Hold Me (Love The Way Duet 2)

And if not, she has my number and she will tell me. That is the only item on her list while I’m good. To keep her phone on her and use it if necessary.

The sound of heavy footsteps on the back deck, draws my attention.

Damon comes in through my back door, rubbing his hands together. “Damn. Cold out there tonight. And you have me out in it for a card game.” He takes a moment to look around before saying, “Nice place.”

“It’s not even snowing.” I pull open the fridge and hand him a beer as soon as he’s got his coat off. “How’s Ella?”

“Already miss her?” he teases with a grin.

“Fuck off. How is she?”

“You can’t always be there for everything, Zander. She needs to be okay without you, you know?”

“I assume that means she’s doing just fine.”

“Last I checked, she told me she was zoning out with a box of chocolates and some new show Kelly told her she needed to binge.”

I nod first and then thank him. “I appreciate it,” I tell him before patting the threshold and showing him around the new place.

“It’s minimal,” he comments.

“I like a modern style with clean lines.” Glancing around, I can count on both hands the number of purchases I made for the dining room and living room combined. There’s functionality in the gray suede modular sofa. The set of modern chairs with leather backing and black coffee table were on display in the furniture store, as was the abstract black and white with dark blue faded six-by-six canvas. The dining room is even more bare, with simple clear chairs and a dark walnut table that boasts a knot of a single chunk of wood on the surface.

“Downstairs is where it’s at,” I tell him, avoiding the hallway and in it, my master bedroom, along with the playroom for Ella.

The dungeon is tucked away in the back half of the basement, and I second-guess whether or not I closed the doors as Damon follows behind me on the newly finished stairs.

“This place is nice. You’re renting?” he questions.

“Maybe buying,” I half answer, more focused on the closed door than his question.

The first thing Damon says is, “Nice,” running his hand down the newly felted poker table. “Dartboard in the back.”

“No bar yet, but I’m planning one,” I tell him. It’s a typical game room although all I have in here at the moment is the table and the hung dartboard. “There’s still a number of things I’m looking to add.” My gaze wanders to the dungeon but I’m quick to correct it.

Before Damon can say any more, his phone goes off. As he checks his phone, I check mine and a text comes in.

Ella: Do you have Silas spying on me?

I text her back, I’m always spying on you my little rulebreaker.

Ella: I miss you.

Damon comments that Silas just updated him. Ella’s doing well. He must have just checked on her, prompting her to message me.

Ella: It’s quiet in this house without you.

Zander: If you feel empty, I have ways to fix that

Ella: You’re so dirty!!

Her mock scolding makes me grin.

Zander: Be good, I’ll be watching you.

I put my phone in my pocket while Damon fills me in on his drive. We set up the card table with two decks. I’ve been back here more often over the past months ordering furniture, making necessary arrangements and debating on whether Ella would be comfortable here or not. It’s starting to feel like home again, like my old place I rented, though I’m beginning to think it will never feel completely right without Ella.

With my mind occupied, Damon moves on to other topics. We’re setting out a heaping bowl of chips when Damon asks beneath his breath, “You find anything else?”

“Anything about what?’ I ask him.

“About Ella’s father.”

“Yeah.” I’ve been doing more research on Ella’s family history, focused on the media surrounding the trial. “There’s a theory that it wasn’t her mother who killed her father’s first wife. It was the father.”

Damon nods. “Sounds plausible.”

“There are a number of conspiracy theories out there. Ella was so young, I can’t imagine she would know anything.”

“I think it would be best to let that part of her history go, unless she’s the one who wants to know more?” he questions.

“I haven’t told her. It was just … something just doesn’t feel right.”

“Are you done looking now?”

“Not until I figure it all out,” I tell him. Maybe I shouldn’t dig, but there’s a prick at the back of my neck when I think about how she reacted to talking about her mother and father. There’s something there, I know there is.

Damon’s tone breaks me from the thought. “No murder theory talk while the guys are over for cards.”

It’s like he’s summoned them, because there’s a loud knock on the front door. Hustling up the stairs, I get to the door just as there’s another knock.