Illusion(44)

“She has noticed you are different. You need to divert her thoughts.” Stefan’s mind voice had a warning edge to it.

Stefan and I exchanged a look and I nervously laughed, pulling Georgia along. “It must be something in the water and all the good food in New York.” I stretched out a fake yawn, hoping that my acting skills were good enough to convince Georgia. “I’ll be so glad to get home. I’m exhausted.”

Stefan chuckled under his breath as we walked along. “Do not give up your day job, vackra.”

“I’m trying to let her know I’m tired before she dreams up going out or hanging out all night. So you better hope she buys my acting skills.” I raised an eyebrow sharply and shot him a look out of the corner of my eye as we headed out into the early evening light. The muggy, humid temperatures of Bali were a shock after the much cooler weather of New York.

“Damn it! I was hoping you’d feel up to going out and having a girl’s night out,” she responded with a small pout on her lips, her voice becoming a whine. “C’mon, just come over to my house for an hour, Josie. I can call Anna and we can stay in.”

“It’ll be fun. I can tell you all about the guy I met a few days ago,” Georgia was still chattering away as she led us to her sedan, unlocking the doors and popping the trunk so Stefan could stow our bag away. As I watched him place the luggage in the car with tense shoulders, it was obvious all of Georgia’s plans specifically excluded Stefan from the equation. He slid into the back seat of Georgia’s car without a word and left Georgia and me to stare at each other over the roof of her car. I was doing my best to ignore her pleading, puppy dog eyes.

“We’ll see. I’m really tired, Georgia.”

With a loud huff, Georgia opened her car door and got in, slamming it behind her. Realizing that this was going to be a stressful ride home, I got in and buckled up, silently willing the car ride to go quickly.

We drove for miles in silence, an awkward pause settling over us. Georgia was transmitting irritation and frustration so vividly that it was making my head hurt, even with my shields in place. I could hear Stefan’s fingers tapping away on his phone from the back seat. He’d chosen to ignore the tension and had preoccupied himself with reading e-mails.

“So how long are you staying?” Georgia asked anxiously. She was gripping the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles almost white.

“A few days. However long it takes me to get my things sorted and accounts closed out.”

An uneasy quiet filled the car again. I was armed with the knowledge that Georgia was just waiting for the right time to unleash on me. She was biding her time and playing nice for the moment.

“I thought you didn’t like big crowds. New York City is kinda known for that,” Georgia remarked, glancing away from the road and giving me a pointed look.

“You’re right, I don’t like big crowds. I think this is a good move for me,” I commented, rubbing my hands together nervously. Stefan cleared his throat from the back seat, reminding me he was still present. “I mean it’s a good move for us. Stefan has business there, my book publisher is there. It’s kind of a win/win for both of us.”

She let out a loud, overly dramatic sigh. “Yeah, it’s a win/win for you,” Georgia mumbled under her breath, figuring neither of us could hear her. Unbeknownst to her, Stefan could hear a pin drop a mile away, and thanks to my much improved hearing, her words were as clear as if she’d yelled them.

“What kind of business does Stefan do, Josie?” Georgia sneered. She was going to continue her charade of pretending that Stefan wasn’t in the car, choosing to let her immature, obnoxious side take over. I was relieved to see my villa approaching as we climbed over a small hill in the road. She slowed and turned into my driveway, the gravel crunching under her tires.

“I own some properties in the New York area. I can work from anywhere, however it is helpful to be close by to manage the day to day operations,” Stefan answered her, ignoring the fact that Georgia had directed the question to me.

Internally rolling my eyes at Stefan’s obvious understatement of his wealth, I sighed as she parked in front of my villa. She finally acknowledged Stefan as she peered at him in the rearview mirror, her blue eyes flashing as she turned off her car.

“Well, goodie for you, Stefan. So you just figured you’d just be your normal over-bearing self and drag Josie along with you. ‘Cause I’m sure you figure she doesn’t have anything better to do besides follow your ass all over the world.”

… And she was off.