Volatile Chemistry (Billionaires' Secrets Book 1) by Jennifer Lewis Page B

from under her. She can’t seem to imagine being happy again.” She tugged her gaze from the picture and glanced up at him. Her wide gray eyes glittered with tears. “Honestly, I feel the same way a lot of the time.”
    “But you haven’t given up on life.”
    “No. I guess I’m not the giving up type.”
    The determination in the set of her jaw gave him a warm flush of relief. “I’m glad to hear it.”
    Of course that only made her less likely to give up on her ill-fated quest to attack Tarrant Hardcastle.
    Her penetrating stare made him lift his chin. “Nice house.”
    “Yes. It’s filled with things my mom and dad collected over a lifetime. They brought these cat figurines back from Egypt. And my mom painted that watercolor on a trip to Tuscany. She used to paint all the time when I was little. That one over there is a picture of the house when it’s covered in snow.” Bella rubbed her arms. “This is her sanctuary. They bought this house when they were first married and she’s never lived anywhere else.”
    He moved toward her, again bedeviled by a raw urge to take her in his arms. Their intimacy of earlier hummed in his blood.
    But she stepped back, raising a wall between them.
    He searched his mind for words to set her at ease. “It must be nice to stay in the same place a long time and put down roots. We moved all the time. I don’t think we stayed anywhere more than two years.”
    When her eyelashes glittered with fresh tears he realized he’d said the exact wrong thing. Her roots were about to be ripped right out of the ground.
    He shoved a hand through his hair. “Isn’t the mortgage paid off by now?”
    “I think it was at one point, but they borrowed against it.” She gulped a breath. “This is an expensive area, and we always lived just like everyone else; but now I can see they never had anything left over to put away. I guess they must have been in debt almost the whole time, just trying to keep up.”
    Dominic stayed silent.
    “I earn a good salary, but the mortgage, the taxes, the hospital bills, living expenses... I’ve been borrowing from Peter to pay Paul for a year now.”
    “And you can’t pay Peter or Paul back unless you win the patents back from Tarrant and exploit them yourself.”
    She nodded.
    Except that he’d already foiled her plan and it was time to move forward.
    “You found the papers you were searching for.” It wasn’t a question. Why else would she rush to a hospital after visiting hours?
    “I did.” Her face looked tight.
    “What did they say?” He fought an impulse to step closer, so he could sniff for truth or lies in the scent of her skin.
    “I haven’t read them.” He noticed she still clutched her leather briefcase in her arms. “I didn’t want to take them out on the train.”
    There was something guarded about her expression, something prickly about her posture, that made him not believe her. Had she read them and not liked what they said?
    “Let’s take a look at them.” He spoke softly.
    Her eyes widened. “Why should I show them to you?”
    “Because I want to help you, not hurt you.”
    Now that I’ve betrayed you.
    His muscles tightened as recrimination crept through his veins like acid. Bella was combing through his father’s files in a desperate attempt to get her mother out of a mental hospital.
    Pity squeezed his heart.
    In a situation like that, he could see how someone would be desperate enough to try anything.
    But that didn’t mean it was the right thing to do.
    Bella opened a sliding door, letting in the rhythmic hum of the summer night. “I’m going to get something to eat.”
    “Outside?” Curiosity propelled him after her.
    She flicked on an outdoor light. It illuminated a jungle of leaves and vines. He followed her down a brick path, and saw that the jungle was actually a large and very organized garden.
    Tomatoes. The vines climbed sturdy lengths of wooden trellis. He could smell the ripe fruits as she plucked