Page 19 of You Found Me

It was obvious that they liked each other. It reminded her of breakfast in the kitchen at Lizzie’s inn. The cozy happiness beckoned.

Della took a step toward them without even meaning to.

The woman caught sight of her and her smile widened. “Della!”

“Hi Annie. Hey Spencer.” She gave them a little wave.

Ward turned his head toward her, and the warm expression on his face vanished, replaced with the same mask of indifference he’d worn all week.

He might as well have shut a door in her face. Well, this was her house, or at least it was her sister’s house, and she could go where she wanted without a sunny invitation from him. “Ice cream, Warden? Here I thought you were the fun police.”

Spencer snorted a laugh, but he hastily choked it off when Ward shot him a frown.

“Not the fun police, exactly.” Annie tilted her head as she considered Ward. “It’s more like he’s on a fun diet. It’s an occupational hazard.”

Her smile didn’t waver as Ward’s glower transferred to her. If anything, it grew even bigger.

The dark hole of misery in Della’s chest shrink. She glanced at the kitchen island. “Is that Lofty Pursuits?”

“I heard it was the best,” Annie said with a nod at Spencer.

“They have a 4.9-star rating,” Spencer said. “And your sister Piper raves about them on her feeds.”

“You brought ice cream?” Della looked back at her warden. “Youdid this?”

“You said you wanted it.” Ward gave a little half shrug.

A flare of gratitude flashed through her. “Youwerelistening.”

“One of the many differences between being in prison and being protected, Ms. Bellamy,” Ward said, “is the ability to have food delivered.”

The warmth she’d felt growing for him vanished. “I was actually giving you a compliment.”

“No need. It’s part of the job to keep our client happy. Another thing they don’t do in prison.” He met her gaze briefly before turning to Annie. “Check in before you head out.”

“Yep,” Annie said.

“See ya,” Spencer said without looking up from the tower of scoops he’d constructed.

Ward walked out without another glance at Della.

“You can’t fix everything with ice cream, you know!” Della shouted after him. When he didn’t answer, she turned to Annie. “Does he really think that?”

“His primary concern is your safety. Always,” Annie said. “But he doesn’t want you to be unhappy. We all want to make this as easy as it can be for you. I know how hard it is to have to wait while other people sort things out. Especially when you aren’t used to sitting still.”

She gave Della a significant look as she carried her treat to the table. “I once had to hide out in a closet backstage at Fashion Week because they were putting the finishing touches on the dress I was assigned for the runway show. I was the surprise ending, so to speak. It was only supposed to take an hour, tops. Three hours later, there was still no dress and it was thirty minutes to showtime. Nobody would tell me why it was taking so long. Drove me absolutely crazy.” Annie took a large bite and closed her eyes. “Oh, thisisgood.”

Della stared at her. “You sat in a closet for three hours?”

Annie’s eyes sparked with malicious amusement. “They thought I did.”

Della snorted a laugh. “I wouldn’t have lasted thirty minutes.”

“If there was Wi-Fi,” Spencer said, “I could have lasted three years.”

“Boy Genius here is lying,” Annie said. “His father founded M&C Pharmaceuticals. His trust fund would power an entire country, and his first apartment was filled with so much tech it was one step away from being sentient.”

Della laughed.

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