Page 82 of Moonshine and Magnolias
“A couple weeks ago in the basement of the historical society.” Rob spread some peach butter on his bread to avoid looking at Wendy while he spouted the half-truth.
“That makes sense.”
They sat through several speeches by the outgoing members and advice to the newcomers. Each minute seemed like five, and an aching desire to be with her fought with the need to come clean. He stroked the inside of her wrist and was rewarded with an increase in her pulse. He had to tell her. Now. “Let’s get out of here.”
She rubbed his long fingers in a rhythm that portended things to come. The vibrant feel of her was enough to make him hard. “I can’t abandon my own event.” Her foot skimmed up his leg. “We can go when the speakers stop talking and theycut the cake. Just a little bit longer.”
He let out a low growl that had her lips curling up in a seductive smile. Brunch couldn’t end fast enough.
“Hey, guys!” Anita kneeled by their table so she wouldn’t disturb other guests. “I have to go soon, but I still haven’t seen Hal. He didn’t answer my texts. Can you tell him I found more information—”
Rob stood up and reached for her elbow to guide her away. Fast. “Let’s go into the lobby so we’re not interrupting.”
“Real quick. Tell him I was able to verify the dates your Uncle Louis was at Fountenoy Hall. You knew the start date from the registry, but his journals were pretty accurate about when he left. No mention of any curse, though. I found a society article that mentioned both him and…” here she nodded at Wendy “your great-great grandfather or something and his sister. Isn’t that cool? Your relatives all knew each other from a century ago.”
“They what?” Wendy lay her hands flat on the table and pierced him with her sharp green gaze. “Did you know this?”
“Not when we first got here.” Stick to the facts. Don’t embellish. Lay it out straight.
“Maybe when you’ve recovered whatever it is you need, you can donate those dairies to the historical society. I’ve been trying to get Ms. Maybelle to hand hers over for years.”
He was going to burn those damn journals when this was all over.
“This came up in your research?” Wendy’s voice rose on the last word. “What else did you find, Anita?”
“Um…” Anita’s gaze flashed between them. “Nothing?”
“You were helping Rob and Hal research their own ancestry.” Wendy asked. “Their own. Not a client’s?”
“Thanks, Anita.” Rob held out his hand to Wendy. “Let’s go outside and I’ll tell you everything.”
“I’ll just find Hal later.” Damage done, the other woman skittered away.
“You’re not here because someone paid you to be, are you?” Wendy’s harsh tone was a far cry from their silent, heated exchange.
“No.”
The ice that burned in her beautiful green eyes froze all of Rob’s hope. “Start from the beginning, you bastard.”
***
Each word Rob spoke about his great-great-great uncle chilled Wendy’s skin. Working for the IRS. Finding a valuable treasure on Fountenoy Hall grounds. Leaving it behind when he got reassigned. Being cursed.
And now Rob and his brother, lying their way into her home, her life. Looking for the treasure now. Stealing from her.
How could taking something that didn’t belong to him break a curse? If anything, he would be cursed by taking it away.
She put her fork on the table and lined up the tines with the edge of the napkin, ducking her face to hide the raging anger that built in her body. The air around her wavered like she had stepped through a portal to another world. She struggled to breath. “The old journals my aunt had. Some were his?” She struggled to keep her voice even, but she was shouting by the end.
“Yes.”
“And you used me and my family to get to them to track down this Angels Eyes curse and a mythical treasure. I was a means to an end for you.” Lies. Every word he had spoken to her, every time he made her smile, every moan of pleasure had all been based on lies. Fury built up in her. At Rob, at herself. Was she that pathetic that she’d succumb to the first man who showed more attention to her than to her cousin? How had she been taken in so easily? First by Brandi and Eulalee, and now Rob.
But Brandi’s omissions didn’t fall into something she should have recognized. And they weren’t done with the intent of causing her harm. This was all on her.
“When we narrowed down his location to the Inn at Fountenoy Hall, we camehere to find the treasure, but we didn’t know what to look for.” Rob’s eyes searched hers with a yearning she didn’t understand, but his voice stayed flat. Unemotional.
Savage. Brutal.
