Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
But she didn’t need Aurora stoking a banked flame. She shot her sister a warning glare, but Aurora merely shrugged. “What? I’m just calling it like I see it.”
Beck let out a laugh, and even that reverberation from deep in his chest was sexy.
“It’s nice to meet you, Aurora. I needed a good laugh this morning, so thank you,” Beck said.
Aurora treated Chloe to a pleased smile. “I think it’s time to take Leah home. Now that she’s fed, she’ll sleep the whole car ride and be wide awake when we get back. Just in time for your mother to take over.”
“You make sure you get some sleep while Mom’s got her,” Chloe said, handing Leah back to her mother.
Aurora packed up her baby bag and let the driver know she was ready to leave. Because Aurora hadn’t yet learned to drive, Linc had insisted she have a driver at her disposal so the baby would be safe in a car seat as opposed to using a ride share app.
Chloe shook her head, wondering how the younger girl was really handling all these life changes. She’d have pushed for answers, but who was she to question when she didn’t want to answer things for herself?
Aurora said her goodbyes and headed out to the elevator.
Chloe waited until the door closed and walked back into the apartment, finding Beck still in the family room.
He stood by the window, hands in his pockets, staring out at the view. She strode up and joined him, looking out in silence. If he had something to say or share, she hoped he’d trust her enough to do it.
Just when she’d almost given up, he forced out a heavy groan. “My father has a procedure this morning. A colonoscopy and I’m waiting to hear how he made out. I couldn’t focus on work, so I came home.”
Hmm. “Isn’t that normally a routine test?” she asked, hoping that’s all it was for Beck’s dad.
He shifted on his feet and turned to face her. “Yeah. But he looks like he’s lost weight, and my parents were avoiding the subject until they had no choice but to tell us.” When he dipped his head, she could almost feel the weight on his shoulders.
“When are you supposed to hear something?” she asked.
He glanced at his gold Rolex. “Soon.” His shoulders were stiff, and she had the sense there was much more to the story than what he was telling her.
“How about I make some coffee and we can wait together?”
He met her gaze, gratitude in his green eyes. “I’d like that.”
A few minutes later, they were settled in the kitchen, sitting on the barstools at the counter, coffee mugs in hand.
“So distract me,” Beck said. “When I was in school with Linc, you were the youngest Kingston sibling. How did Aurora come to be family?”
Chloe took a sip of her hot drink. “Well, that’s a complicated story. After my father passed away a couple of months ago, Linc found a pile of cashed checks in his desk. Monthly checks from a bank account no one knew about written to a woman who’d been his secretary almost twenty years ago. Linc did some tracing and uncovered one of Dad’s dirty secrets.”
“He’d had an affair?” Beck easily guessed.
She nodded. “One of many, but after following the trail, it led to finding out we had a sister. To make a very sad story short, my father had gotten Aurora’s mother pregnant. When she refused to have an abortion, he paid her to stay away and raise the baby on her own.” Chloe shivered at the callousness of her dad’s actions. It still galled her.
“So Linc found Aurora and her mother when he went looking?” Beck asked, hand under his chin, clearly interested in the story.
Chloe wrapped her hands around the mug and shook her head. “He found Aurora. Suffice it to say my father paid her mother to live a fun lifestyle while she left her daughter in foster care. And before you ask, yes, my father knew and left her there, too.” Her throat swelled as she told the bare basics of her sister’s story, which was so sad it broke Chloe’s heart.
As if he understood, Beck reached out and squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry.”
The warmth of his touch sizzled through her, and it was all she could do not to lean into him. “Thank you.” She managed a smile. “But when Linc found out about her, he did everything he could to find her and convince her to come to New York with him. And when he finally tracked her down, he discovered a very pregnant young girl.” Chloe shrugged. “And here we are.”
Beck let out a low whistle. “She’s lucky Linc found her.”
“At the time, she’d just started to get her life together, but we’re all happy she decided to come to New York and get to know us,” she said.