Wednesday (Timeless Series #3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

our honeymoon, I’ll make sure we go somewhere really nice—not that we’ll be leaving the bedroom much. “I’m glad you liked it.”
    “Maybe I should quit and become an investor. That way I can travel the world.”
    “Or you can tag along with me everywhere I go.” I’d prefer that. I used to be a lone wolf, preferring solitude instead of company. But when I found Francesca, all of that changed. She was the only person I wanted to spend time with, to live my life with.
    “I don’t want to cramp your style.”
    I rolled my eyes. “I want you to cramp my style.” I broke off a piece of the muffin and ate it. My will power diminished, and I had to take a bite.
    She ate the last piece and sighed like she regretted it. “Do you have plans for Thanksgiving?”
    I always spent the holidays alone. Sometimes, one of my regulars would be in town for business so we drank and screwed all day, both trying to fight off the loneliness and forget about the people we truly missed. “No.” I was surprised Francesca asked me that. She should have figured that out on her own.
    “Want to spend it with us?”
    The holidays were the most difficult time of the year for me. It reminded me how alone I was. While everyone was having their perfect day with their perfect family, I was drowning myself in the biggest bottle of scotch I could find. As a child, the holidays were the worst. Dad seemed to drink more often because of the pressure, and he took it out on Mom and I. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
    “Great. It’ll be a nice Thanksgiving.”
    “Where will we be having it?”
    “Yaya’s place.”
    The last time I saw Yaya was at the wedding. She smiled at me from across the room, clearly happy that Francesca and I were back together. She was such a sweet lady and had always been so good to me. I felt guilty for hurting her granddaughter. “Where does she live now?”
    “In a townhouse a few blocks away.”
    “I didn’t know that.” Francesca and I hadn’t talked about it. We were too invested in each other to think about anyone else.
    “Yeah, she really likes it. There’s a small backyard so she can have a garden. I know coming to the city was a big change for her, but that was the best Axel and I could do.”
    “You picked it out for her?”
    “Yeah. Axel and I decided to split her rent down the middle so it doesn’t burden either one of us too greatly.”
    I never knew that either. “You and Axel pay her rent?”
    “Of course,” she said. “Yaya isn’t going to work.”
    When I really thought about it, the knowledge didn’t surprise me. Francesca and Axel were generous people, and they always looked after their own. After losing people they cared about, their bond only became stronger. “That’s sweet of you.”
    “Well, she’s Yaya. She raised us and took care of us. We’ll always do the same for her.”
    It reminded me of myself. I kept depositing money into Mom’s account even though she refused to use it. If she just took off, she’d have enough to live for the rest of her life.
    Francesca caught the sadness in my eyes. “Have you talked to your mom lately?”
    “Not since Axel’s wedding.” I remembered the phone call and how strange it was. She said she dropped her phone in the sink but how certain could I be?
    “Is she doing well?” Francesca always tiptoed around this subject, knowing how much it pained me just to talk about it.
    “I’m not sure. If she weren’t doing well, she wouldn’t tell me. But we had a strange conversation.”
    “What did she say?” Her full focus was on me.
    “She called and sounded panicked, like something was wrong. I tried talking to her but the line went dead. I assumed the worst, that she was being beaten with an iron, so I was just about to call the police. But she called back and said everything was fine, that she dropped her phone in the sink.”
    Francesca felt a strand of hair near her ear, something she did when she was