Page 59 of There Are No Words

“This is it,” I said, looking up from my phone where her apartment number was noted. I fisted my hand, ready to rap on the door, but Maria brought my hand down.

I caught her eye. She had that older sister protective look on her face. I understood where she was coming from. I did. I would protect my sisters to the death, but this was going to be okay.

“Don’t get too excited, Allie. We have no idea if she’ll even want to see us,” she warned.

I nodded and looked at the others, rubbing my lower back while I thought about what she’d said. It was like she’d been talking to Brady. “I know.” My heart skipped a beat. Just because I knew this might not go well didn’t change the facts. She was our blood relative, and I wanted to meet her. I wouldn’t be able to walk away and let this go.

I knocked, and when my hand fell from the door, I wiped my sweaty palm on my pants. Ugh, I did not want to be nervous, but I couldn’t seem to stop the energy from clouding me.

I had to remember to stay positive.

This is going to be great.

Yes, that was the third time I’d repeated it, and no I was not going to apologize. Some things deserved to be said again.

After a few seconds, a woman came to the door with a towel on her head. “Yes?”

I swallowed, suddenly realizing my throat was drier than usual.Voice, don’t fail me now.“Are you Jade Logan?” I asked, hoping it was her.

She looked from me to my sisters and then back to me. “Who’s asking?” Her hand went to her towel, and she pulled itdown, revealing a mass of brown hair just like ours—thick and full. Not that it meant anything, brunettes weren’t uncommon. I just couldn’t help but notice. Or maybe I was looking for any similarity, anything at all to make myself feel better about disturbing this woman’s life like this.

Since she obviously wasn’t going to confirm who she was, I decided I’d give it a try—“My name is Allegra Morelli. These are my sisters, Maria, Perla, and Bianca. We were hoping you might be Jade Logan.” I hitched an eyebrow as I waited. Anticipated. For anything, even a murmur, from her. News flash: it was agonizing. I wanted to pull the words from her mouth. Didn’t she understand I needed to know, like, yesterday?

“I am,” she answered somewhat hesitantly, her brows drawing together. “Did I win a prize or something? Did Jake put you up to this?” She gave me a confused look, her nose scrunching as she clacked the gum in her mouth.

Really, I was confused. What was she talking about? “No, sorry. There’s no prize, and we don‘t know who Jake is.”

“Jake is my best friend,” she clarified, shaking her head. “Never mind. What is it you want?”

Another sister with a male best friend? I peered toward Maria, who obviously didn’t pick up on the irony. “We were hoping to talk to you for a few minutes. Would you mind if we came in?” I asked, still taking the lead on this one.

Jade eyed us one by one, narrowing her gaze as she went. “Well, you don’t look like criminals, so, sure, come on in.” She spun around and walked inside, her sweatpants and shirt clinging to her straight-from-the-shower wet body.

Bianca laughed nervously. “I’ll take that as a compliment. I’m Bianca, by the way.” She extended a hand once we were inside.

Looking at it like it was a foreign object, Jade forced a smile and shook it. “Nice to meet you. Please sit down,” she said, flinging an old newspaper from the seat of her couch to the floor.

“Thank you. I’m Perla,” our baby sister went next, introducing herself.

Then Maria followed suit.

She tossed the towel from her head over the arm of a chair and sat down, too. “So what’s this about?”

“What do you know about your parents?” Maria ventured, finally acting like herself.

Jade shrugged. “They died in a plane crash a few years ago. They were finally going away for a vacation—Hawaii—and that’s what they got. Life can be as funny as a bee sting. Why?”

Gasping, Perla brought her hand to her mouth. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. I mean, it was heartbreaking, but I don’t like to dwell on it. They’re in a better place now. They were my adoptive parents. I never knew my real parents. Why all the questions?” she asked and blew a bubble with her gum.Pink, so she likes bubblegum. Noted.“You can’t be lawyers. I can’t figure you four out.”

I smiled and rubbed my belly. “Definitely not. We’re actually Angelo and Regina Morelli’s daughters. You might’ve heard of them. They startedBellissima.”

She shook her head. “No, sorry.”

Stunned, Bianca’s jaw dropped. “Are you sure? The fashion magazine?”

Maria nudged Bianca’s arm.

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