The Author and Her Bodyguard

Chapter 39

I was going to murder Tate. The question was, would I do it in front of his family, or wait until the awkward dinner was over, kill him and steal his car? 

"I am so happy that you could join us Laliana," Katherine said as she passed me a plate filled with basmati rice, covered in tomatoes and red peppers. Heaven on a plate. 

"Thank you for inviting me," I smiled as I added rice to my already large pile of food. My plan was to continually keep my mouth full, hoping that would help negate questions. 

"You were in Canada recently weren't you?" Katherine asked, pouring me a glass of water.

I nodded, "Yes. For my book tour. Tate was there too."

"Aiden was there too wasn't he?" Iz asked, smiling mischievously at me. Geeze, she's as bad as Tate!

"Yep!" Tate said in between bites, fielding what would most likely be the easiest question of the night. He planned on enjoying himself at my expense like the traitor face that he was. Stupid traitor face! That's what I got for telling his aunt I was invited to a dinner an hour before it was supposed to start. Well played Tate... Well played. 

"This is delicious," I said as I finished off a bite of hummus-covered pita bread. 

"Thank you!" Katherine smiled brightly. "I'll send home all the leftovers with you." Her face turned wistful, "I forget to cook less these days." 

Then she blinked and her smile returned. "So... you and Aiden." 

I took in a deep breath, suddenly thankful that she had waited until I swallowed before beginning her interrogation. "What would you like to know?" I asked, suddenly nervous. There was no point in pretending I didn't know what she was talking about. Our fake relationship was plastered everywhere like a set of advertisements for the summer's newest blockbuster movie. 

She waved a piece of pita bread around, her tone betraying her casual gesture as it filled with excitement. "Whatever you are open to telling me. Unlike my son, you are an open book. Something quite refreshing actually," she said glancing at her nephew Tate. 

He mumbled something incoherent before shoving a large piece of falafel into his mouth. 

"Well..." I paused. "I met you the day after he started being my bodyguard."

She laughed, "Ah yes, the night you fell down and nearly destroyed that beautiful yellow Grecian dress. He should have been keeping a better eye on you." 

I remembered how Katherine had chastised Aiden for letting me get hurt. And suddenly I was back at the museum, listening to him talk about his mother's disappointment when he got kicked out of school. The flash of pain that filled his blue eyes. 

I stared down at the table. "No, I purposefully left him behind and went out for fresh air. He found me before something bad could happen." I answered vaguely. "He's actually very good at his job." I looked up at Katherine and smiled sadly. "I am a handful. But he's kept me safe every step of the way." 

She held my gaze, weighing my words.

"It's true Aunt Katherine," Tate chimed in. "He's very good. Brandon said he would have assigned her a detail of twice as many people if he had known what kind of stalker we were dealing with." 

Her brows rose. "So that part is true? You had someone following you?"

I nodded, pressing my palms against my knees under the table, trying to ignore the chill that ran down my spine. "Yes." The stalker's face was still etched into my mind, eyes gleaming as he lifted the knife towards my face.