When the Wind Chimes - Mary Ting Page 0,50

Cupid out of my hands.

“Kate.” Leonardo rubbed his nape and straightened his short-sleeved button-up shirt.

Was he embarrassed? Nervous? I had expected him to be wearing a suit and going to a business meeting, but he wore slacks. Not for work, then. So why had he asked me to come over?

“I would have rung the bell, but Phillip let me in.” I hiked a thumb behind me.

“Of course. You’re welcome to come in. I didn’t recognize you at first. You have your hair up.”

He noticed. I’d put on a comfortable cotton dress and tied my hair into a ponytail.

“Oh. I brought your Cupid. I had to stop by my sister’s gallery, and since I was going to see you today, I picked it up. I hope that’s okay?”

“That was thoughtful of you. Thank you.” Leonardo took it from me and walked around the room as if unsure where to place it. He finally shelved it between the photo frames.

“Were you playing Unicorns versus Skeletons?” I asked Bridget, who was still holding onto me.

“Uh huh. Tyler told me you play. He said you’re the best. Can you help us?”

“Ohhhh, I don’t know if I’m the best. I don’t think I’m at your level.” I ran a hand down her soft, silky hair.

Bridget let go of me to grab the tablet and plopped on the sofa. “Come sit down. Can you show Papa? He’s not that good.”

Leonardo’s eyebrows lifted in the middle in a pained expression as he watched me ease next to his daughter.

He chuckled lightly. “I guess Kate will have to show us if she’s better than me.”

I gave him a sly smile. “Challenge accepted. We shall see.”

Leonardo stood behind us, watching. My pulse thumped a few times from the attention, but I eased into the game.

“Wow, you’re good,” Bridget said.

“Back up a little, Unicorn. Kate can’t see the board if you put your face in front of it.” Leonardo guided Bridget with his hand on her shoulder.

“She’s almost past level ten.” Bridget squealed with her fingers curled to her chest.

I bit my bottom lip when Leonardo came around and sat on the coffee table directly in front of me. Watching me play was not the problem. His eyes were not on the screen, but on me. Heat fused through my veins and my concentration faltered. My heart hammered when his knee brushed up against mine.

I tried to ignore the way he shook his leg and cracked his knuckles.

“One more row.” Bridget’s high-pitched, excited voice brought me back.

I had played level ten so many times that I could do it with my eyes closed, but they didn’t need to know that. I wanted to look cool.

“The trick of the game is not to panic and to concentrate only on the flowers that are in front of the unicorn,” I repeated what I had to Tyler.

“That’s exactly what I told Bridget.” Leonardo tapped his daughter’s nose to get her attention, but her eyes were glued on the screen.

“Kate’s on level eleven now. Ohhhhh.” Bridget squealed.

Level eleven might show the limit of my skills in this game. The skeletons were closing in when the sound of wind chimes came from my phone. A familiar invisible hand caressed down my back and I shuddered a breath. I stilled, my heart thumping.

“Papa, that’s Mama. When the wind chimes, an angel is near. It’s her.” Bridget jumped into Leonardo’s arms.

My heart went out to both of them. The pain must still be so raw because Leonardo never talked about her. And that poor little girl, growing up without her mother. I couldn’t even imagine. Like Tyler growing up without his father.

I bit the inside of my lip as my heart flipped. It was such a sweet gesture about the wind chimes, but one day she’d know it wasn’t true and then what?

Leonardo stiffened. “Yes, she is.” He caressed Bridget’s back and kissed her forehead.

Leonardo and I locked eyes for a heartbeat again. I saw grief and sadness in them. Bridget jumped out of his arms and returned next to me.

“Oh, well.” I threw up my hands when I lost the game.

Bridget’s lips fell downward into a pout. “We almost finished level eleven. Can we try it again?”

“Maybe after dinner?” I met Leonardo’s gaze to confirm, but we were interrupted by the doorbell.

He rose and straightened his shirt. “That’s for me.”

Bridget trotted behind him, and I followed. I stopped short when he opened the door to a tall, lovely woman. They exchanged hugs and he kissed her