Sophie notices because of course she does.
I avoid looking at her.
Amelia folds her arms, mimicking me without realizing it. “If we are pretending, what does that mean tonight?”
“Tonight?” I ask.
“Yes. Jeremy knows I’m here. He may come back with police. Or somebody else. Do I go back upstairs? Do you stand outside? Do we have to…” She swallows. “Perform?”
That word lands wrong.
Perform.
Like marriage was already theater for a man who reviewed her badly every night.
I shake my head. “Tonight, you go upstairs and sleep beside your kid. I sit in the hall. If someone comes, I handle it.”
“I thought we just agreed you don’t order me around.”
“That wasn’t an order. That was a dream I have where you use common sense.”
Her eyes narrow. “You are very annoying.”
“I’ve been told.”
“By women?”
“Mostly by law enforcement.”
Her mouth twitches again.
Sophie says, “Tonight, you rest. Tomorrow, we plan how public this needs to look. The Fire Pit, maybe. Somewhere controlled. Somewhere Jeremy will hear about it.”
Amelia’s smile dies completely. “Public?”
Whiskey nods. “If Vale thinks it’s only something Derby said at the gate, he may dismiss it. If half the town sees you with Derby, it becomes harder for him to claim you are being held against your will.”
“Half the town,” she repeats.
Panic creeps back in.
I hate that I can see it so clearly now.
Maybe I’ve always been able to see fear and just chose not to give a damn unless it came at me with fists.
“You don’t have to make out with me on Main Street,” I say.
Her eyes snap to mine. “I wasn’t worried about that.”
“Liar.”
“I was worried about people staring.”
“They’ll stare.”
“That ain’t comforting.”
“Wasn’t meant to be. It’s just true.”