of white wine in front of Cecelia. “I saw something come up this afternoon, but I was too busy to pay much attention to it. What does that have to do with Simone? Is she his latest victim? I wouldn’t be surprised if she got into some trouble.”
Cecelia steeled her nerves, thankful for the glass of wine even though she would’ve preferred a red. She took a healthy sip before she started the discussion. “No, he’s actually blackmailing me.”
“What?” Chip shushed her, leaning into her across the table. “Not so loud, people will hear you.” He scanned the dining area for anyone who might hear. Fortunately, it was still early for the dinner crowd at the club. The closest table was involved in a lively discussion about steer and not paying any attention to them. “What is going on?” he asked when he seemed certain it was safe to continue their discussion.
Cecelia followed suit, leaning in and speaking in low, hushed tones. “I got a message from him. It seems he found something out about me from a long time ago, and he’s trying to blackmail me with it. Well, I supposed he’s been successful since I’ve already made one payment to him, but it doesn’t seem like it was enough, given the post this afternoon.”
Chip’s expression was stiff and stoic, without any of the sympathy or concern for her that she was hoping for. “What is he blackmailing you about? You told me you had a squeaky-clean past. It’s absolutely critical, if you’re going to be the wife of a senator, that you don’t have anything in your life that can be detrimental to my career.”
Cecelia sighed. How did this become about him and his career? “I know. It’s not really something I think about very often. It was completely out of my control. My parents chose to keep it secret to protect me, but in the end, I don’t think it’s that bad. It’s hardly a skeleton in my closet, Chip.”
Chip eyed her expectantly, but she hesitated. She hadn’t said the words out loud in thirteen years. Only ever said them once, the night she confided in Deacon. Somehow she wasn’t sure this would go as well. “I’m adopted,” she whispered.
Chip flinched as though she had slapped him across the face. “Adopted? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Cecelia gritted her teeth at his reaction. She could already tell this was a mistake. “No one was ever to find out. I was adopted by the Morgans when I was only a few weeks old. They decided to raise me as their own child and have never told anybody about my history...because of who my mother was.”
“What’s wrong with your mother?”
“She had a drug problem. I was taken away from her when I was only two weeks old. My parents told me that she was so distraught, she overdosed not long after that.”
A furious expression came over Chip’s face. “Are you telling me that your mother was a junkie?”
There was no way to make that part go down easier. “I guess so. She was never a part of my life, but yes, my mother had a serious and deadly drug problem.”
Chip didn’t appear to even hear her words. “I cannot believe you would lie to me about something like this.” He flushed an ugly red with anger. She’d never seen her polished and professional fiancé like this. “I thought you were like me. I thought you were from a good family and would make a perfect wife. But you’re nothing but an impostor playing a role. How could you agree to marry me when you were keeping something like that a secret?”
Cecelia’s jaw dropped open in shock. She thought he might be surprised by the news, maybe even concerned about the potential backlash, but she certainly didn’t think that he would accuse her of deceiving him. “I am not an impostor, Chip Ashford. You have known me my whole life. I was raised by the Morgans in the same Houston suburb you were. I went to all the best schools like you did. I am nothing like my birth mother, and I never will be. I couldn’t control who my mother was any more than you could.”
Chip just shook his head. “You can dress it up, but a liar is always a liar.”
Cecelia’s blood ran cold in her veins. “Chip, please, don’t be like this. I didn’t intentionally deceive you. My parents just thought it was best that no one know.”
“Thank goodness for Maverick,” Chip said. “Without him I never would’ve found out the truth about you. You and your parents would’ve let me marry you knowing that everything I believed about you was a lie.”
Her eyes welled up with tears she couldn’t fight. Was Chip about to break up with her over this? She couldn’t believe it, but that’s what it sounded like. “Chip...”
“Don’t,” he snapped. “Don’t look at me like that with tears in your eyes and try to convince me that you are a victim in this. I’m sorry, Cecelia, but the engagement is off. I can’t marry somebody I can’t trust. You’re a liability to every future campaign I run, and I’m not about to destroy my career for a woman who is living a lie.”
Cecelia looked down at the gigantic diamond-and-platinum ring that she’d worn for the past six months of their engagement. She hadn’t particularly liked the ring, but she couldn’t say so. It was gaudy, but it was as expected for someone of his station. She didn’t want to keep it, not when his words were like a knife to the heart. She grasped it between her fingers and tugged it off her hand, handing it across the table.
Chip took it and stuffed it into his pocket. “Thank you for being reasonable about that.”
At least one of them could be reasonable, she thought as the pain of his rejection slowly morphed into anger. She never would’ve confided in Chip if she’d known he would react like this. Now, all she could hope for was damage control. “I hope that I can still count on you to keep this secret,” Cecelia said. “Odds are it will get out eventually, but I would prefer it to be on my terms if you don’t mind. For my parents’ sake.”
Chip got up from the table and shrugged it off. “What good would it do me to tell anybody? I’ve wasted enough time here. Have the waiter put dinner on my tab.” He turned on his heel and marched out of the restaurant, leaving Cecelia to sit alone with their cocktails, a basket of bread sticks and an order for food they wouldn’t even eat.
A hollow feeling echoed through her as she looked at his empty seat. Cecelia thought she would be more upset about her broken engagement, but she was just numb. The truth was that she didn’t love Chip. Their relationship was more about strategic family connections than romance, but it still smarted to have him dump her like this when she was at her lowest point. They had planned a future together. They discussed how after The Bellamy deal they were going to sit down and make some solid wedding plans. Instead of finally getting one step closer to the family that she longed for, she was starting over.
Even if Chip kept his word and didn’t spread her secret all over town, it would be embarrassing enough for everyone to find out about her broken engagement. Everyone would speculate about why they broke up if neither of them was talking. She wondered what Chip would tell them.
In the end, she was certain that her secret would come out anyway. One way or another everyone was going to find out that Cecelia was the adopted daughter of a junkie. Royal was a place where everybody was always in everyone else’s business. They had all the drama and glamour that the Houston society provided, with all of the small-town nosiness that Cecelia could do without.
When the truth came to light, she wondered who would still be standing beside her. The members of the Texas Cattleman’s Club were supposed to be like a family, but they were a fickle one.
Then there was the matter of her real family. How would her parents ever recover from the fallout? They’d built their lives on maintaining a perfect facade. Would their family, circle of friends and business contacts ever forgive the decades-long deception?
Reeling from the events of the evening, Cecelia picked up her purse and got up from the table, leaving a stack of bills to cover the tab. She could’ve let Chip pay for it all, but she didn’t want to face the waiter and explain why she was suddenly alone with a tableful of food coming out of the kitchen.
As