Page 107 of The Bodyguard

Kelly was still listening. “Please don’t let him pee on you.”

I gave her a look. “Metaphorically.”

But Robby shook his head. “I’m sorry, okay? I should never have let you go.”

“Let me go?” I said. “You didn’t let me go. You abandoned me.”

“I take it back.”

“There’s no taking it back.”

“Why not?”

“Because now I know who you really are.”

Robby pouted at that. Then he narrowed his eyes. “I know what this is. You think he likes you.”

I held very still.

“I see you with him,” Robby went on. “He’s got you convinced. But that can’t be right. You’re too smart for that. You can’t really think that a world-famous actor who could have any woman in the world picked you. Tell me you didn’t fall for that. Have you seen Kennedy Monroe? He’s playing with you! He’s bored! He’s not even that great an actor! Wake up. You’re choosing a fake relationship over me.”

I didn’t know what to say to most of that. But that last point was easy. “Wrong,” I said. “I’m choosing anything at all over you.”

“He doesn’t actually like you,” Robby said.

“I never said he did.”

“But you thought it.”

I had to hand it to Robby. A rare moment of insight.

Glenn was done here. “Get Taylor back,” he said, flinging his arm at Kelly. “Let’s have this stalker meeting and call it a day.”

Robby kept his eyes on me. “You asked me the other week why I was being such an ass.”

Wow, that was a hundred years ago. “You mean when you said I was not pretty enough for this assignment?” I said. “I guess I did.”

“Don’t you want to know the answer?”

I stopped and turned to look at him. “I know the answer already,” I said. “You were being an ass because you are an ass. Simple.”

But Robby grabbed my arm. “It’s because I wanted to get back together.”

That got my attention. “You wanted to—?”

“Even then, even that day.”

I tried to put it together. “You wanted to get back together… so you said I was ugly?”

“I panicked.”

“Is that what it’s called?”

“I missed you in Madrid.”

“You missed me in Madrid—while you were sleeping with my best friend?”

“I’ve wanted you back ever since we got home. But I felt guilty about Taylor.”