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“What about your dad and Greer?”
“They won’t be here. At least I don’t think they will.”
Ben twists his face in my direction. “What happened? I thought he was only going to be gone a few days.”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen him act so weird, Ben.”
His fingers slowly work over my knuckles. “What’s going on with him?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” I roll onto my back and Ben sits up on one elbow, casting a serious look down at me. “He says he also just found out that Greer was my sister, so she was lying to him all this time. Maybe that’s freaked him out? But if it has, it’s not enough to deter him from giving her our mother’s gigantor ring.”
“What?”
I groan. “My mom. She had this humongous black diamond ring. It was in her family for generations. I always thought Daddy would give it to me someday. But he asked me to come here and get it from his filing cabinet and give it to Manny so he can sneak it in Greer’s luggage before she flies to Sweden to spend the holidays with him because apparently something is wrong with the plane and he can’t fly back until after Thanksgiving.”
Ben’s brows crinkle into a V. “That’s … weird.”
“Tell me about it. He says there’s something going on with the company right now that he can’t talk about over the phone. I have a feeling he’s getting audited or some shit, and maybe he’s trying to fudge with the books or shuffle some money around. My dad’s an honest man. But he does push the boundaries with every loophole there is.”
Ben’s gaze drifts to the side, like he’s contemplating this a little harder than I thought he would. “Yeah, maybe. But why would he need to hide in Sweden to do all that?”
“So he could do it undetected? I think one of our attorneys spends a lot of time there too. Maybe they’re putting their heads together. Between that and finding out about Greer I’m trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. But giving her my mom’s ring?”
“Which is also her mom’s ring,” Ben corrects.
I bunch the pillows roughly under my head. “Exactly. But it’s still fucked up. You know it is.”
“I agree that it is.”
“So. Back to Thanksgiving. You want to invite your sister here and we can all spend it together? This house is plenty big enough for the four of us.”
When he pulls in a deep breath, I can tell he’s not on board. “She was talking about me coming down there because Danny wants to spend the day with his new girlfriend. I don’t know if she wants to travel out of town. But we’ll see what happens.”
“Sure. Just let me know.”
Ben shifts his attention to my window, a heavy veil covering his expression. It seems like he’s a million miles away. I put my palm on his face and turn his head in my direction. “Hey, you alright?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“You seem distant. If you’re not ready to spend Thanksgiving together, I’ll understand.”
“No, babe. That’s not it.” He kisses the tips of my fingers. “I’m just … preoccupied with something right now.”
“Talk to me about it. I’m a good listener.”
His rich, brown eyes seem to be holding their own secrets right now. “I know you are. But—”
When his phone rings, his body jerks and he flips around to grab it from his pants on the floor.
“Yeah,” he says, pressing the phone to his ear. After casting a cautious look my way he gets out of bed and walks to the other side of my room.
I lie on my side, taking in his glutes, the lines of muscles down the backs of his legs. I pinch the sheets between my fingers, not liking this unsettled feeling that’s coming over me as Ben slowly looks my way.
“Where? Okay,” he mumbles. “Fuck. All right … thanks. Yeah, I’ll try … you too.”
I don’t know what’s going on but the way he aggressively tosses his phone to the top of the dresser makes me wonder if he’s ready to punch something.
Or someone.
