“Yeah. I was twelve there,” she said, looking around him at the photograph he held. A feeling of mixed amusement and embarrassment shot through her at the idea of Trey seeing her at that age. She resisted a stupid urge to snatch the frame from his hands.
And he thought she could be awkward now, at twenty-eight. At twelve, she was taller than all the other kids in her seventh-grade class. She looked like a malnourished foal wearing braces. Caddy, on the other hand, was in the first, lush bloom of an uncommonly beautiful seventeen-year-old girl.
“You’re so cute,” he murmured. She rolled her eyes. He lifted the photograph closer to his face.
“Some things don’t deserve closer examination,” she told him drolly. But then she noticed his intent expression and furrowed brow.
He glanced up and looked at the bookcase at the far side of the room. He set down the frame on the table.
“Trey?” she asked him.
A strange feeling went through her as she watched him walk over to the bookcase. He picked up a photo. He studied it as closely as he had the other one. She approached him from the back, a feeling of trepidation rising in her that she couldn’t explain. “Trey?” she repeated hollowly when she came alongside him. She looked at the photo he held. It was a photo of Caddy and her when Caddy had graduated from law school.
“Your sister was a lawyer?” he asked, staring at the photo narrowly.
“Yes,” she said slowly, perplexed. She examined the photo for evidence that Caddy was graduating from law school, but couldn’t find it. She was wearing her cap and gown, but it might have been any graduation. “How did you know that she was a lawyer?” she asked him. She knew she hadn’t mentioned it last night. Maybe her mother had told him at the hospital, while Eleanor was in the bathroom or something?
He turned his chin, his blue eyes scoring her.
“Your sister was Arcadia Green?”
The hair on her neck and forearms stood on end. “Yes. We’ve always called her Caddy for short, and Green was her married name. How did you—”
She broke off when he set the photo back on the shelf abruptly. He turned to her.
“I knew her. I knew your sister,” Trey said.
She had a sudden, shockingly vivid image pop into her head of Trey and Caddy together. They’d be such a striking pair, both of them tawny and beautiful, both blessed with that warmth and elemental charm that would open a lifetime of doors for them . . .
. . . Both of them the type to light up a room.
It was too much to take in, too unexpected. An invisible band seemed to tighten around her chest.
Oh God. I can’t breathe.
—
Eleanor just stared at him for several seconds, her mouth hanging open, her large eyes glistening. He felt like he’d just slapped her. Her shock was palpable. He heard a sound like wind rushing past his ears.
Maybe he was in a bit of shock himself, come to think of it. When he’d looked at the first photo, it’d just been a suspicion. He’d known Arcadia for the past several years. There was a big difference between the polished, sophisticated woman he’d known and the beautiful young girl in the first picture. The second photo had slammed the truth home, though.
“Come here,” he said, reaching for Eleanor’s hand. He didn’t care for the fixed, stunned expression on her face. “Let’s sit down.”
He started to walk over to the couch, but she remained unmoving, pulling back on her hand, resisting him.
“What do you mean you knew Caddy?” she demanded.
“I knew her from work. Dobsen, Mayer and Peterson consults for us at TalentNet,” he explained, referring to the consulting legal firm for which Arcadia had worked. “Your sister is our primary contact there. Was, I mean,” he corrected, grimacing. He bit back a curse. Eleanor looked even more slain than she had last night, upon finding out about her father’s heart attack. “Let’s sit down, okay?”
“How well did you know her?”
“Fairly well,” he replied honestly. “We worked closely together on building the legal infrastructure of TalentNet as a separate legal entity from BandBook. I’ve known your sister since TalentNet’s inception.”
“I don’t believe you.”
He blinked, startled by the baldness of her statement. “I’m sorry. It’s a shock for me too to realize it. I didn’t have a clue until I saw those pictures just now.”
“She never mentioned you to me. Caddy would have mentioned you to me. If not you, then at least TalentNet.”