“Everything is about legacy in Charleston. Who your blood family is matters more than what you’ve done or how rich you are. It isn’t a place that welcomes outsiders. No one can buy their way in. Being adopted makes me feel like I don’t truly belong. I didn’t mean for you to think you aren’t the two most amazing parents a guy could have.”
He added this last as his mother had gone quite pale.
“We understand.” Miles took his wife’s hands and offered her support. “But realize when you choose not to trust us with what you’re going through that it seems as if we’ve failed you in some way.”
“You haven’t failed me.” This was the exact scenario Ethan had hoped to avoid. He’d known his parents wouldn’t understand his motivation when he was having such a difficult time wrapping his own head around it. “If anyone has messed up it’s me.”
“Don’t say that.”
The agony in his mother’s eyes shredded Ethan’s heart. Helpless to stop his mother’s misery, Ethan focused all his frustration on the woman who’d caused this problem. This was all Sienna’s fault. If she had just kept her mouth shut, he could’ve been the one to tell his parents. Instead they’d been blindsided.
“You know my birth mom will never be more important to me then you and Dad.”
Only he could see neither one believed him. No matter how vigorous his assurances, the words came too late. The damage was done. His parents felt betrayed and there was no undoing it. Ethan could only hope that with time they might forgive him.
“Of course we know that,” Miles said, his words belying the lines of stress bracketing his mouth and the death grip on his wife’s hand. “And we hope you know that if we’re upset it’s only because we’re worried about you.”
“What is she like?” his mother asked.
“Carolina?” Ethan swallowed hard. How did he explain the feeling of homecoming when he met her? Or the closure he received finding out why she hadn’t raised him? “She runs Gates Multimedia. Never married and never had any more children. The man she loved—my father—died in a training accident. He was in the navy.”
Although Ethan knew he was coming at his mother’s question sideways, he hadn’t yet taken the time to process his feelings.
“Oh, Ethan.” His mother looked stricken. “I’m so sorry to hear that your father died.”
“What prompted your...birth mother to try to find you after all this time?” Miles asked.
Ethan explained the circumstances surrounding his birth and what his grandfather had done. His mother clapped her hand over her mouth and regarded him with horrified eyes.
“We had no idea,” his father said. “It was a closed adoption and we trusted the lawyer that everything was done in a legal manner.”
With this reassurance, something unraveled inside Ethan. He didn’t realize until now that since discovering the circumstances surrounding his adoption, he’d been afraid his parents had been in on the scheme. Some of this must’ve shown in his face because his father scowled.
His mother got to her feet and came over to wrap her arms around him. “We’re happy you found your birth mother,” she whispered, her voice urgent. “She is lucky to have you back in her life.”
Ethan hugged her tight and realized for the first time in a long time that he felt at peace. How ironic to discover that he had to figure out where he’d come from in order to know who he was and where he wanted to be.
* * *
Heartbroken following her fight with Ethan and angry with herself for giving up when she should’ve fought harder to defend herself and get to the bottom of the anonymous accusations, Sienna sobbed herself to exhaustion, fell asleep and woke after dark with a headache and an empty stomach. Feeling like an intruder, she snuck down to the kitchen, quickly made herself a sandwich and then fled back to the guest room. To her relief, she met no one coming or going. Still, she wondered how long she could stay before someone decided she was the root of all evil and kicked her out.
Before that happened, she would pack and make arrangements to fly back to New York. First thing tomorrow, if at all possible. It was imperative that she get the hell out of Charleston. Not just for her sanity, but because once again she’d done what she’d sworn she wouldn’t. She’d neglected her business and given Teagan her full support. Which once again resulted in her getting kicked in the head and feeling as if her whole body was one big raw nerve.
It wasn’t until she got back to her room and threw open the armoire that she remembered the last time she’d seen her luggage: it was in the trunk of Ethan’s car. With a heavy sigh, she headed back downstairs. To her relief, she found her suitcase and laptop just inside the front door. Grabbing everything, she headed back upstairs. As she reached the second floor, bumping her heavy suitcase up the steps made enough noise to draw Teagan from her room.
“Are you just getting back?” her sister asked, eyeing the luggage.
“No. I just hadn’t brought my bag upstairs.” Sienna didn’t pause as she spoke, but headed for the next flight of steps.
“So...” Teagan trailed after her. “Is Ethan going to take the position with his mother’s company?”
It was on the tip of Sienna’s tongue to tell Teagan what Ethan had shared with her, but wasn’t that exactly the sort of thing he’d accused her of doing? Helping Teagan in her bid to become the next CEO of Watts Shipping? Well, she would eventually find out what Ethan had decided.
“I think you should ask him that question.”
“He didn’t tell you?”
Sienna’s irritation spiked, but she waited until they reached her room before venting her frustration. Swinging her suitcase onto the bed, she whirled to face her sister. “Why did you tell Ethan’s family about meeting his birth mother after I specifically told you not to?”
“They deserved to know.”
“That wasn’t your call.”
