LITMIR.BIZ

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way he’d torn apart the fabric of their family with his betrayal was terrible.

      Bella mentally kicked herself for being so self-centered in her grief. Charlotte deserved reassurance. She reached past the wooden tea cart to squeeze her hand.

      “I loved you before; I love you now.” As she said the words, she realized they were true.

      Her issue was with their father, David. How strange to think she wouldn’t be here without him, yet at the same time it felt as if he’d stolen her real father from her—Markus, the man who’d brought her up, the man who’d declared her Daddy’s pampered girl, the man who’d been kept in the dark for years just as she had.

      Until the whole ugly secret had come to light.

      Blinking back tears, she snatched the rolled linen napkin from the silver tray and dabbed her eyes. She was tired of crying over this. She needed to quit feeling sorry for herself and move on. “I’m sorry. You’re right that I was avoiding you. I have to confess, I wasn’t sure if I could even speak to anyone about this without crying.”

      Yet somehow she’d managed to tell Sam the whole sad and sordid tale. Memories of strawberries and champagne bubbled in her brain, stirring a phantom taste on her tongue.

      Charlotte clasped Bella’s hand. “It’s just going to take a while to settle into this new family tree.”

      Was it wrong to want the old one back? Was it wrong to be damned indignant on Markus’s behalf? So much anger could sour her insides quickly. She could sure use some of Charlotte’s serenity right about now.

      “Wise words.” Bella nodded, ready to talk about anything but this. “How do you feel? Is everything going well with the pregnancy?”

      “Totally perfect. I’m huge, but happy.” Her joy sparkled as brightly as her diamond ring catching the sun when she straightened her pearls. “Alec is spoiling me shamelessly. He even says pregnancy is sexy.” She rolled her eyes. “I laugh, but I’m secretly soaking it up. It’s no secret I had a hard time trusting him after the way our father treated my mother.”

      Bella tried not to flinch every time Charlotte used the word father. How could she ever grow accustomed to thinking of him that way? She’d always thought she had her mother’s blue eyes. Now looking into Charlotte’s flashing blue gaze, she saw the real source of her eye color.

      David Hudson.

      She struggled not to cry and risk another outpouring of sympathy from Charlotte that would only make the urge to feel sorry for herself all the stronger. Blast Sam for pressing this on her before she was ready. “Thank you for coming to check on me. That was truly a sweet thing to do. No matter what, we’re family.”

      “I’m glad to hear you say that.” Tears filled Charlotte’s eyes this time. “I was afraid things would be uncomfortable between us.”

      “We’ll be fine.” She wished she could be so certain about how things would work out with the rest of her relatives.

      “So will you stay with Alec and me?”

      And watch her sister wallow in all that newlywed love and happiness as the two of them waited for their first child?

      Not a chance.

      Charlotte may have found peace and happiness in spite of their family’s crummy track record with marriage. But Bella just wasn’t feeling it for herself.

      She patted Charlotte’s hand. “Thank you for the generous offer, but I’m afraid I’ve already hidden out from the press as long as I can. I need to get back to the States for the premiere of Honor.”

      Charlotte pressed a palm to her back. “Only a few more days until the Christmas debut. I wish I could be there, but a flight that long really wouldn’t be wise for me this late.”

      “Everyone understands. You have to put the baby’s health first.”

      Charlotte’s smile wavered. “I just hope our grandmother can hold on long enough to see this baby.”

      Facing Lillian’s impending death was difficult for the whole Hudson clan. Bella felt as if her whole family was falling apart.

      Charlotte sniffed. “Enough tears. I’m meeting Alec in an hour. Please, keep in touch.”

      “Of course, I will.” Bella hugged her cousin-turned-sister a final time before walking with her to the door with a farewell wave.

      She stayed in the open doorway, watching Charlotte step into the elevator—

      Just as Sam stepped out.

      Bella gasped and started to back into her room but, oh, my God, she was too late. And hey, wait, she had a bone to pick with him anyway over the heavy-handed way he’d interfered in her life. She stiffened her resolve and waited to face him, toe-to-toe. She had a lot of mixed emotions roiling around inside her these days and he would make a perfect target for a good, old-fashioned shout down to release the pressure.

      Sam closed the last few feet between them and walked her backward toward the suite again.

      Stopping in the open doorway, she put her hands on her hips and wished she had on heels for height. “Why are you here?”

      “Well, good morning to you, too, Bella.” He held up his hands, a filmy gold scarf dangling from one, large-framed sunglasses from the other. “I’m here to kidnap you.”

      From the look on Bella’s face, this wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d planned.

      “Come on,” Sam urged, “at least talk to me inside, so we don’t risk some reporter seeing us.”

      Not a chance in hell would that happen here, but she didn’t need to know that.

      Huffing, she spun on her heel and headed back into her suite. He closed the door behind them.

      He’d hoped a visit with her cousin/sister would soften her up, help her deal with some of her frustration. He’d also hoped reminding her of her family connection to this area would entice her to stick around awhile longer. His instincts were never wrong when reading people in the business world. Why should handling Bella be any different?

      He would be analytical about this. Emotions were messy and led to mistakes, a truth he’d learned from his failed engagement to Tiffany Jones. He’d certainly missed the boat on reading that woman. She was the daughter of a respected business acquaintance, and Sam had considered settling down after attending yet another wedding for one of his Garrison cousins.

      A momentary weakness.

      Tiffany wasn’t worth his trust. She’d slept with a yachting friend of his, then had the gall to try and blame it on Sam for not paying enough attention to her. He might not be the most attentive man on the planet, but he’d been straight-up honest with her from the start about the demands of his career. She’d responded by accusing him of loving his job more than her.

      He’d realized she was right and called it quits between them.

      Sam shoved aside doubts. He’d taken care of the Tiffany situation before it spiraled out of control into a lifetime mistake. Thank God they hadn’t gotten around to setting a date or sending out invitations. He hadn’t totally screwed things up.

      And Bella wasn’t looking for forever. In fact, he was going to have to work his ass off to wrangle a few weeks with her. She was as committed to her career as he was. That boded well for them.

      Although her scowling silence wasn’t exactly promising.

      Sam looped the gold scarf around Bella’s neck playfully. “Come on.” He tugged lightly, drawing her deeper into her suite. “Smile.”

      “Like hell.” She whipped the scarf out of his hand and off her neck. “I’m mad at you.”

      The best defense was a good offense. “If anyone has cause to be angry, it’s me. You ran out without saying goodbye. If I’d done

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