Page 29 of The Art of You

“What are you doing?” I asked as he set aside the remote.

“I’m going to go talk to your brothers and find out who the hell dropped that photo off at your house. And see who lives on the fourth floor across the street.” He tipped his head toward the hall. “Whatyou’regoing to do is sleep while a few of the officers hanging out by the nurses’ station post outside your door to keep an eye on you.”

“I don’t understand.” I mean, I did. He was being his typical, broody, protective self, but . ..

“Golf helps you sleep,” he clarified, reading my confusion. “I know you don’t play or care about the sport, so I assume those magazines by your bed are how you fall asleep at night. Plus, you’ve passed out in your office before with the golf channel open on your phone.”

He was observant, I’d give him that. Really freaking observant. Came in handy with his previous line of work, I supposed. But then I remembered and sputtered, “The magazines. I put the photo between them before I opened my door for you. I left the envelope sitting on the desk in my room. It’s a plain white one, nothing unique or special about it.”

“I’ll send Alessandro over for the photo when he checks your cameras.”

“They’re going to overreact.”The last thing I want.

“As they should. Now go to sleep.” A subtle lift of the chin accompanied his order. “In the morning, we’ll get out of here. I’ll have Callie pack you a bag.”

Like I can sleep now.“Promise to wake me if you learn anything?”

“No.” He gestured toward the TV with his cane, his balance seemingly okay now. “Sleep.”

I decided to battle my way through the uncomfortable tension in the room with another joke. It’d helped before, so maybe it would now. “Only if you kiss me goodnight.”

His eyes raced to my mouth as if he was actually contemplating doing it.

I wasn’t about to get my hopes up, but the little crook of his lips into a semi-smile had me inhaling sharply.

“Youwantto get me into trouble, don’t you?” His voice was deep and seductive, and despite everything that’d happened since yesterday, I’d swear this man was begging me with his eyes to say yes.

The air was charged. The energy in the room had changed.I couldn’t quite describe it with words—I wasn’t the writer in the family—but it was a feeling. Deep down in my soul, I could reach out and touch it, the change happening. The shift between us.

The accident, photo, and two homicides hanging over our heads felt as though they were part of a Lifetime movie and irrelevant to our lives.

Pinning my tongue to the roof of my mouth, I worked hard to keep quiet and not kill the moment happening between us. I didn’t want to think about how I nearly lost him last night. That we could’ve died.

“What are you thinking?” The murmur escaped like the fine strokes of a calligraphy pen brushing the air.

The ink barely had time to dry as his husky voice replied, “Nothing good.”

There were so many ways I could interpret that, but he turned and walked out of the room without giving me a chance for a follow-up.

You felt that, too, didn’t you? There is something between us. It’s not one-sided.

Instead of watching golf like he wanted me to, I focused on the hall as he spoke to my brothers. I knew the second he told them about the photo because they all abruptly faced my room.

They were overbearing, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’d do whatever they demanded for the sake of my safety, even if their overprotective measures drove me nuts.

Because the last thing in the world I wanted to put any of them through was the pain of losing another sister.

Chapter 10

Isabella

East Hampton, New York

Good vibes only,my favorite mantra, had quite literally once been written in the sand a few hundred feet away from where I quietly stood next to Hudson.

It was so peaceful there. Natural ambient noise offered a quiet companion to the sound of waves in the distance. Some were as gentle as a whisper, others more like the rolling boom of thunder. Then there was the slight whistle of the morning wind coasting along the shores beneath the sun.

I’d always loved this place while growing up. I mean, who wouldn’t feel inspired here? And it was the perfect spot for us to hide out until things calmed down.

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