Teagan waved her hand as if Sienna’s irritation was a cloud of smoke that offended her. “Why are you acting all huffy? You knew from the beginning that I intended to beat him out for the CEO position. Whatever it took.”
“He accused me of telling you.” Sienna narrowed her gaze. “You never did explain how you found out.”
“It’s not important.”
“It is to me.” Sienna found herself on the verge of tears and ground her teeth in frustration. “He thinks I betrayed him.”
“I can’t reveal my source,” Teagan said. “If I do, they won’t be useful to me anymore.”
“Like I’ve been useful? This whole time you didn’t give a damn what it meant to me that Ethan and I were hitting it off. You deliberately let me think he was interested so you could get the inside track to Ethan.” Sienna paused to glare at her sister, hoping that Teagan would deny it. When her sister gave an offhanded shrug, Sienna growled. “You are the worst.”
Driven by a burning need to get as far away from Charleston and her sister as possible, Sienna crossed to the armoire and began unloading its contents onto the bed.
“Did you seriously think I would ignore the opportunity presented when Ethan found you attractive?”
“I guess not.” She’d known better than to trust her sister’s motives, yet she’d allowed herself to be sucked in. Despair filled her. “But for once I guess I hoped you’d be happy for me because a man I was attracted to liked me in return.”
“And you had fun, didn’t you?” Teagan shoved Sienna’s suitcase aside, disrupting her neat piles of clothes in the process, and plopped onto the bed. “I mean, come on, the guy is gorgeous and charming and I’ll bet he’s great in—”
“I really care about him,” Sienna interrupted, shocking herself at the admission.
Teagan’s eyes went wide. “You’ve known him a little over a week.”
Had she really believed her sister would give a damn? Why did it have to be stupid and f
oolish to wish Teagan would support her for a change?
Opening the second suitcase, she began to fill it, packing as if her life depended on being done in the next ten minutes.
“What are you doing?” Teagan demanded, her gaze flying from the armoire to the suitcases and finally to Sienna.
“Packing.”
“I can see that. But why?”
“I have work waiting for me in New York.”
“You can’t leave. I need you here.”
That summed up Sienna’s reality. When it came to her sister, their relationship was a one-way street with all lanes flowing toward Teagan.
“Did you miss the part where Ethan blames me for what you did?” To her dismay, Sienna found herself choking up and forced down her misery. She would absolutely, positively not cry after becoming her sister’s victim once more. She would return to Manhattan and throw herself back into her career, putting Charleston and Ethan Watts in her rearview mirror. “It’s over between us and I’m devastated. For the first time in your life, why don’t you try thinking about someone beside yourself?”
“I am. These people have been looking for me for decades.”
“These people? They’re your family.” Sienna stopped throwing clothes willy-nilly into her suitcase and stared at her sister. “Why did you come here? You obviously don’t give a damn about any of them.”
“It’s not that I don’t care about them.” To Teagan’s credit, she looked visibly upset. “I don’t know them.”
Sienna’s heart melted. “So get to know them. After all, you’ve been searching for them for years. Appreciate that you have relatives who love you. Aunts and uncles and cousins who don’t want anything from you. They’re just happy to have you in their lives. Can’t you feel the same way?”
“Ugh. You just don’t get it.” Teagan spoke brusquely as if she hadn’t listened to anything Sienna had just said. “If you don’t want to help me then just go back to New York. I’ll figure out something else.”
Sienna didn’t realize how much she hoped her words would get through to her sister until that bubble burst. An ache started in her heart and spread throughout her body. Was it possible that Teagan’s obsession with controlling and dominating everything in her life had rendered her blind to the risk of losing everyone who loved her?
“Come with me,” Sienna tried again. Reaching for her sister’s hand, she squeezed her fingers in a fierce grip.
“You just don’t get it,” Teagan complained, wrenching away from her. “I don’t belong in New York anymore.”
Following her sister’s drama-filled exit, Sienna puzzled over Teagan’s impassioned declaration. What had Teagan meant? She was way more suited to New York City than Charleston. Between her social life and her wildly successful businesses, the Big Apple was Teagan’s oyster. In contrast, Charleston’s pace and old-school style were at odds with Teagan’s trendsetting ways.
Was this about her being passed over for Burns Properties? The lengths to which Teagan was going to become the next CEO of Watts Shipping seemed to point to her needing a confidence boost. That being said, manipulating situations to her advantage was the exact sort of thing that her sister thrived on. Even before she could speak, Teagan had deployed her big green eyes and sweet smile to win the hearts of everyone she met. And if charm didn’t work, she wielded her clever mind like an assassin, taking out her opponents by clandestine means.
Sienna knew better than to trust her sister and had spent her entire life avoiding her sister’s machinations. Why had she picked now to turn a blind eye to the potential fallout of her sister’s scheming?
Because she’d fallen in love.
Logic went out the window when the heart was involved. As things had heated up between them, she’d fallen prey to the fantasy of a future with a man who turned her on and made her happy. Naturally, she believed Teagan’s assurances that Ethan was developing feelings for her. Sienna had been desperate for that to be true.
