Page 26 of You Found Me
It was Piper.
She couldn’t ignore it. If she didn’t answer, Piper would come over. Bye-bye pool party.
Della activated the video call. “Hey, Pipsqueak. What’s up?”
“Good morning to you too.” Piper sounded amused. She eyed Della’s outfit. “That’s a little short on you, isn’t it?”
Della looked down. It just skimmed the top of her thigh, which was perfectly fine for going out to the backyard. “Did you call to play fashion police?”
“I just wanted to check in. Make sure things are going okay.” Her sister sounded too casual. Piper always had a sixth sense for knowing when Della was up to something.
Della squashed the sudden sense of guilt, along with the creeping feeling along the back of her neck that Piper already knew about the party.
Her sister couldn’t possibly know what she had planned.
Unless…
No. Surely, Marshall hadn’t blabbed to Blake. She’d told him specifically not to and he’d assured her he wouldn’t breathe a word of today’s escapade to either Blake or Piper.
“Everything’s fine,” Della said, widening her eyes and trying to think innocent thoughts. “Just because my babysitter left the house doesn’t mean I’m going to do something stupid.”
“Uh-huh.” Piper’s voice dripped with doubt.
“Did you want something?” Della busied herself with brushing her hair.
Piper studied her before giving a one-shoulder shrug. “I just wanted to let you know that Blake and I are leaving today for the shoot in Spain so it’ll be hard to get in touch with me for the next few weeks.”
“Oh. Dammit. I thought that was next week.” A sliver of disappointment flitted through her chest. She’d been hoping to tag along for at least part of that trip, but the Letter That Changed the World had put an end to that.
“Itwasnext week…last week. Now it’s this week.”
“I lost track. All the days have blurred together into one giant lump.”
“It’s been three weeks, Del, not three years.”
“Feels like a decade,” Della muttered. She picked up the phone and carried it with her. She needed to double-check that her warden had left the building because people would be showing up soon. “Time doesnotfly when you’re in prison.”
“You’renotin prison.” Piper picked up a pair of leggings and folded them. “Look, I know this is all a pain in the ass, but it won’t last forever.”
“Trust me, if you spent quality time with Warden Ward, you’d feel trapped too.” Della tiptoed down the hall to check the guest bedroom he’d used.
“He can’t be that bad.”
“Don’t underestimate him.” Della kept her voice low in case he was still around. “He has that clean-cut, rules-are-there-to-be-followed military thing that just shouts ‘Funkiller.’”
“It shouts ‘Serious and professional’ and ‘I’ll keep you safe.’ That’s not a buzzkill. Some women would swoon over that.”
“Well, it freaks me out. He’stooserious, and he’s justthere, like a judgy statue, all the time.”
“He’s supposed to be there. That’s his job.” Piper peered at the screen. “What are you doing?”
“He said he would be back Monday, but I don’t believe him. He could be lurking somewhere just waiting to see what I’ll do.” The guest room door was wide open, and the room was empty. She checked the bathroom just to be sure. “He watches me like he thinks I’m a flight risk, and he treats me like a child.”
“Oh…don’t make it that easy for me.” Piper’s grin promised pure mischief.
“You should be nice to me, you know. I have a stalker.” Della made a pouty face for emphasis before she continued down the hall to the second bedroom.
“Come on, it can’t be that bad.” Piper pushed something else into the suitcase. “Has he been rude to you?”