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“I’m just trying to figure you out.”
His hand stilled on the kitten’s boney back. “Don’t,” he told her, meeting her gaze across the room. “That’s not an area you want to go to.”
Zara crossed to the chaise and shoved her blanket aside before taking a seat and curling her feet beneath her. “Oh, I think maybe I do want to go there. What makes a rumored bad boy go all soft with a kitten?”
“I wouldn’t have left any animal out in this. Would you?”
He needed to turn the topic of conversation back to her. Nothing good would come from her digging into his private life, but he wanted to know more and more about hers. Suddenly, finding out more intimate details had less to do with the scrolls...not that finding those weren’t still his top priority.
“Honestly, if I’d been alone, I wouldn’t have known what to do. I guess maybe I would’ve brought it in, but I seriously thought animals were made to be outside.”
Braden reached into the sleeve of crackers for another and broke off a piece for the kitten. “Why no pets growing up?”
He watched from the corner of his eye as she toyed with the edge of her sweatshirt a moment before speaking. She was either nervous or contemplating how much to tell—most likely a little of both. Fine by him. He would wait.
“My parents weren’t the most affectionate,” she started slowly, as if finding the right way to describe her mom and dad was difficult. “To be honest, I never asked for a pet. I figured they’d say no, so I didn’t bother.”
When the kitten turned away and stretched before nestling deeper into the covers, Braden set the crackers on the nightstand before shifting on the bed to face her.
“Were they affectionate to you?” he asked, wondering why he was allowing himself this line of questioning. Seduction was one thing, but finding out about her childhood was a whole other level he didn’t need to get into in order to do the job he came to do.
“It doesn’t matter.”
Suddenly it did. Braden came to his feet and padded over to join her on the narrow chaise. Easing a knee up on to the cushion, he turned sideways.
“Were you abused?” he asked, almost afraid of the answer. “Is that why you had such a strong connection with your grandmother?”
“Oh, no.” Zara shook her head. “I wasn’t abused. There were and are kids who have worse lives. I guess I’ve just always felt sorry for myself because of all the things I think I missed out on. But, they gave me a nice house, toys, camps in the summer.”
“Family vacations?” he asked.
“Um...no. They went on trips and cruises while I was away at camp. When they traveled during the school year, I would stay with my grandmother.” A sad smile spread across her face. “To be honest, those were the best times of my childhood. I loved spending time here. Gram would make up a scavenger hunt, and I’d spend hours exploring all these old rooms and hideout areas.”
“Hideouts?” he asked. Damn, he felt like a jerk for listening to her, caring what she was actually saying and now turning it around to benefit his plan. Still, the end result would be the same. He would find those scrolls, and Zara was going to have to inadvertently help. “I know my house is old and has secret areas. I assume this one does, too?”
Zara smiled and tipped her head to meet his gaze. “Yeah. There’s a hidden door beneath the stairs. It actually takes you into the den at the back of the house. In the basement there’s a couple of hidden rooms, but they’re so narrow, they’re more like closets.”
He wanted to check those areas out right this second, but he had to remain motionless and let her continue. Once she was asleep he’d be able to continue his quest. Those secret rooms she’d mentioned weren’t on the blueprints he’d seen, and his father had never mentioned them, so he had to assume no one had checked there, either.
“My grandmother always told me how much she loved me,” Zara went on, her voice almost a whisper as if she were talking to herself. “She always told me how I was her biggest treasure. I didn’t get that until recently. I look at all the antiques in this old house, pieces I know are worth a lot of money. But to know she valued me even more...”
Braden continued to watch her battle her emotions, trying to remain strong and hold back. He admired her strength, her dignity and pride.
Slowly, Braden was sinking into her world—a world he never intended to be a part of. If he could somehow get away with taking back the scrolls, maybe they could see where this attraction led.
