Page 57 of Unravel You

I gave him the benefit of the doubt and ignored the fact that he hadn’t consulted me. “Why did you cancel?”

“This thing with Bridget still has me on edge. He’s safe where he is. Why take an unnecessary risk?” He rubbed the furrows on his forehead as if that would make the worry on his face go away. “We’ll be back in Tucson in a week.”

He had a point there. I missed Max terribly. FaceTiming every night helped, but it wasn’t the same. I missed his baby face and soft cheeks. But if Bridget was in Atlanta, the best place for Max to be would be in Tucson, away from her. I nodded. “You’re right. I was really looking forward to seeing him again, though.”

“I know.” He kissed my head.

“I tried calling Em, but there was no answer.”

“Yeah. They’re doing a bit of upkeep.” He glanced down. Why? What was he hiding. He always did that when Bridget came up in conversation, as if he were afraid I’d get mad at him for even talking to her. “After Bridget showed up here, I ordered the team to reinforce security. You’ll be able to talk to him in the morning. I promise.”

“Okay. How was the bachelor party with your brothers? You didn’t come home until very late last night.” I touched my hand to his cheek, and he kissed it. Something about him was definitely off.

There it was again, that weak, sort of sad, smile. “I’m a little hungover. And I get to do it all over again tonight.” He cradled my neck and pressed his forehead to mine. “Maybe we can cut our trip short and go back in a few days. Thirty days was a little aggressive, especially with the wedding coming up in a few weeks.”

I wasn’t going to argue with him on this. I’d been wanting to go home since I set foot on his private plane. “I would love that. I mean, if your mom doesn’t mind.”

“She’ll understand. I’m gonna jump in the shower and head downstairs. Are you going to be ready on time?”

His mind was all over the place. But he’d said the magic words: we were going home.

“Yes.” I shoved him toward the shower. “And hurry up. Anabelle is coming over to get ready for the party here.”

He grinned at me. “I’m glad the two of you made friends.”

“She’s kind. It’s been nice to have someone to talk to these past three weeks.” I hugged him. “Go.”

He showered in record time, then brushed his teeth, and combed his hair on his side of the double-sink vanity. I sat at my makeup dresser and watched him do these mundane things. He looked hot as sin in those boxer briefs that fit snug around his butt and muscular thighs. He walked into the closet and came back out dressed in his usual dark suit.

A smirk pulled on his lip. “Maybe later you can show me what you were thinking about just now.”

“Maybe.” My cheeks burned hot.

“Hey, Derek.” Anabelle ambled through the door with her dressed balled up against her chest. What was she so afraid of? It was just a dress and a bit of cleavage.

“Hey, Ana. I’ll see you both downstairs. Don’t be late.” He kissed the top of my head as I braided my hair into a side french braid.

Derek always acted as if he were much older than Anabelle. Seven years wasn’t that long of a time. I supposed it was all a matter of perspective. We were going to change that for Anabelle tonight.

“You look like a real live mermaid when you do that.”

“What?” I snorted a laugh.

“I always imagined mermaids would do that.” She gave me a one-shoulder shrug. “Where did you learn to braid hair like that?”

“My mom. I had big frizzy hair when I was a kid. I was in braids until I learned how to use a blow-dryer.” I chuckled. “Braids are a necessity here, blow-dryer or no blow-dryer. This humidity is insane.”

“I know. She giggled. “Show me how to do that.”

I stood and gestured for her to sit down. “Your hair looks pretty down like that. How about a half braid?” I pulled her hair away from her face.

“I love that.” She beamed at me.

Anabelle never had a sister. We had that in common. She had a brother who was gone all the time, and I was an only child. Maybe that’d been why we clicked and made friends so fast. “We’re still doing smoky eyes for your makeup?”

She let out a breath. “Yes. Hey, do you think Rebecca will show tonight? I know you won’t give up until you’ve unraveled this mystery.”

“I hope she does. She seemed like she really wanted to come. I wish I could help her.”

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