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“You trust me?” It sure didn’t feel that way.
“I always have.” He turned and walked out of the office, leaving the choice to read the file in Tyler’s hands.
Why did Spencer have to pick now to tell him he trusted him? For years, his older brother had been riding him to grow up, to do the right thing, and to be the model employee. Tyler learned a great deal from Spencer. Not about running the agency, but about life, loyalty, and family.
He picked up the envelope and thought for a few minutes. There was only one right way to handle this. Spencer didn’t open that file. Tyler couldn’t either. He would have to go straight to the source and get the answers. That would be the easiest way to end this nonsense.
* * * *
SAMMY OPENED THE DOORto find Tyler standing there in his expensive suit and designer shoes. They were going to see a movie, so she wondered why he was still in his office clothes. He usually changed before he came to pick her up. He walked in when she widened the door for him, but he didn’t say anything. Something was off.
“Hi.” She smiled as she draped her arms around his neck. “I didn’t expect you so soon.”
“I wanted to talk to you. There’s something that we need to clear up so we can get this behind us.”
“Are you okay?” She let go of him and waited for him to explain. She didn’t have a good feeling. “What happened?”
He looked unsettled as he pulled a folder out of his inside jacket. “Spencer gave me this today. I wanted to forget about it, but the more I thought about it, the more questions I had.”
Her stomach churned as he spoke. Somewhere deep within, she knew this day would come. No matter how hard she tried to forget about it, Spencer was so determined to figure out who she was. It was only a matter of time before he did.
“It’s a background check.” He tossed the folder on the couch and pulled her to him. Taking her face between his hands, he stared into her eyes. The intensity she found there scared her, but not in the usual, sexy, all-consuming way. “Neither one of us looked inside the envelope. I insisted there was no reason. Please tell me I was right so we can put my brother’s mind at ease.”
“A background check?”
“Spencer can be over the top, but I wanted to respect your privacy. I don’t want any secrets between us. That’s why I’m here now. I wanted you to know that he gave that to me. Whatever is in there is your business, but I hope if it’s something I need to know you would tell me.”
She tried to push back the lump that formed in her throat, but the tears that stung the corner of her eyes threatened to betray her. She had to tell him the truth, or at least what she thought was the truth. Hiding for as long as she had only made things harder.
“Or, tell me my brother is nothing more than over protective when it comes to me and Coda.”
“I can’t.” She sobbed because she couldn’t control it. “Spencer’s right.”
“What do you mean?” He continued to stare at her. “What’s he right about?”
“Tyler...I...” She looked down at the floor. “I never meant for anything to get this far. That night at the reception, when I was sitting at the bar, I never expected you of all people to approach me.”
“Look at me.” He guided her chin up. “Tell me what’s in that envelope. Whatever it is I won’t care, but I need you to tell me.”
“My father...” She took a deep breath. “He wasn’t married to my mother. I never met him.”
“I know,” he said. “What does that have to do with anything? Why would Spencer care about that?”
“Because my father was already married when he had an affair with my mother. He died—overdosed, I think— before I was born. His name was on my birth certificate, but my mother never really told anyone who he was. If Spencer had a background check done on me then my parents’ names would be included.”
“Sammy, sweetheart, you have to tell me why any of this would be mine or Spencer’s business. Who cares if your mother had an affair? That has nothing to do with us. I’m not seeing the whole picture.”
“My father’s name was Sam Vercelli, or at least that’s who my mother named as my father. My grandparents were never certain.” She waited for him to get it. “He had a wife and a daughter. They lived in Brooklyn too. My grandmother said my mom never told him she was pregnant before he died.”
“Vercelli?” He let go of her face and stepped away. “That’s Coda’s maiden name. I don’t... Are you saying...” He paced the tiny room, soaking in what she had told him. “You’re her sister?”
“I think so.” She had no way to verify it. “I don’t know.”
“What does that mean?”
“No one has ever confirmed it for me. His name is on my birth certificate, but my mother died years ago. She never told me who he was. According to my grandmother, she had a steady boyfriend around the time she got pregnant. It wasn’t Sam. When I applied for college, I needed papers and information so I found things of hers. I saw his name, but it never meant anything to me. I had no real connection with him, so it was a name on a piece of paper. I remembered it, but I had no desire to find out who he was or find his relatives.”
“Then how did you find Coda?”
