The Sinister Silhouette

“No. Daddy just puts them in a box in a closet,” she mutters. “And Uncle Luca already has a lot.”

My heart breaks at the sadness in her tone when she mentioned what Theo does with her drawings. I look over at the fridge and see not one drawing hanging there. You’d think Theo would be proud of her and want to show off her talent. Every household that has a child living in it should have a picture they’ve drawn on the fridge. A pang hits my chest when I remember Teresa’s pictures on my family’s fridge. They weren’t near as good as Aria’s, but they were still just as special.

I sniff to clear away the tightness in my throat. “Thank you. Do you mind if I hang it on the fridge?”

Her answering smile says I made the right choice. I walk over to the fridge, grab the business-card-size automotive magnet, and slip the drawing underneath it, making sure the magnet doesn’t cover any of the drawing.

“Whatcha think?” I turn back to Aria.

“Thanks, Jules,” Aria says, looking very happy.

A knock from the living room has us both looking to the kitchen doorway.

“That should be your uncle. Why don’t you pack up your drawing stuff while I let him in?”

“Okay.”

I leave Aria in the kitchen and cross the small living room. When I’m standing in front of the door, I look through the peephole. I’ve been warned a couple times by Theo to never open the door without looking to see who it is. Even without the warning, I wouldn’t have done so. I’ve only lived here a short time, but even I know we don’t live in a very good section of town.

When I see Luca standing on the other side of the door, I step back, but before I pull the door open, I drag in a deep breath. Luca makes me feel things I don’t ever remember feeling before. Not in a bad way; he just makes me more aware of myself. The couple of times I’ve seen him, I’ve felt his eyes on me. I’m curious about him, and from the looks he gives me, he’s curious about me too. He also makes me feel safe and protected. Out of everyone I’ve met since I woke up from my coma, it’s Luca I feel the most comfortable around.

I close my eyes and disregard the voice inside my head that says he makes me feel more than comfortable. Heat blazes in my cheeks, and I blow out a harsh breath, trying to push that feeling away. The last thing I want is for Luca to see me with flushed cheeks when I open the door.

When he knocks again, I know I’m out of time.

I unlock the sliding chain, then the dead bolt, before pulling open the door. As soon as I see him in the flesh, the darn heat comes back. Luckily, the porch light is crappy, so hopefully he doesn’t notice.

“Hello, Luca.”

“Jules,” his deep voice rumbles. I ignore the flutter in my stomach the raspiness causes.

Stepping back, I offer for him to come inside.

“Aria’s packing away her drawing stuff. Her overnight bag is there.” I point to the My Little Pony book bag by the door.

“Where’s Theo?”

I walk further into the living room before turning to face him. “Umm… I don’t know. He was supposed to be here forty minutes ago. He’s been working late the last few days for a client that needs his car fixed quickly.”

I know where he is, and while what he’s doing doesn’t bother me, it’s what he’s missing that does. He should be here to say goodbye to his daughter.

A muscle in Luca’s jaw twitches, and his eyes narrow. Anger marks his face, and I wonder what he’s thinking. Does he know what Theo’s out doing right now?

“Hey, Uncle Luca!” Aria runs across the room and throws herself against Luca’s legs. His face softens as he bends and scoops her up.

“You ready for The Wizard of Oz?”

“Yep, and this time I got popcorn. Daddy took me and Jules grocery shopping, and I made sure we got some.”

“Sounds good, but we have to eat dinner first or it’ll spoil it,” Luca warns with a smile. His already handsome face becomes striking when he smiles, and I can’t help but look at him.

“I’ve already had dinner,” Aria informs Luca, her legs swinging by his sides.

He looks surprised for a moment, then he moves his gaze to me.

“You fed her?” he asks, his brows arching.

His question and the surprised expression confuse me. Why would he think I wouldn’t feed her?