Reunited in Love

Chapter Nineteen

THE NEXT DAY, Kerri found herself rushing to meet Natalie at a local café. She couldn’t believe she’d lost track of time—again! Ugh. She really needed to use her Outlook more often and put every single thing in there. This was one appointment she really wanted to be on time for.

The café was quiet after the peak lunch hour, only Adele’s soulful voice along with the hiss and gurgle of coffee machines disturbing the silence.

Natalie was already seated at a booth by the window, her latte steaming on a table the color of cocoa beans. Her red silk blouse was vivid against the dark decor and added a flattering hint of rose to her cheeks.

Kerri got a cup of hot chocolate and joined her friend.

“Hey, how are you?” Natalie asked, her worried gaze searching Kerri’s face.

“Fine.” Kerri cleared her throat. “Look, I’m really sorry about what happened yesterday. I should’ve” —she shook her head— “it was stupid of me, and I ruined everything.”

“You didn’t ruin anything.” Natalie reached out and patted Kerri on the arm. “You are okay now, right?”

Kerri nodded. “Ethan made it right.” And that was the truth. Sharing the past with him made it seem less awful, less devastating. A weight she hadn’t known she was carrying no longer felt so heavy.

“Good.” Natalie took a small sip of her drink. “I’m glad. I knew he’d be good to you.”

“How could you have been so sure?”

“Because.” Natalie shrugged. “He’s a nice guy, despite his flaws. By the way, you’re wearing your glasses.”

“What?” Kerri pulled off her reading glasses. “No wonder I kept thinking my vision was off on the way here.” She reached up and stuck them in her hair. “I thought I was just tired or something.”

“So you’re really okay? Even with your glasses on? You never wear them away from your computer unless something’s up.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just running la— Hey, wait a minute. What flaws?”

“Huh?”

“You said something about Ethan’s flaws.”

“Oh.” Natalie rolled her shoulders. “You know. Being a little overbearing from time to time. And overprotective. He always thinks he knows best.”


“Wow.” Kerri chuckled. “You’re sure he works for your husband? He sounds too headstrong to be working for anybody.”

“As I said, he’s only at Global Strategies because that’s what he wants, not because he has to be, and Alex lets him run his projects his way.”

Kerri blew on the hot chocolate and took a careful sip. It was sweet and flavorful. It’d have been even better with whipped cream, but of course…

“Anyway, if you need someone other than Ethan, you can come to me any time. I’ll always be here for you, no matter what.”

“Thanks, Nat.” Kerri put down her cup. “And look, um…about what made me freak out yesterday…” She hesitated, wondering how to get into it. Talking to Ethan had seemed so natural, but she wasn’t sure how to share her past with Natalie. Not that her best friend wouldn’t be sympathetic, but a lifetime of reticence about her childhood issues was hard to overcome.

Natalie gave her a gentle smile. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. It’s okay.”

“You don’t want to know?”

“Of course I want to know, silly! But not if it’s going to make you uncomfortable. Look, I’m your friend, and I want what’s best for you. That doesn’t mean I have to be nosy and know everything.” Natalie placed a hand over Kerri’s. “But if you need somebody, I’ll be here for you. I want you to know I’ve got your back.”

This easy affection and acceptance put a big lump in Kerri’s throat. She gripped Natalie’s hand hard and took a long swallow of her hot chocolate. Her childhood and teenage years had been spent doing everything she could to get her family to accept her—and failing. Yet here was Natalie opening herself up without reservation.

That saying that blood is thicker than water was wrong.

*



Ethan saw his phone light up, the screen flashing as a text arrived. Moving carefully so he wouldn’t disturb Kerri—she’d stopped going back to her room to sleep since her birthday—he picked up the phone. It was a little before 2 a.m. Who would be texting at this time of the night?

Sent Kerri Jacqueline Wilson’s file. Confirm receipt.

Ethan stared at the brief message. So Pattington had come through. The man apparently never slept, which was why Ethan hired him time and time again.

Any other message could have waited until morning, but he wanted to know what kind of people had hurt Kerri so much. And he also wanted to know if there were any other secrets he should know about, so as to avoid future blunders.

He pulled away from the warmth and softness that he now associated with Kerri. Thankfully, she was generally a heavy sleeper. He pulled the sheet up over her shoulders, then put on a robe, went to his study and opened his laptop. Pattington’s file was already in his inbox.

Ethan opened it. The first page stole his breath away.

What the…

Gavin had been right. Kerri was indeed Barron Sterling’s granddaughter…and now his sole heir, as her mother, Renée Sterling Wilson had passed away a few months back.

Christ. Kerri was worth more than most of Ethan’s friends and acquaintances…even more than Ethan himself. So why did she work the way she did? Was she aware of the kind of money she had?

He shook his head at the ridiculousness of the last question. Of course she was. No one that smart and that good at finance could have failed to understand the situation. Everyone knew how much Barron Sterling was worth.

Pattington had to be mistaken…except Ethan didn’t hire people who made mistakes.

Yet the Kerri he knew was nothing like what was on the first page of the file.

He went through the rest, which focused on her academic pedigree and work history. Those matched what she’d told him.

Ethan googled “Barron Sterling’s granddaughter”. There was hardly any information available, not even a recent photo. Most might think the woman was fanatical about her privacy or maybe she’d joined a convent. But that wasn’t true at all. There hadn’t been anything because she’d been in Hong Kong for years in self-imposed exile, and the media had no idea.

And her family connections explained why she hadn’t wanted to go to the charity ball. Barron Sterling had been invited, along with his brother Duke and his great nephew.

Why hadn’t she told him who her family was? Well, that was pretty obvious. Clearly, she was worried that if she revealed the truth he would jump to wrong conclusions.

Gavin had apparently decided Kerri must be spying for Sterling & Wilson, and Gavin wasn’t stupid. Ethan sat back and looked at the ceiling, going back over his time with Kerri, searching for anything that seemed odd or out of place.

After five minutes, he sat forward again. No. No way. She was avoiding her family because of her unbearable past. It was unthinkable that she’d approach them for any reason.

He rubbed his chest as he recalled the devastated expression on her face on her birthday. He would never let Kerri experience such crippling pain ever again. If that meant that her family would never get to her, so be it. The fact that they were wealthy and connected made it more challenging, but that was fine. In fact, he relished the opportunity to get back at them. And if Gavin did anything stupid and rash, Ethan would make sure he paid as well.

He’d never let anyone hurt her ever again.