Page 45 of The Player

Now he knew the truth, where did that leave them?

‘Here you go.’ Shar dumped a plate of brownies and a steaming mocha in front of her. ‘Looks like you could do with a good dose of chocolate.’

‘You heard?’ Liza picked at the corner of a brownie, and shoved a few crumbs around the plate with her fingertip.

‘Enough.’ Shar winced. ‘It didn’t sound good.’

‘Is Cindy okay?’

Shar nodded. ‘Yeah, she’s on the computer listening to a podcast by that social media influencer she raves about, so had her headphones on.’

‘Guess I should be grateful for small mercies,’ Liza said, the severity of her confrontation with Wade hitting home at the thought of Cindy overhearing what he’d accused her of.

Star stared at her, a frown grooving her brow. ‘You didn’t tell him about Cindy.’

It was a statement, not a question, and Liza didn’t know where to begin to rationalise her behaviour.

‘He seems like a nice guy.’ Shar sipped at her mocha. ‘Good looking too.’

‘Wade’s…’ What? Incredibly sexy? Persistent? Thoughtful? She settled for the truth. ‘Special.’

‘Then why all the secrecy?’

‘Because I wanted to protect Cindy.’

‘From?’

‘Prying. Interference.’

‘Ridicule?’ Shar prompted and Liza nodded, biting her bottom lip.

‘You’ll probably hate me for saying this, but are you sure it’s Cindy you were protecting and not you?’

Liza’s head snapped up, shocked by Shar’s accusation. ‘What do you mean?’

Shar screwed up her nose before continuing. ‘You’ve lived your life in the spotlight. Interviews on TV. Mingling with A-listers. Your life scrutinised online. Best parties. Best of everything.’

Shar paused, and glanced away. ‘Maybe you didn’t want people knowing you had a disabled sister because you thought it would taint how you appear to others in some way?’

‘That’s bull.’ Liza stood so quickly her knee knocked the underside of the table and she swore.

‘Then why are you so defensive?’

She glared at Shar. ‘Because what you’ve just suggested is hateful and makes me look like a narcissistic bitch.’

Shar shook her head. ‘No. It makes you human.’

Shar’s accusation made Liza pause. Had that partially been her motivation? Was Wade right? Was she ashamed to reveal to the world she had a disabled sister?

Never in a million years would she have thought that, but if the two people in the world she was closest to—discounting Cindy—had jumped to the same conclusion, had she done it on some subconscious level?

She collapsed back onto the chair and tried to articulate her jumbled feelings. ‘Because of what I’ve faced in the spotlight, I didn’t want Cindy exposed to any of that.’

Shar pointed at the ARC lying on the floor. ‘So what if you’d mentioned her in the book? Doesn’t mean the media would’ve been beating down your door to interview her.’

‘They might have.’ Liza rested her feet on the chair and wrapped her arms around her shins. ‘You’ve fielded enough calls to know how persistent they can be. It could’ve turned into a circus.’

‘Or they could’ve respected your privacy and hers.’

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