Page 56

“It’s May 2. And every year, Edna bakes me a little cake.”

I wasn’t surprised by that. And it was the perfect time for me to get in another dig. “Do you yell at her for it?”

Finally, he looked up. “Why would I yell at her for doing that?”

“Because she’s defying your wishes.”

He looked as if he were restraining himself from losing it with me, but he’d kept his promise thus far of keeping his cool. “She’s not. I haven’t told her not to bake a cake.”

That fact made this man even more of an enigma to me—but I wasn’t going to push it further. Instead, I nodded and used my spoon to scoop up a half-wedge of grapefruit. After I swallowed, I said, “What are you reading?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m going over the financials of the organization I’ll be meeting with later this morning. Think of it as homework—which you’re interrupting.”

“Maybe so, but when it’s time to eat, you should focus on that. It helps you feel more satisfied and appreciative of the food.”

This time when he looked up from his phone, there was a twinkle in his cool blue eyes. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah. You should try it sometime.”

“All right.” Pushing a button on his phone, he turned off the screen and picked up his cup of coffee. “Breakfast was the one time I felt like I could really multitask…kill two birds with one stone, but I can see you’re not going to let me do that.”

Maybe that had been a bad idea. I didn’t necessarily want his undivided attention. But it was easy enough to distract him there too. “It looks like the scratches on your cheek are almost healed.”

“They are. It was a bit of a challenge shaving over them. And they’re fading. I was kind of hoping they’d match my lip scar.”

Oh…that lip scar. That was maybe something he disliked about himself and he was making light of it but it made him distinctive. And, as much as I hated to admit it to myself, it only enhanced his good looks.

But it led to a question. “If you don’t mind my asking, how’d you get it?”

“I do mind.” With that, he picked up his empty plate and coffee mug and walked over to the sink. The fact that he didn’t want to answer a simple question made me wonder if that scar was part of the whole mystery of him and this place—and it just made me want to know more.

But I wasn’t going to be able to get at it directly. Maybe Edna would tell me if I asked. Maybe. I knew where her loyalties lay, and they weren’t with me. Still, if I could get her warmed up and talking like she often did, I might be able to get some dirt.

When Sinclair sat down across from me with a fresh cup of coffee, I asked, “Don’t you have to go to work?”

“Of course. But I’ll be working in my home office today.”

“Then why are you wearing a suit? Why not wear jeans and a t-shirt?”

“Because it’s unprofessional. And I have a meeting over Zoom later and they’ll expect me to look like this.”

Although I kept a neutral expression on my face, my spirits sank. Once again, I focused on the grapefruit so I could hide my feelings. There went my plan of snooping in the east wing unnoticed. I knew there would be other opportunities but realized that he was possibly working from home because Edna wasn’t here. She wasn’t here to keep an eye on me.

Although some of the old anger began churning in my gut, it also strengthened my resolve. If I earned their trust, I could gain everything I wanted: time with my father…and access to his secrets.

If only I could rein in my impulses.

Chapter 20

A little after noon, I headed up to the kitchen and, after I found the salad and one of Edna’s homemade dressings, I put them on the counter so I could begin assembling lunch. I’d barely pulled the loaf of bread she’d made the day before out of the breadbox when Sinclair showed up, a newspaper in hand.

“Great minds think alike,” he said, putting the paper on the table before joining me at the counter. “Salad?”

“Yes.”

He opened the refrigerator and said, “She usually makes more than that.” I thought the salad was beautiful—a selection of greens interspersed with slivers of red cabbage and carrot, decorated with bright red cherry tomatoes. But he began placing a few other bowls on the table and, when he opened them, I saw the chopped ham and turkey, cubed cheddar cheese, and sliced hard-boiled eggs. Obviously, he liked chef salad. “If you add some protein to your salad, you won’t feel hungry in an hour.”

“Is that so?”