Page 42 of Once upon a Summer Night

The trouble was, she was bored.

She’d been through each shelf in the library, almost figured out the coffee maker, and made small talk with the neighbors. She experienced Boston’s subway system, which they called the T, which made her seriously rethink her hatred of the Tube. The T was a tangle of lines in which she became so turned around the week prior that she’d ended up somewhere called Quincy. Colin came and got her, laughing at her indignant exclamations.

But today, she had no desire to go anywhere. It was just past lunch, and Colin wasn’t due home for another two hours at least. Evelyn promised to stop by before dinner, but that too was hours away.

She chewed her lip, then glanced at the closed door at the back of the room. It sat just next to the staircase leading down to the kitchen, and she knew it led up to Colin’s bedroom.

She could admit to being curious about it. He didn’t offer to show it to her on the initial house tour, and she hadn’t thought to ask. When she finally remembered he needed a place to sleep and asked him about it, he merely replied, “It’s on the top floor.”

She really, really wanted to see it. She promised herself she wouldn’t go through his underwear drawer, no matter how tempting it might be, and gave a nod. Yes.

To the bedroom.

Maybe it would offer some insight as to the inner workings of his mind,she rationalized, as she opened the white paneled door. The steps were the same as the rest in the house—white and oak, with Oriental runners. Silently, she climbed higher, her eyes on the open door at the top of the stairs.

She hesitated two steps from it. Their conversation from afew nights ago rang through her head, as it had been since they had it, and she swallowed hard. Eventually, they would return to England. Eventually, he expected to match her with someone and fall in love with him. Eventually…she never would have the opportunity to explore this room again.

Carefully, she pushed open the door, and it fully opened. Her jaw dropped.

She stood at the far end of the room, the end closest to the back garden, and realized that he’d transformed the attics of the two brownstones into a veritable oasis of calm. The ceiling was pitched, and covered in wood boards that perfectly matched the beautiful old beams that supported the roof. To her immediate right, a window exactly like the one in the library overlooked the garden, but instead of smooth paint, the entire wall was exposed brick, with framed photos that hung at varying heights. The windowsill had a single gray cushion on it, made just for the curved space. A forgotten glass sat on the floor next to a copy ofTheBoston Globenewspaper.

She swept her eyes to the left, where the room opened up in a grand way. The walls were painted a medium gray, giving the room a decidedly masculine feel. On the platform bed, the gray-patterned comforter and white sheets were mussed, as though he simply tossed them off when he woke and not spared them another thought.

Which is probably true, Ellie chuckled to herself. The housekeeper, Bev, would likely take care of making his bed, but she wasn’t due back for another few days.

Ellie stepped more fully into the room, noting the bedside table that was a mess of charging cords, a couple of cups, and a dry-looking financial book. She headed for the cream-colored leather couch and lightly dragged her fingers over its back as she studied the low coffee table, styled the same as the bedside table. A sleek, closed laptop and a wireless mouse were all that was on the table—not a speck of dust.

She met Bev, and honestly, if Ellie were a speck of dust, she would be too afraid of the woman to land anywhere in the house. Bev’s dusting practices prompted Ellie to offer her a job in her bookstore at twice her salary here. Alas, Bev didn’t care to dust across the ocean, but it didn’t stop Ellie’s cleaning envy.

She stared at the sliding barn door in front of her, perplexed. About a third of the floor was all sleek, modern bedroom, but this kind of door somehow worked. Ellie was no designer, but she recognized quality when she saw it—and the entire room was definitely quality. The whole house was; if she hadn’t known Colin to be so down-to-earth, she’d be intimidated by the luxury surrounding her.

Carefully, she slid the door on its tracks, and it moved silently. She stepped into a stunning bathroom. More gray, cream, and wood greeted her, all done in exquisite detail. A huge walk-in shower with walls of glass abutted a wood vanity, with a solid stone cream countertop and double sinks. The walls looked like reclaimed wood, but Ellie quickly realized they were actually tile. There was a soaking tub with jets, and the toilet looked like something out of a spaceship.

It was unlike anything Ellie had ever seen.

She unabashedly opened one of two doors in the bathroom; the linen closet was neat and orderly (again, Ellie suspected that was more Bev’s work than Colin’s). She twisted the handle of the other door, her eyes widening at the expansive walk-in closet. Built-in shelves and drawers, made of the same dark wood as the tables in the bedroom, lined the walls. A small stool sat in the middle of the closet, a pair of suit pants and a suit jacket thrown on top of it. Her eyes were drawn to the large metal safe, and she walked towards it, wondering what was inside.

Ellie couldn’t help herself; she reached out and turned the large captain’s wheel of the safe. It turned fully, and she pulled the door open, taken aback that Colin would leave itunlocked. She glanced over her shoulder, just to be sure he wasn’t standing there watching her invade his personal space, and when she was reassured she was alone, she yanked the door all the way open.

A single, long, very old sword was propped up inside, and a long swath of fabric in gold and red hung next to it.

A powerful sense of déjà vu swept over her so strongly, her knees buckled. Ellie leaned against the solid metal door of the safe, her breath coming in short gasps as terror seized her, her eyes glued to the blade.

She breathed deeply, inhaling the now-familiar scent of Colin, and slowly returned to her senses, though the déjà vu remained. Carefully, slowly, she crept closer to the sword. The blade looked slightly uneven, as though it had some nicks in it, but had been filed down. The handle was wrapped in leather, but otherwise unadorned.

Nothing that would inspire fear, for sure.

Clearly her conscience was catching up with her actions.It’s just guilt for snooping, she told herself, even as she reached out to touch the cool metal. She gasped as blood immediately welled to the surface of her fingers.

She popped her fingers in her mouth to stop the bleeding and, her eyes wide, she quickly closed the safe, and with it, the nagging feeling that she somehow knew about this sword. She studied the almost-invisible slice across her fingers and shuddered. The weapon might be old, but it was most definitely still deadly.

Strange that he owned one, but stranger still that it was hidden away. Ellie hurried out of the closet, then out of the bathroom and bedroom and back down the stairs to the safety of the library. Her hand was beginning to ache, and she redirected to the kitchen for some ice.

But, she thought as a small smile escaped her,I can’t say I regret the decision to go up the final set of stairs.

There was more to Colin O’Rourke than he let on, and she was determined to find out what that “more” entailed.

“I hearhe owns half of California.” A very busty blonde puffed out her chest as a server refilled her drink.

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