It was best to deflect the question. “What troubles do you have?”
He glanced away. “We...um, aren’t talking about me right now. You’re the one who looked as though you saw a ghost.”
So he did have a skeleton or two in his closet. Was it bad that she took some sort of strange comfort in knowing that he wasn’t as perfect as she imagined him to be, not that she’d done any digging into his past. When she’d done her research on Fo Shizzle, she’d been more interested in his company’s financial history and their projections for the future—all of which consisted of glowing reports.
“Annabelle?”
“Okay. It’s not that big of a deal. I was just remembering being here with my mother.”
His brows drew together. “I don’t understand. Why would that upset you?”
She’d told him this much; she might as well tell him the rest. After all, it wasn’t like the memory was any big deal. “It’s just that the memory is from a long time ago and it’s vague. I remember that day my mother wasn’t acting like herself. She was quiet and short-tempered. Quite unlike her.”
“Was your father with you?”
Annabelle shook her head. “I don’t know where he was. I’m assuming back home in Halencia with my brother.”
“You have a brother?”
She nodded. “He’s six years older than me. But what I don’t get is why I’d forgotten this.”
“It’s natural to forget things that don’t seem important at the time. Do you think the memory is important now?”
“I have no idea.”
“Why not just ask your mother about it?”
“I can’t.” Though Annabelle wished with all of her heart that she could speak with her mother.
“You don’t get along with her?”
In barely more than a whisper, Annabelle said, “She died.”
“Oh. Sorry. If you don’t mind me asking, how old were you at the time?”
“I was thirteen. So I wasn’t really paying my mother a whole lot of attention.”
“I remember what it was like to be a kid. Although I spent most of my time holed up in my bedroom, messing around on my computer.”
“So that’s how you became so successful. You worked toward it your whole life.”
He leaned back on the bench and stretched his legs out in front of him. “I never set out to be a success. I was just having fun. I guess you could say I stumbled into success.”
“From what I’ve read, you learned to do quite a bit as far as computers are concerned.”
“Coding is like a puzzle for me. I just have to find the right connections to make the programs do what I want.” He glanced at her. “It’s similar to the way you have snippets of a memory of your mother. You need to find the missing parts for the snippets to fit together and give you a whole picture.”
Annabelle shrugged and glanced away. “I’m sure the memory isn’t important.”
“Perhaps. Or maybe it is and that’s why you’ve started to remember it.”
“It’s not worth dwelling on.” Who was she kidding? This was probably all she’d think of tonight when she was supposed to be sleeping. Was there some hidden significance to the memory?
Just then she recalled her mother raising her voice. Her mother never shouted. Born a princess, her mother prided herself in always using her manners.
“You remembered something else.”
Annabelle’s gaze met his. “How do you do that?”
“What?”
“Read my mind.”
“Because it’s written all over your face. And just now, you went suddenly pale. I take it whatever you recalled wasn’t good.”
“I’m not sure.”
“Maybe it would help if you remembered a little more. Perhaps it’s not as bad as you’re thinking.”
“Or maybe it’s worse.” She pressed her lips together. She hadn’t meant to utter those words, but the little voice in her head was warning her to tread lightly.
“Close your eyes,” Grayson said in a gentle tone.
“What?”
“Trust me.”
“How can I trust you when I hardly even know you?”
“You have a point. But think of it this way, we’re out here in the open and your bodyguard is not more than twenty feet away. If that isn’t enough security, there are people passing by and people in the nearby shops. All you have to do is call out and they’ll come running.”
“Okay. I get the point.”
“So do it.”
She crossed her arms and then closed her eyes, not sure what good this was going to do.
“Relax. This won’t work otherwise.”
She opened her eyes. “You sound like you know what you’re doing. Are you some kind of therapist or something?”
“No. But I’ve been through this process before.”
“You mean to retrieve fragmented memories?”
“Something like that. Now close your eyes again.” When she complied, he said, “Recall that memory of your mother. Do you have it?”
Annabelle nodded. All that she could see was the frown marring her mother’s flawless complexion and the worry reflected in her eyes.
“Now, was it sunny out?”
What kind of question was that? Who cared about the weather? “How would I know?”
“Relax. Let the memories come back to you. Do you recall perhaps the smell of the bakery?”
“I’ve heard it said that smell is one of the strongest senses—”
“Annabelle, you’re supposed to be focusing.”
And she was dodging the memories, but why? Was there something there that she was afraid to recall?
She took a deep breath and blew it out. She tried to focus on any detail that she could summon. Together they sat there for countless minutes as she rummaged through the cobwebs in her mind. Grayson was surprisingly patient as he prompted her from time to time with a somewhat innocuous question. These
