Page 25 of The Encounter
He laughed, and she giggled along with him.
“It’s changed so much here since I was little. Modesto is getting so big.”
“Did you grow up here?” he asked.
“Kind of, yes.” The faraway look that she had earlier came back. “My grandmother lived here, and I used to visit a lot. And then I moved here and lived with her when my parents passed away.”
“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.” He reached a hand out and put it on hers.
“It was a long time ago.” She nodded and pursed her lips. “They were killed in a car accident. Actually, it was on the way to a craft fair.”
It explained the faraway look in her eyes when she stared at the painting. He wondered if she had a love hate relationship with his art since her parents passed away while going to promote it.
“How old were you?”
“Fifteen. I was actually supposed to be with them, but I had a track meet scheduled that same week. I planned to skip it since I wasn’t the fastest runner on the team, but the fastest runner ended up getting injured. I stayed back so I could take her place in the meet. It’s crazy to think about, you know? I would have died, too.”
“You had a guardian angel looking over you that day.”
She twirled her fork on her plate. “I suppose I did.”
The silence settled between them for a few minutes as they continued to eat their dinner.
“Tell me about yourself. Something I can’t learn from tabloids,” she said.
“Let’s see. Despite what everyone thinks, I’m not an entitled, rich kid.”
“Mmm, do tell.”
She leaned forward in her chair and rested her elbows on the table, giving him her full attention. The top of her dress opened, leaving a full view of her cleavage and a peek of the black lace bra she wore. His eyes strayed to her chest but snapped back to her face.
He cleared his throat. “I had a comfortable life. My parents made sure I had what I needed, but I earned everything from there. They didn’t hand me whatever I wanted when I wanted. I worked for things, even as a child. My parents would give me chores or tasks to do to earn money and then I would buy my toys from there with my own money. I got Christmas gifts and birthday gifts, of course. But they rarely got me something I wanted outside of those events.”
“It sounds like they taught you a great work ethic.”
“They did. I contribute all of my business sense and ability to invest to them. I understood the value of money.”
“They sound like wonderful people.”
“They are.”
When their food was finished, Jace told Maddie to take a seat in the living room while he cleaned up. He found her sitting on the floor, scratching Roxy’s head a few minutes later. He smiled at the sight and took a seat next to her, handing her a wine glass and taking a sip of his own.
“Where did you live with your parents?” he asked.
Maddie smiled. “Not too far away. I grew up in Salinas.”
“And you’ve been living here in Modesto since you were fifteen?”
“Oh no. I went away to New York University for my degree and then got my first job in New York. I stayed there until this summer. My grandmother’s funeral was in April, and I came back and realized how much I missed it here. I moved back at the end of June.”
He tilted his head. “It’s a big change going from New York to here.”
She glanced at him briefly. “I was ready to leave.”
Something in her comment made him curious to find out why. He suspected there was more to the story than just missing Modesto, especially if her parents and her grandmother had passed away.
“Do you have other family here?”
