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"Are you leaning one way or the other?"
She was silent for a second. "I still need more information…" Her voice trailed off, continued after a moment, "But unless something changes, I can’t hide the truth. He… they… deserve to know."
Taut muscles clenched and unclenched. Who was she discussing? The identity of the person who shared the information? Someone else? By her tone, it seemed like something far more significant, far more life-changing.
"How do you think she'll take it?"
She'll?
"She'll be ecstatic. Not that things aren't great between us, but she has such a big heart. She'd love the opportunity to wrap someone else around that tiny pinkie of hers."
Okay…. This conversation was getting stranger and stranger. He moved a step closer. Who else was she holding out from? Was it related to his secret?Related to him?
"Has he seen Jeanie?"
What did her daughter have to do with anything? He moved closer still.
"You don't think she'll freak when she finds out that…"
"Mr. Bancroft, so good to see you!"
Aidan closed his eyes, forcing away anger at the well-meaning yet devastatingly timed interruption. The jovial town councilman smiled as he continued down the hallway on his way to the bathroom. The ladies’ conversation didn't resume once he left, however, proof they didn’t miss the loud greeting. It was time to confront his clever prey.
“Actually I have met Jeanie,” he proclaimed as he turned the corner.
Both women jumped, and Laura stared at him. Her eyes were wide, her lips parted in an O, her expression terrified. Did she wonder how much he had heard? The answer: not nearly enough.
But he would.
However, he wouldn’t share that, because otherwise she might not let her guard down enough to let more information slip. The unmistakable urge to ease her fears hit, to vanquish her fear and fright. To make her understand he was not her enemy, that he could be something far different. Something personal.
Perhaps a little teasing would help, a little twist on Laura's earlier claims of a culinary-challenged cat named Jeanie. “Or at least I saw what she did. Made a mess of the whole apartment. Little scoundrel, her.” He shook his head. “I had a rascal that did that once, and she spent the night outside. She never did it again.”
Candace’s eyes grew as big as saucers.
“Sometimes you have to use a little tough love,” he continued. “Of course, I left some food on the doorstep and an old towel for a bed. I just couldn’t leave her without anything, you see.”
Candace blinked.
“Okay, I admit it." He grinned good-naturedly. “I let her in after a couple of minutes. But she did learn her lesson.”
By now, Candace looked ready to faint dead away. Or call the police. Or both.
Laura laughed loudly, a little too loudly, having clearly caught on to his joke. “He's just joking, Candace. We had a little misunderstanding."
"That's right," he confirmed. "About whether Jeanie was a child or a cat. It's easy to get confused, you know. Ask Laura."
She shot him a warning look as Candace breathed in clear relief. "Umm, sure, right. Well, I'd better get back. Mayor and all. Let me know if you need anything." As if insanity was catching, she hurried away, leaving the two of them alone.
Laura and Aidan stared at each other. She had to be desperate to discover what he heard but didn't ask for fear of giving something away. "Is there anything you'd like to tell me?" he said lowly.
She shook her head curtly.
He should have left it at that, walked away without a word more, but something inside him compelled him to continue, "Our association is not going to end with your secrets."
She paled, and this time did speak, "What do you mean?"
He tried to soften his features, to not scare her. "There's something between us, something beyond the secrets and the past and business. Something raw, something powerful. Don't tell me you don't feel it. I can see it in your eyes. It will be easier to explore once everything is out in the open."
