Kayla dropped her gaze.
“But,” Allison continued, “I know something must be going on. Apparently, the word around the office is that Noah’s been miserable to work with recently. Even Quentin and Matt have noticed it.” She shrugged. “I put two and two together and came up with your address, but let me know if I’m wrong.”
“Is that why you’re here?” Kayla found herself asking, unwilling to give a direct reply.
Allison tilted her head and looked at her for a second. “Isn’t it obvious why I’m here? I love my brother and he’s miserable.”
“And you think I’m the cause of it?”
“No, I think your leaving is the cause of it.”
She wished Allison was right, but Allison didn’t know how badly things had ended between her and Noah. She’d felt raw and weepy all week. And Allison and Samantha’s understanding looks only made things worse. Suddenly emotional, she blinked rapidly.
“Want to tell us about it?” Allison asked sympathetically.
Kayla took a deep, uneven breath and waited for her emotions to subside. Then an explanation of everything—well, almost everything—came tumbling out of her.
She detailed how she’d gone down to the Caymans, had answered Sybil’s phone call and had wound up looking at Noah’s private correspondence, following which she and Noah had argued.
She didn’t go into the fact that she’d woken up all starry-eyed after a torrid night twisting the sheets with Noah. She’d replayed those scenes enough times in her mind.
When Kayla was done talking, Allison looked like she wanted to ask more questions about what Kayla had read in Noah’s mail, but resisted the urge. Instead, she sighed. “My brothers. What they don’t know about women I could write an encyclopedia about.”
“What?” Kayla said, even though she’d heard perfectly well.
“I knew one of Noah’s flippant comments would get him in trouble one day.” Allison shook her head. “I mean, anyone can see he’s hooked on you. Anything he’s said to the contrary is just evidence that he’s a fish realizing he’s been caught on a hook.”
Kayla tried to picture Noah as a fish caught on a line and failed.
“Well, I’ve always thought Kayla had an issue with trusting men,” Samantha said, “and that it all went back to Bentley Mathison.”
Now it was Allison’s turn to say “What?”
Kayla shook her head. “Samantha’s a psychology major. She’s been reading one too many self-help books.”
“Have not. Nobody in our family wants to listen to logic, that’s all.”
“What’s any of this got to do with Bentley Mathison?” Allison put in.
Kayla shrugged in resignation. “He’s my biological father.”
“Wow,” Allison said.
“I don’t broadcast the fact,” she said dryly, “and he doesn’t know about our connection.” She gave Allison a brief rundown on her mother’s encounter with Bentley Mathison twenty-eight years ago.
Allison raised her eyebrows. “No wonder you looked shook up at the Charlesbank Association event.”
“Was it that obvious?” Kayla said, startled.
“Well, you did look a little frazzled. That’s the moment when I thought there was something going on between you and Noah. He acted all protective and concerned.”
Kayla shook her head. “Maybe, but I wouldn’t attach too much weight to it.”
Allison gave her a shrewd look. “You know, Noah has plenty of faults. He can be too damn self-assured for his own good—”
“Yes, I know.”
“But he’s true to his word. He’d never have organized Whittaker Enterprises into a major force in the computer field if he hadn’t been driven and good with the follow-through.”
Kayla nodded. She knew that, of course.
She paused. Or did she?
Despite the fact that Noah had made sure to drive home to her that he wasn’t like her biological father, when put to the test during their stay in the Caymans, had she fallen into the trap of thinking Noah was like Bentley Mathison?
Sure, there was a superficial resemblance to her biological father: both men were wealthy, possessed charm in spades, were successful with women, and had drive and ambition.
But Noah hadn’t failed her. He’d kept to every single promise he’d made to her, including giving her unfettered access to Whittaker Enterprises.
In the past several weeks, she’d also come to realize he wasn’t the pampered playboy she’d liked to portray him as in her column. He was way more complex than that.
And the truth was, if she’d been in his shoes and had had his history with the press, catching someone she’d just slept with snooping into her private correspondence would have made her crazy mad, too.
She looked at Samantha. “On second thought, maybe I ought to concede that you have a point.”
“Of course I do!” her sister exclaimed.
She bit her lip. “What should I do?” she asked of no one in particular, the words just slipping out.
“That’s up to you,” Allison said.
“You know,” Kayla said, uncertainty still gnawing at her, “he didn’t even try to explain about his comment to Sybil.”
“Typical,” Allison responded. “He was probably so pissed off you’d jumped to the worst conclusion that he figured he shouldn’t have to explain.” She looked from Kayla’s face to Samantha. “It’s just the two of you? No other siblings?”
Kayla nodded.
“Right,” Allison said briskly, leaning forward. “Listen, I grew up with three brothers, and I learned a few things. The male mind has two guiding principles—don’t explain and don’t ask for directions.”
“You’re kidding me,” Samantha said laughingly.
Allison winked. “There’s a self-help book waiting to be written there. Keep it in mind.”
“Well, what do you think I should do?” Kayla asked. She wanted to believe Allison was right.
Allison stood up. “I’ll leave that up to you. You’ll think of something. Noah deserves a second chance, even though he’s done nothing to explain himself. Trust me—I’ve seen the way he looks at you.” She added, “It would be nice if life were smooth. The truth is, though, sometimes we come to a gap in the road and we just have to jump and hope for the best.”