He chuckled and patted his stomach. “I think I’ll pass. If I keep eating sweets, I’ll have to hit the gym every night this week. I’ll grab something at work.” He leaned in and kissed her. “Have a good day,” he told her. “I’ll see you for dinner.”
“Which will be at Lilly and Adam’s place,” Sarah piped in. “I’ll be dropping Bella off there just before you get off work. We’ve got reading at the library tonight.” She sighed. “It’s the one night I can sit back and not worry about the girls breaking anything.”
He chuckled and then leaned in and kissed Sarah on the cheek. “You’re a wonderful mother.”
Sarah brightened. “I know.” She laughed and pushed him towards the door. “Go. You don’t want to be late. Your boss will…” Calvin’s eyebrows shot up and Sarah laughed. “He’ll probably not do anything, but you don’t want to miss the ferry.”
“True.” He laughed as he left.
“So.” Sarah turned back to her. “Are you going to tell me everything?” Her sister-in-law leaned on the counter as she handed Luna her sippy cup of milk and took away the new donut the girl had wiggled out of the box.
Bella chuckled. “Prying ears…” She nodded to the girls.
“They don’t know what the heck we’re talking about most of the time. At least not yet. Except when we happen to use choice words.” She frowned. “Those, they repeat at the worst times.” She held in a chuckle and rolled her eyes. “Luna said…”—she glanced over at her youngest and whispered— “the S word last week at a playdate.”
Bella laughed. “Is that why you were mad at Ben when I arrived?”
“No.” Sarah sighed. “That one she heard from me.”
Bella laughed harder.
After cleaning up the breakfast mess, Bella headed upstairs to shower and change for the day. When she came back down, the girls were asleep in front of the television, which had cartoons playing and the volume low. Even Sarah’s eyes were closed as she held Luna against her chest.
Not wanting to disturb them, she sat down and pulled out her phone to type a message to Maggie. She must have retyped the message more than a dozen times before hitting send.
Thankfully, she’d muted her phone because a few moments later, it rang.
Stepping out on the back deck, she answered the call.
“What do you mean you’re moving back to Maine?” Maggie’s voice was raised slightly as if she was breathless.
“Just what I said. I’ll be moving back home. I can still fulfill my commitment for the second album and fly out for all the promotional—”
“Is this because of Michael?” Maggie broke in and asked.
“No,” she answered, knowing it was the truth. Maybe part of the reason for the move was, but her main reason was Calvin.
She leaned against the deck and looked out over the water as she talked on the phone. The view was amazing here. If she leaned over a little, she could probably see the resort.
“You’re not listening to me.” Maggie’s tone snapped her back.
“Sorry.” She sighed. “Mags, I’ve met the man of my dreams.” She smiled. “I’m moving in with him. Here.”
Maggie was quiet. “That’s all so… sudden. What do you know about this man?”
Bella laughed. “I’ve known him most of my life.” She shifted the phone to her other ear. “He’s my brother Ben’s best friend.”
“The hunk in the boat?” Maggie asked, her tone turning softer.
“Yes.” She smiled. “Calvin Winters. He runs my brother and sister-in-law’s resort up here.”
“East Haven? Where they’re doing your interview tomorrow?” Maggie asked, her tone turning a little worried.
“Yes,” she answered with a frown. “Why?”
“It’s… nothing,” Maggie finished.
“What?” Bella straightened.
“It’s just… after that picture of the two of you went crazy, I did a little research into your man… You know, just in case he had something dark in his past that the press could use against you…”
“And?” Bella frowned. She’d known Calvin for so long, she doubted there was anything in his past that she or Ben didn’t know about. If Calvin had done anything bad, her brother wouldn’t have remained best friends with him.
“Well, it’s just…”
“Spit it out,” she said, frowning.
“It seems that he killed his younger sister,” Maggie said hesitantly.
“What?” Bella almost screamed it as she shook her head. “No.” She laughed, feeling relieved. “You’ve obviously got the wrong—”
“Calvin Winters, parents are…” Bella heard Maggie shifting some papers around. “Tammy and Adam Winters. He has a younger brother named James. He attended Le Rosey Private Boarding School in Switzerland with your brother Ben. The report from back then says that he was a few weeks shy of his thirteenth birthday and his sister was five years old at the time. Her name was Kelly Winters…”
Bella’s vision grayed as a loud buzzing filled her ears. She moved over to sit down on a chair before she passed out or fell over the edge of the deck.
“Bella?” Maggie’s voice finally broke through.
“I…I’ll call you back later.” She hung up and sat there staring into space until Sarah stepped out with a crying Luna on her hip. “Sorry, we must have checked out.” She giggled but stopped when she noticed Bella’s look. “Is everything okay?” Sarah glanced around as if looking for whatever had caused Bella to be upset.
“Yes, I guess I was just deep in thought,” Bella answered automatically. Whatever happened now, she figured there was no way Ben or Sarah knew what Calvin had done. So, no matter what, she was going to make sure they didn’t find out about Calvin’s dark past. “Ready to head out?” She stood up, dusting off her jeans.
The rest of the day, the knowledge of what Calvin had done loomed over her, darkening her mood. Thankfully, Sarah was so busy with the girls that she didn’t have time to notice. When Sarah dropped her off at Lilly and Adam’s place just a few blocks down from their home, she had worried so much that she had a headache.
“You look tired,” Lilly said as she stepped into their house.
“I guess I didn’t realize how much two young kids can wear you out,” she joked.
“Why don’t you head up to our guest room and lie down for a while. Adam’s in control in the kitchen, and I’ve got to get the kids ready before Calvin gets here.” She motioned towards the stairs. “Third door on the right.” She smiled. “If you need it, there is aspirin in the bathroom medicine cabinet.”
“Thanks.” Bella moved towards the stairs, but stopped and hugged Lilly. “Thanks,” she said again.
Chapter Twenty
When Calvin stepped into Lilly and Adam’s home shortly after he’d gotten off work, he instantly questioned how quiet it was.