Page 28 of Thin Lives

Calisto figured as long as Affonso was open to the meeting, then that was the important thing. “I’ll set it up.”

He got up out of the chair, ready to leave.

“Leaving already?” Affonso asked, picking his glass back up for another drink.

“Long day,” he offered in explanation.

Affonso looked him over, dark eyes surveying him like he was trying to find something specific. Calisto wasn’t entirely sure what his uncle could be looking for, but he was doing it.

“Do you need something from me?” Calisto asked.

“If I do, you have a phone,” Affonso said.

Point taken.

Calisto left the office without a goodbye.

A long day was a goddamn understatement.

Shutting the door to the office behind him, Calisto noticed the doors to the library were slightly open. They hadn’t been when he first arrived. He’d spent a lot of time in the library, playing the piano as he sat in a wheelchair during his recovery.

Stepping up to the door, he peeked in, hearing the melody of the piano coming from within the library.

Emma sat at the piano, her fingers dancing over the ivory keys, and a small smile playing on her lips. At her feet, the little black dog slept happily. Her loose dress did little to hide the swell of her stomach, and she stopped playing for a moment to rub her pregnancy bump.

“This always helps you, baby boy,” she whispered, obviously talking to the unborn child. “Just a little while longer, huh?”

Calisto couldn’t help his own smile growing as Emma went back to the piano and began playing again. He opened the doors a little further, stepping in just far enough that he could lean against the wall and listen to her play.

She was good. The tune was familiar, one he too enjoyed playing. Before long, Calisto had closed his eyes and was drumming his fingers against his side in tune with the piano.

For a second, he was lost in it all.

Lost in her playing.

Emma didn’t miss a key in the song, so she must have been practicing.

Calisto’s eyes popped open as the music stopped and a throat cleared. Instantly, he found Emma looking at him over her shoulder.

Something unknown burned in her eyes, like she was silently asking him a question, but couldn’t make the words come out for him to hear them. After a long silence stretched between them, Emma dropped her gaze, a pink flush coloring her cheeks.

As much as it looked sweet, it also seemed sad to him for some reason.

He wished he knew more about this woman, but his mind was blank. She seemed so interesting, like she was someone he might relate to and whose company he might find enjoyment in. Unfortunately, he was always running from one thing to another, and constantly stuck inside his own head when he wasn’t, and there hadn’t been much time for him to really sit down with Emma.

Maybe he would try to fix that.

Emma’s head lifted again, her stare flicking to his as she smiled.

“You sound wonderful, Emmy,” he told her.

She turned into a statue at his words.

Calisto tipped his head to the side, confused. “I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?”

Emma’s red lips parted like she was going to say something, but she quickly closed her mouth and shook her head. “No, of course not, Calisto.”

“Then what’s wrong?”