Page 20 of One More Secret

“Well, there’s a first.” Zara’s head tilts as if trying to get a firmer read on Jessica. “A woman who isn’t throwing herself at you, Troy, and shoving her phone number in your pocket. It’s a refreshing change.”

I raise a mocking eyebrow at the girl I grew up with. “Women don’t throw themselves at me.” I look at Jessica, who doesn’t seem to know what to make of Zara’s comment. Her lips are parted, her cheeks a deeper pink. “She’s kidding. Zara’s younger than I am, but gets a kick out of big-sistering me.”

“That’s becausemybrothers aren’t as much fun to bug.” Zara grins at Jessica, her eyes taking on a devious glint. “You notice he didn’t argue the part about the phone numbers. It’s been that way for him and his brothers for as long as I can remember. There probably isn’t a woman in Maple Ridge who hasn’t lusted over one of the Carson brothers.”

I can tell the moment Jessica homes in on the one question Zara hadn’t counted on, and a laugh bursts from my lungs, short and to the point. “What about you, Zara? You live in Maple Ridge. Which one of us do you lust over? Oh, wait”—I level a got-you grin at her—“that would be Garrett.”

Zara huffs out a comically exasperated breath. “I don’t lust over Garrett. He’s my best friend. Absolutely no lusting there.”

I laugh harder and recline on the couch. “What do you think, Jessica? Does Zara protest too much for someone who doesn’t lust over my brother?”

“Garrett Carson? The…theNew York Timesbestselling author who writes thrillers?” Something about Jessica’s voice, the curiosity, the tremor, sets me on edge.

“You’re a fan of my brother’s books?” Suspicion turns my tone cautious, and I exchange a worried glance with Zara.

Jessica winces and takes a sip of her hot chocolate. “I’ve-I’ve never…um…I’ve never actually read them.” She doesn’t sound nervous, more like embarrassed she hasn’t read his books. “Someone I met in town mentioned him.”

Tension unknots from my muscles. A woman stalked Garrett a few years ago because she was his number-one fan. That memory always puts Zara and me on edge.

But Jessica doesn’t seem like the stalker type. More like prey.

9

TROY

March, Present Day

Maple Ridge

“I guessme being his brother doesn’t impress you, then.” Amusement tints my tone, and I dab the antiseptic pad on Jessica’s cut. A hissed breath squeezes past her teeth.

“Are you visiting someone in town?” Zara asks, sounding genuinely interested.

“I-I just moved here.” Jessica leans back an inch, putting distance between Zara and me. And my gut tells me it’s not only men she doesn’t trust. She doesn’t trust. Period.

“That’s great.” Zara passes me a bandage from the first-aid kit. “You’ll love it here. Are you renting an apartment?”

“No, I’m…” She glances between Zara and me. “I’m in the…the process of buying a house. In town.”

Surprise kicks me in the ass. “You are?”

Jessica nods.

I don’t bother asking her where. She won’t tell me. I open a package with a sterile pad inside, place the pad on the cut, and wrap the bandage around her hand. I’m probably going overboard, but it’s an excuse to keep talking to her.

“What made you decide to move to Maple Ridge?” Zara groans and flops against the back of the armchair. “God, if you don’t already think small-town folk are up in everybody’s business, you will now. I didn’t mean to come off so nosy.”

“As opposed to how you normally are?” My tone isn’t asshole, it’s ruffle-her-hair teasing.

Zara makes a cross sound, somewhere between a grunt and a huff. “I’m not nosy.”

Jessica looks between us, but I can’t tell if she’s amused or alarmed at our teasing. “The house…the previous owner’s great-niece was planning to sell it at the end of the year. So…I…I made an offer.”

Great-niece?Shiiiit. What are the chances she means Anne? “What’s her name?”

“Anne Carstairs. She doesn’t live in Maple Ridge.”

Fuckity-goddamn-fuck.

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