Page 62 of To Steal a Heart

“Yeah,” she spouted. “He was eyeing my necklace. Why didn’t he go for it instead of stealing some idiotic mask?”

“Um, I can give you five million reasons. It was all about the money for him. Nothing else.”

Grandmother looked thoughtful. “I’m not so sure.”

A mild curiosity stirred inside of Arden. “What do you mean?”

“I saw how he looked at you on the dance floor. He loves you.”

The certainty in Grandmother’s tone jolted Arden to the core. For a split second, hope kindled in her breast. And then, as soon as it had come, it was replaced by hot lava that spewed up her throat and shot straight out of her mouth. “No!” she growled, balling her fists. “Don’t do that.”

“Don’t do what?”

“Don’t give me false hope!” Tears burned her eyes. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t cry, and she hadn’t all this time … until now. Curse Grandmother for her meddling! She swiped at her tears with her palms as she tamped down the emotion.

Grandmother sat back in her seat and folded her arms. “Back to my necklace.”

“Seriously?” she sputtered. “Are you that vain?”

A crater-sized crease formed in the center of Grandmother’s spindly brows. “This has nothing to do with vanity. It’s about common sense.”

“This I’ve got to hear,” Arden said dryly.

“Thanks to you, Garrett had full access to the house for the majority of the night.”

“Way to rub salt in the wound.” It was just like Grandmother to kick her when she was down.

“My point is, why stop at the mask? Why not take more? Think of all the priceless art and antiquities that Carter amassed. Garrett could have his pick. He could’ve been set up for life. It would’ve been a piece of cake for him to break into my room and take the necklace, but he didn’t. He took only the mask. Why?”

She chewed on her lower lip. “Maybe he did plan to take more but got interrupted and had to flee the scene.”

“Possibly.” She frowned. “I still find it odd. Something’s not adding up.” She spread her hands. “Why did he alert you by giving you the pink diamond?”

“Maybe he’s psycho. He could get his kicks out of tormenting me the way a serial killer torments his prey.”

Amusement touched Grandmother’s angular features. “You do have quite the imagination. No wonder you’re such a successful writer.”

Arden nearly choked on her own saliva. “I beg your pardon. Did you just call me successful?”

“Don’t let it go to your head,” Grandmother smirked.

“Don’t worry.” If anything, Arden was just relieved that her career was on the upswing. At least one thing was going right in her life. She knew better than to get cocky about her success. It could get snatched away as quickly as it had been handed to her. She’d paid the high price of her heart for her masterpiece.

“Maybe Garrett loves you.”

Arden’s voice pitched high. “Why are you so adamant about defending him?”

Grandmother held up a hand. “Calm down.”

“No, I won’t calm down,” she raged. “You’ve hated every guy I’ve ever brought home.”

“Not every guy,” Grandmother corrected.

“Right,” she spat. “You approved of one guy—the lying thief.”

A low chuckle sounded in Grandmother’s throat. “I guess I’ve always had a soft spot for rascals. I married one, after all.”

Arden’s eyes rounded. “Are you saying that Grandfather was a cheat?”