AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Kidnapping, sure. But what do they gain from swapping me with some other baby? Nothing.”
“I know. It doesn’t make any sense. I don’t have all the pieces yet, but I know I’m on the right track. I feel it in my gut.”
“Maybe you’re just hungry,” she said with a dry tone.
Harley scowled at her over his coffee. Apparently her humor wasn’t as welcome when he was stuck on a case. “You know, I thought you would be more interested in what I had to tell you, but you’re treating it all like a joke. I mean, really, I shouldn’t have said anything, but it seemed like you needed to know. It’s a big discovery.”
Jade came to his side and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I know, and I’m sorry. Thank you for telling me. It’s just a lot for me to think about. I didn’t know what I expected when this whole process began, but I certainly wasn’t planning on it involving rich people and kidnapping plots. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do or think about the whole situation.”
“You don’t have to do anything. Just mull it over and let yourself get used to the idea. I don’t want you to be blindsided when it all comes out and you’ve got reporters in your face asking you how it feels to be an instant billionaire.”
She was grateful for the warning. Truly. But somehow being hit with news like that suddenly gave her more to worry about. Now she would fret, if the dull ache in her stomach was any indication.
Morgan Steele. That woman sounded powerful and in control of her life. The daughter of a wealthy family. The socialite heiress who was poised and polished to a shine. Jade was none of those things and couldn’t imagine that she ever could be. It had to be a mistake. Harley was barking up the wrong tree.
Though when she looked up at him, she noticed a light of determination and seriousness in his eyes. He knew he was right. So what did that mean for her?
“You don’t seem very excited by the news. I think most people would love to find out that they’re secretly a member of the wealthiest family in town.”
Jade supposed she wasn’t most people. “It just makes me worry, Harley. I’ve never fit in with my family as it was, and we were raised poor. How will I possibly fit into a family that’s überwealthy? I don’t know how to be rich. I don’t know how to be an elegant, refined person. I’m going to stand out like a sore thumb and that’s the last thing I wanted. I was trying to find out where I belonged.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re beautiful, you’re smart. I could put you in a ball gown and take you to any fancy party you could name and you’d fit right in.”
Jade sighed and looked down at the worn wood of her kitchen table. It was a hand-me-down from her parents, as were most of the things in the house. She hadn’t had many new belongings in her life. What little she’d gotten as wedding gifts years ago were worn out or gone by now. She hadn’t bothered to bring much back from Virginia when she’d packed up and left her life with Lance behind.
To find out that she really was a Steele... She couldn’t even imagine what it would mean for her life, but she hoped Harley was right. She wanted more than anything to fit in somewhere. Hopefully, a nice dress and a smile would do the trick.
She doubted it.
Eight
When Jade returned home from work Monday afternoon, she found Harley where’d she left him that morning—at the kitchen table surrounded by paperwork, staring intently at his laptop. He hardly looked up when she came in, not acknowledging her presence until she dropped her purse onto the chair beside him.
“How’s it going?” she asked.
“It’s going.” He sighed and shut his laptop. “You’re home early.”
Jade winced at his observation and turned to look at the clock on the microwave. “Actually, I’m home later than usual. It’s almost five. You’ve been buried in your work for hours. Have you eaten anything today?”
Harley sat up straight in the chair and put more thought than should have been necessary into the answer. “I ate some of those shortbread cookies you had in the pantry.”
She sighed. “I appreciate your dedication to the case, but you need to eat. There’s nothing in the house worth cooking. Are you up for going out to dinner? You need a break from all this, I think.”
“Sure.” Harley stood up and stretched with a loud groan. He had to have been sitting there for hours. “I was actually thinking of taking you someplace really nice for dinner tonight.”
Jade stiffened where she stood. Someplace nice? She wasn’t quite sure what that meant. Or what it implied. Did he mean a date? They’d had sex. Things were casual but flirtatious between them. But nothing as traditional as a date had been mentioned before. So that probably wasn’t what he meant. Or did he? She groaned internally and decided to focus on what she knew for sure.
“Really nice? Are we talking Red Lobster or... I don’t even know what’s nice in town. A lot changed while I was living out of state.”
Harley rolled his eyes. “Actually, I thought we might take the opportunity to dip your toe into a little of the fancy lifestyle you may be facing if you’re a part of the Steele family. Give you a chance to be more comfortable with that sort of thing.”
So, not a date. Jade was both disappointed and relieved. “I think that’s a little premature, but I suppose it can’t hurt.”
“Great. You go get ready and I’ll see if I can wrangle some last-minute reservations.”
Jade wandered down the hallway to her room to figure out what she was going to wear. Sorting through her closet, she eyed some choices and settled on the ever-appropriate little black dress. It was a silky fabric with lace cap sleeves and a deep V neckline that highlighted her collarbones. It had a ruched waist, giving her the appearance of an hourglass figure she didn’t have, and fell right at the knee. Not too long or too short. With the right accessories and some black patent leather pumps, she hoped this dress would be suitable for any of the nicer restaurants in downtown Charleston, which she’d never visited before.
She pulled her hair back into a chignon at the base of her neck and touched up her makeup to last a few more hours. She added the pearl earrings and matching necklace her parents had given her for her wedding day—the nicest jewelry she owned—and then studied herself in the mirror.
