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dn’t bothered to really notice. But her mother had remembered and made note of colorful details that brought the passages to life. And it had been a nice life, not perfect, but the bad times were smoothed over and the good times highlighted. That’s how she remembered her mother—always trying to fix things and make people smile.
Annabelle didn’t even notice lunchtime coming or going. At some point, she moved from the desk chair to the comfort of her big canopied bed with its array of silken pillows. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d curled up in bed with a book in the middle of the day. It felt so decadent. She continued devouring word after word, feeling closer to her mother than she’d felt in a very long time.
Knock. Knock.
Annabelle’s gaze jerked to the door, expecting one of the household staff to enter with fresh flowers or clean linens. A frown pulled at her lips. She really didn’t want to be disturbed. She still had a lot of pages to read.
Knock. Knock.
“Annabelle? Is everything okay?”
It was Grayson. And something told her he wasn’t going to leave until they spoke. With a sigh, she closed the journal and set it off to the side of the bed. Hating to leave her comfy spot, she grudgingly got to her feet.
She moved to the door and then paused to run a hand over her hair. Deciding that it was good enough, she reached for the doorknob.
“Hi.” She couldn’t help but stare at his handsome face and piercing blue eyes. Now that he’d shaved, his looks were a perfect ten.
He frowned. “Why do you keep looking at me that way?”
“What way?” She averted her gaze. She was going to have to be more covert with her admiration in the future.
He sighed. “Never mind.”
She stepped back, allowing him to enter the room. “Come in.”
He stepped into her spacious suite and glanced around. She followed his gaze around the room, taking in the settee, the armchairs, a table with a bouquet of flowers and her desk. She noticed how his gaze lingered on the king-size bed.
At last, his gaze met hers. “You missed lunch?”
“Did we have plans?” She didn’t recall any. In fact, Grayson had said he planned to remain in the city for most of the day.
“No, we didn’t. But I wrapped up my meeting early and returned to the palace. I thought I would see you at lunch and when you didn’t show up, I...I just wanted to make sure everything was all right.”
“Oh, yes, everything is fine. I was reading.” She gestured toward the now rumpled bed.
Grayson’s gaze followed her hand gesture. “It looks like I must have startled you.”
“What?”
He moved toward the bed where he knelt down and picked up the journal from the floor. But that wasn’t the only thing on the floor. The precious pictures were scattered about.
“Oh, no.” She rushed over.
“No worries. Nothing’s ruined.”
“You don’t have to pick that up,” Annabelle said, kneeling down next to him. “I can get it.”
“I don’t mind.” He picked up a photograph and glanced at it. “Is this you as a child?”
She looked at the photo and a rush of memories came back to her. “Yes. That’s me and my brother, Luca.”
“You were a cute kid.”
“Thanks. I think.” Her stomach quivered as Grayson’s gaze lingered longer than necessary. She swallowed hard. “I can’t believe my mother kept all of those pictures stuffed in her journal.”
“Ah...so that’s your mother’s. It explains why you’re so protective of it. I thought you were going to jump across that desk at the police station when the officer said he couldn’t release it to you.”
Heat rushed up Annabelle’s neck and settled in her cheeks as she realized how that incident must have looked to others. But she’d been desperate to hang on to this link to her mother. And by reading the pages, she already felt as though she knew her mother so much better.
