Stone In Love

Chapter 18

Vincent stood inside the airport terminal watching me through the window while I waited for Mom at the curb. I didn't think it was a good idea to introduce them after my frantic phone call last night. My parents assumed my distress was prompted by a guy, but I never confirmed it, and I still needed to come up with a believable excuse now that Vincent and I were on speaking terms again.

Breakfast had proven to be a pleasant experience. I told Vincent about my lifelong interest in photography and my love of ancient architecture, which started after my family and I visited Paris and Rome. He told me about his two whippets, Bonnie and Clyde, and I learned that Amelia and Jonathan had a twelve-year-old daughter named Griffin. When he mentioned Griffin had more spunk than a rugby team, my interest in meeting this mysterious family grew. 

Of course, I still felt wary about my involvement with the Valentinos. I hadn't confirmed whether or not they were connected to the mob, but how did one bring up a topic like that? And I had serious doubts I could be this missing child Vincent spoke of, mostly because I didn't want to follow that crazy train. But it prompted questions that I planned to hit my parents with during my visit.

Mom arrived in her white Nissan, and I shot a quick wave to Vincent before throwing my carry-on in the back and climbing into the passenger seat. "Hi, Mom. Thanks for picking me up." I wrapped my arms around her neck, breathing in her coconut shampoo-scented sweat. "I hope Zumba was fun."

"Zumba is always fun. How was the flight? Uneventful, I hope." She watched my face for signs of distress before pulling the car into airport traffic. I could tell she was eager to ask questions about my current state of mind, but she liked to pretend she wasn't the nosy type. As far as the flight being uneventful, I could honestly tell her there were no mishaps with the plane. The company I kept, however, caused me a fair amount of distress, which he made up for during breakfast.

"The flight was short and sweet, as usual," I answered with a smile. "I'm looking forward to some family time, but I'm going to let Sylvie know I'm here. She would have my head stuffed and mounted if I didn't tell her I'm only a few train stops away." I unearthed my phone from my purse and scrolled to our last text, the one she sent wishing me a good time at the metalcore show. Talk about a major fail.

I'm in DC. Caught an early flight to visit my parents. You got plans for the weekend yet?

"I haven't seen Sylvie since your father's birthday party. How is she?"

"Good. She's still working for the architectural firm, but she's been doing some freelance photography on the side. Her website looks really nice."

"Hmm, I'll have to check it out." Mom continued to assess me through her peripherals as she merged into the traveling lane. Her dark hair was arranged in a neat twist on top of her head, exposing the grays at her temples, and her meticulously honed figure stretched her workout clothes in all the right places. If we had shared DNA, I wouldn't have to worry about a thing. "How are you, Reese? You sounded upset last night. I barely slept after your call."

"I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to freak you out. I had a strange night and my go-to response was to call you."

"Well, I'm glad you did. I want you to feel like you can call your dad and me for anything. We would give you the world if we could, you know that. Is it boy trouble?"

I crossed my fingers and hid them next to my hip. "It was a girl, actually. A potential client. I met her at a club thinking I was going to help her with her blog, but she ended up being a crazy with an agenda." The story was not a total lie, so I uncrossed my fingers and dug into my purse for lip balm. In my haste to get out of New York, I neglected almost every aspect of personal hygiene.