“Lumi…is no longer with us.”
I fight down the growl that wells up in my chest.
“She’s passed?”
His wife walks in with a tray and a fake ass smile. “Who passed?”
“Lumi.”
The woman’s smile melts off her face, and her eyes grow cold.
“Yes, she is dead and gone. And we don’t talk about her anymore.”
What a lying bitch!
“It makes my husband very sad.”
My ass. The only person it seems to make sad is her. She gives me a pinched smile and offers me a glass of lemonade.
“Freshly squeezed. Just for you.”
Right. If this is ‘freshly squeezed’, I’m an Olympic swimmer…and I can’t fucking swim.
“How did this topic come up in the first place?”
“Mr. Snow has a wife around the same age as you. He met her Christmas tree shopping. They have a baby now.”
As fast as Caleb is talking, it seems like his wife is more upset about Lumi than he is. The whole thing is very weird and off slightly. Why would they tell me Lumi is dead? Why are there no pictures of her? Why the obsession with babies? Something is very wrong in my little elf’s world.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have another appointment I’m supposed to be at in an hour on the other side of town. I’ll take these numbers with me and give them to my accountant.”
Both of them stand to walk me out, giving me fake smiles that look more like grimaces. My next stop is to find someone else who knows something about this and someone who has some insight into my Lumi. No way am I taking them at their word when everything they say is a fucking lie.
Chapter Eleven
Lumi
Ibarely make it to Luka’s house before my car rattles to a stop. I’m too nervous to try to start it again, too afraid it won’t even sputter this time. Yesterday was hard. I didn’t know what to do with myself, and it seemed all I could think about was Luka, wondering what he was up to and where he might have gone. Was he doing something for business, or was this trip for pleasure?
It's stupid, and I kept telling myself to stop thinking about him and trying to guess what kind of woman would grab Luka’s attention. Telling myself something and actually doing it are two very different things. I go over the little mantra I made for myself before I step out of the car.
I’m going to be professional. I’m going to keep my distance and not blur any lines. I need this money and this job too badly to fuck this up. I can do this. I can be friendly but not overly so. When I see him, I won’t let my stupid heart skip a beat or pound harder. I won’t let myself feel any differently.
Once I step out -and teeter on the heels I’m in- I make my way over to the door and raise my hand to ring the bell, but before I can, the door is pulled open. The whole thing is sosimilar to that first day, only this time Luka isn’t on the other side of the door. Janie is.
“Hey, Lumi. Come on in.”
I step over the threshold, my smile starting to wobble.
“Luka wanted me to let you in.” Crap, maybe my boss did call him and told him I was being inappropriate with him. Would Luka go so far as to disappear so he didn’t have to deal with someone he felt was trying to flirt with him? Was he as embarrassed about the dress thing as I was? Janie continues, like my mind isn’t on a treadmill of worry. “And to tell you he’s on his way back. You can get started if you want, or you can wait in the living room or kitchen for him.”
“Oh, um, I can get started.” Technically, I can do all of the things I need to do without the person being with me, as long as they are available to answer questions on preference or taste, and they can do that over the phone.
I’m so wrapped up in getting the job done that it takes me a second to remember that the job in question is in his master bedroom. Before I can track down his sister to find out if he still wants me to focus on that, she’s gone. She left me all alone in his home. I realize I’m not completely alone. There are a couple of maids and a few kitchen staff floating around but for me, it certainly feels like I am alone.
I make up my mind to go ahead and decorate the bedroom while he’s gone. It seems like a better solution than to do it while he is here. I find one of the maids to help me drag some of the ornaments to the room where the tree is already set up. This time, I don’t make the mistake of climbing under the damnthing once I have the lights where I need them. This time, I bend around the branches and find the outlet that way.
I have to go up on a small stepladder to reach the top and am on it when a frowning Luka comes in. His eyes immediately take me in as he drops his bag on the floor. He comes straight for me. I start to make my way down the ladder, only to be stopped by hands that have landed on my hips. He gently picks me up and sits me down on the floor beside him, but he doesn’t let me go. Instead, he pulls me into him for a hug.
