Bittersweet Memories (Off-Limits #4)(62)

Alanna looks up when I walk into the living room, her gaze searching. “What’s wrong?”

She still reads me the way she used to. I could never tell how she did it. Even when I try my hardest to keep my emotions from showing, she sees through the facade. What do I tell her? Would she believe me if I tell her about her landlord? I have no concrete evidence, because the money came out of my account.

“Nothing. Let’s go.”

She nods and follows me to the car. I hold the door open for her, enjoying the way her body brushes against mine as she gets into the car.

“I’ve never seen anything like this, you know? A car lift that goes all the way to your house and parks your car in the middle of the living room. It’s very… manly?”

I get into the car and bite back a smirk as I lean over her under the guise of buckling her in. I love how nervous she gets around me, how her breath hitches and her eyes widen. She thinks she’s acting reserved, but her body is betraying her in the very best way.

“You don’t like it? The floor of the lift is just marble tile, so if there’s no car in there, the living room floor is seamless. I can just park the car in the regular garage, where I park the others. It’s just that this specific car is quite expensive, so it’s an insurance thing.”

The seatbelt clicks into place, and she exhales slowly. I just love stealing these little moments with her. I can’t push her too far, or she’ll just move out and I’ll be back at square one, but this much I can do. At some point, she’s going to have to admit to herself that she wants me. Even if all she feels for me is lust, I’ll take that. The line between love and lust is a blurry one, after all.

“Oh, no. That’s not what I meant. I shouldn’t have said anything at all. I’m sorry. I just meant that it’s pretty cool.”

I nod and smirk at her. I’m going to have to find a separate garage for my Ferrari. She definitely doesn’t like having it in the living room.

“Your tie is the same color as my blouse,” she remarks as I start the car.

I glance over at her, pretending to only just notice her blouse. “Hmm, you’re right. We look good together.”

Alanna’s outraged expression makes me laugh, earning me a look of wonder and astonishment. “I’ve never seen you laugh before.”

She raises her hand to her chest, making me wonder if her heart skips a beat around me, the way mine does when she smiles.

“You’d better enjoy it,” I tell her. “It’s a rare sight.”

She turns to me and rests her cheek against the car’s headrest. “How so?”

“For the longest time, there wasn’t much in my life to smile about, let alone laugh. For years, I’ve felt like the most important part of me was missing.” Until now.

Alanna nods. “Yeah,” she whispers. “I know how that feels.”

I glance at her and smile. I’m going to have to make it my mission to make her laugh now. One way or another, I want her to feel the happiness she brought back into my life.

“Oh, please stop here, Silas.”

I frown. Why would I stop a block away from the office?

“Please, Silas.”

I sigh and pull up to the curb. “Why am I stopping here?”

She undoes her seatbelt and smiles nervously. “If we’re seen arriving together, everyone will be asking me questions about it and I won’t know what to say. When Ryan came to our department, I was teased about it for days on end, including by people I don’t even know. I just want to focus on work and not invite more rumors.”

I run a hand through my hair in annoyance. If it were up to me, I’d be shouting from the fucking rooftops that she’s living with me, but I don’t seem to have a say in this matter. “Fine.”

Alanna smiles at me before rushing out of the car, and I shake my head as I watch her for a moment. How long is it going to take to truly make her mine once more? I’m already running out of patience.





Chapter Forty





Silas



Amy’s tense expression instantly puts me on edge, and I straighten in my seat. She grimaces as she closes the door behind her, taking a moment before turning toward me, almost as though she’s bracing herself.

“What is it?” I ask, my voice soft. “Just tell me.”

She nods and clutches her tablet tightly. “I found out where Alanna’s scholarship money came from.” She walks up to me and puts her tablet down before turning it my way and sliding it over. “You won’t believe this, but I triple checked my sources and even asked Aria Callahan to assist me with this, and it’s correct. The money came from the man who was convicted for Alanna’s father’s death.”

I pick the tablet up and go through the files, struggling to believe what I’m reading. It looks like he was paid a hundred grand to assist Alanna’s father with his insurance fraud.

“He never expected to be caught. They’d planned the hit in detail, but they were caught by an eyewitness. He may not have realized that him confessing in return for a more lenient sentence also meant Alanna didn’t get any of the insurance money she would have gotten, and I suppose he felt some remorse. He knew what her father was doing it for, after all. When she lost her memory, he thought a fresh start would be good for her, so he had his family make the arrangements and used some of her father’s money on her.”