The Wife Stalker(23)
But he shook his head. “That’s okay. I don’t like your bread either. Do you have any cookies?”
“I’m afraid I don’t. How about a banana?” She held one out to him.
“I guess.”
Leo gave Piper a sheepish look and shrugged. “Picky eater.”
Piper smiled at him, pretending to sympathize. “How’s your tuna, Evie?”
“Good. Thank you, Piper.”
At least she was a sweet child, seemingly without a care in the world, her bare legs swinging back and forth under the glass table.
“So, guys,” Leo said, “did I tell you that Piper has a really big sailboat? And she told me she would take you for a ride on it if you’d like.”
“Cool!” Evie said. “Can we go now?”
Before Piper could answer, Stelli spoke up. “I don’t like sailboats. They go slow. I like our boat.”
The rest of their lunch was more of the same, with Leo trying to lighten the mood, Evie responding positively, and Stelli squelching all attempts at connection. Piper was becoming more annoyed by the minute and was counting the seconds until this visit was over.
“We’ll help clear everything,” Leo said when they’d finished.
As they walked through the kitchen to the living room, Piper’s collection of blown-glass African animals caught Stelli’s attention. He walked over to the shelf, and Piper followed him. “They’re terrific, aren’t they? I got them in South Africa.”
He continued to stand there, transfixed by the figures, and Evie came over to see them, too.
“Which do you like the best?” she asked.
“The rhinoceros,” Stelli said without hesitating.
She looked over at Leo and smiled. “Here,” she said, taking the plate with his uneaten sandwich from Stelli. “Your father and I will put the dishes away. You stay here and look at the animals.”
As she and Leo walked to the kitchen, he whispered, “See? I told you he’d come around. Nothing to worry about.”
“You’re right. I just want them to like me.”
He kissed her on the nose. “They’re going to love you just as much as I do when they get to know you better.”
She nodded but felt a gnawing doubt.
When they left shortly afterward, Evie said a nice thank-you, but Stelli simply ran out the door without a backward glance. The boy was going to take some work, Piper reflected, but Leo Drakos was worth it. She cleaned up and was about to go upstairs and read when she noticed a bare space on the shelf displaying the animals. She’d bought a collection of the big five: elephant, buffalo, leopard, lion, and rhino. The rhino was gone. That little . . .
She stood there, staring straight ahead, trying to think. Obviously, he’d taken it, but she didn’t want to upset Leo by accusing his son of stealing. She told herself to practice pausing and breathing deeply. She was too angry right now—she’d wait at least an hour and then give Leo a call.
Making herself a cup of peppermint tea, she took her book of affirmations and sat outside on the porch. By the time she’d finished reading and reciting a few to herself, she felt much better. Maybe Stelli hadn’t meant to steal the rhino. He could have just put it in his pocket absentmindedly.
She punched in Leo’s number, and he answered on the first ring.
“Missing me already?”
She chuckled. “You know it. Just wanted to say what a pleasure it was meeting your adorable children. I hope they had a nice time.”
“They did. Thank you for going out of your way for them.”
“Um . . . I was wondering, by any chance, did my glass rhinoceros end up at your house?”
“What do you mean?” His tone became serious.
She laughed nervously. “The kids were looking at the animals, and I can’t find the rhino. Maybe one of them put it down somewhere, and I just can’t find it? Would you mind asking?”
“Sure, hold on.”
She paced while she waited, hoping Stelli would come clean.
“No, sorry. Neither of them knows what happened to it. Stelli said he put it back next to the lion.”
She forced a casual tone in her voice. “No worries. It probably fell behind the shelf. I’ll find it.”
They chatted amiably for a few more minutes, but Piper’s heart was beating furiously. The kid was a little liar, and Leo was blind to his flaws. She intended to clear his vision.
18
Joanna
Even though it had been a month since I’d signed the papers, I still held out hope that the children might be the vehicle to getting us back together. Of course I never said anything to them about it, but I knew that if I made their visits special, they’d go home and tell Leo how much they wanted me to come back. We’d walk to the beach playground a few blocks away, and I’d push the tire swing as we talked about their day. Some days, we’d go over to the little store and get candy. I did whatever I could to make them happy in the few hours before Rebecca came back to pick them up, and I forced myself to put on a brave face so they wouldn’t be too upset.
I knew that Leo was still seeing Piper; I’d seen his car at her house on a few occasions when I’d driven by. But he never seemed to spend the night, and that gave me hope that this was just a mad fling. The children had also mentioned their visit to her house a few weeks ago. I kept my voice casual and asked what the occasion was. They both shrugged and said it had been boring. But I knew if Leo had introduced the children to her, that meant it was getting serious.