Out of Office (The Twin Find Book 2) by Ruth Cardello

Author:Ruth Cardello [Cardello, Ruth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance
ISBN: 9781951888671
Publisher: Ruth Cardello
Published: 2023-06-28T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Charlotte

“So, how was Italy?” I asked once we were all seated. My mother was quieter than normal, and my father was worked up about something. They’d always been overprotective when it came to me so I was trying to not read too much into how little warmth they were showing Zachary.

“Beautiful,” my mother said. “We stayed in Florence this time. It was lovely.”

“Where will you go next?”

My mother’s smile was strained. “We found a quaint town house in Malta. It’s near the water, but also within walking distance to shops. If things go as planned we may spend a month or so there.”

That pretty much summed up life with them. Anyone else I knew would be excited by the idea of spending months on an island country in the Mediterranean, but it was just another place to my parents. They’d moved so many times and to so many different places, I wondered if changing location had become a habit they couldn’t break. I broke it—at my first opportunity and had yet to regret it.

A heavy, extended silence settled over the room. I exchanged a look with Zachary, trying to communicate to him again that none of this was unusual or any fault of his. I cleared my throat and tried again. “What are you most looking forward to doing there, Dad?”

Before answering, my father dabbed his napkin at the corners of his mouth, then said, “Your mother quite likes museums and history. There’s a complex of tunnels and chambers in Valletta that were used in WWII for defense and then NATO later. It’s a museum now. She’ll enjoy that.” He placed a hand on my mother’s and both of their faces transformed with love even if it was for just a moment. There was so much I didn’t know or understand about both of them, but I’d never doubted their devotion to each other. Everything my father did was for my mother and vice versa.

And me? They loved me, but despite that, I’d always somehow been on the outside looking in.

My father’s expression lost all warmth when his attention turned to Zachary. “Tell us about you, Zachary. Where are you from?”

“Here and there,” Zachary answered. “But, most recently, Maine.”

“Maine is such a lovely state. We’ve summered there several times,” my mother said.

Like a coiled snake, Zachary tensed and sat back in his chair. Something wasn’t right. This wasn’t the man I’d gotten to know over the past few days.

He held my father’s gaze and asked, “And you? Where are you from?”

I frowned. I’d told Zachary that my parents were uncomfortable talking about Austria and their childhood. It was possible he was nervous and had simply forgotten. When my father didn’t immediately answer, I said, “Mom, you’ll have to see how good Zachary is with Brownie. Remember how he used to bite—Bruce mostly. Thanks to Zachary, that’s no longer a problem.”

“Oh, that’s nice. Have you worked with horses before?” she asked Zachary.

Zachary folded his arms across his chest. “No, but I’m learning a lot about them from Charlotte.

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