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Dallas frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Lia clutched her evening bag to her chest, struggling with the dilemma she found herself in. “There’s a problem with my DNA test results,” she declared in a breathless rush, sick of all the lies. “Ethan and Paul know, but you can’t tell anyone else.”
“What sort of a problem?”
“I’m not your long-lost cousin.” Lia crossed her fingers and hoped that Ethan and Paul wouldn’t be angry with her for jumping the gun. “We just found out that there was a huge mix-up.”
Dallas looked appalled. “Why haven’t you told anyone?”
“Because Grady has rallied since he thought I was his granddaughter and we’ve been waiting for him to be fully on the path to recovery before saying anything.”
“He’s going to be so upset,” Dallas said. “He’s been obsessed with finding Ava’s daughter.”
Lia hung her head. “We know.”
“I can’t believe Paul would let this go on.”
“He’s not happy about it, believe me.” Lia grabbed Dallas’s hand. “Please don’t tell anyone. We’ve agreed that I’m only going to stay another few days.”
“And then what?”
“Then we come clean about the mistake and I get back on the road.”
Dallas stared at her in silence while emotions flitted across her face. “I don’t understand any of this,” she complained at last. “Why do you have to leave?”
“I was never going to stay,” Lia reminded her, repeating what she’d been saying all along. “I like traveling the country too much to stay put anywhere.”
“But Grady loves you. We all do.”
“He loves his granddaughter,” Lia said, her heart aching at the thought of moving on. Never before had she grieved for her lack of family ties. “I’m not her.”
“What about Paul?”
“What about him?”
“You’re obviously the woman from his reading. The one he’s supposed to fall in love with.”
“No.” Lia ignored her pounding heart. “He’s not in love with me. Attracted maybe, but we’re too different to ever work.”
“I think you might be exactly what he needs.”
“Are you listening to yourself?” The laugh Lia huffed out fell flat. “A moment ago you were worried he and I were doing something creepy and wrong.”
“That’s when I thought you were our cousin,” Dallas said. “Now that I know you’re not, I heartily approve of you two.”
“There is no us two,” Lia corrected, her desperation growing by the second. “Please don’t speak about this to anyone. Not even Poppy.”
“But we tell each other everything.”
“I know, but for now the fewer people who know, the better. And everything will come out in a matter of days.” Seeing Dallas was still waffling, Lia gripped her hand. “Please.”
“Fine,” Dallas groused. “But you really should think about staying. For Paul’s sake. And yours.”
As Lia returned to Paul, she debated whether to tell him about her conversation with Dallas. She hated to let secrets and subterfuge get between them, but worried that he would keep his distance if he discovered that his cousin had caught them. With her time in Charleston growing short, she selfishly wanted to soak up his company and if he thought his cousin knew about their deception, that would preoccupy him to the exclusion of all else. She would just have to ensure that they were more careful around his family.
“Is everything okay?” Paul asked, his green eyes roaming her expression.
“Fine.” Lia slid into her seat and hid her disquiet beneath a weary smile. “Just a little tired.”
