Page 75 of Lust and Little White Lies

Dane scans the room, searching for his sister. His mood lightens when he locates her in the adjacent reception room. He heads toward her, maneuvering around several guests along the way.

Rada's face brightens when she sees him. "Brother, welcome home." She sets her glass of champagne on the marble mantelpiece and hugs him.

"Rada, it's good to see you. I swear it feels like I've been gone for years." Dane takes a step back and makes an exaggerated display of assessing her. "There's something different about you. I know what it is. You've gotten shorter."

"Excuse me? You're here for five minutes and already acting like a monster," she teases, giving him a little nudge. "Since you mentioned it, I started wearing flats. Harrison doesn't like it when I wear heels and tower over him."

"Aha, Harrison does have a flaw—he's self-conscious about his height. And you told me he was perfect."

"You are detestable. I said Harrison was perfectfor me. And you can't fault Harrison because Dad had tall children. Remember, I can still lock you in a closet."

"That you can," Dane laughs, remembering Rada's antics and their rambunctious childhood in Bulgaria.

Dane was five when his parents divorced, and his father relocated to London. His father was always loving and fair, treating Dane's mother well after their split and committing to staying in touch with his children. When Dane and Rada were older, they spent their summers with their father in England, and through his urging, Dane attended university there. Now, Dane and Rada were permanent residents, visiting their mother as much as possible.

Rada clears her throat. "You seem preoccupied. I don't want to add to whatever has your attention, but I should warn you that Eloise is here."

"Why is she here?" Dane snaps, turning his back to the room.

"We should have this conversation in Dad's study before Eloise returns. She went downstairs to the powder room, likely rechecking her makeup." Rada retrieves her champagne flute from the mantel and grabs Dane's arm, pulling him across the room and down a hallway to their father's study.

Dane shuts the door behind them and goes to the cart containing several liquor bottles and glasses. He pours himself a whiskey, then takes a seat in one of the coral-and-gold upholstered wing chairs. Rada sits next to him in the matching chair.

"Now that we're away from listening ears, please tell me why Eloise is here?" Dane holds his glass in the air, looking at Rada over its rim.

Rada scowls, the corner of her mouth twisting. "Queen Charlotte invited her."

"Why the hell would our stepmother do that? And why do you call her Queen Charlotte?"

"First, I call her Queen Charlotte because she took over running Cogsdon Medical from her father since his health is declining. She was instrumental in finalizing a merger between her company and smaller Baxter Medical Equipment. Cogsdon's stock rose sharply, and now Charlotte is prancing around all hoity-toity. I detest the arrogance of the people around here. It's so much nicer back home."

"Um…correct me if I'm wrong, but London is home."

"Oh, bollocks! You know what I mean." Rada grabs the small pillow from behind her back and tosses it at Dane, hitting him in the face.

"Okay, no reason to be mean," Dane laughs. He places the pillow on the floor, out of her reach.

"You deserved that. Plus, I haven't been able to tease you since you've been gone. Now, back to your question. Charlotte invited Eloise because she knew you'd be here. She's trying to help Eloise get you back. And before you try to tell me I'm imagining it, I overheard their conversation. Eloise is purposely wearing a low-cut dress to gain your attention, and when the evening comes to a close, she'll try to talk you into driving her home.Charlotte will insist you agree with some not-so-gentle nudging if you turn Eloise down."

"What the bloody hell!"

"Exactly, and that's what you get for dating your stepmother's cousin."

"She's your stepmother too."

"I try not to claim her. And you need to be careful. Although Charlotte's side of the family has money, Eloise's side has none. And Eloise has been less than truthful. I did some digging with Harrison's help since Charlotte has morphed into such an arse and discovered those properties Eloise claims her family owns are owned by someone else. We also discovered Eloise's father is one of the managers of Wilkes Technologies, rather than the proprietor, with the company owned by an uncle with the same name. And now that Dad decided to bump you up to Voyager River Cruises' vice president of operations once Jamison Vickers retires, the extra money and prestige you'll be getting have Eloise not only back in the picture but circling like a shark—with Charlotte's enthusiastic approval."

"Wonderful. I can see this evening will be an utter smash."

"You created this mess when you let Charlotte talk you into dating her cousin. At least I've done what I can to help you out. Harrison has another engagement this evening and can't be here. Knowing about Eloise and Charlotte's sneaky little plan, I had him drop me off on his way there. Now you'll have to take me home, which leaves Eloise the option of going with both of us and being dropped off first or having someone else drive her."

"Thanks, sis, for having my back. I don't understand why Eloise is going through all this trouble, though. She was agreeable to our breakup."

"Not exactly. That was a lie. When Eloise gave you that ultimatum, demanding you give her more of your time and attention or lose her, neither she nor Charlotte anticipated youbreaking it off. And by leaving for the cruise season immediately afterward, you gave them no time to try and fix it."

"I guess their plan backfired."

"Most definitely. So now that I've filled you in on the current situation, it's your turn to tell me how your adventure went."

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