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“This week is fine,” Maya said.
“I’d really like to be there, too,” Brad said.
Rainey snorted. “I doubt you could keep Bradley away.”
Brad glowered at Rainey.
“I’ll call you,” Maya hurried to say, hoping to wave away the strange air between Brad and Rainey. “And I can’t wait to see what magic you bring to the place. To tell you the truth, that first night, the house gave me the creeps.”
Olivia’s laugh was a little too high-pitched. “I’ll see what I can do,” she promised. “I think you’ll be surprised.”
ChapterEleven
Brad and Maya returned to the mansion after burgers and set to work in the upstairs bedrooms, digging through drawers and looking for hiding places. Maya suggested that the heirloom necklace could be in a safe somewhere, which probably meant they needed to move aside all of the heavy furniture in the old house to check if safes were in the walls behind them.
“It’s a good point,” Brad said with a sigh, his hands on his hips. “But I don’t have the energy for that kind of moving today.”
Maya laughed and touched his bicep. His eyes dropped toward hers, and her heartbeat quickened. Not for the first time, she considered asking him if he wanted to stay the night at the mansion. The bed was already made in her Aunt Veronica’s room; they could lay together, many feet away. They could keep their distance. It just sounded so nice to sleep next to him, to know that if she awoke in the middle of the night, his strong arms were just a few feet away.
“I’d better get back home,” Brad said softly. “I have school tomorrow.”
“Of course. Me, too.”
“Do you think you’ll stay the night soon? Here at the mansion, I mean.”
Maya bit her lower lip. “I told Felicity I’d move out tomorrow, actually.” Her stomach curdled at the thought. Was it too soon?
“I’m sure she’d take you back if you don’t like being out here by yourself,” Brad said hesitantly.
Brad’s words shot through her heart like a knife. Did that mean Brad would never want to stay out here with her? Was she forcing him to hang with her too often? Or did he think because she’d just gotten out of a relationship, she wasn’t ready? Her thoughts swirled.
Maya and Brad locked up and crunched through the snow to their vehicles. Maya continued to carry the photo albums, unable to part with them for the night.
“It’s supposed to snow tomorrow night,” Brad said, jangling his keys.
Maya eyed him nervously and adjusted her photo albums. “Is that so?”
“Probably more than a foot,” Brad said. “It’ll start around five or six in the evening and go all night.”
Maya’s throat was tight. She tried to swallow it away.
“Which means that you should stock up on food and supplies if you really move out here tomorrow,” Brad said.
“Right. Thanks for the tip.”
The corner of Brad’s lips wiggled into a smile, and his dimple deepened. “Should I bring anything over? Tomorrow after school, I mean.”
Maya stuttered with surprise. “You’re still coming?”
“We have to find that heirloom,” Brad told her. “I’m not giving up just yet.”
“But the snow,” Maya hurried to remind him. “What if you can’t make it to school on time?”
Brad raised his shoulders and unlocked his car. “We’ll just have to see what happens. Right? Good night, Maya. Sleep well.”
Maya sat in the driver’s seat of her car, her heart pounding so hard that her arms and legs shook. Brad started his engine and slowly crept away. It seemed he was waiting for her, that he wanted to guide her back to town. He wanted to make sure she was all right. Tears sprung to Maya’s eyes. Nearly dropping Phoebe’s car keys, she started the engine and followed Brad. Snowflakes spit down on her windshield and felt like a warning for the approaching storm. Somehow, she couldn’t wait.
* * *
