Sunlight was beginning to emerge behind the clouds.
“Like what?”
“Like we’re negotiating.”
“We’re having a conversation.”
“Exactly. You’re doing that thing where every word sounds like a deposition.”
Normally that accusation would have worked.
It had worked for years.
I would soften.
Explain myself.
Try to prove that I was a wife rather than a CEO.
This time I simply asked, “Did you authorize Martin to change the security system?”
“Yes.”
“Did you tell him I approved it?”
“I told him we had discussed security.”
“We didn’t.”
“Not specifically that morning.”
“Then why did he receive an email from one of my accounts saying you had my authorization?”
Nothing.
Even the faint music disappeared.
Or perhaps Luca had walked somewhere quieter.
“What email?”
“My old personal address.”
“I don’t know.”
“Phoebe has a copy.”
“Well, then she can figure it out.”
“That’s the plan.”
He exhaled slowly.
“Jessi, are you really doing this right now?”
“Doing what?”
“Turning a household mix-up into some investigation.”
I closed my eyes.
There it was.
Not an apology.
Not concern about Lily.
A household mix-up.
“You locked me and your daughter out.”
“I did not lock you out.”
“I couldn’t enter the house.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
I almost asked him to explain the distinction.
Instead, I heard my father again.
Generosity doesn’t become permission.
“Where is Lily?” Luca asked suddenly.
“With me.”
“Obviously. I meant where are you?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“That’s dramatic.”
“No, Luca. It’s accurate.”
He went quiet.
Then his tone softened.
The version of his voice that had once been able to pull me out of any anger.
“Jess.”
I hated that part of me still responded to it.
“We’re both exhausted. You just had surgery. I’ve barely slept. Mom has been overwhelmed. Stephanie is dealing with her breakup. Everything has been chaotic.”
I listened.
“I shouldn’t have gone to Miami,” he continued. “Fine. I can admit that.”
It was the closest thing to an apology I had heard.
“I thought giving you space would be better.”
“By taking your mother and sister on vacation?”
“It’s not a vacation.”
“What is it?”
“A few days away.”
“That’s usually called a vacation.”
He let out a frustrated breath.
“We’ll come home tonight.”
“We?”
“Mom and Steph.”
“No.”
The word came out before I could reconsider it.
“What?”
“You can come back if you want to speak with me. Your mother and sister are not part of this conversation.”
“You can’t ban my family from my house.”
I became completely still.
Then I said, very quietly, “Your house?”
Silence.
Luca corrected himself.
“Our house.”
“That wasn’t what you said.”
“Jessi.”
“Why did you ask Evelyn what price I would accept for it?”
That finally broke his composure.
“She told you that?”
“Yes.”
“It was a casual question.”
“Why?”
“I was curious.”
“About protecting your position?”
More silence.
