Page 10 of Vodka and Chocolate Drops

He braced his hands under her elbows. “I don’t know who your father is. For all I know it really is Philip and the gossips have it wrong.”

“They never have it wrong! Not on something huge like this.”

“Why are you asking about this? Why now?”

“Why not now? I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. I thought you were the one person…” She thumped his chest when he refused to let her go. “The one person, Scott.”

“Amber.” His grip was firm as he held her in front of him, his voice rough. “What I hear at work is confidential. If I thought this was worth pursuing I would have told you.”

“How can it not be worth pursuing? We’re talking about myfather.”

“Sometimes secrets need to be kept.”

“What do you know that you’re not telling me?”

Scott gave a frustrated sigh, finally releasing her to push a hand through his hair.

“What?”

“Nothing. Just take a moment and think outside yourself. Why would anyone keep your father a secret from you for several decades?”

“Because, apparently, that’s what people do. They keep secrets from me because they think I can’t handle it. Well, guess what, world, I can handle it.”

Scott leaned against the counter, his expression thoughtful, as if he was sizing her up. “Secrets are secrets,” he said, “because people don’t want them known. It’s not our business to unearth them. They’re secrets for a reason.”

“They’re secrets aboutme, Scott. They affectme.” She was hanging off his collar, begging. “They’re about my life and I deserve to know. You know who your father is, but imagine not knowing. It’s like part of you is a mystery. Unanswered. Unexplainable.”

Scott carefully pried her fingers from his shirt. The sound of another vehicle coming up the driveway distracted Amber.

“Is that Dr. Leham?” she asked, pointing to the shiny BMW that had pulled up in front of the house. Why would he be visiting her? Maybe his new girlfriend--Amber’s long-time friend Katie Reiter--had borrowed it and was coming by to see how she was doing.

“He’s got a newer model,” Scott said, leaning against Amber’s back to get a better look out the window. His body was a warm and comforting presence and she resisted pressing against him. Scott had been the one constant in her life, but she needed to remember that even he had been keeping secrets from her.

She turned to face him, realizing that if her mother had been lying, something must have gone incredibly wrong.

“Scott? Do you have secrets? I mean more secrets? More than just the Philip thing.”

“Everyone has secrets, Amber.”

Not the answer she wanted.

“Did you ever tell your mom about what really happened when you bent the bumper of her car?” he asked.

“I meant that you’re keeping about me, my life.”

Scott’s eyes narrowed as he glared out the window, his hands going protectively to her shoulders.

“What?”

She turned, spotting Russell and his editor, Sabrina, walking up to the house. Outrage cut through Amber and she didn’t know whether to run and hide or come out fighting.

“What does he want?” Scott grumbled, moving swiftly to the front door to head him off.

Amber hesitated, then followed. Scott opened the door before Russell could knock or let himself in. Seeing Sabrina in her lithe linen outfit standing behind Russell made Amber glad to have Scott as her own personal backup.

“I’m here for my stuff,” Russell said.

“There is no reason for you to be here unannounced,” Scott said, arms crossed, acting as a human wall between Amber and her ex.

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