Page 1 of Gossip Game

ONE

Heads turned as Charlotte Davis strolled into the elementary school’s multipurpose room on the arm of her older brother. It had been several years since she’d sucked up the focus of everyone around her when making an entrance. As a spoiled, socialite heiress in her late teens and early twenties, she’d reveled in being the center of attention. Now, however, not so much.

Not that it was easy for either Charlotte or her tall, dark, and handsomely wealthy half-brother, Jay McManus, to fly under the radar. Among his many business holdings, Jay owned the Baltimore Blaze, the football team most of the people gathered at the school tonight likely cheered for. He couldn’t go anywhere in the Mid-Atlantic area without being recognized by fans.

As for Charlotte, she’d spent most of her life cursing the fiery red hair that announced her presence like a homing beacon everywhere she went. Coupled with her giraffe-like height—five foot ten without her Louboutin heels—it was hard to make a discreet entrance anywhere. She’d gone to great lengths tonight, however, taming her distinctive hair into a sleek, low ponytail and donning a subdued navy Roberto Cavalli jumpsuit, hoping to blend in.

No such luck, apparently.

While a celebrity at the exclusive private school’s kick-off fundraiser probably wasn’t uncommon, a notorious tabloid princess among their midst was sure to have tongues wagging in the carpool line come Monday.

Jay nodded as the woman taking their tickets reminded them the silent auction would end soon, with the live auction to begin immediately after. The chatter among the other guests dropped a notch while Charlotte and Jay made their way toward the tables displaying the donated items. She sensed everyone’s gaze tracking their progress. Jay stiffened beneath her hold when several of the moms eyed him speculatively. The whispers had doubtless already started in the far corners of the room, guests exchanging theories about where his beautiful wife might be.

She has pink eye, Charlotte wanted to shout. Likely picked up from one of your precious little snowflakes at sneak peek yesterday.

She patted his arm as if to say I got you.

Jay let out a half-hearted chuckle. “Thanks for being my date tonight, Charlie. Bridgett did a lot of research before we decided to send the twins here for kindergarten.” He sighed. “She really wanted to make a good first impression with the other parents. It’s important to both of us that Vivi and Gray have as normal an upbringing as possible.”

Unlike yours.

He didn’t come out and say the words. He didn’t have to. They both knew her childhood was anything but normal. Charlotte doubted the private school she had attended on New York City’s upper east side even had a PTA. If the school needed something funded, the parents simply stroked another check. No need for charity auctions with catered tacos and free-flowing margarita machines, aimed at loosening inhibitions and opening wallets.

She couldn’t fault her brother and Bridgett for wanting their kids to have a stable, grounded life. Growing up under the media’s microscope was not something she wished on her worst enemy, much less her niece and nephew. Whatever it took to shield Vivian and Grayson from the trolls of the world, Charlotte was down for it. Nurturing and protecting them had become second nature to her since the start of their lives.

Charlotte reassured Jay with another pat on the arm. “Stop worrying. Those two will be fine.”

His gray eyes grew shiny. “Yeah, they will. Thanks to you.”

“Don’t!” she commanded before glancing around. Only a handful of people were aware that she was the twins’ surrogate. And that’s exactly the way Charlotte wanted to keep it. Carrying the two babies was her gift to her brother, the person who had been the one constant in her life. And the sister-in-law who made him an even better man.

When the twins were old enough to understand, they’d explain the process of their birth to them. For now, the fewer people who knew, the better. Given how the media treated her, there was no telling how they’d frame the story. For sure not in a way that would make sense to a pair of five-year-olds.

He swallowed roughly, then nodded. “Like I said, I appreciate you stepping in for Bridgett.”

“Are you kidding me? I flew halfway around the world just for this moment. It’s always been my dream to attend an auction in a room that reeks of smelly gym shoes and fish sticks.” She nudged him with her shoulder playfully.

“And here I thought you came home to hire a CEO to manage your company.”

Her brother’s offhand comment had her enthusiasm for a night out waning. Her cosmetics company, Truly Yours, had grown so quickly that its day-to-day management was becoming overwhelming. Since its inception, Charlotte had been directing the operations. Jay’s wife, Bridgett, a brilliant trial attorney, pitched in more and more as the company grew. Without her—and Charlotte’s mother—there would be no Truly. But things like supply chain and manufacturing weren’t exactly in the attorney’s wheelhouse. And Charlotte’s education as a jet-setting socialite didn’t bring much else to the table. Lately, Truly’s investors were becoming a bit more vocal about the company needing someone with business savvy at the helm.

If only bringing in someone else didn’t make her feel like such a failure.

She shook her head at her brother’s statement, wishing she could stave off her investors the same way. “That could have been done virtually. I haven’t been back to the States since Christmas. And I didn’t want to miss the twins’ first day of school.” Which was the truth. She wanted to share in as many important aspects of their lives as Jay and Bridgett would allow.

“Nonetheless, I’m sure there are more exciting things a single woman would rather be doing on a Friday night. Even here in Baltimore.”

“It’s barely seven-thirty. We’ve got hours until the club scene heats up. Most of the people going out tonight are likely pre-gaming with a nap.”

He shuddered. “Damn. When did I get so ancient? Just the thought of going out anywhere after nine makes me cranky.”

“Well, I’ll let you in on a little secret.” She leaned in. “My bedtime isn’t much later. In fact, I haven’t been out clubbing in years.” Not with a beauty empire threatening to run amok.

He pressed a hand to his chest, his voice mocking. “Say it isn’t so? Who are you and what have you done with the impulsive wild child Princess Charlotte?”

She shot her brother a withering look as she slid her arm from his and casually perused the items laid out on the long tables. The paparazzi had dubbed her “Princess Charlotte” when she was fifteen. At first, she adored the ridiculous nickname, steering into the skid and acting out the part of the reckless, pampered heiress to perfection, much to the delight of tabloid editors around the globe.

At least someone was paying attention.

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