Page 51 of The Player

‘A little. At home mainly, in her room, with the aid of a frame. But for Cindy, the harder she works her muscles, the greater the spasticity, so it’s easier for her to get around in the wheelchair.’

Liza blew Cindy a kiss as she glanced toward them again and grinned. ‘We’re definitely lucky. Many cerebral palsy sufferers have intellectual disabilities, speech difficulties, seizures, and severe limitations with eating and drinking. Cindy’s main problem is mobility.’

Wade shook his head, as if he couldn’t quite believe her optimism. ‘You’re fantastic.’ He nodded toward Cindy. ‘The way you are with her is beautiful.’

Uncomfortable with his praise but inwardly preening, she shrugged. ‘She’s my sister. We’ve been doing stuff together for a long time.’

‘What about your folks?’

She stiffened and he squeezed her hand. ‘You glossed over them in your biography and you never mention them…’

Liza didn’t want to talk about her flaky folks, not today, not ever. But after Wade’s full-disclosure pep talk last night she’d have to give him something.

‘I didn’t want to make them look bad in the book. That’s why I didn’t say much beyond the basics.’

He frowned. ‘How bad was it?’

‘Dad took off when Cindy was a year old. He couldn’t handle having a disabled kid. Mum progressively withdrew emotionally over the years, waited until I was eighteen, then she did a runner too.’

Wade swore. ‘You’ve been looking after Cindy ever since?’

‘Uh-huh. The CP association hooked me up with Shar shortly after Mum left and she’s been a godsend. She’s more family than carer.’

More family than her parents combined. The old saying blood was thicker than water? Give her a long, tall glass of clear aqua any day.

‘Do you ever hear from them?’

She heard the disapproval in his voice and didn’t want to dampen this day. ‘Mum calls on birthdays and Christmas, sends money as a gift, that’s about it.’

Shock widened his eyes before she saw a spark of understanding. ‘That’s why you took the book deal, isn’t it? You support Cindy financially.’

Liza struggled not to squirm. She didn’t want to discuss this with Wade, didn’t want him to know her private business.

There was disclosure and there was full disclosure, and as a couple embarking on a possible future, she didn’t want to muddy it with her sordid past.

‘We do okay,’ she said, springing up from the bench and dusting off her butt. ‘Come on, I think Cindy’s ready for that ice-cream you promised.’

Disappointment twisted his mouth before he forced a smile. ‘Sure.’

But as the sun passed behind a cloud and Liza shivered in a gust off Port Phillip Bay, she wondered if her sudden chill had more to do with Wade’s obvious disapproval at her reticence than the fickle spring weather.

Chapter Twenty-Three

An hour after Liza dropped him off at the office, Wade strode into the boardroom.

He couldn’t get the sound of theme-park rides, Liza’s laughter, and Cindy’s insightful questions out of his head, or the taste of hot dogs and mint ice-cream off his tongue.

It had been an incredible morning seeing the real Liza for the first time and he’d been blown away by her dedication to her sister, her level of caring, and her sheer joy in spending time with Cindy. She’d revealed a side of her he’d never seen, that of a loving, nurturing sister, and he wondered why she’d gone to great lengths to hide Cindy from him.

Sure, he accepted her rationale about not wanting Cindy exposed to the kind of intrusion she’d faced with her lifestyle over the years, and how emotional swings could increase Cindy’s risk factors physically, but there had to be more to it.

He thought she might open up to him today of all days, because he’d seen how she’d looked at him.

As if she’d really seen him for the first time too.

Her wonder at the way he fit in to her family made him feel ten feet tall, as if he could scale that giant mouth entrance at Luna Park and jog backward on the roller coaster. Then he’d made the fatal mistake of delving deeper and she’d clammed up, shutting him out as if the amazing four hours had never happened.

It confused him, because he had to make some fast decisions regarding his future, and he hoped to have her in it.

---