Page 89 of The Prize

“Zara? Everything okay?”

“Yes, of course. You miss London?”

“I love my home in Oxfordshire. The countryside in England is like nowhere else. The quiet.”

“Do you miss your foxes?”

“Rascals that they are.”

I popped a chip into my mouth and it tasted deliciously salty and made my mouth water. “Sometimes you are annoyingly perfect.”

“I’m going to aim to impress you for the rest of your life.” He grinned. “As you can see I’m an open book when it comes to you.”

“There is something else.”

“Ask away.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

“How old were you when you found out Elliot Burell sabotaged your parents’ plane?”

“Nine.” Tobias’s gaze locked on mine. “I overheard my uncle Fabienne arguing with his lawyer. They were discussing the findings from the investigation surrounding the crash. I was meant to be asleep but I’d come down for a glass of water and I heard the tension in his voice. He was being advised to hide me away. I didn’t see my grandmother for five years after that.”

I felt dreadful for him. “How did they find out the plane had been sabotaged?”

“When they examined the wreckage, they found evidence the fuselage had been tampered with. They went back to check the hangar’s surveillance and it showed a man working on the plane who wasn’t authorized to be in there. They matched his fingerprints. He was a hired mercenary who worked for Elliot Burell.”

“Why didn’t your uncle prosecute?”

“The man disappeared.” Tobias reached for his glass. “Burell’s lawyers threatened my uncle with a defamation lawsuit. We went to live in France.” Tobias drank the rest of his water as though trying to quench a thirst that would never relent.

“When you became a public figure, weren’t you scared Burell would come for you?”

He leaned forward. “I kept away from that family right up until I discovered they’d stolen a Titian. I admit to outbidding them for paintings in auctions from time to time to entertain my dark heart. Zara, that heist changed my life. Not only did I achieve my goal, but I also found a collection that belonged to the most enigmatic woman I’ve ever met. And here we are. Dining within the company of Degas.”

I turned my gaze to a Degas in a golden frame. “Do you ever wish you could just slip inside one of these and stay there?”

Tobias pushed his chair back as he stood. “I already have.”

Staring up at him I tried to read his next move. I shoved a fry into my mouth nervously.

“Stand up, Zara.”

Slowly, I rose from my seat, wary of Wilder’s next move. I licked salt off my fingers, my heart thundering at the change in his tone. He walked around the table and neared me. “What would make the evening perfect?”

“Chocolate pudding?”

He lowered his chin. “Think grander.”

“Tobias,” I said breathlessly as a jolt of fear ran down my spine for what Icon was about to do next.

He leaned in and kissed my ear. “Trust me.”

“I do.” My voice sounded shaky, uncertain.

“Then why are you looking at me like I’m Icon?” His irises glistened under the soft light.