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Ella couldn’t even remember the last time she had seen him for more than a few seconds in passing.
“Sometimes the inspiration is endless, and I have to take advantage of that.” Tony had spurts where he worked nonstop and then times when he’d fall into a slump, not only lacking motivation but confidence as well.
Ella hated to see him in those times when he was consumed with overwhelming disappointment in himself and sadness in his heart. She wanted to wrap him up in a hug and tell him he was amazing, but she knew during that time there was nothing she could say to convince him how brilliant he was, so she stayed quiet and waited for him to come to her. Most of the time he did.
“I’m happy it’s flowing. Anything you care to show me?” she asked.
“It’s not done yet, but as soon as it is you’ll be the first person I show.”
She offered him a smile
“Buongiorno,” Vinny said as he came into the kitchen, his nose in the morning paper.
“Good morning, Grandpa,” Ella said before turning to Tony and motioning for him to get off the counter and quickly.
Tony slipped off just as Vinny lowered the paper. “Antonio, nice of you to join us this morning.”
“Sorry,” Tony said. “I’ve been spending a lot of time with my work.”
“Well, you have to eat, don’t you? Or are you starving yourself in there?”
“I get takeout.”
“From who?” Vinny asked, a slight tinge of offense in his tone.
“Mainly coffee and croissants from The Local Bean.”
“That is not food. You make sure to come in for dinner.” Vinny held Tony’s gaze with a look no one could refuse.
“Okay Grandpa. I’ll make sure to come in for dinner.”
“Good,” he said and turned his attention to Ella. “Fabriella, why you come home so late?”
She made sure not to make eye contact so she wouldn’t fall into the hole Tony got stuck in. “I was…” Her mind drifted to Lucas, the hard contours of his body, the intense glint in his eyes as he stared down at her. The way his tongue dipped in and out of her mouth in the same sensuous strokes as his body.
Heat spread across her chest, crawling up her neck in hot bursts. She couldn’t look up from the pan; if she did, she risked exposing herself. She searched her brain for words, but couldn’t seem to form the little lie. She mentally slapped herself, gathering her wits. Her lips parted, the lie forming on her tongue.
“Morning!” Marco and Enzo walked into the kitchen, and Ella felt the weight of the lie she was about to tell lift from her shoulders. She sagged against the counter in relief as Tony and her grandfather greeted her brothers.
Marco clapped his hands together. “So what are we talking about?”
“Why Ella came home late,” Tony chimed in, and Ella wanted to sucker punch him in the gut. Now she had four pairs of eyes, waiting for her to speak.
“I told you,” she said with a wave of her hand as she spun back to the stove and made herself busy cracking eggs. “I stayed late at Krissy’s to help her box up her shipments.”
“I just saw Krissy at the post office the other day,” Enzo said.
“And your point?” Ella asked.
“She had a shit ton of packages to ship out.”
Heat began its descent again, making its way across her chest and up her neck. “She had a lot more come in,” Ella said with maybe a little too much bite. She hated the uncomfortable uncertainty that came with lying, the easy slippery slope she could find herself on.
She needed to change the subject, take the heat off of her and put it onto someone else.
“Good for Krissy,” Vinny said. “I’m happy her business is doing well. And if you were with her, then okay.” He rested his hands on her shoulder and kissed her cheek. “But if you were with some boy then we got problems.”
She bit her tongue, trying to find the right words to keep any suspicions pointed off of her. “I wasn’t, but even if I was, I’m an adult, Grandpa. Momma was a mother of two at my age with another one on the way.”
