AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We finish the first bottle before the dinner courses even started being brought out.
Rather, Helena finishes most of the bottle, and I appear to be matching her.
“Is it arrogant of me to say that the food is better than I was expecting?” I say with a small sip of my wine.
Helena grins. “No, because I was just thinking the same thing. You must be used to far nicer things wherever you call home.”
“You’re not wrong. I employ a private chef for myself and Henry back in New York.”
“And what do you do in New York?” she asks easily.
“I’m an investor. I used to dabble in the stock markets, but I found that acquisitions are far easier to make a profit from quickly,” I say casually as I lean back into my chair.
“So, then the rumors are true?” she asks leadingly. Her questions flow so easily that it would be hard to notice that I’m being probed for personal information like she’s crossing items off of a list in her mind.
I laugh and lean forward again. “Rumors? There are rumors about me? I’ve only been here a week.”
“Well, you know what they say about small towns and rumors.” she grins and leans forward, seemingly hanging on to my every word. Her finger trails the rim of her wine glass.
“Ah, well, then you must tell me what these rumors are, and I might tell you whether they are true or not.”
“Apparently, there is talk that you are in the process of buying up half the town.”
“Only half?”
“You don’t even deny it?” Her eyes widen as if that amount of money is hard for her to grasp. She’d likely spent the same amount on shoes—more than once in her lifetime.
“I haven’t confirmed nor denied anything.” I grin and top off her wine for her. “How about we trade information. I’ll answer your burning rumors if you answer questions of my own.”
“Deal,” she said and laced her fingers together beneath her chin. She didn’t touch any more of her wine. She must know her limits well.
“Very well, I’ll start then. What brought you to this quaint little town, Sofia?”
“Nothing special. Certainly nothing as thrilling as buying the place for whatever you have planned.”
“That is not an answer,” I chastise.
She sighs. “Really, it’s the same old tired story. I needed a new start after a failed engagement. My dad moved here some time ago when he retired, and after things with my fiancé went south… he invited me to come stay with him until I got back on my feet.”
It’s a perfectly believable story, but I know better.
“Ah, because you have already hinted that you aren’t close with your mother.” I nod in understanding.
“Yeah, I didn’t get along with her. She died some time ago though, so it’s just me and my dad now.”
I know damned well that man in the house isn’t her father, but I file the information away anyway.
“I would say that I’m sorry for your loss, but it doesn’t seem like the two of you got along. No siblings or anything?”
Helena shrugs, “I have a brother out there somewhere, but he and my father don’t get along much. Also, that’s two questions.”
Brother? I wonder if that’s a true statement or just another part of the lie that she’s built for herself. I will have to report it to Michael so that he can look into it one way or the other. If she really does have a brother floating around out there, then that’s something I might be able to use to my own advantage.
According to the file that Nikolai gave me, she was known to be an only child.
“Very well. What are your two questions?”
“What is somebody like you going to do with a town like this?”
