“I didn’t mind.”
“You never used to—” I squealed when he lifted me up and guided my feet to his shoes where they rested as soon as he dropped me back down, then started laughing when he kept dancing just like that. Like the old times.
“I enjoyed those days, Della,” he told me honestly, his face drawing back ever so slightly until his breath caressed the side of my face.
“You did?”
Half his lips quirked up. “I did. Those were simpler times when there was nothing heavy to worry about.”
I licked my lips as his nose grazed mine. My heart sped in my chest as I closed my eyes again and willed him to close the gap between our lips, but it never came. So I said, “Things now are certainly complicated because of my father…”
His sigh was felt in my soul, heavy and burdened, and I wanted to know his thoughts. “It isn’t just your father that makes things complicated now.”
“It isn’t?”
A pause. “No, Della, it isn’t.”
We kept dancing like that, my feet on top of his, without another word spoken between us. I wanted to push him for more, for whatever he wasn’t saying, but I opted to soak in the moment instead because I knew it’d have to end.
I wrapped my arms around him and used his chest as a pillow as he moved us in a slow circle. My only hope was that he didn’t end it too soon.
Chapter Four
Theo
Another curse slipped past my lips as I read through the emails crammed into my inbox from over the weekend. It wasn’t like I hadn’t known they were there considering I’d logged on one too many times, even after Friday night. I’d just tried taking advice a long time ago from somebody who knew what he was talking about.
“Work can’t be everything, Theo.”
Anthony made the choice to leave work behind after hours because he had a life to go home to. Even when Mariska was in mine, it was never a clear decision I got to make. While she was with her girlfriends, the studio, and who knew where else, I was pulling overtime to sort through the mess Interactive Marketing had surrounding it when stock nosedived, or investors dropped for one reason or another. My money was tied up in IM because nobody else’s was, so I saw no point in listening to him when he told me to go home to my wife when the weekend came around.
Blowing out a breath, I noted the numbers on the second monitor screen and realized the stress wasn’t worth my time. We were doing fine, better than. So, I got through the emails that mattered and ignored the rest, making a note for Abigail, the secretary, to finish going through non-essentials another time when she wasn’t busy doing paperwork.
When my phone rang as I logged off for the day, I was tempted to ignore the name across the screen but thought better of it. It wasn’t often that Sophie Vasquez called me, but it was always interesting when it happened.
“To what do I owe this pleasure,” I greeted, voice as leveled as it could be. Once upon a time I had no problem with Sophie besides the slight irritation over how she treated Della like a child no matter how old she was. I’d gotten over it because I knew Della could handle herself, and she usually did. There were times, though, when Sophie pushed too far, and I couldn’t help but want to rip into her knowing her niece wouldn’t.
That, however, wasn’t the reason I regarded her with caution. When things got rocky with Mariska, she was the first to take note. I wasn’t surprised when she’d shown up at my office and closed the door behind her. What had taken me off guard was how easy it was for her to forget she had a husband when she’d locked the door and propositioned me as if cheating were the answer for her unhappiness.
“Cut the pleasantries,” was her response. It’d taken one firm rejection that day for her to remember her place. Sophie wasn’t the kind of woman who enjoyed being refused more than once considering her pride was what she put before anything else. Including family, given the circumstance of the call. “Adele listens to you, so you need to help me.”
My laugh was as dry as my tone. “Do I, now? Why would I help you?”
“You’ve always cared for her.” Shoulders stiffening as I sat up in my chair, I swiped at my freshly shaven jaw and waited for her to continue without saying a word. “Don’t try to pretend otherwise, you’ve been protective since day one. Even Anthony told me he saw how you were there for her. That means something.”
“And that matters how?”
“She cares about what you think.”
My teeth ground together. “Is this about her dancing? She seemed clear on her answer. You need to—”
“Adele is throwing her life away because she’s afraid. You and I both know that her mother would have wanted her to keep going.”
I stood, impatient with this conversation and wanting it to end. “Not at the cost of her life. I know you were never a fan of Elizabeth, but you can’t take that out on Adele.” The beef she had with her brother’s wife was beyond me. Elizabeth was a kind woman who loved Anthony and Adele as much as he loved them. They were a perfect fit in every way, so I couldn’t figure out why Sophie disapproved so much. It’d remain a mystery because I couldn’t find myself caring enough to ask.
“I am doing no such thing.”
“You’re trying to make sure Della doesn’t make the same mistakes you and your brother did.” It was clear as day whether she confirmed
