mother for years that her diet is impossibly unhealthy. Shell have to listen to me now.
Muffy never listens to anyone.
Sonya sighed. I know. She has her ideas about the way things should be, and nothings going to change them. Certainly not Sonya, whose opinions Muffy had always considered superfluous. Muffy knew what was best, and that was that.
Maybe if we join forces? McPhee suggested. Two against one.
Sonya laughed harshly. That would be a first. We havent agreed on anything sincewell, since we were children.
Since that night at the sorority party, shed almost said. Sonyas skin prickled at the memory, still vivid after all these years.
I think if we present a united front, McPhee said, Muffy will have to pay attention.
Since when do you call her Muffy, anyway?
He shrugged. I dont, not to her face. Just to you.
To irritate me.
He didnt deny it, just flashed that inscrutable half smile of his that drove her crazy. Dont worry, youll be rid of me soon. You havent officially postponed the wedding, have you?
No. Another wave of guilt washed over her. But she could hardly announce she was going to call off the wedding when Muffy was still so ill. Mother said to wait and see how she did after the surgery. Are you counting the days?
Only forty-nine days to go.
She tried to hide her surprise. Shed only been kidding about counting the days. Was he that unhappy? He often aggravated her, but she wasnt miserable with their arrangement. Just what are you planning to do with your newfound freedom? I assume Muffy has another job for you.