Page 109 of Lucian

Paulie had given him a round of antibiotics to take for a couple of weeks, so Lucian popped the pills back before deciding he couldn’t stay still much longer.

A half hour, two cabs, and short walk later, Lucian found himself staring at a payphone.

Jesus, it’d been years since he used one of these.

Sighing, he inserted a quarter and dialed a familiar number. It’d bypass his father’s secretaries and the usual nonsense and take him straight to who he needed to speak with.

Antony picked up on the fourth ring. “Antony Marcello speaking.”

“Papà,” Lucian said quietly. “I’m good. Settled. Safe.”

A breath of relief whooshed into the phone. “Thank you, son. Your mother isn’t happy. Find her something especially nice for her birthday to make up for it. I’ll have a room booked under the usual name and something appropriate for you to wear at the hotel across from the Opera Theater. Be on time, please.”

“Already done. They’ll be in her kitchen when she wakes up on her birthday.”

“Goodbye, Lucian.”

“Later, Dad.”

Lucian hung up the phone just long enough to insert another quarter and dial the number to burner cell phone he’d picked up for Jordyn a couple of weeks earlier. He had a feeling she wouldn’t be up to going to work today, so he didn’t bother to call the phone Antony provided her for work. She picked up the call faster than Antony had his.

“Hello?”

“Jordyn … hey. I miss you already, beautiful girl.”

Silence answered Lucian back.

“I can’t talk for long, but I wanted to call and apologize for not waking you up this morning.”

Jordyn whined a soft noise. “Lucian?”

“Yeah, sweetheart. This will be the only time I call, okay?”

“Okay,” she whispered.

“Let Cecelia take you out to pick something beautiful for her birthday. If you need anything, you know the numbers to get inside my safe. Everything is in there.”

“Not you,” Jordyn said, laughing lightly.

“It won’t be long. Nothing big. I love you, huh?”

“Love you, too.”

For the first time that morning, Lucian smiled. “I have to go.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

“Soon,” he echoed.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jordyn tried not to trip over the floor length evening gown that was a couple of inches too long without her heels to answer the knock on the bedroom door. Over the last two weeks, she stayed mostly at the condo because she felt closer to Lucian, but on one or two occasions, she found herself at the Marcello home, staying in his bedroom there.

For Cecelia’s birthday, she had stayed at the Marcello home the night before, and the entire day of the celebration. Apparently getting ready for this opera event was a big thing. Jordyn didn’t quite believe Cecelia on that front until the woman was knocking on the door at ridiculous early morning hours because they needed to start getting ready.

Over twelve hours before the show.

Jordyn mistakenly assumed managing her curls into something decent and putting on a bit of makeup was enough for the event.