AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She’d stayed behind to clean up and make sure the place was just as it had been before she’d entered—as she did with every event. All part of the party-planning business. Still, there would be a few people left from the cleaning service. She hoped they all got home okay, as well.
“You live alone?”
Braden’s question sliced through the quiet. As if she could actually forget she was this close to the world’s sexiest man. Then again, she didn’t know every man in the world, but she’d still put Braden O’Shea and his sultry eyes and broad frame against anyone.
“Yes. I actually just moved into my grandmother’s home three months ago. She’d just passed away, and I’m the only relative she had left.”
“Sorry about your loss.” In a move that surprised her, Braden reached across the console and squeezed her hand in a gesture of comfort before easing back. She didn’t take him for the comforting type, but she knew in her heart his words and his touch were sincere.
“My father has been gone six months,” he went on, his tone understanding. “On one hand, it seems like yesterday. On the other, I feel like I’m going to wake up from a nightmare and he’ll be fine. None of us had a clue his heart was so bad.”
Zara swallowed. She knew that nightmare-versus-reality feeling all too well. In the midst of her fantasizing over Braden, she’d not figured in the fact this man was still vulnerable, still suffering from a loss just as big as her own. Great, she’d not only been unprofessional tonight, she’d also been heartless.
“It’s rough.” For the first time since her grandmother’s passing, Zara felt comfortable opening up to someone. Shane certainly hadn’t been consoling in the few times they’d dated...another red flag where he’d been concerned. “Living in her home feels strange. I remember sleeping over there when I was little, but now it just seems so much larger, so empty.”
Zara had never been afraid to live alone, but in a house this size, she was a little creeped out at night—the old ghost rumors didn’t help, either. Perhaps once she rid the house of some of the antiques and actually unpacked her own things, that would help the place feel more like home. But she wasn’t to that point yet. Removing her grandmother’s favorite things just didn’t seem right yet. And unpacking... Definitely not something Zara was comfortable with. A shrink would have a blast digging inside her mind over the reasons Zara had a fear of commitment even when it came to a house.
Red-and-blue flashing lights lit up behind them. Braden threw a glance in the mirror, his jaw clenched as he maneuvered cautiously to the side of the road.
Zara tensed, gripping her coat even tighter. What was wrong? They certainly hadn’t been speeding. The rumors about the O’Sheas having illegal operations going flooded her mind. She didn’t know whether the myth was true or false and it wasn’t her place to judge, but she couldn’t help but wonder. All she knew was they were powerful and they were paying her well. Oh, and Braden was the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes, or hands, on.
Braden glanced at her. “Don’t say anything.”
Stunned, Zara nodded. What would she say?
Braden put his window down as the officer approached. “Evening, Officer.”
The trooper leaned down and looked into the car. “The roads are at a level two now, and they’re getting ready to up that to a three. Are you folks out because of an emergency?”
“No, sir. I’m giving my employee a ride home because I didn’t think it was safe for her to be out alone.”
The officer’s eyes scanned over Zara, and she offered a slight smile.
“How far away is her house?”
“Just right up the street,” Braden said, pointing. Zara had given him directions before they’d started out, and they were actually only a few houses away from hers.
“I suggest you plan on staying put once you drop her off. Any drivers caught out once the level three goes into effect will be ticketed,” the officer stated. “I’ll follow you to make sure you get there all right.”
The full impact of the trooper’s words hit Zara fast. Braden had to stay put? As in...stay the night? At her house? A ball of nerves quickly formed in her stomach. Her boss was spending the night? Her boss, whom she found utterly sexy and nearly irresistible, and there was already crackling sexual tension charging between them? Sure, this would be no problem at all.
“Thank you, Officer,” Braden replied “We appreciate that.”
