Free Unmasked (New Adult Romance) (The Unmasked Series) by Anya Karin Page B

to see you!"
    She looked back at the clock on her way out the
door.
    Seven fifty-nine.
    ––––––––
    As she poked her head around the opening into the
living room, Alyssa saw her dad sitting in his chair, but not reclined. Next to
him was a hawk-like old man, stiffly seated on the edge of the couch, with his
shoulders consciously pushed back and his chest out much farther than could
have been natural. A short tuft of hair ringed his head, and his most prominent
feature – his nose – was hooked at the end.
    Pulling her eyes off the man's nose, Alyssa stuck
out her hand, which he held with his fingertips and gingerly shook.
    "So nice to meet you," she said, glancing down at
the gloved hand in hers a little confused. "I know you don't remember me, but I
saw you a long time ago, I think. You're Mr. Webb, right?"
    "I doubt that, young lady." His voice was cold
stone with a trickle of ice water running over the surface. "And I see that
you're confused. Mr. Webb is waiting outside. I'm Gadsen Cartwright, Mr.
Webb's...ah...assistant."
    "Oh," Alyssa swallowed in relief. "I see, well,
sorry for the over eagerness, in that case."
    "Don't worry about it. I know this is all very
sudden. It is for me, too. As I was telling your father, Preston wanted to meet
you, although I'm not entirely sure why. Please don't take that the wrong way."
    "No, of course not, that's okay."
    "It's just that I'm not entirely sure how he came
to know you in the first place. He's been rather a sheltered person, you see."
    Alyssa's eyes moved off of the curious old man and
to a shadow on the front door. Staring through the wooden slats, she was able
to make out the lines of a very tall man's body, but he seemed to be facing
away. All she saw was black cloth, which seemed like the back of a suit. On the
ends of his arms, white cuffs poked out from the black confirming her suspicions.
One of his hands, she saw, was rhythmically clenching and relaxing. The other,
with its long, slender fingers that matched the man, was hanging open.
    "And that's where we stand. Do you have any
questions?"
    "Alyssa?" Her dad's voice broke her concentration.
"Any questions for Mr. Cartwright?"
    "Oh, sorry, no I don't think so." Her voice was
far away. Already her eyes were fixed on Preston's form and couldn't be torn
away.
    Gadsen chuckled. "That's quite alright. I know
this must all be terribly exciting for you."
    "Yeah," she whispered, in the same way she mumbled
ascent during conversations that bored her. "That's right."
    "Shall we, Mr. Barton? We have other business to
discuss while those two are talking."
    "Sure thing, Gads – uh, Mr. Cartwright."
    "Gadsen's fine. May I call you Ryan?"
    The two men stood on the periphery of Alyssa's
vision, and went off into the kitchen to do whatever they were going to do. Her
attention was elsewhere.
    "Alyssa?" A voice, soft, velvety and smooth,
barely above a whisper, floated to her ears.
    "Preston?" She said. "Is that really you?"
    "It is." He shifted back and forth on his feet and
the hands went from his sides to his front. "Please, come closer so we can
talk. Your dad has a chair he usually sits in. I prefer to stand."
    "So do I. Stand, I mean," she said.
    Alyssa couldn't believe his voice. It was so very
unlike anyone else's she'd probably ever heard. He had a way of speaking that
was incredibly clear, but just so quiet and soft. Her foot hit the door when
she walked forward, surprising her. The next thing she noticed was how his
laugh matched his speaking.
    "How...I mean, why did you want to meet me?"
    "It's a long story," he sighed. "But the short
version is that I think I always have. I don't know how to say this without
sounding more than a little strange. I've been trying to figure out a way for
the last day and a half, but just can't manage."
    "Just say it," she said. "If you do, I'll tell you
a secret I've kept for, God, ten years now?"
    He turned halfway around. She couldn't see
anything, not really, only a vague