Harlequin Desire December 2019--Box Set 1 of 2 by Brenda Jackson

Author:Brenda Jackson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

An hour later, Regina sat in a deep leather barrel chair kitty-corner to April Stephens in the Mesa Falls Ranch den.

The investigator had asked to meet in person once she’d discovered that Regina was at the main lodge, and within five minutes of the call, the two of them had taken seats next to one of the tall windows flanking the fireplace.

April defied every expectation Regina had of a female PI. The willowy blonde’s long hair hung in full curls around the shoulders of a suit that looked right out of the pages of a fashion magazine. From her stilettos to her French manicure, April appeared more apt to step out of a limo on Park Avenue than sit in a stakeout. But maybe that was because her investigative specialty was financial forensics.

Now, taking notes in longhand on a legal pad, April paused to peer up at Regina.

“Did your mother ever speculate about who in her life might have betrayed her trust?” The woman had listened without interruption while Regina recounted growing up as Georgiana Cameron, daughter of the prominent film star, before getting iced out of her “father’s” life once the scandal broke involving Hollywood Newlyweds. She should have been numbed to telling by now, but sharing about the betrayal still left her raw and vulnerable, perhaps because she was still unsettled by her last conversation with Devon.

A burst of applause erupted in a room nearby, then died down again. The entertainment areas of the lodge had remained busy throughout the evening, but no one else had entered the den except for a passing waiter who’d asked if they needed anything. Regina sipped her water and set it back on the small round table with a wagon wheel painted on it, which sat between their chairs. Her hand trembled enough to give away her fractured emotions, and she yanked it back fast.

“She said the only people who knew about her affair with my birth father were her two best friends and their yoga instructor.” Regina hadn’t thought back to that in a long time, and she appreciated April coming at the story with fresh eyes. But would it help Regina in the long run, or only serve Devon? “Eventually, Mom decided it must have been my father who’d let it slip to someone, because she trusted all of those women implicitly.”

“Have your mom’s friends ever been questioned?” April shifted in her chair, the red soles of her shoes flashing for a moment as she recrossed her slim legs. “By a professional investigator, that is?”

“No.” Regina felt a surge of hope that maybe something could still be unearthed from one of them. “I’m the only member of my family who has ever paid anyone to look into the matter, and I didn’t have the budget for it that Devon Salazar does.”

“Will it create discomfort for your family if I question your mother’s friends now?” April asked, pen hovering in midair over her paper while she waited for an answer.

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