“And I thought you didn’t care about the family name.” Her eyebrows arched in a sensual manner that caused a tightening in his groin.
“I don’t.” He watched her closely. She wasn’t as confident as she pretended to be. There were questions in her eyes, but also a challenging light that dared him to defy her. As beautiful as Kat, with full lips and high cheekbones and eyebrows that arched over those mysterious blue eyes, she was sensual and earthy. Yet there was an innocence about her that had never been a part of Katherine LaRouche Danvers. Even at her most vulnerable, Kat had seemed to play a part, and that role was always sexy and manipulative.
“You can prove you’re London?” he asked, deciding to get to the point.
“Can and will.”
“Impossible.”
She lifted a bare shoulder and sipped slowly from her glass as the pianist found the notes of an old Beatles tune and managed to strip the melody of any hint of nostalgia. Laughter drifted to the ceiling where the chandeliers sparkled with a million tiny lights—just as they had nearly twenty years before.
Zach ignored the sense of déjà vu that threatened to swallow him whole.
“I think you should introduce me to the rest of the family.”
“Is that why you came here tonight?”
She smiled slowly and Zach’s heart nearly stopped. “I came back to see you, Zach.”
Just like Kat. His chest squeezed tight, but he wouldn’t be fooled. “I doubt it. Don’t try and pander to my male ego, all right? It won’t work.”
Smiling as if she knew he was joking, she said, “You’re the only one I could approach, the only family member who might believe me, give me a chance.”
“You’ve got that wrong, sister. I don’t believe you at all. I don’t care who you are or what your game is, but I don’t believe that you’re London. Now, you can sell your story to the press if you want to, and you can tell it to the rest of my family, but even if you turned out to be the Queen of England, I won’t give a damn.”
“You’re a liar, Zachary,” she said in a tone that chilled him a little because she was at an advantage. Obviously she’d done her homework and she knew a helluva lot more about him that he did about her.
“Fine. Meet the rest of the clan. They’re charming.” He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her through the knots of guests, raising eyebrows and causing whispers to follow in their wake.
Much as it bothered her, Adria let Zach propel her through the crowd. She knew that showing up tonight would be the best way to capture every member of the Danvers family’s attention. She held out a slim hope that she’d find an ally within the family, someone who would be honest with her. She’d thought that person might be Zachary because of everything she’d read about him; how, soon after his sister’s kidnapping, he’d been disinherited. How he was always at odds with his father. How he’d struck out on his own and made a small fortune out of a bankrupt construction company that he’d managed to turn around. There was a time when he’d been thrown out of the family, but somehow he’d weaseled his way back in. Street-smart with a ruthless edge, Zach always seemed to land on his feet.
She recognized Jason from the photographs she’d studied. He was tall and raw-boned with red-brown hair flecked with gray. His expression was serious. Caught in conversation with a reed-thin woman about half his age, he glanced up at the commotion, took one look at Adria and hesitated for just a second, his eyes narrowing as if to focus. The skin beneath his tan paled and he swallowed with sudden difficulty before he recovered to look the part of a poised, successful attorney.
Adria wasn’t surprised by his reaction. She knew of her uncanny resemblance to the woman who was supposed to have been her mother; saw in the fear flashing through Jason’s blue eyes that he recognized it, too.
“I think you might want to meet someone,” Zach said, as they approached.
“Excuse me a minute,” Jason whispered to his thin blond friend. The girl’s gaze slid to Adria and small wrinkles appeared between her perfectly arched brows. “I’ll be just a little while, I promise, Kim.”
With a thrust of her lower lip, Kim didn’t move, obviously ready to meet Adria’s challenge.
Zach’s fingers clenched around Adria’s arm, as if he expected her to bolt. “This is Adria Nash—my brother, Jason.”
“Have we met?” Jason asked.
“In another lifetime,” Zach intervened. “Adria thinks she’s London.”
Kim’s mouth rounded a little, but Jason managed to smile. “Another London. How perfect, considering the circumstances.” His voice was as cold as his eyes. “Let me guess—you showed up tonight to make a big splash, be sure that the reporters and photographers saw you?” He took a swallow from his glass and observed her over the rim. “Am I right?”
“Actually, she showed up last week,” Zach said as he released her arm.
Jason turned on his brother. “And you didn’t say anything?”
“I thought she might go away.”
“Just go away.” Under his breath Jason muttered something about thickheaded fools. A ruddy stain began to crawl up the back of his neck as he pinned Adria under a harsh, uncompromising glare. “How’d you get in here?”
“I said she was with me,” Zach intervened.
Jason’s lips flattened over his perfect teeth. “You let her in and you don’t know what she plans to do? Or are you in on it, too? Is that it?”
Zach didn’t bother to answer, just lifted a shoulder.
“You just like to see the rest of the family squirm, don’t you?”
“She’s a fake,” Zach said flatly. “Let her do what she wants.”
“Not here. Not now.” Jason lowered his voice, suddenly aware of more than a few curious glances cast in his direction. “Don’t you know what the law firm for the estate will do if—” His blue eyes suddenly sharpened on Adria and it was all she could do to keep from shrinking away from that hate-filled glare. “Take her upstairs. To your suite—no, better yet, to my house. You’ve got a key.”
“No one’s taking me anywhere,” she said.
“You started this,” Zach reminded her.
“Which means we’ll do things my way,” she countered, knowing she had to appear strong—any sign of weakness in front of the Danvers clan would be suicide.
One side of Zach’s mouth lifted in a crooked, amused grin. “Maybe you are London after all. She was a stubborn thing, too.”
“Just get her out of here. I’ll meet you at the house.”
“What about Nicole?” Zach asked and watched his brother’s mouth tighten at the mention of his wife. Theirs was a rocky marriage at best.
“She’s out of town. Visiting relatives in Santa Fe.”
Zach didn’t ask any questions. Why Jason’s wife was away on one of the most important nights of her husband’s life didn’t concern him.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Adria stated. “And don’t talk about me as if I’m not here. As far as I’m concerned, I have as much right to be here as the rest of you.”
“She has a point.”
“Get her out of here, Zach.”
“As I said, Jason, I’m not budging,” Adria insisted, unmoved by the older Danvers brother’s anger. She hadn’t grown up on the Montana range without learning a thing or two about arrogant, self-important men. She could be just as headstrong as any man when it came to something she believed in and she was certain…well, nearly…that she was London Danvers.
Adria noticed the glint in Zach’s eyes and she realized that he was enjoying watching his brother lose his cool. Jason, the attorney. Jason who had married well. Jason who seemed to be the one in charge of the family fortune.
“This is not the time or the place—”
“Then name them,” she said firmly and caught a movement from the corner of her eye. Kim, the waif-thin blonde, inched closer, listening to every word.
“What?”
“The time and place, name them.” Adria wasn’t backing down, not after she’d come this far, swallowed all her doubts, and found her nerve.