The Seduction

“Then I was attacked.” I can figure out that much.

“I couldn’t stand to see that bastard’s hands on you. I went crazy.”

I close my eyes. “I remember.”

“And then I got to know you. Really know you. You weren’t just beautiful but you were good. I wanted to get to know you better … for me. Everything between us was real,” he says.

I choke back a low moan. I needed to hear that so badly. I open my eyes. Tears are dripping down my cheeks, and I wipe them with the back of my hand.

“But?” I ask. Because I know there’s more. He installed the cameras, so obviously there’s more.

“Just like I said, every time I let down my guard, every time I forgot I was supposed to have an agenda, something would happen to remind me. Ferro called you. He showed at the bar. I visited my sister. And was forced to remember.”

“And the cameras? The video?”

He groans. He pulls the car off an exit on the Hutchinson River Parkway. The sign says Town of Scarsdale. I’m vaguely aware that we’re now in a wealthy area.

My brain is scrambling to catch up with where he’s taking me and to keep him talking. “Zach?”

“The night I saw you and Ferro at the bar, I okayed the install. I wasn’t thinking clearly. I never am when it comes to him, and seeing him with you, it was like waving a red flag in front of an already enraged bull.”

I wrap my arms around myself, and he lowers the AC. “Chloe, just because the camera was there didn’t mean I would have let the video go viral. It was a stupid, impulsive act that night, just like yelling at you was. You were pissed at me, and I couldn’t stand it. I sent flowers, chocolate; I just wanted to make things right. When you agreed to come over, I wasn’t thinking about revenge or videos. I was just thinking about you. Me. Us.”

I want to believe him so badly. He’s done nothing to make me think he doesn’t care. Our meeting was set up but since then? What has he done except take care of me?

“Are all our secrets out in the open?” I ask.

He hesitates. “Almost.”

I swallow hard. “What could be left?”

He turns onto a tree-lined street where houses are hidden, and the ones I can catch a glimpse of are huge. “This is mine,” he says, turning into a nearly concealed driveway and pulling all the way through to a massive home built from stone, with a four-car garage attached.

He stops the truck, and I climb out without waiting for him. He joins me out front. “The Queens house?” I ask.

“My grandfather’s like I told you. He left it to me. I loved the old man, so I never sold it.”

“How do you afford this?” I sweep an arm toward the stone mansion in front of me.

“Like I told you, I dabble. I have my PI license, but I’m in business too. I did well with stocks and bonds, and now I do consulting from home.” He shrugs sheepishly.

“Why lie about it?” I ask him.

“Would you have trusted me if you thought I was wealthy like your parents? Or were you drawn to me because of all we had in common?”

I blink back tears again. “I was drawn to you. The guy in jeans and a tee shirt—”

“That is me. I’m dr

essed up today for your graduation. I didn’t want to embarrass you in front of everyone by showing up dressed like I didn’t give a damn when I do.”

“The guy who cooks—”

“Again, I do. You’ve seen it for yourself. I just have a much bigger kitchen here. State-of-the-art. I think the chef in you will love it.”

He pivots me around until I’m facing him, and he looks into my eyes. “You know me. All of me. More than anyone else in my life knows. I confided in you about Grace, and I don’t talk about her to anyone.”

I manage a nod. “I want to believe I can trust what I feel for you, but I’ve been burned badly.”