Claimed: The Pregnant Heiress by Day Leclaire Page B

your neck.”
    She helped herself to a final bite of sea bass— sans blowing beach sand—and steeled herself against the line of questioning he intended to pursue. Very few people knew her entire history. Now that she thought about it, Ana Rodriguez and her parents were probably the only ones aware of the true story, even though they hadn’t lived on the estate at the time the events inquestion went down. Over the years, she’d chosen to share the information with them.
    The instant Emma locked her emotions under tight control, she gave Chase the cool, gracious, Princess Worth smile. “You gather wrong. I have a brother who’s five years older. And I even have three Worth cousins,” she added, hoping the information would distract him. “Becca and her two brothers live in Napa Valley.”
    â€œAnd your brother?” Chase boomeranged right back where she didn’t want him to go. “I don’t recall meeting him.”
    â€œThat’s because you haven’t. He…isn’t in the picture.”
    Chase absorbed that for an instant, no doubt surprised his research hadn’t turned up any information on the subject. “He doesn’t work for your father.” It wasn’t a question.
    â€œYou’re right. He doesn’t.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œYou cut straight to the quick, don’t you?” she ventured. “Just stick your foot right in where it doesn’t belong.”
    â€œFoot. Nose. Hand.” His congenial smile held a ruthless edge. “Whatever it takes to figure things out.”
    â€œThen, why don’t I give you the short version?” Emma pushed her dinner plate to one side and sat very straight and very still. “My brother went to boarding school at fifteen, which is also how many years it’s been since I last saw him.”
    Chase’s brows drew together in a quick frown. “Hell, Emma, I’m so sorry.” Genuine concern underscored the words. “What happened?”
    She should resent him asking, but it was a reasonable question, compassionately delivered, and one many in Vista del Mar would give anything to have answered. “Shortly after my mother died—” She broke off, horrified to discover she couldn’t continue.
    Chase escaped his seat and crouched beside her chair. “Damn it, Emma, don’t. Please don’t cry. You don’t have to say anything more if it’s going to upset you.”
    She fought to hold back her tears, wishing she could blameher emotional reaction on hormones. But it was more than that. “It’s painful and not something I talk about. Ever.”
    â€œIt’s your choice, sweetheart.” He placed a hand on her bared shoulder and squeezed gently. “I won’t think any less of you if you don’t want to tell me.”
    She shuddered beneath his tender touch, but didn’t dare surrender to the desire that single caress aroused. It would be all too easy to turn to him. Tumble into mindless passion. But it would lead her down a path overflowing with pitfalls and unpredictable consequences. She forced herself to focus on a bead of condensation gathering along the side of her water glass, hoping the distraction would restore her self-control.
    It didn’t work. Past events swirled around her like a chill wind. As much as she hated the idea of discussing family history—old, painful, horrible history—maybe the time had come to excise the wound. Chase was here and willing to listen. If they had any hope of creating a future together, one of them needed to take a chance. To let down their guard and trust.
    â€œMy mother and brother were close. Very close,” she found herself admitting. “When she died, my brother blamed my father.”
    â€œWhy would he do that?”
    Emma shoved back her chair and escaped across the room to stand in front of the fire. For some reason she’d turned icy cold.