A Family Affair: The Wish: Truth in Lies, Book 9 by Mary Campisi Read Free Book Online Page B

relationship a try, especially after what happened with her husband.”
    That did not sound good. “Should I ask what happened?”
    “Sure, why not? Once you hit Magdalena, you’ll find out soon enough and I’d rather give you a heads-up. That’s one thing about small towns; everybody knows your business, whether you want them to or not. I wasn’t back in Magdalena twenty-four hours before I heard about the about the guy’s heart attack.” He picked up a pen, flipped it between his fingers. “Happened in a hotel room a town over…guy was with his girlfriend.”
    “Damn. No wonder the woman’s sworn off men.”
    “No kidding. But Rex isn’t going to sit back and watch his daughter shrivel up because some jerk did her wrong.” Roman eyed him. “That’s where you come in.”
    Adam checked his watch again. He had five minutes to wrap this up and get out the door. “Look, I’ll do whatever you want as long as you don’t try to fix me up with the woman.”
    Roman smiled. “You might change your mind once you see her.”
    “No thanks.” He wasn’t interested in a daddy’s girl who was probably going to make his job a lot more difficult.
    “Okay, so you don’t want to hear about the long legs and the—”
    “No.” Bree had long legs…a killer smile…and—
    “Fine.” Roman’s smile spread. “Good luck staying neutral.”
    “It’s not like I’ve never worked with a beautiful woman before. I’ll be fine and I’ll stay neutral, no problem. You want me to head to Magdalena and evaluate the business and not let the woman know it’s going to be sold?”
    “Yes.”
    “And that’s it?” None of the above sounded exceptionally sticky, but the two-second delay made Adam suspicious, and when a dull blush plastered Roman’s cheeks, Adam knew there was more to this story.
    “Not exactly.” Roman coughed, cleared his throat. “Rex wants you to pretend you’re a consultant he hired to increase efficiency and reduce waste.” He blew out a breath, shrugged. “I don’t like subterfuge, but the man asked me as a favor and I don’t know how to get out of it.”
    “He asked you to help him lie to his daughter and throw me in to keep the lie going?” No answer. “You know, it’s one thing to send me in there to keep my mouth shut and evaluate the business, but out-and-out deception where the father’s lying to the daughter? You don’t think that’s wrong on so many levels?”
    “If his intent were malicious, I’d say yes. But he’s only trying to protect her because he doesn’t think she’s strong enough right now to deal with the truth.” Roman’s voice dipped and covered his next words with sympathy. “I just need you to go in and gather enough information to evaluate the business so we can start looking for buyers. But Bree is never going to help you if she knows who you really are and why you’re there.”
    “Bree?”
    Roman nodded. “Bree Kinkaid, Rex’s daughter.”
    Bree? “Huh. That’s not a very common name. Is it?” Bree said she was visiting Chicago, but he had no idea what she did. And of course, he didn’t know her last name.
    “I never heard of the name other than the cheese, so I’d say no. Not common.”
    Adam glanced at his watch. Maybe it wasn’t a common name, but the woman in Roman’s hometown and the one last night could not be the same person. No way. The odds were too great. Still, because he wasn’t a betting man and preferred “sure things,” Adam poked around. “What’s she look like?”
    Roman stared at him. “Why? You think her old man’s going to try and fix you two up?” He laughed. “No need to worry about that one. I hear she’s definitely on the not-interested-and-not-looking list.” He shook his head, sighed. “Too bad, too. Nice girl. A little off, but kindhearted with that damnable southern drawl.”
    Adam’s stomach churned and twisted so hard he thought he’d throw up. “Drawl?” he managed when he could find his breath.