Page 51 of Marcus

Surely, that was normal.

After she’d dialed the number, she put the phone on speaker for Tiffany to talk when Marcus picked up the call. The last time Cella talked to him had been a few days ago when she sent those sketches and other emails which then led into their conversation about her husband. She hadn’t called again because nothing work-related was needed between them, but she found herself struggling not to pick up the phone just to chat because she wanted to.

And that had nothing to do with work.

“Ciao, Marcus here,” came the familiar dark voice on the phone when the call was picked up.

“Hi, Marcus!”

He didn’t even need to ask who it was.

The man just knew. “Tiffany—your mom knows you have the phone, right?”

“I know,” Cella said quietly.

Faintly.

Her heart was doing that thing again.

Beating too hard.

Making her confused.

“Ma said I could ask you if I could come with her to Toronto next weekend,” Tiffany said, smiling at her mother when Cella nodded.

“Well,” Marcus drawled, “I should hope your mom brings you along. I miss you.”

Somehow, Tiffany brightened even more.

Cella knew Marcus didn’t intend to do it—he was just a good guy with an honorable heart and far too many things about him made the man very attractive to her—but he was drawing her in like a fish on a line. Every word he spoke; each thing he did … it all reeled her closer.

And she was helpless to stop it.

What was going to happen when he finally caught her?

That’s what terrified her.

“Cella, what are you up to, dolcezza?”

“Hi, Grandpapa Lucian!”

Her father’s chuckles echoed throughout the car at Tiffany’s greeting. She’d shouted it from the backseat like she was sure her grandfather wouldn’t hear it otherwise, and Cella was positive that hurt her father’s ears. Not that he said a word one way or another.

“Hi, sweetheart. I thought you were with Grandmama today?”

“She was,” Cella said, coming back into the conversation, “but I grabbed her a little earlier than I thought I would.”

“Ah, yes, because you’re heading to Toronto for the weekend, right?”

“Yep.”

Her father cleared his throat, and Cella tried to focus her attention on the road ahead of her. It was a little difficult when Lucian said, “You know, I would believe this was only for work if you went alone, but when you bring Tiff along, too, my opinion begins to change, Cella.”

Right.

And that was enough of that conversation happening while her daughter could hear. Cella was quick to hand the headphones for the tablet her daughter used on long trips to play her educational games. Without even needing to be told, Tiffany put the headphones atop her head, the large muffs covering her ears entirely before she turned them on. Only then did Cella return to the conversation with her father, feeling slightly safer that little ears weren’t still listening in.

“Do you mind?” she asked her dad.