“I’m sorry you were alone. Elio and I would have found you. Goodness.” Her gaze falls away as she touches her temple. “So much lost time. At my age, it becomes so much more important, you know?”
“Please, you have nothing to apologize for.”
“Oh, but I do.” Her grip tightens affectionately on my wrist. “Levi never told me he was seeing someone. Perhaps if he trusted me more, this all could have been avoided, but it’s no matter.” Sniffling, she looks back at me and smiles a watery smile. “I’m sorry you were alone and frightened for so many years, Maeve, but I promise you that ends now. You’re family and Scott is family. Once you and Levi are wed, everything my husband worked for will be secured. So if you need anything from me, I’m here for you.”
“I think I’m supposed to be saying that to you.” I chuckle softly. “But thank you.”
“What I need is another glass of wine!” Marcella pauses and glances at her undrunk glass. “Actually, perhaps some coffee instead.” She pats my hand once and rises while calling for the assistant.
I’m about to follow when my phone buzzes and my heart jumps slightly, expecting to see a message from Levi.
It’s not.
A new email appears from a new contact, causing my heart to plummet in disgust.
It’s from George.
He’s in Las Vegas, and he wants to meet so I can give him his money in person while giving me a number to call.
Great.
31
LEVI
“Can I have one?” Scott looks up at me with these wide, large eyes and points at the pile of chopped-up carrots sitting next to me on the counter. A toy bear hangs from under one arm and his lower lip wobbles ever so faintly as we stare at one another.
“You want this?” My mind starts racing through the very minimal knowledge I have regarding what children can eat. Can four-year-olds eat raw carrot? Is there a danger in that? I glance up at Chip who sits propped up at the island counter poring over his laptop, and our eyes meet.
‘Can he have raw carrot?’ I mouth at him while Scott continues to stare at me with those gigantic eyes. Saying no to him has been difficult all morning because I badly want him to like me and I think he knows exactly how to play me, but when it comes to something like this, I’m lost. I was going to blend the carrot and hide it in a pasta sauce I’m making for lunch, but if he’s willing to eat it raw, then maybe that’s a good thing.
“Sure,” Chip murmurs. “But make it small.”
“Please?” Scott asks again while reaching up and grabbing the tail of my shirt.
“Sure, kiddo, just give me one second.” I deftly chop up the carrot chunks into even smaller pieces until I’m certain they’re not a choking hazard, then I hand him one small cube and watch as the kid, famous for hating his veg, pops the piece into his mouth and eats.
Chip lets out a low whistle. “Maeve will never believe you.”
“Good?” I ask Scott with a smile.
He nods quickly and his gaze slips back to the pile, so I hand him another couple of chunks.
“Okay, new plan for lunch. How about you pick which ones look the nicest?” I say, waving my hand over the selection of vegetables still waiting to be chopped. “And we can lay them out on a plate and see who can make thecraziestlooking face. How’s that sound?”
He smiles shyly up at me and nods hard which makes his curls bounce back and forth on top of his head. I’m tempted to get my phone and take picture evidence of Scott eating just so I can prove it to Maeve, but I also like the idea of having this as a secret. Together, Scott picks out red and orange peppers, a weird-shaped tomato, and a green onion, which he immediately rejects after smelling.
“No onion?”
He wrinkles his nose. “Phooey! No, none!”
“Okay.” I laugh, discarding the green onion. “No onion.”
Scott moves as if he’s going to run back to the blanket fort we set up in the lounge where several toy cars lay scattered around in the wake of the monster destructions Scott’s bear caused, but he seems to change his mind and instead stays with me until I’ve cut up all of the veg and scattered them on to two plates.
“Ready?” Picking Scott up, I sit him in my lap at the dining table and the design contest begins. I’m not much of an artist myself but with Chip timing us, I create a rather obnoxious-looking clown using the cooked pasta for hair and the peppersfor a colorful mustache. Scott creates a very round face with equally round eyes but he uses the pasta to make a mouth and the carrot pieces for teeth. Then we both wait as Chip abandons his laptop to come over and judge.
“Is that a picture of me?” Chip gasps, pointing at Scott’s work.
