Our Little Secret by Starr Ambrose Page A

myself as a small business owner who skis.”

    “And climbs.”

    “Yup. Whenever I can.”

    Her brow furrowed and he could tell she was trying to decide whether a recreational activity qualified as a job. Her eyes were downcast, but her surreptitious gaze swept his body, lingering on his chest and the thigh that nearly touched her own. If she was trying to think of all the ways a winter of skiing followed by a summer of climbing was a bad idea, she wouldn’t find it there. But he didn’t mind her looking.

    Drew watched her lift another folder from the stack; he stared at what lay beneath it. “Damn,” he said softly.

    He noticed Lauren’s gaze shift to her lap, and she sucked in her breath as he lifted the light blue envelope. It was identical to the one they had found at thebank, the one that contained compromising, embarrassing photos of Meg and the blond Viking look-alike.

    He met her wide-eyed gaze, his raised brows questioning whether she wanted him to open the clasp. Lauren nodded, then rested a pink polished fingertip between her teeth. When she caught him looking at it, she dropped her hand to the stack of papers in her lap. Both hands gripped the edges of the pile tightly, braced for a shock. “You open it.”

    Drew worked the clasp and tipped the envelope, catching the single paper that slipped out. Lauren flinched as he turned it over, probably expecting another X-rated photo.

    He sighed with relief and held it out for her to see. “It’s my parents’ marriage certificate.”

    Lauren relaxed and leaned closer. She read aloud, “Kathryn Amelia Shay. Pretty name.”

    She was too polite to ask, but he could see the question in her eyes. “They were divorced,” he told her.

    “Oh, I’m sorry.”

    “No need to be. I was in high school and Miranda was in college, so it’s not like it traumatized us. Things were better after they split up, and they were pretty good friends by the time my mom died a few years ago. I think she always loved him, she just couldn’t put up with his constant affairs.”

    “I imagine you were surprised when he married Meg, then.”

    Drew snorted. “Surprised is putting it mildly. I was flabbergasted. He said he’d never marry again, and in my opinion he never should have been married in the first place.” He gave her a rueful smile. “You weredead on when you called him a tomcat, you know. Fidelity is not in Harlan Creighton’s nature.”

    “Hmm.” She motioned toward the envelope. “Let’s see Meg’s marriage license. Is it in there?”

    He glanced in the envelope and shrugged. “Nope.”

    Lauren looked surprised. “Why not? Isn’t this where he keeps all his important papers? Where else would it be?”

    “I have no idea.” He had even less interest, but it was obvious that she did. “What’s the big deal? You don’t think your sister and my dad lied to us about being married, do you?”

    “Well, no…” It didn’t sound convincing.

    “Dad’s office even announced it to the press,” he said, citing what for him was proof. Seeing her doubtful look, he tried for a lighter touch. “What’s the matter, don’t you want to be related to me?”

    She seemed oddly unsettled by that comment, and he made a mental note to come back to it later.

    “It just seems like it would be here, with the other one. If Meg changed her name, would she need to have it for ID purposes?”

    “Only if they left the country. But we don’t know if she changed her name. Let’s keep looking.”

    They examined every folder and document in the safe before finally admitting it wasn’t there. He couldn’t have cared less, but Lauren had begun nibbling on a new fingernail. He already recognized it as the first sign that she was anxious. Reaching for her hand, he pulled it away from her mouth and examined the fingertips. All five were short, with chipped, ragged ends. She looked guilty and tried to pull her hand away, but he held on.

    “Nervous