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“Oh, God, don’t tell me I ruined the surprise,” Trisha said, pretending dismay, her fingers fluttering over her chest in mock surprise. “Didn’t he tell you?” She threw her brother a look of shocked dismay and clucked her tongue. “Honestly, Zach, she deserves to know, don’t you think?” She switched her gaze back to Adria. “They, meaning my brothers and their detectives, have nearly located Ginny Slade and it looks very much like you’re going to end up the winner in all this. Oh, Zach, don’t pretend to be so stricken. I know you knew all about it.”
“No one’s talked to Ginny yet,” he said.
“Only a matter of time.”
“Yet?” Adria whispered, hardly believing that after all these months, all the effort, she might be proved to be…Her gaze flew to Zachary’s and she felt a wrenching deep in her soul. If she were London, then, unless Zach wasn’t Witt’s son…She knew her face drained of color and her knees felt wobbly for a second, though she’d known all along this could happen. Wasn’t it what she’d wanted?
“This isn’t a bad time to let the cat out of the bag, is it?” Trisha asked as Zachary slid into the booth opposite her, yanked on Adria’s arm, and pulled her onto the soft leather bench beside him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Adria asked, turning bewildered eyes on Zach. Zach, who had protected her. Zach, who had stolen her away. Zach, who had made love to her. She could barely breathe.
“I just found out.”
Trisha’s gaze moved from her brother to Adria. “This makes things complicated, doesn’t it?”
Zach glared at his sister. “It’s always been complicated.”
“I know, but I mean for you two.”
The waiter came by with a refill for Trisha. Zach ordered a beer. Adria, swallowing hard, asked for chardonnay and noticed the curl of Trisha’s lip. “White wine, the drink of choice in—was it—Elk Hollow, Montana?”
“Stop it, Trisha,” Zach warned.
“Oh, l
ittle brother, you’ve got it bad, don’t you? And for your half-sister. That’s a real pisser.” She picked up her first drink and finished it off. “A real pisser.”
The waiter dropped off fresh glasses and Adria picked up the stem of her wineglass with trembling fingers. Her nerves were strung tight, but seemed jangled. Too much was happening too fast—she couldn’t absorb everything. “Why did you want to meet me?” she asked.
Trisha’s smile was brittle. “To tell you to stay away from Mario Polidori.” At the lift of Adria’s eyebrows, Trisha explained. “We go back a long time.”
“I’m not seeing him.”
“Oh?” Trisha obviously didn’t believe her.
“Not the way you mean. I met him for drinks. We talked business.”
“He held your hand, laughed at your jokes.” Trisha took another drag and squashed her cigarette in the tray. “Look, don’t play games with me, okay? Mario’s off limits.”
“Who do you think you are?” Adria asked, her temper, already frayed, finally splitting apart. “Both of you. You,” she turned on Zach, “trying to keep me a virtual prisoner, and you, Trisha, telling me whom I can or cannot see. Give me a break. I’m outta here—” She started to leave, but Zach caught her arm and held her firmly against him.
“Just a second,” he said, then turned his blazing eyes on his sister. “Is that it?”
“Not quite.” Trisha shook her head. “Just in case you’re not quite sure about a few things, I think you should know that if you two are involved, it’s a big problem.”
“Back off, Trisha,” Zach growled.
“If you’re London, Adria, and it’s starting to look like you are, then you’d better accept the fact that Zach’s your half-brother. I’ve heard all the rumors and so has Zach for all of his life, and I’ll bet you both are banking on the fact that he’s supposed to be Anthony Polidori’s son. He’s not.”
Zach’s jaw clenched so tight the bone showed beneath the skin of his chin. “I’m warning you—”
“That’s right. Mom checked it out years ago. Remember, Zach, when you accused me of listening at cracks and peeking through keyholes? Well, I did. Every chance I got. It was the only way I could survive, the only way I knew what was going on. And I learned a helluva lot. I remember the day Mom, through rather discreet methods, found out Anthony Polidori’s blood type. She was devastated because it proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was no way he could be your father. You, her favorite, the son she hoped didn’t belong to Witt.”
Adria felt sick inside.
“So, if you two have been screwing around, just remember that you’re closer than you ever thought possible.”
“Shut up, Trisha.”
