As he checked on the baked pasta dish he’d lovingly prepared and which was slowly curling in on itself in the pan, he finally heard the door to their flat open. And then slam shut hard enough to rattle the oven door.
“I don’t care,” Dahlia screamed. She screamed a lot these days. “Eat your bloody romantic supper. I’ll starve in my room for all I care. If it’s ruined it’s your fault for not letting me just go to Annie’s!”
Dahlia’s bedroom door slammed and then he heard her open and bang shut her closet door for good measure. He hurried to the hall to find Emma standing with her bag in her hand and a shell-shocked look on her face as she stared down the hall toward Dahlia’s room.
“What’s this about?” he asked, taking her bag and helping her off with her coat.
He adored his step-daughter, but couldn’t help being disappointed that their already not-ideal anniversary was taking a downward turn.
“Should I go after her?” Emma wondered. He knew she didn’t want him to answer but he did.
“Hell no. Whatever she’s done this time, she can stew about it on her own for a while. It’s our anniversary.”
She forced a smile and kissed him. “Happy anniversary.”
He snorted. “So what has she done that was so awful you cancelled her sleepover?”
Emma’s eyes welled with tears. “She and that little… Annie… were caught shoplifting at one of those awful high street cheap shops.”
“Oh, that is bad,” he said, pulling her in for a comforting hug.
“They skipped their last class. I got the call just as I was leaving work. It took me forever to talk the shop manager out of pressing charges. Their school bags were stuffed to bursting. She said it equaled to over three hundred pounds.”
“That’s really bad,” Dexter said grimly. He pulled away and studied Emma’s tired, worried eyes. “Do you think they’ve done it before?”
“How could they not have?” she wailed. “I shoplifted once. A pair of earrings and I nearly wet myself with fear. Those little… they must have worked up to such a heist.”
Even though she was crying in earnest now, Dexter had to laugh. “It wasn’t quite a heist. Now she’s been caught we’ll make her life so miserable she’ll quit her journey up the crime ladder.”
“I hope so. She’s fairly miserable right now.”
He kissed her forehead and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Well, we needn’t be. Shall we try to have our celebration?” He pointed to the sweaty wine bucket and wafted his fingers under his nose. “Can you smell the ziti? I’m almost positive it’s not rock hard yet.”
“Did you bake ziti?” she asked, a hint of a real smile curling her lips. “My favorite.”
“Of course. I got you a present as well.”
“But we swore not to!” A grin took over her beautiful face. “I’m so glad though, because I got you something, too.”
“Minx,” he said, leading her toward the table.
He pulled out the dining chair for her but her lovely bum had barely touched the seat when a blaring alarm went off. His first thought was the smoke detectors.
“Bloody hell, is she sneaking a cig in her room again?” Dexter asked. “Sit, darling, I’ll go see to it. We probably just forgot to change the batteries. And don’t worry, if she’s smoking, I’ll skin her.”
Emma froze in her half-seated position. Her eyes grew wide with fear. “It’s not the smoke detector.”
***
Dex pulled the car into the small employee parking lot behind Belmary House. The place was a popular tourist attraction now, restored to its former glory by Emma’s and his careful attention. He knew it actually looked a fair bit better than it did in its glory days because he’d been there several times to visit Tilly before Liam passed away.
He was furious their anniversary dinner had been completely ruined, but he had an excited and apprehensive feeling. He hadn’t seen his cousin properly in at least seven years. He didn’t count those few days three years ago when she popped up in their time, lost and frazzled. That had been rectified and everything put back on course.
“Oh God, it can’t be another one of those, can it?” he muttered as he punched in the code to get into the house after hours.
If his idiot cousin had another row with her husband before they were married he’d— actually, he didn’t know what he’d do. Now that Liam was gone, there would be no easy way to get her back. The fact that all of Tilly’s children might not have been born due to her running away from Ashford still froze the blood in his veins. If it hadn’t been for Ashford nearly getting himself killed from a hacked-together spell in order to come after Tilly, Dex wouldn’t have a niece and two nephews. Not that he got to see them anymore. He missed having a relationship with them, but understood Tilly’s aversion to magic and her decision to keep her children from time travel.
He shuddered as he trudged up the stairs. Whatever he was going to find in the portal room, it wasn’t going to be good. Nothing good ever came of that thing.
He unlocked the heavy padlock and called through the door. “No one’s going to harm you. I’m here to help.”
He was fine with continuing to keep the door locked, but he’d been against the ridiculous alarm system Emma had set up.
