Sinner and Saint

Chapter Twenty Two

Jamie just grunted to let me know exactly what a lie he thought that was.

And for that, I just rolled my eyes at him, said a quick goodbye to the guys, and hurried after Winslow. The man spotted me from the corner of his eye and waited until I caught up with him.

"Hi," I said, slowing down to a jog and giving him an awkward smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to delay you."

"Nothing to be sorry for at all, Ms. Jones," he said with slight nod. He wasn't really smiling but his expression was friendly.

"I think I might have already said a few times that you can just call me Kady," I said. "You've known about me at least, what, five years now?"

"Six, Ms. Jones," he answered politely.

"Six, really?" I asked, surprised, even as I did a quick mental check. "It's been that long? Actually, the better question is, it's only been six?"

His mouth quirked a little. "I'm certain it's felt much longer for the both of you."

My brows went up slightly. Winslow was even less of a chatterbox than Jamie who's the most reserved person I know, but then it probably comes with the job.

"If you don't mind me asking, how was he in all that time that I was... gone?"

Of all people, Winslow was the last person I would've thought to ask. But if I really think about it, he was the only person on Stellan's side who had some idea about our involvement considering he sometimes had to work with the logistics of his boss's whereabouts in and out of the country.

But the man didn't respond right away.

In fact, he just looked at me, a slight furrow between his brows.

Was wordless staring an employment qualification from a man who does so much of it?

Feeling awkward for even bringing it up, I rushed on. "You know what, don't worry about it. I shouldn't have—"

"He seemed much the same," Winslow said. "Except when no one was looking, he'd stare off into the distance or go off on his own. Like a man who either had to hang on to the past or only think of the future to live through the present."

My gaze dropped, guilt twisting me on the inside. "Thank you for telling me."

"We can only hope that future's right around the corner."

When I looked back up at Winslow, the smallest smile was on his face and I smiled back. "Well, we can start with whether's Stellan's still home or not. I'm hoping to talk to him."

Winslow nodded. "He's been working in the basement. I'll walk you over there."

The basement was, unsurprisingly, the lowest level of the house and the one that was mostly built into the base of the hill. It was still accessible directly from the backyard, straight through the patio and into what looked like a huge library. It had the fluffiest, softest-looking leather sofas and arm chairs casually put together in the center of the room. For a 'basement', there was at least eighteen feet from floor to ceiling, the walls on each side full of books and the requisite rolling library ladder.

"He's read all of these books?"

The sad thing about my relationship with Stellan before was that no matter how seemingly long we'd been together, we didn't know much about something as mundane as each other's habits and routine at home.

"Likely," Winslow said, waiting as I lingered and looked around the space. "He's not the type to acquire something for show. If he's purchased a book, it's most definitely because he wanted to read it."