“Sure, but not like this,” Lia protested. “And I don’t want to lie to your family.”
“I understand, but they aren’t any good at keeping secrets. We’ve never thrown a successful surprise party or gotten into trouble without everyone in the family knowing about it. For this to work we need to leave them in the dark or else risk that someone will slip up and give you away.”
From Ethan’s aggrieved tone, this obviously bugged him, and Lia sympathized. Having been isolated from relatives all her life, she couldn’t imagine having so many people in her business. Yet there was a flip side. Ethan could also count on his family to have his back.
“And what about Paul?” she quizzed. “Surely he’s already dug up enough info on me to know I’m not your cousin.”
“Let me handle my brother.”
Lia slid sweaty palms along her jean-clad thighs. “Damn it, Ethan. You can’t deceive your grandfather this way.”
“I can if it means keeping Grady alive,” Ethan said and his voice held genuine pain.
“It’s a lie,” Lia insisted, but she could feel her determination failing beneath the weight of Ethan’s enthusiasm. “A big fat dangerous lie. And you know I wasn’t planning on sticking around Charleston much longer. Misty is fixed. I almost have enough saved to replace my truck.” While this was true, Lia didn’t have enough to buy a quality vehicle she could trust. “It’s time I got back on the road.”
“All you need to do is stay a couple weeks until Grady’s completely out of the woods and then we can reveal that a huge mistake was made with the genetic testing service.” Something in Lia’s expression must have betrayed her weakening resistance because Ethan nodded as if she’d voiced her agreement. “I’ve thought the whole thing through and I know this will work.”
If she hadn’t grown fond of the handsome Charleston businessman since he’d become her massage client six months earlier, she never would’ve agreed to hear him out, much less consider such a wild scheme, but the pain Ethan felt over his grandfather’s illness had touched her heart. Plus, he’d made the whole scheme sound so reasonable. A couple of weeks of playacting and then she’d be on her way again. A bubble of hysteria rose inside her. What were more lies on top of the ones she was already telling?
“But I’ll be lying not just to Grady, but your whole family. It’s a cruel thing to do to all of them.”
“I’ve thought about that, too, but if we do this right, they’ll be so happy that Grady is healthy again that it will make the eventual disappointment of you not being family easier to bear.” Ethan gripped her hands and hit her with a mega dose of confident charm.
Lia was rallying one last refusal when the elevator doors opened and a slender woman in an elegant suit the color of pistachios stepped off. Instead of immediately heading for the hallway that led to the hospital rooms, she glanced toward the family lounge. Her expression brightened when she spied them.
“Ethan,” she said, coming toward them. “Glad to see you here.”
“Hello, Mother.” Ethan dipped his head and kissed her cheek. “This is Lia.”
Constance Watts was every inch a genteel matriarch of the South with her blond hair styled in a long bob and her triple strand of pearls. Her keen blue eyes assessed the jeans and thrift-store T-shirt Lia wore and she braced herself for censure, but Constance only smiled warmly.
“Ethan told me all about you,” Constance said, her captivating Southern drawl knotted with emotion.
“He did?” Lia hadn’t yet agreed to the scheme and bristled at Ethan’s presumption.
“Of course.” Constance glanced from Lia to her son. “He said Paul found you through a genetic testing service.”
“I’m really—” Lia began.
“Overwhelmed,” Ethan broke in, closing his fingers around her hand and squeezing gently. He snared her gaze, his eyes reflecting both determination and apology. “And can you blame her? Finally connecting with her real family after all these years is pretty momentous.”
Ethan’s need and his mother’s elation were a patch of quicksand, trapping Lia. To her dismay, she began nodding.
“Ava’s daughter is finally home,” Constance murmured, stepping forward and embracing Lia. “You are going to make Grady so happy.”
Three
Paul was crossing the hotel lobby on his way to the first panel of the day when his phone buzzed. Incensed at Ethan for bringing a stranger into their grandfather’s hospital room, Paul had been ignoring his brother’s calls since leaving for the conference. He pulled out his phone and was on the verge of sending the call to voice mail when he spied h
is mother’s picture on the screen. His first reaction was dread. Had Grady’s health taken a turn for the worse? Is that why she was calling rather than checking in by text?
“What’s wrong?” he demanded, shifting his trajectory toward a quiet nook opposite the reception desk. “Is Grady okay?”
“He’s fine. In fact, he’s doing better than ever.” Constance Watts sounded breathless with delight. “I just wanted to update you that Grady is coming home from the hospital today.”
“That’s great news,” Paul said, stunned by the upswing in Grady’s progress. “So he’s finally rallying?”
“Thanks to Lia.”