“Must be,” I said quietly, settling back into my seat.
Valentino turned on the car and pulled out of there. “How’s Maura?”
“Resting,” I said. “Thank you for finding someone to fill in for her.”
If Valentino hadn’t found someone, I was sure she would have been back at work in the morning.
He grunted at me. His way of saying “You’re welcome.”
I smiled. I missed hanging out with my brother. It had been a while since I showed up at his apartment or even just hung out with him for the night. And everything was always better when he was around.
I stared out the window, watching as Las Vegas passed by. It took me a while to realize we weren’t heading back to Valentino’s apartment.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“I thought you would like a night out.”
I looked back at him. “Really?”
He smiled, turning his eyes briefly over to me, and said, “Really.”
“Where?” I looked down at my outfit. I wasn’t dressed to go anywhere fancy. I didn’t think I wanted to go anywhere fancy, but I supposed we were pretty limited in where we could go tonight.
“Where would you like to go?” Valentino asked.
I tried to think. Where did I want to go? It wasn’t like I could come up with something off the top of my head.
Valentino waited patiently for me to decide. I smiled and looked at him. “Let’s go to a movie.”
“A movie?”
I nodded. “Yes. I want to watch something mindless. Maybe a comedy. I just don’t want to think about anything anymore.”
His smile was soft when he said, “A mindless, funny movie? Yeah, I think we can do that.”
And that was what we did.
It was the first time all day when I didn’t have to think about Dad or Maura, or this feeling of being suffocated from the inside out.
It was nice.
It was perfect.
16
ISA
I usedthe front door to exit the house. No one was home, so there was no need to sneak out in my usual way by climbing down the huge oak tree just by the window.
Dad was out.
I didn’t know where he went, and it wasn’t like he would have told me if I asked him.
Everything was quiet and still. I hadn’t expected there to be any noise around the neighborhood at this time.
Elio was waiting by the car in front of the house. He didn’t park in his usual spot but closer. I felt a smile tugging at my lips at the sight of him, even as my heart sped, and butterflies fluttered wildly in my stomach.
God, he was beautiful.
