Page 59 of Undeniable Love
“Oh?”
“Apparently we have like…a sister.” It sounded so weird to say that out loud. “I…I need to call my brothers. I was sitting here listening to all their messages and…” He looked up at her. “I’m sorry. I need a few minutes. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Luce.”
Her expression softened as she caressed his jaw. “There is nothing for you to apologize for.” Then she got to her feet. “Take all the time you need and I’ll just be inside watching TV, okay?”
“Are you sure? I…I have no idea how long this is going to take.”
“If you’re okay with being here and doing it, then I’m okay with waiting for you. This sounds like a huge deal, so…” Leaning in, she kissed him. “Go make your calls.” Quietly, she slipped out of the room, shutting the door behind her and he almost wanted to call her back and ask her to sit with him while he did this.
“Might as well get this over with,” he mumbled, hitting Noah’s number. It only rang twice before his brother answered.
“It’s about damn time,” Noah huffed. “Where the hell were you?”
“Busy,” he snapped. “And my calling sooner wasn’t going to make any damn difference.” It wasn’t like him to get so defensive, but he was a little out of sorts—as they all were. “So…what’s going on? Did Dad call you and tell you?”
“No,” Noah said, sounding calmer. “She did. We had just gotten to the hotel and were relaxing when my phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number, but I answered anyway. So she asked if this was Noah Wylder and I said it was and then she introduced herself and told me how her mother and Dad had a fling years ago that resulted in…well…her. She didn’t find out about Dad until recently and wanted to know her family, but he wasn’t exactly cooperating.”
“So she took matters into her own hands,” he commented. “How old is she? Like…our age?”
“Brace yourself,” Noah said with a mirthless laugh. “She’s seventeen.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Seriously. It sounds like the mom is as big of a train wreck as Dad, and right now she’s living with her grandfather because her mom’s in rehab.”
“Are we sure this is legit? I mean…our family would be great for someone to latch onto to extort money from. Hell, Dad’s been doing it to me and Simon for years.”
Sighing, Noah agreed. “I know. There’s a lot to think about here, but the three of us need to sit down and talk about it. Simon and I have already reached out to a private investigator to see how legit these claims are and we’re already making arrangements for a DNA test. I don’t want to meet with this girl unless we absolutely have to.”
“That’s fair. So have you talked to Dad?”
“I did, but only because he couldn’t get through to Simon, and I guess you. She must have told Dad she called me and he was trying to either do damage control or looking to explain himself. He said he called you, but you didn’t answer.”
“Like I said, I was busy.”
“Mm-hmm…nice of you to pull yourself out of someone’s bed to talk to us,” Noah muttered. It wasn’t like his oldest brother to be snarky, but again, this situation was making them all crazy.
“How’s Simon taking it?”
“Hang on. Ask him yourself.”
After a moment, Simon was on the phone. “Hey! Are we having fun yet?” he asked with a laugh, breaking some of the tension.
“Oh, yeah. Aren’t you glad you didn’t get on a plane earlier? You could be halfway to L.A. by now and missing all the drama.”
Another laugh. “I know, right? But I will say this—I’m surprised it took this many years for a so-called sibling to come out of the woodwork. I have to imagine there’s a possibility of more.”
Jax groaned. “Jeez, I never even thought about that.”
Although now that was all he was going to think about.
“Okay, so we’ve put our travel plans on hold for another day, and so did Noah and Lily. Any chance you can get here to Raleigh in the morning so we can all sit down and figure this mess out?”
“I can, but I don’t see what there is to figure out until we get some tests and reports back. I don’t think we need to make ourselves any crazier until we absolutely have to. Did she ask for money or something?”
“Not directly, but she was talking to Noah about the trouble with her mom and how she’s kind of a genius who got accepted to Harvard but can’t afford to go, even with some scholarships.”
“So she’s definitely asking for money. Awesome.”