AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I feel bad for hurting her because she’s my mother and it clearly does. But I don’t understand how she could choose him over me. At the end of the day, that was her decision and she has to live with it. Unfortunately, so do I. As soon as they ring me up and put my stuff in the pink bag, I leave with Josh on my arm.
CHAPTER 8
Once we’re back to the bench where I left Beth, I fill her in and thank Josh. “I really appreciated that.”
“I wish it were true, especially since you bought that.” He inclines his head toward the bag.
I laugh. “You wish.”
“I do. I’ve never denied it.”
Beth glares at him. “No shagging my friends! You promised. Stop looking at her and pick someone else.”
I glance up and catch the worry in Josh's eyes. Beth doesn’t know about the hotel room. No one does. He’s thinking the same thing, and I know without a doubt, he’ll make sure his little sister is happy above everything else.
He teases her a little more by sauntering over to me and dipping me back in his arms. “Hey, sexy. Want to have a good time?”
I giggle. “Not with you.”
He straightens and covers his heart with his hand as if I'd shot him. He staggers backward and says, “That was brutal.”
Beth folds her arms over her chest, taps her foot, and glares at Josh. “It’s not half as brutal as I’ll be if you mess with her.”
“I’m just teasing, Beth. Kerry is like a sister to me, an incredibly, bodacious, succulent, sinful…what was I saying?” He flashes a grin my way, then waggles his eyebrows at Beth. “You worry too much.” He leans in and kisses Beth’s forehead, before strutting off. He calls back over his shoulder, “And Kerry, send me a picture of your new outfit. I’d love to give you some fashion tits. I mean tips.”
I frown and look over at Beth. “You seriously have nothing to worry about.”
“Yeah, well, weirder things have happened.”
I smack her arm with the back of my hand, lightly to get her attention. I point toward her brother. “That is never going to happen.”
CHAPTER 9
Beth drives me to Nate’s without commenting further on Josh. I know it worries her, and I really wish it didn’t. I have a love-hate thing with Josh. He’s a tease—and so insincere he has no idea which way is up anymore.
I walk into the kitchen and find Nate at the little table. He’s holding a letter in his hands with the envelope still sealed. “So, this came in the mail.” He taps the paper against his other hand.
I pull out a chair and sit down, tucking my bag away so he can’t see it. “What is it?”
“I don’t know.” He’s staring at the envelope like it’s filled with anthrax.
“Do you want me to open it?”
He glances past the paper in his hands and into my eyes. There’s so much emotion swirling bitterly beneath the surface it scares me. Something is very wrong and he thinks it’s going to get worse. Nate hands me the envelope. “Open it.”
I hesitate for a moment, then rip it open. I fish out the paper and unfold it. It’s from a law firm in New York and it’s addressed to him. My lips move as I silently read the words until I come to the part he’s dreading. I glance up at him over the top of the paper. “What do you know about this?”
From the look on his face, he’s already aware of the situation. “A little. Peter Ferro was carrying a letter claiming my dad wasn’t my biological father, that I was actually the byproduct of an affair between my mother and Peter Ferro’s father. I didn’t believe it, so I told the firm they were mistaken. That’s their response, isn’t it?”
I nod slowly. I can tell this has shaken him to the core. “You had no idea?”
r /> “No.” His elbows are on the table and his head hangs between his shoulders as his hands fist next to his ears. He doesn’t look up at me. “Tell me what it says.”
I scan the paper again and try to summarize it in a way that won’t be like a bat to the groin. “It says that your father loved you, and his death triggered a few things. One was a full background work up on you because of a paternity test your mother had done a long time ago. There was a clause in her will that was dormant until your father passed away. When that happened two letters were issued. One to you and one to Mr. Ferro stating he had a son and one telling you that you weren’t alone. That you still had family.”
“Those people are not my family.” He growls as he tugs his hair hard.
“They included the paternity test company and a copy of the results. They are also saying that there was money set aside, a trust.” I scan it a few times to make sure I understand what they’re saying before I tell him. “It sounds like there’s an inheritance.”
