beer. Sighing, he stared past her for a few minutes, like he was searching
for answers and then finally met her gaze. “There’s just your mom on her side
but you have two uncles and two aunts on your dad’s side. Then there are the
in-law Aunts and Uncles.”
Stunned, she flopped back into
her chair. I have family. Lots of them. “Cousins? Are there cousins?”
“Ten first and some second and
third.”
Oh my God. This was too
much like her dreams as a child. She dreamt her family would find her, make up
with her mom. They’d bring tons of gifts and everyone would hug and kiss her.
They’d stop moving. She’d get to have sleep overs at her grandma’s. Her aunts
and uncles. And she’d have enough cousins to make two softball teams. And she’d
have friends to play with. Real ones. She’d get to have birthday parties. Every
year. Not just when her mom remembered - which had never been on the same date.
If she hadn’t had a birth certificate she’d have wondered. Another of her mom’s
rules – never get hung up on dates.
She shook her head. “Where do
they live? What do they do? Do they know about me?” She wondered why she’d
never heard of them or how come they wanted to find her now. How come, Mom?
“Hi. I’ve got the lobster.” The
waitress set the plate down in front of Bailey. Startled, she jerked back but
the waitress was already smiling at Guy. “The steak sandwich must be yours.”
She set down the plate in front of him, carefully arranging it.
He smiled at her, flashing almost
perfect white teeth. Bailey rolled her eyes. When the girl finally moved off, she
asked, “Like robbing the cradle, do you?”
He gave her an indulgent look
before digging into his food.
She felt a twinge of guilt at her
catty remark but shrugged it off. The luxurious smell of her food soon drew her
attention. The lobster was piled carefully into a coiffed mound, with steamed
carrots and whipped potatoes. Any other time she would have dug in and enjoyed
the expensive meal she never would have bought for herself. Only she wasn’t
hungry anymore. There was no way she was going to be able to get anything down
into her knotted stomach.
She looked up and met a pair of
sky blue eyes. They studied her. She tried not to squirm or to open her mouth
and be flippant and for some reason she didn’t this time.
“Something wrong with the food?”
He raised his right eyebrow.
“No.” Sighing, she pushed away
her plate. “Enough BS, I want some information now. How did you find me? How
long have you been looking? Who hired you?” She looked out over the rapidly
filling patio. “Where is my family?” She turned back and stared at the man who
had the answers to her future.
And her past.
He carefully cut another piece of
his steak sandwich and put it in his mouth. If there had been any other way for
her to get what she wanted, she’d have stormed out. Since he had the answers,
she picked up her beer and leaned back in her seat, to wait him out. If there
was one thing she’d learned from her ex-boss, Dahlia Cornblum, it was how to
play the role of a polished poker player to get what you want. Bailey had
learned to play poker at eight but never how to really play 'the game’.
“How much do you know about your
family?”
“Wrong question. You already
asked that. I want to know what you know.” She tipped her bottle to him. “So
spill.”
He held her gaze for the longest
time. The overhead lantern provided a gentle, romantic glow that was faint
enough that it hid his face in the shadows. She continued to wait for him to
share what he knew.
“Just bear with me. I need to
know what you know, so I know where to start.”
“Been practicing that line for a
while?” She glanced down, her gaze caught by the knight’s helmet and initials
on the right side of his navy blue, silky shirt, K A. She wondered what that
stood for.
“All right. Fair enough. Okay.
This is going to be hard for you to hear. So…” He shoved
for answers and then finally met her gaze. “There’s just your mom on her side
but you have two uncles and two aunts on your dad’s side. Then there are the
in-law Aunts and Uncles.”
Stunned, she flopped back into
her chair. I have family. Lots of them. “Cousins? Are there cousins?”
“Ten first and some second and
third.”
Oh my God. This was too
much like her dreams as a child. She dreamt her family would find her, make up
with her mom. They’d bring tons of gifts and everyone would hug and kiss her.
They’d stop moving. She’d get to have sleep overs at her grandma’s. Her aunts
and uncles. And she’d have enough cousins to make two softball teams. And she’d
have friends to play with. Real ones. She’d get to have birthday parties. Every
year. Not just when her mom remembered - which had never been on the same date.
If she hadn’t had a birth certificate she’d have wondered. Another of her mom’s
rules – never get hung up on dates.
She shook her head. “Where do
they live? What do they do? Do they know about me?” She wondered why she’d
never heard of them or how come they wanted to find her now. How come, Mom?
“Hi. I’ve got the lobster.” The
waitress set the plate down in front of Bailey. Startled, she jerked back but
the waitress was already smiling at Guy. “The steak sandwich must be yours.”
She set down the plate in front of him, carefully arranging it.
He smiled at her, flashing almost
perfect white teeth. Bailey rolled her eyes. When the girl finally moved off, she
asked, “Like robbing the cradle, do you?”
He gave her an indulgent look
before digging into his food.
She felt a twinge of guilt at her
catty remark but shrugged it off. The luxurious smell of her food soon drew her
attention. The lobster was piled carefully into a coiffed mound, with steamed
carrots and whipped potatoes. Any other time she would have dug in and enjoyed
the expensive meal she never would have bought for herself. Only she wasn’t
hungry anymore. There was no way she was going to be able to get anything down
into her knotted stomach.
She looked up and met a pair of
sky blue eyes. They studied her. She tried not to squirm or to open her mouth
and be flippant and for some reason she didn’t this time.
“Something wrong with the food?”
He raised his right eyebrow.
“No.” Sighing, she pushed away
her plate. “Enough BS, I want some information now. How did you find me? How
long have you been looking? Who hired you?” She looked out over the rapidly
filling patio. “Where is my family?” She turned back and stared at the man who
had the answers to her future.
And her past.
He carefully cut another piece of
his steak sandwich and put it in his mouth. If there had been any other way for
her to get what she wanted, she’d have stormed out. Since he had the answers,
she picked up her beer and leaned back in her seat, to wait him out. If there
was one thing she’d learned from her ex-boss, Dahlia Cornblum, it was how to
play the role of a polished poker player to get what you want. Bailey had
learned to play poker at eight but never how to really play 'the game’.
“How much do you know about your
family?”
“Wrong question. You already
asked that. I want to know what you know.” She tipped her bottle to him. “So
spill.”
He held her gaze for the longest
time. The overhead lantern provided a gentle, romantic glow that was faint
enough that it hid his face in the shadows. She continued to wait for him to
share what he knew.
“Just bear with me. I need to
know what you know, so I know where to start.”
“Been practicing that line for a
while?” She glanced down, her gaze caught by the knight’s helmet and initials
on the right side of his navy blue, silky shirt, K A. She wondered what that
stood for.
“All right. Fair enough. Okay.
This is going to be hard for you to hear. So…” He shoved
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