The Unknown Sister Read online

  Jack grinned. “I got paid big time. But with or without the money, I have to tell you he’s the perfect man for you, CC.”

  “I agree. And you’ve always been the perfect brother. How’s my twin doing?”

  “She’s decided Steve’s not the guy for her, but they’re still pretty friendly. I like him, too. Now Phil, on the other hand… That’s getting serious. He’s acting like a man on the verge of you know what.”

  “Honestly?”

  “Would I lie to you? The sparks are flying. Ask any of the crew.”

  “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that.”

  “Sure I do.”

  She laughed out loud. “Of course you do. You know me better than I know myself.”

  “Which means I know I should get out of here so you can go see your husband and tell him the good news.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m going to do!”

  “Come by the house tomorrow. Everyone’ll want to hear there’s going to be a new addition to the family. Later on, if you find out it’s a boy, I won’t mind if you name him Jack.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “I already gave that some thought.”

  “Love you.” He kissed her cheek before she walked him to the door.

  “Oh—before I forget. The attorney who handled your adoption found the record of your birth in Tacoma, Washington. Your birth mother had twins at a private clinic. It took a subpoena to get into their files, which is the reason Shannon couldn’t come up with any information.

  “He found out that your birth father was not her husband. She gave up one of her babies for adoption in Tacoma, then moved to Portland and eventually gave you up.

  “There’s no record of her living in Portland after your adoption. Somehow she had the documents falsified for the agency used by Mom and Dad’s attorney. That’s why you didn’t know you were a twin. It explains why Shannon’s mother knew about the other twin.”

  Catherine nodded. “According to Shannon, her adoptive father didn’t want another child. If he’d been willing, I would have ended up living in Tacoma with Shannon.”

  “Well I’m glad you ended up being my sister.”

  Their eyes were suspiciously bright as they smiled at each other.

  “Dad’s attorney is still trying to track down your birth mother, but he thinks it could take a long time. Maybe he’ll never be able to find her. It’s his opinion that since your birth mother decided you two would be better off with adoptive parents, she probably didn’t want to be found. But it’s up to you and Shannon if you’d like the attorney to keep searching.”

  “I don’t want that, but Shannon might feel differently.”

  “I don’t know. She loves Mom and Dad like her own already.”

  “Was there ever any doubt?”

  “Nope.”

  “But you’re going to keep looking for your birth parents, right?”

  “Wrong.”

  Catherine was so shocked, her mouth fell open. Speechless, she stared at him.

  Jack smiled slightly at her reaction. “After what we’ve all lived through, I’ve changed my mind. In fact, I’ve decided I’m going to concentrate on being a good husband, like David. He’s my new role model. Know what I mean? See you later.”

  She hugged herself in happiness as he walked out the door, then rushed to get ready to see her husband. David had been gone from his office so long, one more day of interruption wasn’t going to make any difference. Not considering the news she had to tell him.

  After slipping a set of the blueprints for their house in a portfolio, she left for his office, breathless with excitement.

  “Good morning, Louise.”

  The older woman eyed her uncertainly.

  Catherine decided to take compassion on her.

  “I’m David’s wife.”

  “Oh!”

  “Don’t worry about it. People confuse me and Shannon all the time.”

  “Welcome home, Mrs. Britton! Congratulations. Your wedding was so beautiful, I felt honored to be invited.”

  “We were pleased you could come. Is my husband alone?”

  “Yes, but not for long. He’s called a staff meeting. It’s supposed to start in twenty minutes.”

  “In that case, I’d better hurry.”

  Her heart pounding, she opened the door of his office. He was on the phone, but the second he caught sight of her, he said goodbye to whoever it was and shot out of his seat.

  “Catherine! How did you know I was wishing you were here!”

  He drew her into his arms and kissed her, then kissed her again. Their hunger knew no limits. She moaned with desire. All he had to do was look at her, touch her, and her body went up in flames.

  Those days and nights in Corfu had been a time of endless pleasure. They’d explored and worshiped each other’s bodies until she’d felt she was a living, breathing part of him. This morning when they’d awakened, he hadn’t wanted to get out of bed, and she’d done everything in her power to keep him there.

  “I’m on the way to my office, but I thought I’d better stop by here first to consult with you on a change to our house plans.”

  “Whatever you want is fine with me. You know that,” he murmured, kissing her cheeks and throat, holding her body tight against his.

  Gasping for breath, she wriggled free of his grasp and picked up the portfolio, which had fallen to the floor. “I think this is something that should have your input.”

  With trembling hands, she opened the folder and pulled out the blueprints. He cleared his desk so she could set them down.

  “What would you think if we made another room off the master bedroom?”

  He stared at the design, not comprehending. “But we already have four bedrooms.”

  “Yes, I know. This would be a little room.”

  “You mean like an extra closet?”

  “Not exactly. It would have to have a window to let in the light.”

  The puzzlement on his handsome face was comical. “What would we use it for?”

  The happiness suddenly faded from his eyes. “You’re thinking of sleeping in there without me?”

  “Maybe. Sometimes. Or possibly the other way around.”

  His look grew fierce. “I got married to sleep with my wife. Every night of my life!”

  “Well, you might have to break that vow once in a while.”

  “Why?” he demanded tersely. “What happened on our honeymoon that’s caused you to think this way?”

  “Quite a lot happened, actually.”

  She watched him swallow. “Dammit, Catherine! Tell me what’s wrong.”

  His mouth tautened. Catherine thought that by now he would have caught on. His distress was growing and she realized she’d better give him a more obvious clue. Grabbing one of his felt tip pens, she drew a room off the master bedroom and wrote in the word nursery.

  He stared at it for a full minute. Then his head reared back. “We’re pregnant?”

  “Yes, darling.”

  “Already?”

  “Yes! I slipped out after you left this morning and bought one of those home pregnancy kits. The test came out positive!”

  “You’re sure it’s reliable?”

  “Even without the test, I suspected I was pregnant. For one thing, I’ve been nauseated for the last few days.”

  He slid his hand to her stomach. “Do you think there might be two babies growing in there?”

  “David—! I forgot about that. With twins in your family and in my biological family, it’s more than possible.”

  “Maybe you’d better draw two nurseries in the plans, just in case.”

  Once again their mouths met in joy and passion.

  Ten minutes later David buzzed his secretary. “Louise? Cancel the staff meeting. My wife and I are going home to celebrate the news that I’m going to be a father. Our baby might even turn out to be twins.”

  “Oh—that’s wonderful! Congratulations.”

  “I th
ink you’re wonderful, Mr. Britton,” Catherine whispered against his mouth. “And so will your children.”

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-7834-3

  THE UNKNOWN SISTER

  Copyright © 2000 by Rebecca Winters.

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