Page 76 of Belonging to Them
“Are you sure he wasn’t just spinning you a tale?”I ask.“I mean, I know you love him—I love him too—but he’s not always completely honest when it comes to money.”
She points to a mosaic glass box in the middle of the coffee table.“The key’s in there.We can get into the bank and everything—I even went with Tom a couple of times.But without the password, he can’t access the box.”
I don’t know what to tell her.I don’t know what to believe.The most likely thing going on is that Tommy made the whole thing up to reassure his pregnant girlfriend that he could be a supportive partner.I wouldn’t put it past him to deceive her like that—he’s done far worse.
If Dad had left a safe deposit box, he would’ve told me, right?
TWENTY
Kingston
I’d texted Ella, asking if I could pick up some dinner for tonight.She requested Italian, and garlic and marinara scents fill the elevator as I ride up to the penthouse.
“Where’s Bash?”I ask as I walk in.
“In the studio.I just got home, too,” she says, taking the bags from me, setting them on the counter, then standing on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek.
I wrap my arms around her.Coming home to her gives me a sense of fullness and completion that I’ve never experienced before.There’s something about the way Ella fits into my arms, and when she tucks her head against my chest, I feel like the biggest, strongest person on the planet.
After a long moment of simply holding each other, we finally pull away.Ella’s brown eyes dance with playfulness as she looks into mine.
“Hi,” she says.
“Hi.”I smile back at her.We don’t need to say much else.We’re just…happy.
We’re taking food out of the bags when Sebastian emerges from the studio.His hair is sticking in different directions and he’s scowling.
“Tough day?”I ask.
“Stuck on a verse,” he says, frowning harder.
Ella gives him a hug and he softens somewhat, but I can tell that whatever he’s having trouble with is really eating at him.Ella widens her eyes at me, likewhat can we do?But I just shake my head and shrug.There’s nothing to do when he gets in a mood.Best to just ride it out.
“I see you two talking about me without words,” Sebastian says.“You don’t have to tiptoe around me, I’m fine.”
The hell he is, but okay.
We sit down to eat.Sebastian doesn’t say much, but as he eats, his mood improves.Maybe he was just hangry.
“How was your visit with Mrs.Dali?”I ask Ella.
“Good, as always.She had some gorgeous pics from her trip to share.And only half of them were covered up by her thumb.”Ella smiles fondly.
“Where is it she went to this time?”I ask.
“Oahu.And no, she didn’t do any surfing, but she did a lot of snorkeling.”She sets her fork down and leans back in her chair, her shoulders sagging.“I’m stuffed.”
I’m finished, too, so I get up and start gathering plates.Ella starts to get up, too, but I wave her back down.“I got this, little girl.You can relax.You look beat.Did Mrs.Dali put you to work or something?”
“No, not at all.Gianna had a doctor’s appointment today, so I went with her.”She pauses.“You know, she told me something really weird.”
“What was it?”Bash asks.
“Tommy has her convinced that our dad left behind a safe deposit box, except he doesn’t know the password for it.”
“He was lying,” Bash says, shoveling the last of his gnocchi into his mouth.
“Yeah, he probably was.But…there was this time when he was asking me random questions about Dad, like what his first car was, and things like that, things that could be used as a password.”Ella stops talking, her gaze going distant.“Holyfuck.”
