Page 34 of Marcello
“We will see you then,” I told him. Vincent offered a warm smile to Abel before he walked off toward the kitchen.
“What was that word?” Abel asked. “Was it bad?”
I chuckled. “No. It was wonderful or marvelous.” I sighed. “Despite who he is, he does wish for you to feel at home here. He is now responsible for you and your well-being, just as I am.” I wrapped my arm around Abel’s shoulders and pulled him close to me. “Let me show you my office. There will be times that I will need privacy while there, but I hope you are willing to spend time with me in the office when I’m not in certain meetings.”
Abel’s smile wasn’t quite as happy as it had been just moments ago, and I knew that was because of my choice of words, but there wasn’t much I could do about my job or our family. If Vincent decided it was time for a drastic change for the family, then we might be able to escape the life we had lived for so long. But could we truly? Some had, but at what cost?
“I don’t want to intrude on your family business,” Abel said. “And I’ll visit your office sometimes, but I don’t know aboutoften. The babies are going to take up a lot of my time, and they’re going to be here before either of us is ready, I think.”
I smiled as I led Abel down the hallway toward my office. I was certain that was true. Despite what Abel thought, I was excited for the arrival of our babies. With that, though, came great concern and fear that I wouldn’t be able to protect my beloved and our children. Maybe it was time for me to consider going against everything I knew and trying my best to protect them elsewhere. Was that possible? Would Abel be willing? Would Vincent be accepting?
Chapter 12
Abel
“So this is my office,” Marcello told me as we entered the room. It looked like a standard office to me. Fancy desk and chair. Some overly large potted plants that probably wouldn’t last a moment outside in the winter in Montana. A wall full of fancy bookshelves that had a few books, but mostly vases and other dust collectors on it. And uncomfortable-looking furniture.
I stepped in and stared at everything in there before I shook my head.
“No?” he asked.
“Where…you have chairs, but they look so uncomfortable,” I said as I crossed the room to the right and sat in a leather chair. I sank a bit, but I wasn’t wrong. It was uncomfortable. “I mean, if I was shifted, this chair would be great because it’s leather, and it would warm up and be cozy. But it’s…where will I take a nap? Why do you not have a sofa, as you call it?” Marcello’s eyebrows furrowed, and I grinned. “Seriously. If you want me to spend time in here with you, at least get me one thing that’s comfortable,” I told him.
“That’s harsh. Until I had you in my life, I didn’t want anyone to be in here for extended amounts of time.” Marcello pointed to the two chairs that were on the other side of his desk. “These are soft. Why would you go to the one against the wall?”
I got up and crossed the room. “I don’t know. Maybe because it’s away from your desk, and I wouldn’t want to be too close and bother you.”
Marcello took my hand and led me to one of the chairs that were in front of his desk. He turned me before gently pushing backward. I laughed as I sat down, and the chair seemed to swallow me.
“Okay. Yeah. This. How do we get a couch that’s like this?” I rubbed the leather of the arm and felt how buttery smooth it was. “This is nice.” Marcello made a noise as he went around the desk and sat down in his massive office chair.
“I will see about getting a sofa in here for you.” Marcello reached for a desk phone and stopped with his hand on it. “Is there anything else you wish to change about my office?”
My eyes widened. “No. I didn’t mean anything by it,” I told him. “Just that those chairs are hard.”
Marcello picked up the phone and started speaking in rapid Italian. He sounded upset, and I took the opportunity that he was busy and distracted to up and leave the office. The last thing I wanted to do when I left the room was upset my mate. Things already seemed to be cooling considerably between us, and sure, he’d said he was happy and excited about the twins, but I wasn’t so sure. He hadn’t scented as if he was lying, but still, there was not much from him through our bond.
I left the office and ran right into a hard chest. Strong arms wrapped around me, and a familiar scent enveloped me. I looked up into the blue eyes of the coven master. “I’m so sorry,” I said. “I…I never meant to run into you.”
“It is all right. Accidents happen. Is there a reason you scent as if you are upset?” Master Vincent asked. “Has something happened?”
I shrugged because what else could I do?
“Abel?” Marcello called out just before he came running out of his office. He found me standing right next to Master Vincent, and his brow furrowed again.
“You know, I think that look is your new permanent one when it comes to me. You’re scowling more than you are smiling anymore.”
Marcello ignored me. “Where are you going?”
“Back to the room. You were on the phone, and you seemed upset, so I assumed it was either important or business. That doesn’t involve me, and it’s just?—”
“I was ordering a sofa for you for the office.”
Master Vincent started chuckling. “If he was talking to Antonio, you have to understand that he is around eighty and very hard of hearing,” he told me.
“I was,” Marcello said. “Antonio is the best when it comes to furniture, and he had done all of the other pieces in the office.” Marcello looked my way. “I apologize if you thought I was upset. I truly wasn’t. Antonio does not speak English, and he can be quite difficult to get a word in once he realizes who he is talking to. I was never upset.” Marcello reached for me and tugged me away from Master Vincent. “Come back and I’ll talk things out with you. I want your input on how you would like the office rearranged.”
“It doesn’t matter to me, really. It’s your office,” I told him. “I was thinking about trying to reach Lewis and see how he was doing.” Which wasn’t necessarily true, but it wasn’t an outright lie either.
