Denny was waiting for us outside the restaurant. Once we reached the limo, I handed Julia to Ellery and I folded up the stroller and put it in the trunk. Ellery buckled in Julia as I slid in and shut the door. When I looked over at her, she was staring at me.
“What?” I asked.
“What is your problem?”
“I don’t have a problem, Ellery.”
“Yes, you do, Connor. Why would you start about Ben?”
“I didn’t say anything about Ben. I simply asked if he knew about Camden. That’s all.”
“You gave Cassidy a look of disgust when she told you he was going to be at the party.”
“Listen, I love my sister and Camden very much. She needs to be careful of who she brings into Camden’s life.”
“Wait a minute,” Ellery said as she glared at me. “You’re afraid that Camden will push a guy away and break your sister’s heart.”
As I looked out the window, I couldn’t say anything. She was right. I only wanted Cassidy to be happy, but if Camden didn’t like someone or felt threatened, he could be a handful. I didn’t want my sister getting attached and then having her heart broken when the guy left because of him. Ellery reached over and grabbed my hand.
“Connor, I understand that you’re concerned for Cassidy. Trust me, I don’t want to see her or Camden get hurt either, but she’s a grown woman and is capable of making her own decisions.”
“I know she’s capable of making her own decisions, Ellery. I just don’t want her to get hurt. I’ve always protected her and Camden, and I’m not about to stop now because some guy wants a piece of ass.”
“Connor!” Ellery snapped. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
As Denny pulled into the parking garage, I opened the door and took out Julia’s car seat. Ellery grabbed the diaper bag and followed me into the elevator.
“I’m sorry I said that. Maybe I didn’t mean it. Hell, I don’t know what I meant. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. But I promise you this: if he hurts her, he’ll have me to deal with.”
Ellery looked over at me and smiled. “Or me, and I’m not really sure which one of us is worse.”
“Oh, that would be you, my love.” I smiled as I stepped off the elevator.
Ellery slapped me on the ass for that comment, and I felt a twinge below. “You shouldn’t have done that, baby.”
“Calm down, Black. I have a baby’s diaper to change.”
While Ellery took Julia upstairs to change her diaper, I went into my office. A few moments later, Denny came in, shut the door, and sat down.
“Are you going to tell Ellery about Ashlyn?” he asked.
“I don’t feel like I have to. I’m keeping her in the loop about the trial and she seems content with that. I don’t want to upset her any more than she already is.”
“But you promised her no secrets, Connor, and this classifies as a secret.”
“She can’t focus on Ashlyn and the trial anymore. She’s going to be doing a showing at an art gallery in Chicago, and they need five paintings. She needs to focus on that without any distractions. Between painting and Julia, she’ll be too busy even to think about Ashlyn and the trial.”
Denny sat there and shook his head at me. “Will you ever learn?”
“Trust me. I know what I’m doing.”
“You know what you’re doing about what?” Ellery asked as she opened the door and stood there.
I had to think fast or she’d start asking a million questions. “Damn it, Ellery. You ruined the surprise,” I said.
Denny glared at me. I held out my arms for her and told her to come sit on my lap.
“Denny and I were just talking about your art studio.” I smiled.
A beautiful smile graced her face as she looked at me. “What art studio?”
As I glanced over at Denny. He rolled his eyes. “The one I’m building you so you can paint.”
Ellery threw her arms around my neck and hugged me. “Connor, I’m so excited! So tell me about this studio of mine!” she said excitedly.
“Yes, Connor, tell Ellery your plans for the studio,” Denny said smugly.
“We can discuss it later,” I said as I tapped her on the nose and shot Denny at look. “You’ll love it, but I have to finish something up. Please let me surprise you, baby.”
“Okay, but you know how impatient I am.”
“Yes, I know you are,” I said as I heard Julia cry.
Thank God for Julia, I thought to myself. Ellery got up from my lap and walked out of the office. Denny got up from his chair and shook his head. “You better get moving on those plans for that art studio you just promised her.”
“I’m going to do that right now,” I sighed.
I pulled out my phone and dialed Paul. It went to voicemail, so I left a message for him to call me back right away. He could locate a place for Ellery’s art studio.
***
As I walked out of my office and passed the living room, I noticed Ellery sound asleep on the couch. I grabbed a blanket from the closet and gently covered her with it. I needed a scotch, so I walked over to the bar and poured myself one. The smoothness going down the back of my throat soothed me, as did the sight of my sleeping wife. My eyes gazed at her as my mind was punishing me for keeping something from her. A few moments later, she opened her eyes and looked at me from across the room.
“How long have I been sleeping?”
“I’m not sure. You were asleep when I came out of my office,” I said as I walked over to her, sat down on the edge of the couch, and pushed a few strands of hair from her face.
When she sat up, she took the glass from my hand and took a sip. As always, she made the same face when she drank it.
“Why do you take a sip when you don’t like Scotch?”
“I was thirsty.” She smiled.
I leaned closer towards her and brushed her lips with mine. Her lips responded seductively as she hardened our kiss. Just as I laid her back and hovered over her, kissing her passionately, my phone rang. Taking in a sharp breath as I broke our kiss, I pulled my phone from my pocket and saw that Paul was calling.
“Baby, we have to continue this later. I have to take this; it’s Paul.”
“It’s all right. Go ahead and take your call. I’ll go check on Julia.”
“Hey, Paul,” I answered as I walked into my office and shut the door. “I need you to find me a space that I can convert into an art studio for Ellery.”
“I’ll get on that right away, Connor. Do you have a certain area in mind?”
“Somewhere close to the penthouse. I think she’ll like it better if she’s close to home.”
“Got it. I’ll call you when I locate something.”
I had a good feeling about this art studio. It was something that I should’ve done a long time ago, but with Ellery’s illness, the wedding, and now Julia, she didn’t really paint too much, and I didn’t give it any thought. Perfection was what I needed the studio to be. It needed to be a distraction from the daily grind of the trial.