CHAPTER EIGHT #3
The way she captivated my attention should be illegal.
In her presence, I suddenly no longer craved the calming repetition of a cigarette.
No, I wanted her. To share her space, her air, her time.
To watch the movement of her lips and plummet into the depth of her deep, dark eyes.
And foolishly, I wished that I’d allowed myself to feel like this toward a woman at some other point in my life, if for no other reason than to know what the hell to do about it now.
“Hmm?” I replied, keeping my hands tucked into my pockets. Afraid I wouldn’t be able to resist running my fingers over her cheek, her neck. That exposed bit of skin just above her dress’s neckline.
She looked up at me through long, inky lashes and said, “I’ve been wondering something.”
“And what might that be?”
“I’ve been in your presence all night,” she went on, turning her eyes toward the maze and stone pathways below, “and not once have you introduced yourself. Why is that?”
“It doesn’t feel necessary,” I answered truthfully, my eyes lingering on her lips.
Still not looking at me, she asked, “And why not? I mean, you know my name now. It seems only fair that I should know yours too.”
“What would be the point?” I challenged, my tone edging toward flirtation, as if I were suddenly well versed in the art. “You’re never going to see me again.”
Her head bobbed in a subtle nod. “That’s probably true. I’ve seen so many people come in and out of this house since my mother married Gerry. Well, long before then, too, but especially after.”
My heart lurched into my throat as a bit of truth wedged itself between us.
“Virginia is your mother?”
I supposed I should’ve guessed that from the way Virginia had spoken to her at dinner. But it hadn’t occurred to me, considering they looked nothing alike, and now, Analise felt further from my reach than she had been before.
In no world was there room for me to get involved with Gerald’s stepdaughter.
She nodded, crossing her arms over her chest and wrapping the shawl tighter around her form.
“How did they meet?” I asked, brushing aside the harrowing truth and now-forbidden thoughts that had been plaguing my mind all night.
“You have a lot of questions for someone who’s never seeing me again,” she teased, glancing toward me with a smirk of her full lips.
She couldn’t see me smile beneath the mask, but I smiled nonetheless. “Just making conversation.”
Analise sucked in a deep breath and shrugged one shoulder toward her ear.
“Honestly, I’m not entirely sure exactly how they met, but I think it might have been through my grandfather.
He had a lot of friends. You know, connections through business and whatever.
My mother worked for him, and one day, she came home with Gerry.
So, I just assumed …” She offered another shrug as she turned toward me, her fingers toying with the ends of her shawl.
Grandfather …
I cast my sights over the maze below. “Is this house your grandfather’s?”
“Seint Manor has been in the Seint family since it was built in the 1800s, passed down through generations of Seints,” Analise replied, reciting the words like they’d been drilled into her head since the moment she had been born, as if they answered every question I might have about the house and the surrounding land.
But it answered nothing about the people who owned it.
I itched to ask more questions. But I didn’t want her to think I was digging for information when really, all I wanted to do was collect Leonard and leave, knowing damn well I’d spend the rest of my life remembering these moments with her and wondering what would have happened if we’d met under different circumstances.
“Now, Doctor, I’ll ask you a question. How do you know Gerry?” she asked with a playful smile after too many seconds of silence. “Or am I better off not knowing that too?”
A hum rumbled from my chest as I pretended to consider answering, then replied, “There are some things I’d rather keep to myself.”
She turned to face me then as that playful smile grew wider. “Oh, so what you’re saying is, you want to keep everything to yourself.”
A genuine laugh burst from my lips. “Well, not everything, but …”
“Just everything that might help me find you again.”
If I wasn’t wearing this mask, if she could see my face, she would know that sentence—that she wanted to find me—pulled all the warmth to my cheeks and set my heart racing.
She wanted to know me.
And, dammit, I wanted to know her too.
I wished I could.
Yet I shook my head. “You don’t want to find me, Analise.”
She studied me for a moment, her eyes roving over my mask, down my chest and shoulders, past my arms and lower, lower. All the while holding her breath as her sheer interest grew, and I was certain she could see my obvious interest in her as her gaze settled below my waist.
She swallowed. “You say that like I should be scared.”
“You should be.” Even as I said it then, I had no idea how much I’d mean it.
“And yet you’re the first man who hasn’t terrified me,” she admitted in a whisper before sending her eyes back to where she must’ve sensed mine were. Then she added, “And none of them gave me any warning.”
I narrowed my eyes and opened my mouth to speak when, suddenly, I realized we were no longer alone as a shadow stretched along the terrace, darkening the place in which we stood.
I clamped my lips shut and turned to watch as Gerald Crowley wandered toward us with a casual flair.
“Analise,” he said, coming to stand beside her and resting his hand on her shoulder.
I didn’t miss the way she turned her head away from his touch.
Is he one of the men she spoke about?
If I ever needed another reason to end his life, that would be it.
“Benjamin was just looking for you.”
Analise swallowed, then looked up toward me once again—just for a moment—before asking, “Oh, is he inside?”
Gerald nodded. “In the sitting room, last I checked.”
“Well then.” She offered a curt nod, then said to me in a tight, formal tone, “Thank you for the chat, stranger. Enjoy the rest of your night.”
I nodded in silent reply, and then she walked hastily away, the sound of her heels against stone resounding through the night.
It didn’t take a genius to know she’d been dismissed. I doubted Benjamin was even looking for her at all. But Gerald clearly wanted me alone, and now he had me.
Finally.
Maybe now I’ll get some answers.
“Abraham.” Gerald looked up toward my face and smiled. “You came.”
“Why the fuck is Leonard here?” I hissed, jumping straight to the point, not seeing any reason to mess around with small talk.
We never had before, so why start now?
“All in due time, my boy,” he answered coolly. “I want to chat first.”
“You could’ve chatted with me all night, but you didn’t,” I fired back angrily, using my natural voice for the first time since entering the house. “I was starting to think you didn’t recognize me.”
“Do you see any other six-foot-six giants around here?” he countered sarcastically, glancing around him. “Of course I knew it was you. How stupid do you think I am?”
“Do you want my honest answer, or …” I tipped my head and waited for his reply.
But instead, he said, “I noticed you took quite an interest in my daughter.”
I laughed at that. “Your daughter,” I repeated with a roll of my eyes.
“Yes. Analise. My daughter." His eyes glinted with a challenge as he added, "Also your stepsister, I might add.”
I laughed again. “Okay.”
His head reeled back to hit me with an incredulous expression. “Oh? I’m married to her mother, aren’t I? If she’s not your stepsister, what exactly is she?”
“Funny how you can own your relationship to her, but not to your sons,” I countered with a bitter edge. "Does she know you abandoned us? Does your wife know you let their mother die on the streets?"
"Abandoned you?" He laughed, holding his round belly like I'd just told the funniest joke he’d ever heard. "Kid, I have been showing up consistently throughout all these years, and it's you who kept pushing me away. Don't blame your shitty attitude on me."
"I was a—"
"And don't you be puttin' your mother's blood on my hands," he continued, lowering his voice. "She killed herself. That's never been my fault."
"She was waiting for you. She thought you were going to—"
"She put a whole lot of weight on the shoulders of a homeless junkie," he replied in a tone that was something close to gentle.
"I was no different from her, Abraham. I made a lot of promises, sure.
Ones I was never gonna keep. You want me to own up to my blame in that?
There you go. But I didn't kill her. She was gonna die with or without my help. It was only a matter of time."