Of course. Tara, Denham’s sister. I breathe out a sigh of relief.
“Just thought I’d stop in, maybe tap you up for a little cash to tide me over.”
“You wanna tell me how you got in here?” Denham asks sharply, ignoring her plea.
“I walked through the fucking door, how do you think? Jeez, I thought you were smarter than that,” she jokes. Regardless that I’m still very pissed off at being interrupted, the way she speaks to Denham makes me laugh. Tara walks toward me and smiles. “It seems my brother has lost his manners. I’m Tara, his favorite sister.” She winks.
“Tara, you’re my only sister.” Denham chuckles.
“Yeah, and therefore, your favorite.” She grins.
I hold out my hand to her. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Arianna.”
She pushes my outstretched hand out of the way and pulls me into a tight hug. “Bro, I like her.” Tara releases me and goes to the kitchen, helping herself to a beer from the fridge.
“I’m so sorry,” Denham whispers into my ear. “I’m gonna get rid of her and then we’re going to pick back up where we left off.”
“I’m loving the soft music and candles, D. Very smooooooth,” she says before popping the cap on a bottle.
“Um, what exactly are you here for, T?”
“I just wanted to see my favorite brother. Is that such a crime?”
“You want cash,” he states.
“Well, if you’re offering, just until payday. Oh, by the way, the door is open to the other penthouse. You should really be more careful,” she casually says, taking a swig from the beer she has helped herself to.
Denham reacts instantly, not even asking her what she means. His reaction worries me and I follow him out of his door and into my apartment, watching as he switches on all the lights as he goes, frantically checking every corner, behind all the curtains and doors, even flinging the doors to the wardrobe open and slamming them with a bang that rattle right through me.
“Denham, stop … you’re worrying me.”
He stops instantly, not even realizing I was behind him. His chest is heaving with concern and his face full of worry.
“What is it?” I ask.
“I’m sorry, Ari, I didn’t mean to worry you, I just…”
“What? Please, tell me.”
“Your door was locked. And no one can get up here without the code.”
“What aren’t you telling me?” I ask, knowing there’s an underlying reason for his frantic behavior.
“Nothing, there’s nothing to tell, it’s just…”
“What?” I insist.
“You make me not think straight! I don’t process anything rationally, and the thought of someone being in your apartment…it scares me, Ari. You could have been in there on your own.”
I know exactly what he means as I feel it too. I’m also sure the doors were shut, but we’ve been so carefree, so caught up in each other…it was an easy thing to overlook. “Think about it, Denham, do youactuallyremember closing the door? We’ve been kinda…preoccupied.” I pull him to me, turning the tables and reassuring him for once.
“You’re staying with me tonight,” he states.
“I was planning on staying with you anyway,” I reply confidently.
Denham raises his brow at me, flashing the golden twinkle in his eye. “Oh, you were?”
“Yes. Come on.” I tug him by the arms and turn off the lights as we move through the apartment. Denham is still on edge and scans every corner, but doesn’t argue. His unease makes me nervous and I think there may be something he’s not telling me. But it’s just a feeling and I convince myself that I’m looking for shadows in the darkness because I don’t truly expect life to let me be happy.
