the stroke, even speculating that the patriarch’s illness had been brought on by the crushing disappointment of a recent dead end. Since then, Grady had brooded nonstop about what had become of her and the family’s failure to bring her back into the fold.
“That’s right, Grady,” Ethan said, beaming at Lia. His eyes held a wicked twinkle as he added, “Ava’s daughter has come home at last.”
Delighted by the news, Lia glanced at Ethan and noticed the way the handsome businessman was regarding her with purposeful intent. Her heart began hammering against her ribs as the import of what Ethan was saying struck her. She shifted her attention to the man lying in the hospital bed and she caught her breath to protest. But before she could voice her sharp denial, she saw the love shining in Grady’s eyes for her. No. Not for her. For his missing granddaughter.
Head spinning, Lia turned her full attention on Ethan. “What’s going on?”
“What’s going on is that Grady knows you’re his granddaughter.” Ethan gripped Lia’s elbow with long fingers while his eyes beseeched her to go along. “I explained how Paul located you through one of those genetic testing companies. It’s long been Grady’s dream to reunite you with your family. And now here you are.”
Lia’s mind reeled. The position Ethan had put her in was untenable, and to drag his brother into the mix was only going to create more drama. But the sheer joy in Grady’s eyes tied her tongue in knots. This could not be happening. She had to tell the truth. She wasn’t Ava Watts’s long-lost daughter. To claim that she was the missing Watts granddaughter would only lead to trouble.
“We need to talk about this,” Lia growled quietly at Ethan. She put her hand on Grady’s shoulder. “We’ll be right back.”
Leaving a confused Grady behind, Lia fled out into the hallway. To her relief, Ethan followed her. Worried that Grady might overhear their conversation, Lia grabbed Ethan’s arm and towed him down the hall toward the waiting area near the bank of elevators.
“Have you lost your mind?” she whispered as soon as they reached the empty family lounge. “How could you tell him I’m his granddaughter? And why put Paul in the middle of it? He’s going to be furious.”
“Grady came to that conclusion all by himself,” Ethan explained. “And the reason I gave Paul credit was to help repair the strained relationship between him and Grady.”
“Your brother will never go along with this.”
“He will when he sees the way Grady is recovering. Overnight his whole prognosis has changed. And it’s all because he believes you’re his granddaughter. It was his deepest desire to reunite with her and now he has a reason to live.”
“But I’m not his granddaughter. Why would he think I am? I don’t look like any of your family.” Lia’s heart twisted as she realized her protest might rouse Ethan’s angst over being adopted.
“You could be Ava’s daughter.” Ethan lifted his hands in a beseeching gesture. “We’ve been trying for years to find her with no luck. I told you that after my aunt died, her baby was adopted and the records were sealed. Believing you’re her has given Grady a reason to go on. Do you seriously want to go back in there and break his heart? He’s been so depressed since the stroke. In less than a week you’ve brought him back from the brink of death.”
Lia closed her eyes and spent several seconds listening to the pounding of her heart. This could not be happening. And yet it was.
“I just can’t do this.”
Besides being wrong, even if she agreed to a temporary stint as Grady Watts’s missing granddaughter, there was no way Paul was going to let her take on the role.
“You can,” Ethan insisted. “Making people feel better is what you do.”
“Sure, but not like this,” Lia protested. “And I don’t want to lie to your family.”
“I understand, but they aren’t any good at keeping secrets. We’ve never thrown a successful surprise party or gotten into trouble without everyone in the family knowing about it. For this to work we need to leave them in the dark or else risk that someone will slip up and give you away.”
From Ethan’s aggrieved tone, this obviously bugged him, and Lia sympathized. Having been isolated from relatives all her life, she couldn’t imagine having so many people in her business. Yet there was a flip side. Ethan could also count on his family to have his back.
“And what about Paul?” she quizzed. “Surely he’s already dug up enough info on me to know I’m not your cousin.”
“Let me handle my brother.”
Lia slid sweaty palms along her jean-clad thighs. “Damn it, Ethan. You can’t deceive your grandfather this way.”
“I can if it means keeping Grady alive,” Ethan said and his voice held genuine pain.
“It’s a lie,” Lia insisted, but she could feel her determination failing beneath the weight of Ethan’s enthusiasm. “A big fat dangerous lie. And you know I wasn’t planning on sticking around Charleston much longer. Misty is fixed. I almost have enough saved to replace my truck.” While this was true, Lia didn’t have enough to buy a quality vehicle she could trust. “It’s time I got back on the road.”
“All you need to do is stay a couple weeks until Grady’s completely out of the woods and then we can reveal that a huge mistake was made with the genetic testing service.” Something in Lia’s expression must have betrayed her weakening resistance because Ethan nodded as if she’d voiced her agreement. “I’ve thought the whole thing through and I know this will work.”
If she hadn’t grown fond of the handsome Charleston businessman since he’d become her massage client six months earlier, she never would’ve agreed to hear him out, much less consider such a wild scheme, but the pain Ethan felt over his grandfather’s illness had touched her heart. Plus, he’d made the whole scheme sound so reasonable. A couple of weeks of playacting and then she’d be on her way again. A bubble of hysteria rose inside her. What were more lies on top of the ones she was already telling?
“But I’ll be lying not just to Grady, but your whole family. It’s a cruel thing to do to all of them.”
“I’ve thought about that, too, but if we do this right, they’ll be so happy that Grady is healthy again that it will make the eventual disappointment of you not being family easier to bear.” Ethan gripped her hands and hit her with a mega dose of confident charm.
Lia was rallying one last refusal when the elevator doors opened and a slender woman in an elegant suit the color of pistachios stepped off. Instead of immediately heading for the hallway that led to the hospital rooms, she glanced toward the family lounge. Her expression brightened when she spied them.
“Ethan,” she said, coming toward them. “Glad to see you here.”
“Hello, Mother.” Ethan dipped his head and kissed her cheek. “This is Lia.”
Constance Watts was every inch a genteel matriarch of the South with her blond hair styled in a long bob and her triple strand of pearls. Her keen blue eyes assessed the jeans and thrift-store T-shirt Lia wore and she braced herself for censure, but Constance only smiled warmly.
“Ethan told me all about you,” Constance said, her captivating Southern drawl knotted with emotion.
“He did?” Lia hadn’t yet agreed to the scheme and bristled at Ethan’s presumption.
“Of course.” Constance glanced from Lia to her son. “He said Paul found you through a genetic testing service.”
“I’m really—” Lia began.
“Overwhelmed,” Ethan broke in, closing his fingers around her hand and squeezing gently. He snared her gaze, his eyes reflecting both determination and apology. “And can you blame her? Finally connecting with her real family after all these