At Odds with the Heiress(25)
“If you share what you know, Harper would likely be kicked out of the running and the contest would be down to you and Violet.”
“That’s not what I want.”
“You don’t want to run Fontaine Hotels?”
Could she convince Logan that having two sisters who loved her was more important than becoming CEO of a multibillion-dollar corporation?
“You and I both know I’m a distant third in the running. And even if I wasn’t, I would never want to win if it meant hurting either Harper or Violet.”
“Then you have your answer.”
“But I keep asking myself, if I was Harper would I want to know I was living a lie? When I was first contacted by Grandfather, I was angry with my mother for evading the truth about my biological father. I don’t know that it’s fair to put Harper through the same thing.”
“On the other hand, if you’d never found out, you would still be in L.A.”
“Finding out I was a Fontaine was a wonderful thing. I gained an entire family that I’d previously known nothing about.” Having two sisters was such a blessing. For the first time in her life she felt safe and content. “If I tell Harper the truth, she loses her entire family. And I know her well enough to be certain she would withdraw from the contest and give up Fontaine Ciel. And if that happened it would be my fault.”
“What if her dream isn’t running Fontaine Hotels?”
Scarlett couldn’t imagine such a thing. “It’s what she’s spent her whole life training for.”
“Just because you think your life is going to go a certain way doesn’t always mean that it’s the best thing for you.”
What was Logan trying to tell her? She’d invited him up here for advice. Was he being impartial, trying to get her to look at both sides, or was he couching his opinion as questions?
“Do you think I should tell her?”
“What do you want to do?”
“Give the problem to someone else.” She arched her eyebrows. “Feel like being the bearer of bad news?”
“I’m not going to get involved. Tiberius left the files to you.”
“And I asked you to help me make a decision.”
“You asked for my advice,” he corrected.
“Same thing.”
“Not really, but since you asked so nicely, I’ll tell you that I think being honest with Harper is the way to go. Give her the file, don’t tell her what’s in it and let her make up her own mind about what she finds.”
His advice didn’t make the weight slide off her shoulders. “I don’t want to keep anything important from Harper. And I could be jumping to conclusions. It’s completely possible that Harper is Ross’s daughter.” But deep in her heart she believed she was right and that telling her sister what she suspected would do more harm than good. “You’ve given me a lot to think about.” She set her hand on his. “Thank you.”
For a few seconds he went still beneath her touch. Before she had time to register the way his mouth tightened, he was on his feet.
“I’ve got a bunch of work waiting for me back at the office,” he said. “Thanks for the tea.”
“You didn’t drink any of it.” He’d almost reached her front door by the time she’d regained her wits and chased after him. “Logan.” She didn’t reach him in time to stop him from walking out the door, but her breathless voice made him pause. “Would you have dinner with me tomorrow night?”
His refusal came through loud and clear before the words left his lips. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
She was ready for his rebuff. “Oh, not like that.” She plastered on a lively grin and laughed. “You certainly have a high opinion of yourself, don’t you?” To her relief, he looked surprised by her reaction. Conceited man. He really expected her to take his rejection hard. “I thought we could discuss what to do for Madison’s birthday party. She’s only going to turn eighteen once and without her parents here to celebrate with her, I thought we should do something special to mark the occasion.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Have dinner with me tomorrow and I’ll lay it all out for you.”
“Can’t you tell me now?”
“I don’t have my notes and I need to get ready for a conference call in half an hour. How about eight o’clock tomorrow? I’ll get us a table at Chez Roberto.”
“Eight.”
He nodded curtly, but when she expected him to walk away, he didn’t. She stopped breathing while she waited for him to move or speak. His intense gaze trailed over her features before locking on her mouth.