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She lowered her head, took a breath, and forced herself to regain her composure.
Her hair-trigger response to his goading would fail to garner anything close to desired results. Two minutes of conversation, and she had already lost sight of the endgame.
Taking another breath, she looked up and managed a smile as he continued to return her gaze.
“This is no way to start what I am sure will be a mutually beneficial…arrangement.” She lowered her shoulders, pulling from past experience and taking on a demeanor sure to appear bested and contrite. One that was Shelby Wellborn worthy. “I apologize and look forward to engaging in discussions that will serve us both.”
He opened the car door. “Better, but far from Oscar-worthy.”
* * *
Lucas Santos staredout the window, wrapping his head around what he had just learned.
It had been Maisie.
Not Birdie.
He’d had sex and conceived a daughter with Maisie Wellborn.
Was she the one who’d drugged him? Did Birdie know?
Would the Wellborn sisters never fail to upend his fucking life?
“Dad.”
He turned toward Mia, who had morphed from a fire-breathing teen to a deflated child who had just lost who she thought was her mother, telling Birdie she hated her and never wanted to see her again.
He pulled her small body into his arms and rubbed her back as the tears flowed. “It’s going to be okay,” he said, unsure of the accuracy of the words.
“She’s such a liar,” she hiccuped. “I hate her.”
“No, you don’t.” He blinked away his own tears. “That’s the problem.”
The door opened, and for a moment, he had hoped it was Birdie, returning to shed light as to why she had claimed to be the girl he had slept with all those years ago and Mia’s mother.
Instead, Bernadette stood in the doorway. With a look of grave concern, she closed the door behind her.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Lucas said, his own eyes damp.
Placing her pocketbook on the table next to the bed, she gave him one of her special hugs. A warm blanket of assurance he desperately needed.
“I got a call from Birdie, asking me to come to the hospital right away. She wouldn’t tell me what happened, just that you needed me.”
“She’s not my mom,” Mia blurted, wiping her eyes and nose with the back of her hand, lips trembling. “She lied. All these years, she lied to all of us.”
Bernadette brought a hand to her mouth, shaking her head in disbelief. “How?”
Lucas gave her the pertinent details. How Mia had read the contents of her medical file and Birdie had confirmed her accusations.
He rubbed his eyes and then his forehead. Where was she? Was she okay?
He was so fucked. For some inexplicable reason, he was worried about the woman who had layered lies over lies. God help him. He turned to Bernadette. “Is she in the hallway?”
Bernadette shook her head. “She left. I passed her as I was going into the elevator just as she was coming out. I don’t think she saw me. She appeared rather disoriented.”
Lucas stood, bent down toward Mia, and kissed her on the forehead. “Talk to Bernadette. I’ll be right back, okay?”
Mia nodded as Bernadette took his place, pulling his daughter into her arms as a new round of tears began to flow.
