The Baby Pact (Babies and Billions #5) - Holly Rayner Page 0,23

crush on him, though she would never have been able to admit that to herself at the time.

But I wouldn’t want Zach to feel as though I only have feelings for him now because he has money.

No, it was definitely best to put off telling her parents about Zach for as long as possible.

Rhea spent most of the drive home the next weekend preparing answers in her head for the questions she knew she would be asked. Whenever she saw her parents, they wanted to know whether she was seeing anyone, and the question had never posed any real complications because the answer had always been no.

But now she had something she genuinely wanted to keep to herself.

If they ask, I’ll just say I’m focusing on work.

They would approve of that. Her parents had always been extremely proud of the work Rhea did. Though it went unsaid in the family, Rhea knew that her father had quietly wished that she would follow him into the family business, working at the distillery as her brother did. But he had accepted it with grace when she had told him that wasn’t the right career path for her.

It was a short drive from her apartment to her parents’ house. Their mansion was on the outskirts of Baltimore—they had bought a huge plot of land there and built the house before Rhea was born. Driving up the massive driveway always took Rhea back to her childhood.

Her memories had been the same as every other small child’s—learning to ride a bike, playing tag with her brother, picnicking on the lawn, marking off bases to play kickball. It wasn’t until she had reached adulthood that she’d realized how unique the backdrop of all her childhood memories was, that not everyone grew up on thirty acres with gardens, a swimming pool, and a half basketball court.

Stephen was waiting for her outside when she pulled up. He hurried over to her, took her by the arm, and started marching toward the door.

“Thank God you’re here,” he said. “Mom has had me working nonstop.”

“Stephen, I just got here,” she protested. “I haven’t even said hello to Mom and Dad yet!”

“They’re down in the wine cellar anyway,” Stephen said. “I think they’re arguing about what to serve. And you can help me mash the potatoes.”

She groaned. “You’re so annoying, do you know that?”

“I’m your big brother. It’s my job.”

She followed him into the kitchen. “What’s been going on with you lately?” she asked. “Did you find a house yet?”

“Yeah, there’s one a few miles from here that I think I like.”

“Not too expensive, I hope?”

“Not as expensive as this one,” he said. “But you know how it is. I want to live somewhere nice.”

“Well I don’t want you putting yourself into the poorhouse to pay for it,” she said.

“Don’t worry about it, Rhea. Mom and Dad are going to pay half my mortgage for me.”

She nodded. “That’s generous.”

“They’d do it for you too, if you wanted,” he pointed out, picking up the potato masher. He handed it to her and pulled out a fork so that he could keep mashing alongside her.

“I know they would,” Rhea said. “And I appreciate it. It just means a lot to me to do things on my own. I want to make my own way, not let them take care of me for the rest of my life.”

“You’re so stubborn,” Stephen said.

“I know.”

“What’s been going on with you?” he asked. “How’s work?”

“Work is fine,” she said. “But something else kind of interesting happened.”

“What is it?”

“Swear you won’t tell Mom and Dad?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Do you remember Zach Danes, my friend from college? You met him once, at my birthday dinner.”

To her surprise, her brother’s face darkened. “I remember him. What about him?”

“Jeez,” she said. “What’s up with the attitude? I thought you liked him.”

“Maybe I did at the time,” he said.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to be all weird about him too,” she said. “I was already worried that Dad was going to be like this. That’s why I’m not telling Mom and Dad that Zach is back in my life.”

“He is?” Stephen demanded. “Are you serious, Rhea?”

“We… we’re kind of seeing each other.” She definitely hadn’t expected such a dramatic reaction. “What's the big deal?”

“The big deal is that his father stole a whiskey formula from Dad,” Stephen said.

Rhea felt cold. “What are you talking about?”

“Dad found out about it right after we all had dinner together that time,” Stephen said. “We didn’t tell