Not betad. Well, maybe this chapter was. I'm not sure how to further extol the virtues of arfalcon in this space except to say I'm blessed to know her.
Prompt: browse
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I start work at the DiSanto place later that week, leaving the end of the job at Bella's in Emmett's hands. He's promised to keep an eye on it and I'm sure the rest will go off without a hitch.
Jack DiSanto is great to work for; he's easy-going and leaves me to do my work in peace after we chat for a few minutes in the morning. I miss Bella though. We no longer have an excuse to see each other every day and her absence from my daily routine is conspicuous.
Even though I don't see her as often as I used to, I talk to Bella every day, sometimes briefly but more often we have marathon phone calls at night. She's come over a few times, but we manage, with some difficulty, at least on my part, to keep our hands to ourselves. It's nice getting to know her, really know her, this way. And the more I get to know, the more I like her for who she is. The amount of time she spends volunteering is staggering and probably amounts to more than most full-time jobs. She's funny as hell, and her concern for Maddie and her health and education gives me this warm feeling in my chest. I want her more all the time and the day she leaves her husband can't come soon enough.
Maddie is thriving at Green Vale, and when the hospital bills start rolling in, I'm more grateful than ever for Bella's help with the tuition. Even with what my insurance covers, I would not have been able to keep Maddie in school and pay these bills. As it is, I call the hospital to set up a payment plan, which eases the burden just a little. At least I won't have to pay it all at once with money I don't have.
I love picking Maddie up on the days she has piano after school. I find her in one of the music rooms and I watch her play her scales, marveling at how far she's come in only a few weeks. Her little legs are swinging back and forth as she sits next to her teacher, and she looks so happy. I'll never regret the sacrifices I had to make to send her to this school.
"Daddy!" she calls when she sees me.
"Hello, Mr. Masen," Jessica says, standing and walking over to shake my hand. Maddie's crazy about her, even more so than Miss Katie.
"How's Maddie doing?" I ask, looking over at her as she randomly plays notes.
"She's nothing short of amazing, to be perfectly frank. I can't believe how quickly she's picking it up. You may have somewhat of a prodigy on your hands."
"She something else all right," I agree with a smile. I wonder if I'll ever stop beaming with pride where Maddie's concerned.
"Maddie told me you play," Jessica says.
"Not for a long time, but yeah. I went to Juilliard."
"Wow," she says a little breathlessly, touching my arm and smiling brightly.
Oh, boy. Why did I have to say Juilliard? She has that dreamy look in her eye and now I'm just antsy to get out of here.
"Do you play professionally?" she asks with a bat of her eyelashes.
I resist the urge to roll my eyes, especially since I'm sure I just told her I hadn't played in a while. I attempt to be polite since she's teaching my daughter. "No." I smile as genuinely as I can and then call to Maddie. "Let's go, kiddo."
"Coming, Daddy."
She runs over to me and I scoop her up and give her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Miss Jessica says I can start playing a song next week," she says with a smile. "Soon I'll be playing as good as you."
"I have no doubt," I tell her.
Bella comes over the night before the house closing to have dinner with us. It's our normal fare, but Bella just picks at her food. She tries to put on a brave face for Maddie, which I appreciate. My kid isn't fooled, though.
"Don't you want dessert?" Maddie asks Bella.
"Why do you ask? Do you have something special?"
"No, but Daddy won't let me have dessert if I don't finish my dinner."
Bella laughs, though I can see her heart isn't completely in it. I love that she's making the effort.
"It's okay, Mad. Bella's an adult, she can have cake for dinner if she wants to."
"Really?" she asks. She turns to me, her eyes wide. "Do you ever have cake for dinner, Daddy?"
"I have dinner with you every night," I tell her. "I eat the same thing you do."
"Oh," she says with a trace of disappointment.
"I'll tell you what, Maddie," Bella says. "One night you and I will have cake for dinner. Just the two of us."
Maddie practically jumps in her seat and claps her hands. "If it's okay with your father, of course," Bella adds, looking sheepishly at me.
"It's fine. You can have a girl's night and I'll make myself scarce." The idea of Maddie getting some one-on-one girl time makes me ridiculously pleased.
"Oh, can we go to your house and try on jewelry like we did last time?" Maddie asks.
"Sure. Except it won't be that house. It'll be a better one."
"What happened to the other one?"
"I sold it to someone else," Bella tells her. "They'll live there and I'll live in another house."
"But why?" Bella blanches and I see her hunting for the right words.
"What did you learn in piano today?" I ask Maddie. "Miss Jessica told me she was going to teach you a new song this week."
"She did, I forget what it was called, though," Maddie replies, sufficiently distracted. Bella takes my hand and squeezes lightly before going back to pushing her food around her plate.
