meant, which prompted a further comment. Moving up?
This is the first time you’ve acknowledged me. I must be a glutton for punishment to keep trying.
She couldn’t help smiling at his message. Or too confident to assume a lack of response means no.
So you’re a spin-doctor as well as an account manager?
“I’m a fool,” she wanted to write. Instead she kept it light. I thought they were one and the same.
That worries me a little.
I’m joking.
Good. When will you be back?
In a week.
Vacay?
Meeting two half sisters I never knew existed.
She wasn’t sure why she’d volunteered that information. She hadn’t told anyone else.
Interesting. How’d you find out about them?
DNA testing. One of those ancestry sites.
What made you get your DNA tested?
My mother was having heart trouble, and several of my coworkers were doing it. They suggested I do it with them so I could learn more about my genetic endowment—what health risks I might face, etc.
And? Did the results reveal anything particularly worrisome?
No health issues. Just two new sisters.
Better that than discovering you carry the heart attack gene—or that you have a relative who’s a serial killer police have been trying to catch for years.
With the luck I’m having, that could still crop up...
Are you nervous about meeting your sisters?
Already met them, but I’m nervous to learn more. Whether my mother knows about them and, if so, why I was never told that I have siblings. Whether I’m truly related to the man who was my dad. If my new sisters are, too. How I’ll feel after I learn. That sort of thing.
Have you asked either of your parents?
My father died when I wasn’t quite two, so I can’t ask him. There’s just my mother and I, and I haven’t mentioned it to her.
Because...
Because Rosalind rarely talked about the past, seemed eager to forget it entirely.
Besides, there was something daunting about that kind of secret—one that struck at the very heart of Reagan’s identity and could possibly reveal a side of her mother she never knew existed.
Reagan wanted to figure out a few things first, feel confident that she had some answers of her own. She had open-heart surgery a month ago. Is still recovering.
I’m sorry to hear that. But maybe she’s been carrying this secret around for a long time and will find it a bit of a relief that you know.
That was a wise and balanced thing to say. She was impressed. But he had no idea how difficult her mother could be.
Why was she discussing this with him in the first place?
She supposed she needed someone to talk to who didn’t know her family or friends. That way, if he had loose lips it couldn’t be a threat to her. If it would be a relief, I think she would’ve told me.
I’ll take your word for it.
My life is complicated, she wrote, out of nowhere. In her current situation, basic honesty demanded it.
Are you trying to warn me away?
Maybe. Is it working?
Everyone’s life is complicated.
Is yours?
Would you ghost me if I said yes?
She frowned at his response. Although she wouldn’t have believed a denial, she would’ve preferred one. That depends on how complicated.
Fair enough. Before you count me out, let’s have a meal together, see if my imperfect meshes with your imperfect.
Why haven’t you given up on me?
Because I haven’t been able to forget the beautiful brunette I saw at the gala a few weeks ago.
She allowed herself a reluctant smile. She had to give him points for flattery and persistence. Okay. You ARE a glutton for punishment.
No. Just too confident to believe you won’t ultimately like me.
She laughed when she saw that after she’d thrown a version of his words back at him,