Page 48 of Vodka and Chocolate Drops

Amber caught a glimpse of a couple walking and laughing, shoulders bumping as they moved toward the baggage claim. That was what she wanted. With Scott. She blinked and looked again. The man was John Abcott. With a woman who was tanned, beaming, and looked at least five years younger than her mother.

Except itwasher mother.

Spotting Amber, Gloria broke away from John, schooling her smile as she came over for a hug.

“Did you have a good trip?” Amber asked.

“Wonderful! I need to do this more often.” She tugged John over. “And look who I ran into!”

Scott and John shook hands. “Do you need a ride?” Scott asked.

“Marisa’s coming for me, but thanks. Oh, and there she is.” John pointed to the dark-haired girl, who was Amber’s age. “Lovely to have vacationed with you, Gloria.” He gave her an affectionate look.

No. There was no way. Amber glanced at Scott to see if he was picking up on anything. He was watching them, too.

“You vacationed together?” she asked her mom, who was positively moon-eyed.

“Hmm? Yes. Same cruise,” she said, studying the bags going around on the convertor. “I think that one’s… no, not mine.”

Amber studied her mother, who was way too focused on identifying her bag.

“Something happened on the trip,” Amber said.

“What?” She started, turning a shoulder as if to block her daughter. “Oh? No. Nothing.”

“You’re different.” Amber stepped closer, as though she would be able to smell the truth on her mother’s clothes and be able to identify exactly what had happened to make her so happy. There was no way she could be in love. Not with John, anyway. The two of them were as unlikely as him being Amber’s father.

Although John and Gloria had dated when they were younger. Maybe the cruise had ended up being like one of those long-lost-love-reunited specials she saw on TV.

She almost laughed out loud. Talk about unrealistic.

Gloria pointed to her suitcase and Scott plucked it off the conveyer.

“Did she stay out of trouble, Scott?” her mother asked.

His mouth twisted with amusement. “Almost” was all he said as he moved ahead with the suitcase, allowing Amber and her mother to fall in behind him.

Amber seized the opportunity and blurted out, “Mom, I met someone who I think is my sister.”

Her mother stopped short.

“I was looking through online databases and I contacted a few people on a whim. A woman named Delia Whitehart replied and I think she’s my sister. She is quiet, thoughtful, caring, smart, patient, successful, and lives in a gated community in Dakota. I met her and we have the same hands. And a dog. No, we don’t have the same dog. She has a dog. Named Sasquatch. And she has a husband and no kids, and they run their own company. She’d like to meet you and she’s been to Blueberry Springs. We look alike and I think Benny might have figured it out, but I asked him not to breathe a word.”

Scott rolled his eyes at Amber and sighed.

“I’m so sorry,” she said to her mother, barely daring to breathe. She hadn’t meant to blurt out everything all at once, but she was nervous and afraid that her mother would interrupt and kibosh the entire topic, banishing the subject of Delia forevermore if she didn’t get it all out at once for her to consider.

“You’ve met her?” Gloria finally said.

“She’s really nice.”

“They named her Delia?”

Amber nodded, feeling as though she could break into tears at any moment due to the stress of anticipating her mother’s ultimate reaction. This could either bring them closer or ruin everything. Amber had crossed a line, stepping out in a way she never had before.

Scott gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and she let out the breath she’d been holding.

“Amber’s applied to the government adoption agency for confirmation that Delia is indeed her half sister,” he added, his voice calming, reassuring. “Meeting Delia was truly an accident. We were scoping out the scene before Amber proceeded any further with her emails, and had a run-in.”

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