Holly stared after him, unmoving. He might not have said what he was thinking, but she’d read his mind. That was something she’d promised herself she wouldn’t do on the bus ride home, but she hadn’t been able to resist. The thought he’d cut off was that he’d thought she was going slutty on him, and his comment about her losing weight had been followed by the unspoken thought that he was relieved. He’d feared she was going to “chunk out” now that they were married, and had found her extra pounds unattractive before this weight loss.
The worst thing about it was that she couldn’t confront him about his thoughts because she shouldn’t know them. And Holly couldn’t even be mad because they were his thoughts. He had every right to think her outfit was slutty, and it wasn’t his fault if he’d found her less attractive with the extra twenty pounds she’d been carrying before the turn. He hadn’t said that. He’d kept his thoughts to himself, no doubt, to avoid hurting her. She was the one who had intruded into his mind and read them.
Holly let her breath out slowly. Gia was right. It was going to be hard to keep this marriage together now that she could read his thoughts. She really needed to refrain from using her new skills with him. And she would, Holly promised herself grimly. She would never read his thoughts again.
“Hey, honey. We don’t have anything in the refrigerator. Do you want to go out to supper?”
Holly glanced toward the kitchen at that shout and bit her lip. All her old clothes would be too big, and she hadn’t packed and brought any of the new ones she’d bought with Gia. Clearing her throat, she said, “I don’t know. Why don’t we order—-” She paused when the doorbell rang, and then hurried to answer it. It was another deliveryman. Holly accepted the envelope and the clipboard he handed her, and then watched with surprise as he turned to hurry back to his truck. Noting that Gia Notte was in the slot as the sender, Holly quickly opened the envelope and read the short letter inside.
I thought you might need your new clothes.
Hope everything is going well.
You have my number.
Giacinta
Sighing with relief, Holly stuffed the letter and envelope into her pocket and quickly signed the document on the clipboard in the spot marked with an X. She then offered the clipboard and a smile to the deliveryman as he returned with a box.
“Thank you,” she murmured, taking it from him.
“My pleasure. Have a good day,” the man said turning to head back to his truck.
“Holly? Did you want to go out to dinner or not? We can invite Bill and Elaine to make up for having to cancel last time.” James stuck his head out of the kitchen, then raised his eyebrows as he noted the box she was carrying. “What’s that?
“My clothes,” Holly said, moving toward the stairs. Now that she knew what James thought of her outfit, she wanted to change. She’d have to ship the skirt and vest back to Gia, of course.
“Airport misplaced it?” he guessed and when Holly glanced at him blankly, James clucked his tongue impatiently and explained, “Your suitcase. I gather the airport lost it briefly?” He paused, one eyebrow rising as he noticed the box she was holding. “Although it looks more like they wrecked your suitcase or something. I doubt you took your clothes out there in a box.”
“No,” Holly agreed vaguely, and then hurried upstairs to avoid further questions.
“I’m surprised you aren’t coming back with us.”
Justin shifted his gaze from the small plane that had just taxied to a halt twenty feet in front of them to glance at Dante, and then shook his head. “I need to stay close.”
He didn’t explain why, but then he didn’t have to. They all knew he was waiting there in the desperate hope that Holly would realize her marriage couldn’t work and would give him a chance.
“Well, I’m surprised Mortimer is okay with you hanging around here when he’s so shorthanded,” Dante said.
“I left a message and he didn’t call back so he must be,” Justin said mildly. He didn’t admit though that he’d shut off his phone after making the call.
“Hmmm,” Tomasso grunted. “I wonder.”
Justin raised his eyebrows and then followed the man’s gaze to the plane. The door was open, the stairs down and—-Justin straightened abruptly when he saw who was coming down the steps out of it.
“Crap,” he muttered, fighting the sudden instinct to jump in the SUV and drive off.
“Si. It could mean merda,” Dante said thoughtfully.
“For you,” Tomasso added.
They all fell silent as Lucian approached. Stopping in front of them, he skimmed them with a gaze before focusing on Dante and Tomasso. “Go ahead. And I’m sure Justin thanks you for your assistance,” he added as the two giants headed toward the plane.
“I thanked them before we left the house,” Justin said tensely.
Lucian gave an abrupt nod and then raised an eyebrow. “Where is your bag?”
Crap, Justin thought, but said, “At the house. I’m staying.”
Lucian nodded and then asked. “Where?”
He blinked in surprise. “Well, at—-”