“And you weren’t adopted?”
“No, I wasn’t. Well at least... no. I know I wasn’t.” She’d never thought about that before. Was it possible? If she was, her brothers would’ve found some record of it long ago. Besides, they looked like family.
Bennett acknowledged her answer, but she could tell he wasn’t fully convinced. It didn’t matter. She might not know who her mother was, but she knew her father. There have been many times I wish I didn’t, but James Henderson was my father.
“How are you going to explain me to your brothers? They’ve made it very clear you’re off limits.”
Off limits? That’s putting it lightly. They might as well put a sign on me that says trespassers risk getting shot.
She was thrilled she had at least piqued his interest. Good thing I brought proof of how crazy this is. Step one complete. The rest is on him. That is why I’m hiring him. But surely there won’t be much cause for him to be around me. He’ll be researching. “Hmm. You don’t strike me as a person who plays by someone else’s rules.” Zoey meant to challenge him on that. And from his reaction it worked.
“No one stands in the way of something I want. Don’t forget that, Zoey.” He got up, but before leaving her, he said, “I’ll take the job, but from this point on, you hide nothing from me. Understood?”
Bossy. She nodded. “What do you need from me?”
“DNA samples from you and your brothers.”
“And how do you expect me to get that without raising suspicion?”
“You’re going to host a Valentine’s Day party for your family and show off your new boyfriend.”
“I’m what? And who is this mystery man of mine?”
He pulled her up into his arms and looked deep into her eyes. She wanted to pull away, but couldn’t. There were many times she’d fantasized about him, but she knew a man like Bennett would never want her.
His lips were so close to hers, she parted them, waiting, wanting. But he didn’t kiss her. Instead, Bennett said, “I’m your latest lover, Zoey. You pull together the party, and I’ll do the rest.”
Before she could regain her composure, he let her go.
“That’s only three days away.”
“I move quickly. If you want my help, we do this my way.”
And now you take the control away from me. Zoey wanted to tell him what he could do with his assistance, but she had to push past her frustration and remember he was result driven. And that was the only thing important right now.
“Then I guess I better get back to my hotel. I’ve got a party to plan.”
As she walked past him, she heard him say, “Good, my love. See you at the party.”
Zoey didn’t even turn back as she rolled her eyes. There is no way that man is going to make it out of that party in one piece, acting like that. He won’t be collecting DNA. He’ll be spending the night in the emergency room.
She was glad he didn’t probe any further. The last thing she needed was for him to find out these issues were caught during in vitro testing. Her biological clock was ticking. Zoey was willing to accept that no man would want her with her tarnished reputation, but that didn’t mean she should go without a family too. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen until I know what’s going on with my health. I’m going to get those answers one way or another.
Zoey Henderson. Beautiful, off limits Zoey Henderson.
Bennett watched her as she walked back toward the hotel across the street. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. What the hell was I thinking? I’m her new lover? That’s a bullshit line even for me.
He knew he should follow Zoey and tell her not to plan any party. Bennett was damn good at what he did. He’d spent many hours undercover to obtain what he needed. However, this wasn’t one of the instances where being undercover was required. He had access to most of the family. He didn’t need DNA for all five brothers, but when he’d seen the copy of the birth certificate he knew something was off. Zoey might not question if she was adopted, but he never ruled anything out. The DNA testing would do exactly that.
When he said he’d pretend to be her lover, he’d been testing her to see how badly she wanted his help. The Zoey he’d come to know over the last two years never would’ve accepted that option. No snappy retort took place. Instead, she hurried off worried about how she’d pull a party together in such short notice. At one point, it looked like she wanted me to kiss her. Kiss. Her.
There’s still something she’s not telling me. Until I know everything, I’ll look, but the answers are staying with me.
Bennett was in no rush to head back to an empty hotel room. Instead, he pulled out his cell phone and started researching the family history. Finding a mother of six children of one of the most influential families in New England can’t be too hard.
If her brothers had searched before, why hadn’t they found anything? He could understand if it was one child who never had seen the woman, but there was no way Brice couldn’t remember her. Brice would’ve been six years old when Zoey was born and ten for the youngest, Dean. He knew something but for some reason wasn’t sharing. That alone was a red flag.
He came up with a lot of articles regarding the father, James Henderson, but not one mention of him with any woman, never mind the mother of his children. How could one man father six children and there be no evidence or knowledge of the mother? There was no marriage certificate on record, and all their birth certificates listed the father only. He’d never witnessed such a thing.