His creased brow suggested he was debating on how to better control the situation. Only if he did, we both knew that would send her running further away.
“I’ll take the first flight out to pay her a visit and find out what’s going on. She won’t even realize why I’m there,” I offered.
“She’ll know somethings up. She’s not stupid, Ash.”
“I never said she was, Grant. Don’t worry. I’ll handle this.”
The fine lines around Grant’s face eased. “She’s my sister. I’ll handle it.”
“And you’re my best friend. Besides, you’ve got your hands full. I’ll take care of it.”
His furrowed brow eased. “You sure?”
“Of course. I’ll flash my badge and get all the details from the local boys in blue so we’ll know exactly what’s going on. She’s always liked me.”
“A little too much,” Grant said as he rose from his seat. “She trusts you. And you’re right; she’s always liked you, even more than me.”
Wonder if there’s a story there. Maybe some money shots I can get. I bet the Fed would pay out the nose if I caught him and Stella in a compromising position.
I turned my attention toward Campbell and raised my brow. “I think it’s time you come clean about what you found out about Jenny, and you can explain to Grant exactly how much money you’re extorting from her to keep her secrets.”
Campbell’s mouth parted.How the hell…
“Goddamn it, Ashton.”
“You deserve the full picture regardless of what you do with the information. You paid him to obtain it, and I promised that you wouldn’t hear it from me. Now you’re not.”
I headed for the door and yanked it open, pausing. I met Campbell’s gaze. “And stop hitting on Wendy. She’s not interested. If I hear you try to grab her ass one more time, I’ll break your damn hand if Grant doesn’t first.”
“I wouldn’t—”
“You did,” I said before turning my gaze to Grant. “I’ll call you after I land and get an update on Stella once I’ve checked things out.”
I shut the door without need to hear their discussion.
I was a bastard for not letting Grant keep his blissful ignorance, but I just couldn’t let the guy get tied for life to Jenny. It wasn’t fair. He could hate me later.
As I left the mansion, my mind raced with how exactly to approach Stella. It had been years since I’d seen her. Yet the memories from that fateful night were as fresh in my mind as the taste of her last kiss.
Damn, what the hell was I doing thinking I could just waltz back into her life as if nothing had ever happened between us?
3
I’d caught the first flight out the next morning, and now I stood across the residential street staring up at the second story of Stella’s brownstone. The neighborhood wasn’t what I’d been expecting after hearing that her house had been broken into. I’d expected more of a busy city street where people minded their own business and kept to themselves. Stella lived in a neighborhood where others were out and about and were actually friendly with one another, and I looked like a stalker out of place. If I stood there much longer, they’d be calling the law on me.
Stella was standing near the window next to a half-painted canvas. The morning light shining in made her sheer curtains seem transparent. Even as a young teen, she’d loved to paint at this time of day. She claimed the world was more tranquil and quiet in the dawn hours before her thoughts got in her way, making her see all the imperfections in her paintings.
Her brown, sun-kissed highlighted hair cascaded down her back in loose waves. She was as beautiful as I remembered. It had been too damn long.
My heart tightened. There was no backing out of this. Not that I would. But maybe Grant was right. She might kick me out before I even got my foot in the door.
As if she could sense me, she turned and stared down at me from above. Her baby blue eyes widened in surprise as a smile crested her lips. She gave a brief excited wave before disappearing out of sight.
I jogged across the street and hit the brownstone steps just as the door flung open. The excitement in her eyes from moments ago was quickly replaced with hesitancy. There was a pensive shimmer in the shadow of her eyes.
“What are you doing here?” she asked and glanced up and down the street. “Is my brother with you?”
I knew seeing her again was unavoidable. I’d thought of all the things I’d wanted to say, and yet the words were stuck in my throat like I was some school-aged punk going through puberty.
