Claiming Her Billion-Dollar Birthright Read Free Page A

coffee for the gentleman. Have you decided on lunch?”
    â€œNo,” Christian said. “We need a few minutes.”
    â€œTake your time,” the young man told him, then gave them each a smile and left them alone with their menus.
    Erica didn’t even glance at hers. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be hungry again. She grabbed her tea, took a long drink to ease the dryness in her throat and thenset the glass down. Keeping her voice low enough that Christian was forced to lean across the table to hear her over the discordant hum of traffic, she said, “I don’t know what this is about, or what you’re up to, but…”
    â€œIf you’ll hear me out, I’ll try to explain.”
    He looked as if he wished he were anywhere but there and Erica knew exactly how he felt. She wanted nothing more than to jump up, vault over the iron railing separating the café tables from the sidewalk and disappear into the crowds. But since that wasn’t going to happen, she told herself to remain calm and listen to him. Once he was finished saying his piece, she’d simply walk away and put this hideous conversation out of her mind forever.
    He threw a quick glance at the table closest to them as if to assure himself he wouldn’t be overheard, then he looked back to Erica. His dark chocolate eyes shone with determination as he said quietly, “I realize this is a shock—”
    â€œIt would be if it were true,” she allowed.
    â€œIt is true, Ms. Prentice.” His voice dropped another notch. “Would I be here if this were all some elaborate joke?”
    â€œMaybe,” she said. “For all I know this is some sort of extortion attempt or something.”
    Now those dark eyes of his fired with indignation. “I’m an attorney. I’m here at the behest of my late employer. It was his final wish that I come to you personally to deliver this news.”
    Erica nodded, seeing the insult her jibe had delivered and said, “Fine. It’s not a joke. But it is a mistake.Believe me when I tell you, I’m the daughter of Walter Prentice.”
    â€œNo,” he said tightly. “You’re not. I have documentation to back me up.”
    She took a breath of the cold, clear air, hoping it would brace her for what was coming. If this was a mistake, she’d find out soon enough. If it was all true, she needed to see proof. “Show me.”
    He delved into his briefcase and handed her a smaller manila envelope than the one he’d shown her earlier at her office. Warily, she took it, her fingers barely touching it, as if she half expected the thing to blow up in her hands. But it didn’t and she opened the clasp and slid free the three sheets of paper inside.
    The first document was a letter. Written to Don Jarrod and signed by…Erica’s mother. Her heart lodged in her throat as she stared at the elegant handwriting. Her mother had died in childbirth, so Erica had always felt cheated out of a relationship with the woman her brothers remembered so clearly. Danielle Prentice had kept a journal though, one that had been passed on to Erica when she was sixteen. She’d spent hours reading those pages, getting to know the mother she’d never known. So she recognized that beautiful, familiar handwriting and it was almost as if her mother were there with them at the table.
    The note was brief, but Erica felt the grief in the words written there.
    My dear Don,
    I wanted you to know that I don’t regret our timetogether. Though what we shared was never meant to last, I will always remember you with affection. That said, you must see that you can never acknowledge our child. Walter has forgiven me and has promised to love this child as he has our sons. And so I ask that you stay away and let us rebuild our lives. It’s best for all of us.
    Love,
Danielle
    Shock faded into stunned, reluctant acceptance as Erica’s eyes misted