Page 44 of Keeping Lucy

Ally tossed her hair over her shoulder. “You know it. But, seriously, what have you got to lose?”

“Honestly, it’ll just make it way more complicated, and it’s already messy enough.”

“Fair.”

“Anyway, thanks for listening. It’s been really hard not being able to talk about it.”

“Any time. Nice necklace, by the way.”

I reached up and touched the diamond. “Thanks.”

“New?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm.”

“Shut up.”

“I didn’t say a word.”

“Think I’ll make some tea.”

CHAPTER23

Lucy

How many times can you check your phone to see if your fake husband has texted you before it’s considered obsessive? It was a stupid way to spend a snowy Friday afternoon, so I put my phone on the charger in my bedroom and grabbed my sketchbook from the office. A cup of tea, a football game on the television and a little bit of drawing should take my mind off him.

I started the first outline, frowning when it didn’t quite come out right, ripping the page out of the book, scrunching the paper up, starting again. The second attempt was a little better, but I didn’t quite get the shadows right. Hmm, no.Rip.The next try was even better, but the hands and feet were still out of proportion. I became absorbed in the process, forgetting where I was as I drew image after image. Finally, I smiled to myself, shading in the lines of the sketch until it was how I pictured it in my mind: a sweet little baby, with round cheeks and teeny tiny fingers and toes. Perfect.

A knock at the door had me jumping to my feet, instinctively tying my dressing gown tighter around my waist. “Who is it?” I called tentatively, stepping into the hallway.

“It’s Dante.”

I gasped, standing frozen for a moment. What was he doing here at nine o’clock at night?

“You wanna let me in? It’s freezing out here.”

“Of course, sorry.” I rushed to open the door, blushing as my body went into overdrive at the sight of him, brushing snow from his hair before stepping inside, an overnight bag in his hand.An. Overnight. Bag. In. His. Hand.“What’s going on? Is everything okay?”

His eyes were dark and intense, making my heart thud painfully. Something had happened. Something bad. “I think we’re being investigated,” he said bluntly.

“What makes you think that?” The painful thudding sped up, making me put my hand to my throat, hoping to calm the racing pulse I felt there.

“I called today to get a progress report on the claim and the lady on the other end was pretty evasive. I pushed a bit but she shut me down. It felt weird.”

“Oh.” I had no idea how to respond to that.

He dropped the bag to the ground and took off his coat. “I’ve been calling you for over two hours, but your phone is off.”

Fuck, I’d been so ridiculous about looking for texts from him that I’d missed his phone calls. “My phone’s on the charger.” I brushed by him to close the front door, my mind spinning. “So what does this mean?”

“It means I have to stay here until the insurance stuff is approved.”

“I see.” I felt such a confusing rush of emotions that I didn’t know how to process them. Fear over the insurance, excitement at the idea of Dante staying with me, confusion about being so thrilled, even more concern about how him staying here would work, and guilt about putting him in this position.

“I’m so sorry, Lucy. I didn’t intend for this to happen. I’ll need to keep my stuff in your room, so it looks legit, but I can sleep in the spare room.”

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