Linc’s face was an impenetrable mask. Only his eyes expressed the deep sadness and crushing disappointment he was feeling.
“You were never married?” he asked her, his voice low and husky.
Her gaze flickered to Jasper’s parents. It was all over. She might as well come clean. There’d been no future for her and Linc anyway. But watching his faith in her crumble was a blow she hadn’t seen coming.
“No.”
Ten
Scarcely able to believe that Claire had been lying to him this whole time, Linc tried to get his head around what was going on. She wasn’t a military widow, or any sort of widow. Had any of what she’d said been true? Or had she simply been playing him all along?
“Why did you tell everyone you were?” he demanded.
Instead of rushing into an explanation of her actions, she crossed her arms over her chest and glanced at the older couple who’d been harassing her as he walked up.
She ducked her head and spoke in a low voice. “Can we please talk about this later?”
“Why can’t you just tell me?” Linc growled, staring at the woman he’d started thinking in terms of spending the rest of his life with, willing her to say something—anything—that would make the churning in his gut go away. “Claire, what the hell is going on? Who are these people?”
“Jasper’s parents. Doug and Sharon Patmore.”
“What are they doing here?”
Claire shook her head. “Can we please talk about this later?”
Knox set his hand on Linc’s arm. “The media is going to be all over this if we don’t step away right now.”
A portion of his mind registered that Sawyer was also standing beside him. Their support meant everything in that moment. Unfortunately, they weren’t the only ones there. Linc glanced around, noticing several people clicking away on their phones. The curiosity of the crowd surrounding them was palpable. No doubt, dozens of social media posts were being uploaded that very second.
“Knox is right,” Claire said, her eyes wide and pleading. “You don’t want to get dragged into any sort of a scene.”
And before he could say another word, she darted away, headed in the opposite direction from the older couple she’d been speaking with. They started off after her and Linc’s gut twisted as he watched them all disappear into the crowd. Letting her go taxed his willpower.
Despite knowing she’d lied, his instincts told him to follow and fight at her side. It was pretty obvious that the older couple were up to no good. He’d never seen Claire look so miserable.
“Any idea what that was about?” Knox asked. “They accused Claire of stealing their granddaughter.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Linc might not know Claire as well as he’d assumed, but he doubted she’d do anything like that. “There’s something strange going on here and I’d like to get to the bottom of it.”
“So you didn’t know she was never married?”
Linc shook his head. “She’s been lying to all of us.”
“Why would she do that?” Sawyer murmured, sliding her hand around his arm and giving a gentle squeeze.
Linc glanced at Sawyer and nodded his appreciation of her comforting gesture. “I don’t know, but there’s something wrong with those people claiming to be Honey’s grandparents. Claire once told me her... Jasper didn’t have any sort of relationship with his parents and didn’t want them near Honey. If that’s the case, I wonder what they’re doing here.”
“Claire sure didn’t look happy to see them,” Sawyer added.
He knew better than to feel sympathy for Claire, but he couldn’t help it.
“So if she didn’t invite them, how did they know to find her here?” Knox asked.
“That’s a good question,” Linc said. “Maybe we need to find out how they got in.”
“I can check with Portia and see if they were on the list of people who bought tickets,” Knox offered.
When Linc nodded, Knox headed off, leaving brother and sister by themselves.
“Are you going to be okay?” Sawyer asked.
“I’m perfectly fine,” Linc said. “Just surprised, that’s all.”
But from his sister’s expression, Linc realized he’d given away that he felt more for Claire than what a boss feels for an employee. And if he didn’t take himself in hand right now, the entire world would know he’d been behaving like a complete idiot.
“Are you and Claire...” Sawyer paused and glanced around, but they were out of earshot. “Have you been sleeping together?”
“Only just recently.”
“Linc.” She packed a world of concern into the single syllable.
“You don’t need to tell me I screwed up.”
And yet, until a moment ago, he’d been convinced that he’d had it all figured out. When he imagined the rest of his life, he pictured every day with Claire and Honey in it. Not as his housekeeper, but as something more permanent. Wife. The word didn’t trigger any sort of alarm. It should have. Given what he’d learned just now.
The kicker was he still wanted her in his life. Knowing she’d lied to him and that he had no true idea of who she was, he still couldn’t imagine anyone who made him as happy as she did.
“I don’t think you screwed up,” Sawyer said.
Hadn’t he? Linc reminded himself he’d done all the pursuing. If he hadn’t let his feelings for her be known, would she have slept with him? In fact, she’d resisted all his attempts to move their relationship forward. But if he took her at her word and believed she never intended their relationship to be public, then why had she created a fictitious husband?
“We need to get more information before we judge her,” Sawyer continued. “Claire isn’t malicious and I can’t imagine her setting out to hurt you. In fact, when she was talking to those people, I thought she looked afraid.”
He nodded. “I thought so, too.” And suddenly, he couldn’t believe he’d let worry about bad publicity keep him from helping her. “I have
