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She was back to being nervous. And to be honest, he was a bit nervous, too, because he had no clue how to proceed from here. He’d never been in this position before. Sex with women was something he’d always enjoyed, yet he’d never gotten emotionally attached. Casual relationships worked fine, but in his line of work, getting too close to someone was difficult. One day he wanted a family, but he truly had to find the right woman who would fit into his life...first he had to steer the business into a bit more legit territory.
But he kept feeling this pull toward Zara, a pull he’d not experienced with any other woman.
So why Zara? Why now? Did it all stem from needing to gain trust? He’d never had to rely on someone like this before. He’d never placed himself at the mercy of needing anyone; he purposely didn’t leave himself vulnerable.
“I can look through whatever you want,” he replied. “If we agree on certain items, you have a few options we can go over.”
She nodded, and the tension in her shoulders seemed to lessen as her body relaxed. “Good. I hate getting rid of her things, but at the same time, I can’t keep everything.”
Braden knew that ache, that need to hang on to possessions of lost loved ones. He’d still not gone through his father’s belongings and he wasn’t sure when he’d be ready to face that daunting task. Mac and Laney weren’t ready, either. Thankfully, they were all there for each other because family meant everything to the O’Sheas. They clung to each other in times of trial. Ryker may be a hard-ass, but the man was just as much family as any blood relative, and he’d grieved right along with the rest of them after Patrick’s death.
“Let me get those boxes, and we can spend the day looking through them and deciding where to go from there.” When she smiled up at him, Braden had to ignore that punch of lust to the gut. She was trusting him...and he was betraying her. “Be right back.”
Before he could be swept under by those mesmerizing eyes, he snatched the flashlight off the bed and headed back to the basement. Right now he needed to focus on what they would uncover, on how this could possibly end his family’s hunt for what was rightfully theirs. He couldn’t think how Zara was slowly getting under his skin, how she was softening toward him and opening and driving him out of his ever-loving mind.
Because if he started letting Zara have control over his mind, she’d start silently taking control over other aspects of his life. And he couldn’t afford to be sidetracked right now. Not when he was so close to getting everything he’d ever wanted.
* * *
Zara ran her fingers over the pewter picture frame. “I remember this picture sitting by her bed.”
The black-and-white photo of a young, newly married couple stared back at her. Her grandparents on their wedding day, standing outside the courthouse because they hadn’t wanted to wait for a big ceremony in a church. They’d fallen in love and hadn’t wanted to spend another minute apart.
Tears pricked Zara’s eyes. “Sorry,” she said, smiling as she blinked back the moisture. “I get a little sentimental when it comes to my gram.”
Sitting with his back against the headboard on the bed, Braden stretched his legs out as he stared down at her. Zara sat on the floor, legs crossed, looking through yet another box. Every now and then she’d pass a piece up to him to get his opinion on selling, but now she’d found a box of photos.
Braden extended his hand toward the picture, so Zara passed it over. “My grandfather was the love of her life. She never quite got over his death, even though she lived without him for nearly twenty years.”
Braden studied the picture, then glanced back down to her. “And you still don’t believe in true love?”
Zara rolled her eyes and swiped at the tear that escaped. “I believe my grandparents found it, but my parents sure as hell didn’t. They were more concerned with making money and traveling than they were with love or family.”
Propping the photo up on the nightstand, Braden adjusted it so it faced at just the right angle. “Love exists, Zara. If you want it, you just have to wait until it finds you.”
Zara had always been sure that if she ever heard a man mention love, she’d run fast and far because he only wanted something from her.
This wasn’t like any scenario she’d planned in her mind. For one thing, Braden wasn’t professing his love by any means. Second, even if he was, he couldn’t use her for anything. He was an O’Shea. One of the most powerful families in Boston and known around the world. There was nothing he could gain from getting involved with her.
