As soon as Ariana turned the corner, Ma lowered her voice and asked, “What’s her story?”
I didn’t want to tell Ma shit, but knew she wouldn’t let up until I did. Giving her the abridged version, I answered, “Her parents are dead, her uncle’s an ass, and she lives with her sister.”
“Watch your mouth in my house, Franco.” Ma glanced at the hall. “And she wants to sing. That’s a difficult road. It’s a good thing she has you to—”
“To what? We’re just friends.”
“Now, but I see the way that girl looks at you. She’s looking for a lot more than friendship.”
I stared at my coffee cup, refusing to meet Ma’s gaze. “Well she’s gonna have to keep lookin’. Friendship’s all I can offer right now.”
Ma clicked her tongue and started to say more, but the bathroom door opened. Ma gathered up the dishes, handed me the lasagna, and told Ariana not to give up on her dream before showing us out.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Ariana
“IMISS MY mom,” I admitted after the third time Bones asked me what was wrong since we’d left his mom’s.
He stared at me, his mouth opening, and then closing. And then opening again.
“I can tell you get annoyed with her, but my God, Bones, I’d give anything to have my mom fuss over my job or send me home with food.” My eyes burned with unshed tears. I looked out the window and blinked them away as his Jeep ate up the distance between his mom’s house and our building.
“How old were you?” he asked. “When you lost your parents?”
“Twelve. They went to work one day and never came home.”
He nodded. “Markie said it was a car crash… some sort of cover up.”
Cover up? Wondering what he was talking about, I snapped my head around. “What cover up?”
“Shit.” He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. “Maybe you should talk to your sister about that.”
My parents had both been cops, and my mind immediately began racing through potential ideas for a cover up. Yes, I would be talking to Markie about it. And about why she’d threatened to call the cops on Matt, but never told me he came to visit while I was in the hospital.
No doubt, Markie would say it was all to protect me, but I’d had enough protection to last me a lifetime. I was ready for the truth.
We pulled into the building’s driveway, and Bones grabbed the lasagna and handed off the keys to a valet. He walked me to my door, and then handed over the pan. “You should probably put this in your fridge.”
“You’re not taking it home?” I asked, surprised.
“No.” He looked over my body. “You can use it more than I can.”
“I still have pizza and cake,” I replied, unlocking my door and stepping inside. “And I’m not hungry.”
“You told Ma you were. You lied to my mother?” Bones asked, sounding appalled.
I gave him my best innocent smile. “I was hungry, but those cookies were surprisingly filling.”
He chuckled. “Sure.”
“And I wanted an excuse to stay and talk to her,” I admitted. “You have an incredible mom.”
He nodded, his eyes softening. “She’s a good woman.”
I stood in my doorway, knowing I should turn and go into my condo, but I couldn’t seem to make myself move. Even though I’d worked eight hours in a crowded restaurant and spent the evening with Bones and his mom and brother, I wasn’t ready to be alone yet.
No, I wasn’t ready to be away from Bones yet.
