Page 63 of Unravel You

“I’m glad you made it home.” I hugged him again. “Are you hanging out for bit?”

“Yeah. I’m glad I finally met the woman brave enough to yank that stick out of your ass. I honestly thought she’d have angel wings and shit.”

“Don’t be an asshole. She makes me happy.” I took in a breath and smile at how true my words felt.

“I can see that. Don’t mess that up, man.”

“Don’t start with me. I already got an earful from Dr. Phil.”

He chortled, slapping me on the back. “You best listen to Zack just so you don’t jinx yourself. Maybe I should go in for a consult?” He bit his lip with a slight dip of his right brow.

“Yeah, you better. I’m fine with Rebecca staying, but you know Mom will have an opinion on that. And I honestly have no clue which way she’ll sway. Get Zack in on that.”

“I will.” Tyler’s eyes lost their blue under the dimmed lights.

Ana stopped playing. The night fell silent, almost sad without the melody of her piano. A minute later, guests meandered out to enjoy the nice weather in the gardens. Time for me to face the other music. I sauntered back to the house. Not two steps in, I was stopped by the head of security.

“Mr. Cole. A word?”

Now what?

Chapter17

He's Not Here

Valentina

As soon as Anabelle started playing, the room settled into some kind of trance. She was right. This was exactly the distraction I needed to break into Derek’s safe and steal five thousand dollars. Derek held me tight during Anabelle’s first piece, but the minute Tyler left, he went after him. Thank God, because I was about to ask Rebecca to keep Derek busy for me.

I winked at Anabelle across the room, and she winked back. In the same beat, she switched gears into a more dramatic piece that literally sucked everyone in closer to her. Even Wesley, who generally pretended she didn’t exist, stepped toward her, mesmerized by her skill. Shit. What was I doing wasting time? This recital wasn’t for me. It was because of me.

Shuffling my feet backward, I left the drawing room and headed straight for the library. This was my favorite room in the house. The cherrywood paneling, vaulted ceiling, dark bookshelves piled with old books, and oversized leather chairs made the room look as if it came straight out of some fairy tale. I made my way toward the back and swung open one of the paintings. My pulse raced as I glared at the small metal box. I entered the combination Derek had given me, and it opened with a soft click.

“What are you doing?” Rebecca shut the door behind her.

Clearly, I wasn’t made for this if I’d forgotten something so elementary as flipping the lock. “Just getting ready for more shopping. Tomorrow. Not right now.”

She beamed at me. “Okay. Need help?”

“No, I’m good.” I glanced behind me to the stacks of bills in the safe.

“I could keep watch for you. Tyler and Derek just went by.” She raised an eyebrow.

God, I was bad at this. “Okay, thank you.” I turned my attention back to the cash and then realized I didn’t have a purse to put it in. The bustier of my dress was way-too tight to fit anything else. “Hey.” I called for Rebecca.

“Yes, you can use my purse.” She stalked over to me in that surreal thing she had going on for her. The red dress looked incredible on her. “I can tell you’ve never done this before. You need to relax.”

“Okay.” I counted the stacks as I stuffed them in her purse. Dammit. I was a thousand dollars short. “Hey.”

“How much?” She peered through the small gap in the door. “Take what you need.”

I’d seen the stacks of money she carried in her purse when we met shopping. Who would have thought I’d be asking her for cash tonight? I hated that I had to do this, but Max needed me.

“Just like that?”

“I could’ve said the same to you when you invited me to your home.” She raised an eyebrow.

“Thank you.”

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