Page 43 of The Billionaire & the Virgin Chef
And goodness, she’s a womannow.
“Joy?”
She’s too far away to hear me, and God, my legs won’t work to save my life right now. Dylan waves in her direction, catching her eyes as they also search the crowd. Then she sees me. Our eyes lock. We stand in our respective spots, frozen, unable to move. It’s Dylan who nudges me forward, shouldering my weight as he half-carries me toher.
“Joy?”
“Yes. It’s me, Em. I’m so happy to seeyou.”
We wrap our arms around each other, our bodies shaking as we sob, and weep, and heal. I can’t begin to guess how long we stay likethat.
I don’t know how Dylan was able to find her or what she’s been through since the day she ran away. And I don’tcare.
My sister isback.
* * *
Joyand I sit arm in arm in the back of Dylan’s late model Lexus RC F sports car. It’s a tight fit, but I’m not about to complain about having my sister close to me. Her carry-on luggage is in the front seat as he drives the three of us to the Hamptons. We’re headed back to the wedding, but only because I’m Dahlia’s maid of honor. I told the wedding planner to handle everything else, and she’s happy to obligeme.
Questions about Joy’s whereabouts and abrupt reappearance fight to take control of my mind during the drive back, but I shove them down. All the details of the path life took her will surface intime.
The answers must also appear in Joy’s mind, because she breaks the silence with, “Before you ask, I just want you to know…we were all in Wit-Sec.”
“Sorry?” I have no idea what thatmeans.
“Federal witnessprotection.”
I turn to her, baffled. “I don’t understand. Why… I thought you ranaway?”
“It all started about a month or so before we lost touch. My dad found a suspicious transaction at his accounting firm, and later discovered it was linked to organized crime. Although he didn’t come forward right away, he was approached by a federal prosecutor. After a lot of coaxing, he agreed to turn state’s evidence. It put everyone in his family in danger. We were put into witnessprotection.”
I don’t mask what must be a puzzled look on my face. “But… the cops told me they were searching foryou.”
“The officers who came to you about me were actually US Marshalls. The part about dad getting a job transfer to Europe, and my running away, it was a cover story. They didn’t want you or me to be put in harm’s way if we’d gone from being in communication one day to complete silence thenext.”
“Okay… but, that’s kind of how it was for me. You know that, right? I had no idea if you were on the streets, thrown into prostitution, dead. I didn’t know anything. And I did continue to look foryou.”
“I’m so sorry it happened this way,” she laments, covering my hand with hers. “Dad and I tried everything to convince the authorities to add you to the program with us, but they refused. Gosh, I’m so sorry to have put you through this,Em.”
“It’s not your fault. So… did they change yourname?”
“Yes. They gave us new identities. The Diamond family. I carried the name Abigail over all that time. We were moved to a small town in New Mexico. For the actual court case, it took several tries and over six years to bring it to trial. Dad testified against his boss about a month ago. As soon as his boss was convicted and the threat against our family ended, we were free to take steps to resume our real identities again. And a few days ago, someone Dylan knows found me.” Her tears start to flow again, and she sobs through her words, struggling for breath. “You have to believe me, Emily. Keeping away from you all these years, it broke my heart a little bit everyday.”
“Don’t cry anymore, Joy.” I cry too, but I try to be strong for her. “It’s over. We’re back togetheragain.”
We hold on to each other for a long time, then I pull back a bit to see her face again. Goodness, she looks so much likeMomma.
“You’re coming to live with us, right?” I ask as the tearssubside.
She shakes her head, her face solemn. “I have the weekend, but I can’t stay. It’s my last year of college. We’re smack in the middle of the semester. But, I promise I’ll fly back on all the holidays and all the long weekends between now and my last day of senioryear.”
“I hope so. Maybe I can fly out to see youtoo.”
“Yes, I’d love that. I have to wait for the end of the school year for the administrators to change my name back from Abigail,though.”
“Okay. I’ll try to remember. What are youstudying?”
“Fine arts. My major is in contemporarymusic.”