When I tuck Maddie in for the night I'm sure she's forgotten all about Bella moving, but I'm wrong.
"Why is Bella moving if it makes her sad?"
"I don't think it makes her sad," I reply carefully. "She's just having some problems with her family right now."
"Like a fight?" she asks.
I smile." Something like that."
"Cassie and I had a fight at school yesterday."
"What about?" I'm surprised she hasn't told me about this before now and I'm concerned.
"She wanted to play puzzles but I wanted to read, so she was mad at me."
I resist the urge to tell her Cassie's an idiot, and take her hand instead. "So what happened?"
"Nothing," she says with a small shrug. "We're still friends. She played puzzles with Dylan and I read by myself."
"Do you always like playing by yourself?"
She laughs. "No, Daddy. I just wanted quiet time."
I let out a sigh of relief. I honestly don't know what's wrong with me sometimes. Good thing I have this kid to keep me in line.
I give her a kiss and then find Bella in the living room, sitting on the edge of the couch rubbing her hands together.
"Do you want anything?" I ask.
"No, I just… can you come and sit with me?"
"Of course." I sit down next to her and she leans into me, letting out a long breath.
I put my arm around her and kiss the top of her head. "Everything's going to be fine. You'll see."
She doesn't say anything, just drapes her legs over mine and rests her head on my chest. I lean back on the couch and hold her close, hoping the comfort I'm giving her will somehow last her until tomorrow.
"What's the plan for tomorrow?" I ask after a while.
"My attorney will close the house for me at ten o'clock, then I'll meet him in his office in the afternoon. I told Demetri to meet me there at seven o'clock."
"The papers will be ready for him to sign?" I run a hand up and down her back and she hums contentedly.
"Yes. And I'll have a check ready for him. It's more than half of the proceeds from the house. Even though I let it go cheap I can't imagine him turning down four million dollars free and clear."
I never asked Bella what her house was worth or what she would be walking away with, and it never came up in conversation. Hearing the number now though makes me a little queasy. That's a lot of money, and if it's more than half the proceeds…
"What are you walking away with from the sale?"
"A little over three million. I have to pay my attorney and the closing costs and I'm going to give Victoria a commission, even though she offered to sell the house at no charge. So I'll probably have under three million by the time I'm finished."
"That's a lot of money." I swallow and try not to let my nerves get the best of me. These numbers are bigger than anything I'm used to talking about. I keep rubbing her back, taking as much comfort from it as she is, I think.
"Well, yeah, but then I'm buying the house in Bayville, so that will eat into my take a little. I'll give the rest to my money manager and he'll invest it for us."
Us.
My hand abruptly stills and I can feel her tense in my lap. She picks up her head and looks at me. "Too much?" she asks with a nervous swallow.
"No, no," I say, resting her head back on my chest. "I'm all in, you know that. I'm just not used to hearing 'us' unless it's coming from Maddie. We've been on our own for so long."
"Am I cramping your style?" She tries to sound lighthearted but I can hear the anxiety in her voice. The last thing she needs before tomorrow is for me to add to her nerves.
I move a little so she can see me and I put my hand on the side of her face, running my thumb along her cheekbone. "Never," I whisper. I kiss her forehead gently and look at her again. "You're a part of our life now and we'll make this work."
She texts me the next morning after the house closes to let me know it went off without a hitch. Then she calls me right before her meeting with Demetri.
"Are you all right?" I ask.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I really wish you were here, though."
"I can be," I say, sure I can drop Mad at Rose and Emmett's on short notice.
She lets out an audible breath. "I want to say yes, but I think I need to do this on my own. Plus, there's a better chance of him accepting my terms if I don't have my boyfriend hovering around protecting me."
My eyebrows shoot up. "Boyfriend, you say?"
I can hear the smile in her voice when she responds. "That's right, mister. It's about time I gave you a title."
"I like it, girlfriend."
"Me too." She pauses and lowers her voice. "I better go."
"Call me as soon as you finish, okay?"
"I promise."
"Good luck, sweetheart."
We hang up and I go about my evening. I have dinner with Maddie, answer an email from Aunt Esme, browse through some pictures Bella gave me of the new house, and straighten the apartment. At eleven o'clock I get ready for bed and pull out the couch, but I don't sleep. I'm pacing my apartment, more anxious than I ever remember being outside of waiting for Maddie to be born. I feel impotent, unable to even call her to see how she's doing or what's happening, and wondering how I would ever find out if she needed me or was in trouble.
I'm so tightly wound my hair is probably standing on end from my hands constantly running through it and I'm about to wear a hole in my carpet where I'm pacing back and forth, clutching my cell phone like my life depended on it. And maybe in some ways it does.
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