Turning to Stone (Heart of Stone: Book 2)

Chapter 33: Insecurities

Chapter 33: Insecurities

With Ed and Mark away at the gym one afternoon, I caught Helen alone in her office.

"I wanted to run something by you before I mention anything to Ed," I said as I sunk into one of the chairs opposite her.

"Sure." Her eyes lit up, probably assuming I was already taking her advice on board.

"My friend Gabby is throwing a birthday celebration soon. At her flat. She's invited Ed and me, but I'm not really sure what the protocol is around private parties."

"He's not a prisoner," she said. "I can't stop him going to a party if he wants to go."

"I know," I said quickly, "and that's why I wanted to talk to you first. He'll want to go, but I can't have security detail at my friend's birthday. If he comes with me, it's as my boyfriend—not as some hot celebrity who upstages the whole party. Is that going to be remotely possible?"

Helen blew out a long sigh, then pressed her lips together. "Yes. Security can stay in a car nearby. I think we can safely assume there will be no physical threat inside Gabby's flat, but we'll do recon first. How many people will be there?"

I spun my ring around my finger, anxiety churning in my stomach. "Eight. Becca will be there. With Mike."

"We've already established that those two cancel each other out. Who else?"

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I dared a glance up at her. "Logan McIntosh."

"He's not a problem. That matter has been settled, and he moved off the case anyway. You just need to keep Ed in check. He should know better, and he's excellent at keeping his emotions at bay, but he's not had a girlfriend in a very long time and—"

"Understood. I'll give him a heads up, so he has time to come to terms with it."

Helen nodded. "Is that it?"

"Gabby's girlfriend will be there, but she'll be fine. The main person I'm worrying about is someone called Holly Weston. She was on Gabby's course. Gabby assured me she's better behaved now, but she was a bit of a live wire at uni, and..." I trailed off but Helen had already written the name down.

"I'll take a look into her. If there are any red flags, we can discuss it further."

With a grateful smile, I rose from my seat and smoothed down my top. As I headed towards the door, though, she called me back.

"Sophia."

I turned to face her, noticing how her business expression had softened into something more sympathetic.

"I appreciate you taking this so seriously. I've been in this industry for a while now, but I still remember how it felt at the start. This life isn't normal for most people. I'm aware of that."

"I know, but he means so much to me, Helen. I care about him a lot."

"I can see that. We all can. That's why it's important you have independence without anyone else's influence. Gabby's party will be a great start."

I tipped my head towards her notebook. "Let's hope Holly isn't hiding any skeletons, then."

Helen flashed me a rare grin. "If she is, I can ensure she has other plans that day." My blend of surprise and fear must have shown on my face, because she quickly followed up with, "Kidding."

Except I wasn't sure that she was kidding.

*

Ed and I split our dates between public dinners and private takeaways. On the odd occasion that people approached us while out together, he'd been as polite and friendly as ever, but rather than instantly signing an autograph or agreeing to a photo, he'd checked with me beforehand—in front of the fan.