Page 5 of Possession

The poignancy of her tone stirred something in me, and I spoke without thinking. Without realizing the magnitude of what I was about to do.

“Come home with me.”

Chapter Two

Grace was quiet on the ride back to my house. I wasn’t exactly a chatterbox, either.

How could I have invited her home?

There were hotels. Or friends she could stay with.

Surely, she had some of those. Hell, Jack would probably be glad to take her in.

The thought of Jack taking in Grace simultaneously made me growl and caused me to dip a hand into my pocket to where I’d hidden the purloined cuff link.

I couldn’t trust him with her. Couldn’t take any chances with her safety.

That wasn’t even mentioning the jealousy that seized me at every time I dwelled on their close friendship. Not because I begrudged either of them for forging a bond.

I was simply envious it was so much easier for them than it was for the likes of me.

Now I had new concerns. New things to keep me up at night.

Whomever had been at the house might not have realized Grace had been squatting there—or maybe they had.

And then there was the tie to Jack. I had to speak to him. There would be no avoiding that conversation, as much as I wished I could.

Tonight, I had other concerns.

“Where are we going?” Her quiet question tugged me out of my thoughts and gave me a moment’s hope. Perhaps we could go to a hotel. She probably wouldn’t care.

In fact, she might evenprefersomething more impersonal?—

“I mean, where do you live?”

I wound my fingers tighter around the steering wheel. “Chestnut Hill.”

She glanced out the window, her hair shielding her face so I couldn’t read her expression. “Hmm.”

“Hmm?”

“That area doesn’t seem to be quite up to Carson Covenant standards.” She brushed lint off her snug yoga pants. “Now my grandmother’s place, that’s more up your alley. No wonder you snapped that right up.”

“I didn’t ‘snap it up’ because there was a dearth of property available in Marblehead.” Available propertieswerescarcer on the coast, as owners tended to buy and hold on for generations, but that hadn’t affected my purchase.

“Then why?”

I nearly deflected as I always had, but the sight of her curled close to the door, putting as much space between us as possible, loosened something in my chest. I’d given her so little other than a paycheck and my body.

She deserved better than that. Better than me.

But for as long as this insanity continued, I was who she had.

“I was very fond of Annabelle.” I stared straight ahead, navigating through the light predawn traffic without sparing her a glance. “She brought me to her home many times, and I fell in love with it. After her untimely passing, I knew her house would be coming onto the market. I had to have it.”

My biggest oversight had been not considering Grace.

Oh, I’d considered her plenty over the years, far more than was wise. But I hadn’t thought she would want Annabelle’s house. I’d figured a young girl would want something more age-suitable, perhaps in the big city. She was an artist on her way up, and her current circumstances now would not be her reality in a few short years.

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