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James watched his cousin leave and let the air seethe out from between his clenched teeth.
God, he hoped Ryan was more bluster than action. When the hell had his cousin become such an asshole?
Small memories, moments from over the years, flickered through his mind.
He’d always been an asshole. James had just looked at him through the rose-colored glasses of hero worship and misinterpreted it for strength.
And since he’d come to work with Ryan, those glasses had been smashed into a hundred pieces.
The truth was out, and there was no more denying it.
Ryan was a grade A jerk in every way.
*
Tori stared atthe letter in front of her, trying to make the words make sense.
What is even happening here?
Her head spun, and her stomach wouldn’t stop roiling. She sat down on the couch to try and steady herself.
Their Saturday had been pretty low key before she’d opened the letter. They’d gone for a run around the lake together, then came home and made fancy salads for lunch before winding up in his bed. Slow, leisurely sex, followed by reading a comic book together.
It was only when he’d gone to shower had she finally gone through the mail that she’d picked up from her box this morning.
And there it had been. The letter that was turning everything she knew about her world upside down.
“I left you some hot water if you want it.”
James came out of her bathroom, towel around his neck, with a naked chest and pajama bottoms on.
He took one look at her face and eased onto the couch beside her.
“Tori? What’s going on? Are you okay?”
“I don’t even know.” She shook her head, her mind still racing from what she’d just read.
“What is it?”
She swallowed hard before trying to explain. “About a week ago, I got a message on Instagram. It was from a law office in Spokane. They were trying to verify my identity and get my contact info. Said something along the lines of ‘news about a family member.’”
James’s brows creased into a frown. “Do you think it was some kind of phishing scam?”
“I did at first, but I showed it to one of the lawyers who happened to drop by HR that day, and he said it sounded legitimate.”
“Okay. So you gave this law firm your info. I’m assuming you heard something?” His gaze dropped to the letter in her trembling hands.
She couldn’t answer, but just handed it to him.
He scanned it, and his gaze jerked back to hers. “Wow. Are you going to call them?”
“Yeah,” she hesitated. “I will Monday morning.”
“Hey, this is a good thing, right?”
Her gaze slid to the paper, where the name of the father she’d never known about was listed. And the amount of money she was due to inherit.
“Money is a good thing, I guess, but I can’t get over the other part. Finding out who my dad was.”
