Page 46 of Bitter Heat

“Is the series about…?” Ariana began before Colette shushed her.

“Yes, it’s about Roth and me.” It was a lost cause to act like it wasn’t. It would be obvious to her sisters if they read the books. “And I just found out he knows too.”

Her sister’s horror summed up how she felt when he’d dropped that bomb on her. She had never spent time with her sisters. They were usually too busy for that. They had obviously cleared their schedules for the evening, which showed how much this talk meant to them. Weeks of guilt and loneliness seeped away.

“He knows?” Ariana choked.

“Yep.”

“How did he find out?”

“His assistant read me as Minnie Hess and then checked into Thalia Crane since she’s an avid romance reader, saw the similarities between the writing style and the story, and put it together.Then,” she said with relish, “she gives him the books as a gift, and he fucking reads them.”

Ariana had her hands over her mouth while Colette twisted her pearl necklace.

“Why would she do that?” Colette asked.

She clapped her hands. “Exactly!” She threw up both her hands. “She thinks I wrote the series as a love note to him or something. Ugh!” She crossed her arms and tapped her foot irritably.

“Did you?” Ariana asked.

“Of course not!”

“How did he take it?” Colette asked.

She shrugged. “He was more flattered than anything else, I think.”

“Well, that’s something at least.” Colette cocked her head to the side. “Is he…? Did he say anything about us?”

Jasmine frowned. “What do you mean?”

“About Dad or the company?”

“No. Why?”

Colette and Ariana glanced at one another before returning their attention back to her.

“We were wondering if he was going to cause any trouble now that he’s back,” Ariana said.

“Why would he? His fight was with Dad, not you.”

Colette shifted uncomfortably and then winced.

“Why are you supposed to be on bed rest? Is something wrong?” she asked as she paced back toward her sisters.

“She has high blood pressure,” Ariana said as she kicked off Colette’s heels and forced her sister back against the cushions. “If you don’t relax, I’m going to tell Lyle.”

“Why haven’t you told him?” Jasmine asked.

“I’m in the middle of something at work. Once it’s done, I’ll relax and prepare for the baby,” Colette said irritably.

Jasmine perched on a gold coffee table in front of her sisters.

Colette eyed her thoughtfully. “Dad was proud that you made it in your own arena.”

Jasmine nodded. He had mentioned that to her before.

“He said you don’t fear failure and that’s why you’ve been able to move on and become a success.”

---