Unveiled (One Night #3) by Jodi Ellen Malpas
Prologue
William Anderson had been sitting in his Lexus on the corner of the familiar street for over an hour. A whole damn hour and he still hadn’t located the strength to get out of the car. His eyes had been rooted on the old Victorian terrace for every painful second. He’d avoided this part of town for over twenty years with the exception of one time. To bring her home.
Now, though, he had to face his past head-on. He had to get out of his car. He had to knock on that door. And he was dreading it.
There were no other options left for him, and boy had he searched high and low in his fraught mind for an out. Nothing. ‘Time to face the music, Will,’ he breathed to himself, sliding out of his car. Shutting the door softly, he started towards the house, annoyed that he was incapable of steadying his thumping heart. It was vibrating in his chest, echoing in his ears. Each step he took, her face was becoming clearer and clearer, until he was clenching his eyes shut in pain.
‘Damn you, woman,’ he muttered, shivering.
He found himself outside the house far sooner than he liked, staring at the front door. His poor mind was being blasted with too many bad memories to cope with. He felt weak. It wasn’t a feeling William Anderson often experienced because he made sure of it. After her, he made damn fucking sure of it.
Letting his head fall back on his shoulders and his eyes close briefly, he drank in the longest inhale of air he ever had. Then he raised a shaky hand and knocked on the door. His pulse accelerated when he heard footsteps, and he very nearly stopped breathing when the door swung open.
She hadn’t changed a bit, except now she must have been . . . what? Eighties? Had it been that long? She didn’t look at all shocked, and he didn’t know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. He’d reserve judgement until he left here. There was a lot to talk about.
Her now-grey eyebrows raised coolly, and when she started shaking her head mildly, William smiled a little. It was a nervous smile. He was beginning to shake in his boots.
‘Well, look what the cat dragged in,’ she sighed.
Chapter 1
It’s perfect here. But it would be even more perfect if my mind wasn’t awash with worry, fear, and confusion.
Rolling onto my back in the queen-size bed, I gaze up at the skylights built into the vaulted ceiling of our hotel suite, seeing soft, fluffy clouds littering the bright blue sky. I can also see skyscrapers stretching up to the heavens. I hold my breath and listen for the now-familiar sounds of a New York morning – car horns, whistles, and the general hustle and bustle are all detectable from twelve floors up. Mirrored skyscrapers close us in, making this building seem lost amid the concrete and glass jungle. Our surroundings are incredible, yet it’s not what is making this nearly perfect. It’s the man lying next to me in the squidgy queen-size bed. I’m certain that beds in America are bigger. Everything in America seems bigger – the buildings, the cars, the personalities . . . my love for Miller Hart.
We’ve been here for two weeks now, and I miss Nan terribly but speak to her daily. We’ve let the city swallow us up and had nothing to do except immerse ourselves in each other.
My perfectly imperfect man is relaxed here. He still has extreme ways, but I can live with that. Oddly enough, I’m starting to find many of his OCD habits loveable. I can say that now. And I can say it to him, even if he still chooses to ignore the fact that he is crippled by obsession in most elements of his life. Including me.
At least there are no interferers here in New York – no one to try to take away his most prized possession. I’m his most prized possession. And it’s a title I’m thrilled to have. It’s also a burden I’m willing to shoulder. Because I know that the sanctuary we’ve created here is only temporary. Facing that dark world is a battle hovering on the horizon of our current almost perfect existence. And I hate myself for doubting the strength within me to see us through it – the strength Miller is so confident I have.