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“Um.” Shaw looked distinctly guilty as he fumbled to think up a smart, believable lie.
But Mr. Suit didn’t wait for an answer. “Kaitlynn was here,” he surmised. “When was Kaitlynn here? Wait, you actually know Kaitlynn? How do you know Kaitlynn?”
At a loss for words, Shaw just gaped at him, so Camille cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, but did you say Kaitlynn? You mean that pretty blonde, long hair, with the perfect amount of wave in it? About my height? Blue eyes? Awesome shoes?”
Mr. Suit whirled toward her so abruptly she seemed to lose her nerve. Stammering, she added, “Yeah, uh, yeah. She was in here a minute ago. You just missed her.”
“She was? Which way did she go?”
Camille seemed too caught up in his handsome thrall to remember how to talk, so I pointed back toward the exit. “She went that way.”
The distraction worked perfectly. Mr. Suit shot his attention toward the door, and then he left, seemingly determined to hunt Kaitlynn down and calling, “I’ll be right back,” as he went.
“And...” Shaw announced as soon as the door closed behind him. “He’s gone.”
Kaitlynn popped to her feet, appearing from behind the bookshelf—floor dust hugging her from head to toe—and flashed us an uneasy but grateful smile.
“Okay,” I announced. “This is one story I gotta hear, because let me tell you, honey, that was one fine business suit.”
“That was one fine butt,” Camille added next to me, fanning herself.
“That…” Isobel heaved out a heavy sigh across the counter from us. “That was my brother.”
“Brother?” Kaitlynn whispered in horror as she spun to face Isobel. “No.” She gaped at the flower shop owner a second longer before her eyes widened. “Oh my God,” she whimpered, backing away as if Isobel was suddenly contagious. “You are his sister. You really are, aren’t you?”
Isobel merely shook her head, smiling out her confusion. “How do you know Ezra?” she asked before her expression fell. “Oh, Lord. Please don’t tell me he’s been giving you unwanted attention.”
“What? No!” Kaitlynn cried before flushing hotly. “I mean, it totally wouldn’t be unwanted if he were. Which he’s not, because why—why would he give little ol’ me any attention? I’m no one.”
I snorted. “I think the girl doth protest too much.”
Camille bumped her elbow into mine and agreed with a nod. “Definitely.”
Kaitlynn scowled at us, which made me and Camille grin back knowingly.
“Yeah, no one buys the theory that he’s not interested in you,” Shaw mused, glancing toward the entrance. “He seemed too desperate to catch you. You’re definitely not no one to him. I think we’re all just curious as to why he’s so intent to track you down.”
“Probably to cuss me out some more,” Kaitlynn moaned despondently, only to realize her answer merely made us more curious, so she sighed and waved a hand. “I’m kind of his least favorite person at the moment.”
Shaw snorted. “Not unless your name’s Lana Judge.”
When Kaitlynn winced, I frowned.
“But, wait,” I spoke up, shaking my head in confusion. “Isn’t that your name?” When Kaitlynn, Shaw, and Isobel whirled toward me as if I were insane, I cleared my throat and immediately revised. “I mean, the Judge part. Not Lana. She’s Kaitlynn Judge,” I told the others, only to turn back to Kaitlynn. “Who’s Lana Judge? Do you go by Lana instead?”
“No!” she shrieked, horrified. “Good God, no. I go by Kaitlynn. Or Kait. Or Kaity.”
“Wait.” Isobel stepped curiously forward, blinking strangely at Kaitlynn. “Your surname is Judge? Judge as in JFI, Judge Fashions Industry, the company my family owns half of, the one my brother—Ezra—is the co-CEO of?”
Kaitlynn winced and nodded as if guilty.
“Holy shit,” Shaw murmured. “Are you—no. That would be too crazy. You’re not Lana’s daughter, are you?”
“Of course not,” Kaitlynn instantly denied, only to slump her shoulders and admit, “I’m her stepdaughter.”
“Oh,” Shaw and Isobel said in unison before both taking a single, leery step away from her.
Whoa, who the fuck was this Lana Judge character to freak them out like that?
