Page 18 of Desire
“Holls? Are you still there?” Rachel asked.
I cleared my throat. “Yes, I am.”
“Is your hesitation about yourfather?” She knew all about my issues with Harper.
“Yes.” The tightness in my throat made me barely audible.
“You can’t run from him forever.”
I groaned. “Why not?”
“Because you’re not fifteen anymore.”
“I know,” I said, trying to carry the monkey that was glued to my back.
“Plus, I have a story you might be interested in. You’re friends with Bryn Christmas,aren’t you?”
I adjusted, sitting straight up in my seat. “Yes. Have they found her?”
“No, not yet, but this is about the whole shebang.”
I felt my face collapsing into a severe frown. “The whole shebang?”
“Ah, ah, ah…” she said as if she were scolding me. “I can’t tell you what I know until you sign my contract.”
My sigh was driven by anxiety. “But TV? Are youfor real, Rach?”
“You know it’s your next big step, Holls. Listen, come to New York and let me woo you.”
I chuckled. “Woo me?”
“Woo you. At least give me a chance to convince you to say yes.”
I sighed again.
“How about tomorrow at ten?” she asked.
I focused on the trees and the snow melting on perfectly manicured fields of winter-brown grass as I droveup the highway. The hustle and bustle of New York City seemed millions of miles away. I had planned to make a trip to the city to sit down with Alexia anyway, but that was two days away. However, I liked the idea of keeping busy, moving, and not sitting still to cry over Jasper.
“Okay,” I finally said. “I’ll let you woo me.”
“Yes,” Rachel said victoriously. “Okay then, I’ll sendyour flight details. We’ll also have a car take you to the airport and pick you up. As I said, I’m going to woo you.”
I chuckled, welcoming the lightness between us. “Then let me be wooed.”
“And now I’m going to hang up before you change your mind.”
I laughed some more after the line went dead.
Droppingoff the rental car and purchasing a ticket to fly home went smoothly. After landing at Philadelphia International Airport, I called an Uber. Now I was standing in my living room, feeling relieved to be surrounded by my things. But also, something was in the air. I couldn’t quite put a finger on what, but it felt as though someone had been in my placerecently. My glower fell on my furniture then on the big, wide windows, which were the reason I’d purchased the place. I always kept them open, but now I scurried over to pull them closed.
I walked into my kitchen and looked around. The counters were still clean, and so was the floor. The refrigerator looked as though it hadn’t been touched, but I opened it just in case. Everything waswhere I’d left it. Then I turned to my bedroom.
My heart nearly beat out of my chest. I felt the tiny hairs standing up on my neck. I quietly fished my pepper spray out of the drawer near the oven and took my baseball bat out of the pantry.
I realized I could be totally crazy and imagining things, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Slowly, I tiptoed out of the kitchen and downthe hallway, opening the closets, creeping into the hall bathroom, the guest bedroom, and then my bedroom. After I cleared my master bathroom, I realized I was definitely alone in my flat.
With a sigh of relief, I released all the tension in my body. I didn’t know why I felt so paranoid. Then Arthur Valentine’s beady eyes, deep with evil, came to mind. I was scared of him, and I knew why.I loved the man who was obligated to marry his daughter, and getting in the middle of Jasper and Julia’s relationship would be a very dangerous thing.
