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Lacey spun round, splashing water over her wrist. ‘What?’ she said, but she could already see the game was up. Because Milly was looking at her with a devastating mix of sympathy and concern.
‘No wonder you were so nervous about going to interview him,’ Milly mused. ‘I thought it was because it was such a big opportunity for you. And, well, he’s him,’ she added as Lacey’s anxiety shot back towards the danger zone—a level it had been hovering around ever since Brandon Cade had introduced himself to his own daughter half an hour ago, and that puzzled expression had crossed his face as he’d got a good look at Ruby.
Lacey’s stomach plummeted back to her toes and kept on going.
Milly turned off the tap, the water having overflowed the saucepan. She lifted the pan out of Lacey’s numb fingers and placed it on the sideboard.
‘He’s Ruby’s dad, isn’t he?’ she said.
The question reverberated in Lacey’s soul.
And suddenly she couldn’t hold the lie in any longer. Not from her sister, not even from herself. And so she nodded.
Milly swore softly. ‘And I’m taking it he doesn’t know?’
Lacey shook her head, the sting of tears hurting her eyes. Tears of self-pity which she had no right to shed. ‘I think he probably does now. Or he will figure it out,’ she said, then let the breath out which had been clogged in her lungs for hours.
She had absolutely no idea how long it would take Brandon to figure out the truth. Or what he was likely to do with the knowledge. But one thing she did know, he would not go easy on her.
She had blindsided him. Taken something from him she had no right to take. Whether he wanted to be a father or not, he was one. And he had been one for four years and three months.
She blinked, then scrubbed away the errant tear that trickled down her cheek. What was worse, she wasn’t sure any more she deserved to have him go easy on her.
‘Did something happen between you two last night too?’ Milly asked.
Lacey’s gaze darted to Milly’s, her cheeks exploding with heat.
‘I thought he looked rather possessive when he came striding out of that amazing car,’ Milly murmured.
Lacey groaned. When exactly had she become so transparent?
‘I’m so sorry I brought Ruby out with me,’ Milly said, clearly picking up on Lacey’s panic and distress.
‘Don’t be,’ Lacey said, finally looking her sister square in the eye. ‘You didn’t do anything wrong.’ And neither had Brandon Cade. Not yet, anyway. ‘I should have told him about Ruby yesterday.’ She swore under her breath, a word she hadn’t used in years. ‘The truth is, I should have told him about her when she was born.’
‘Why should you have done that?’ Milly said forcefully, always willing to offer support, even when Lacey knew she didn’t deserve it. ‘Ruby is happy and healthy. She has a good home and we love her. That’s no small feat, considering how little support we got from Dad after Mum died.’
‘Ruby also doesn’t have a father,’ Lacey said. ‘And that’s on me.’
‘Well, maybe now she does,’ Milly offered, always determined to look on the bright side. ‘And the guy’s a drop-dead gorgeous gazillionaire who appears to still be into you. So, that has to be good for something.’
‘Except I don’t think he’s going to be into me any more,’ Lacey said, fairly sure it would be better if he wasn’t, because this situation was already catastrophic enough without factoring in the sexual chemistry, which made her do stupid things. ‘And I have no idea how he’s going to react.’ Just thinking about all the things he might do was making her stomach hurt. ‘What if he tries to take Ruby from me?’
‘He won’t,’ Milly said with a cast-iron confidence Lacey knew was at best optimistic, and at worst totally misplaced.
Brandon Cade was a powerful man, and she knew he also had the ability to be incredibly ruthless.
If only she’d thought of that last night, when she had fallen to pieces in his arms for the second time in her life.
‘But perhaps you should tell him the truth now, instead of waiting for him to find out,’ Milly said.
Lacey nodded. Her sister was right. How could she fight for Ruby’s best interests if she didn’t even have the guts to face the man who had fathered her? She had to get out ahead of this situation now and stop hiding.
But as Milly took over lunch duties, and Lacey walked into the flat’s small hallway to call Brandon’s assistant—because she didn’t even have his private number—her phone dinged.
She read the email from Daryl Wilson and the fear, which she had hoped finally to get a handle on, returned full-force.
Ms Carstairs, I have attached the solicitor’s letter which I am sending via courier today to demand a DNA test of your minor child, Ruby Devlin Carstairs—who Mr Cade has reason to believe may be his biological daughter. Once the DNA test is completed, Mr Cade’s legal team will arrange a meeting to discuss the results of the test and how their client intends to proceed in this matter. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