With her new suitcases crammed to the point of bursting, Sienna booked herself on the earliest flight back to New York the following day and got ready for bed.
TWELVE
“I hear congratulations are in order,” Teagan said, strolling into Ethan’s office.
Ethan flipped a glance toward his cousin. With her signature confidence, she strode toward his desk as if she had already been named CEO. Today Teagan wore her version of a New-York-City-meets-Charleston power suit: a hot pink blazer with matching shorts that bared her legs and a blush-colored blouse with an enormous bow tied with a flourish at her throat. On her feet were black ankle boots. No doubt she thought this look let her stand out while fitting in. If so, she’d missed the mark.
“I’m not sure what you’re referring to,” he replied, returning his attention to his computer monitor.
“You’ve been offered the CEO position at Gates Multimedia.”
He noted she hadn’t bragged about where the information had come from, but just knowing it was a subtle reminder that she’d outsmarted him.
“I have.”
Instead of taking a seat in one of his guest chairs, she settled her palms on his desk and leaned forward. “They must be very excited to have someone of your caliber taking over.”
Was Teagan playing games? Hadn’t she spoken to Sienna? Ethan struggled to keep the surprise off his face as he processed this. Did Teagan not yet realize her entire scheme had blown up in her face or was she unaware that he’d turned down his mother’s offer? There was only one way to find out.
“I turned them down.”
Teagan’s eyelashes flickered as she absorbed his declaration, the only sign that she was stunned by his news. Whoever coined the phrase, “Never let them see you sweat,” must’ve taken a page from Teagan Burns’s playbook.
“But why? I would think you’d jump at the chance to run your family’s multimillion-dollar corporation.” As she would surely jump at the chance to run Watts Shipping once he was out of the way.
“Except my place is here.” He paused for a beat, letting his stare crystallize into something hard and cutting, before adding, “At my family’s multimillion-dollar corporation.”
Only the most subtle tightening of her lips betrayed that she was annoyed at the emphasis he’d put on my.
“But surely you won’t be taking over here for many, many years whereas you could step right into the top position at Gates Multimedia.”
She straightened, showing less confidence than she had when she’d first arrived.
“Yes, but Watts Shipping is where I belong.”
“Of course,” Teagan soothed, “but I’ll bet your real mother would love it if you joined your birth family’s company instead. After all, if she hadn’t given you up, all this time you would’ve been her obvious successor.”
“She didn’t give me up,” he explained, unsure why it was important for her to know that he’d been wanted all along. “My grandfather thought seventeen was too young for her to be a mother and arranged to have me adopted. She thought I’d died.”
“Oh, that’s terrible. She must’ve been devastated to lose you.”
For the first time since he’d met her, Ethan heard something in Teagan’s voice that resonated with him. They’d both been adopted as infants. And in both cases their mothers hadn’t given them up. Teagan’s mother had died. Ethan’s had been tricked. Until he’d heard the true story about what happened to him, he hadn’t understood how much pain he’d been in at the thought of being abandoned by the woman who’d given birth to him.
Suddenly, Ethan was weary of all the verbal fencing. “Cut the crap.”
“I’m sorry?” She blinked at him in poorly feigned confusion.
“I know what you’ve been up to...” Ethan cued up the first anonymous email he’d been sent and showed it to her. “...all along.”
Teagan read the me
ssage and stiffened in surprise. A second later she glanced at him, a small smile playing on her lips.
“Someone you don’t know sends you an inflammatory email lying about me and you take it as a fact?” She paused to let her dismissive tone sink in. “Is that how you plan to operate Watts Shipping if you’re chosen to lead this business? You’re going to chase rumors and lies? If that’s true then maybe you’re not the person who should be in charge.”
Ethan had paid careful attention to her reaction and suspected she knew who was behind the message. Although she tried to mask her thoughts, she was obviously shaken. Time to capitalize on this moment of weakness.
“Are you denying that you came to Charleston intending to take over Watts Shipping?”
“Are you criticizing me for thinking I deserve a shot at running my family’s company?” she responded, acting surprised and offended.
He wasn’t fooled by her innocent act. “Deserve a shot...” he murmured ironically. “More like staging a coup.”
“Are you seriously afraid of a little competition?” A taunting smile played over her lips.
“Not if it’s fair and aboveboard.”
“What else could it be?”
“You convincing Sienna to distract me while you schemed to undermine my position here was hardly honest.”
“It didn’t take any convincing.” Teagan arched her eyebrows. “So, you’ve known all along what I was up to and turned my sister’s attraction to you to your own advantage. Well played.”
Teagan’s calculated assessment recalled the argument between him and Sienna. She’d seemed genuinely distraught at being caught participating in her sister’s scheme. Not coolly disappointed to be bested as Teagan was at the moment, but cognizant of the repercussions for him.
“Played,” he repeated, keeping a firm grip on his fury. “So, you admit you’ve been treating this as a big game.”
“Don’t use my words against me. I saw an opportunity and I took it. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
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