I nodded, attempting to dry my feet before standing up. It seemed silly that she’d made the trip to ask for my help when she could’ve brought half the drinks this time and half next. It was the same amount of trips either way, but it didn’t matter. No point arguing. “Yeah, of course.”
“Thanks.” She waited for me to join her in the doorway before leading me across the hall. To my surprise, instead of heading into the dining room, she pointed toward the exit door. “Sorry, I just really needed to get you alone.” She laughed, covering her mouth. “Wow, that sounded creepy. Um, do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?”
I hesitated. What did she need to talk to me about? Had she overheard us talking about her? A million thoughts swam in my mind, and I nodded silently. She pushed open the door, and the moment I stepped outside, sand began to cling to my still-damp feet. We stopped in front of the building, a few feet from the door, and she leaned back against the wall. Her expression was conflicted, a wrinkle forming between her brows.
“Is everything okay?” I asked when she didn’t immediately begin to talk.
She wasn’t meeting my eyes, her hands behind her back against the building as she stared out ahead of us. “I need to tell you something.”
“Okay…” My mind went to the strange interactions I’d seen between her and Brad, and I knew what she was going to say before she even said it. My shoulders tensed, and I wondered instantly why I’d agreed to come with her. What was I going to say? How was I going to handle the news that my husband was cheating on me? It was going to destroy me. It was going to destroy Andy. What were we—
“I’m your daughter.”
My body convulsed—my full body rolling like a wave at the news. “What?”
She met my eyes then. “You had a daughter twenty-two years ago that you put up for adoption.”
It wasn’t a question. She knew the one thing no one in my life did—not my parents, not my friends, not my husband. “What are you talking about?”
“You did, didn’t you?”
I studied her face, her chin, her eyes. Did she look like me? Maybe, but it was faint. The dark hair wasn’t mine, but the high cheekbones were familiar. The cleft in her chin, identical to my father’s, couldn’t be mistaken. “How could you possibly know that?”
“I was adopted by an amazing family, but I was always curious about my biological parents. Last year, my parents were killed in a car accident. I used some of their life insurance money to hire a private investigator. The adoption records were sealed, and my parents had never been able to tell me anything about you, but the investigator thought he might be able to find you anyway.” She tilted her head to the side, playing with the end of her hair. “I don’t blame you…or-or expect anything from you. I don’t want to disrupt your life, and I’m sure you had your reasons for giving me up.” She paused, and the tears in her eyes matched my own. “I had a really great life. Two parents who loved me so much. I don’t need anything from you, but I just… I want to know you. I want to know where I came from.”
I couldn’t speak. I stared at her, shock overwhelming me. How could this have happened? The records were sealed by the adoption agency. I was never supposed to have been able to be found. I felt as though I was going to be sick. The world around me began to spin as I tried to piece together my thoughts. It felt like I’d been placed on one of those rides at the fair that suck you to their walls because of the speed of their rotations—so quickly shifting from anger over a nonexistent affair to confusion and sadness over finding out the truth.
She let out a loud, obnoxious sigh. “Anyway, I know you weren’t expecting this. Obviously, it’s shocking. But I wanted to get to know you. I was kind of…stalking you a bit, I guess. Not in a threatening way. I just followed you around to get to know you and figure out how to approach you.” She laughed under her breath, twisting a strand of hair around her finger. “This sounds terrible. I’ve rehearsed it a million times, and it’s still coming out a jumbled mess.” She tossed the hair over her shoulders, inhaling deeply. “One of the times I followed you, I met Andy. He thought I was just a girl in a bar, and he asked for my number. And…it was my in, I guess. I realized that was the perfect way to get to know you, to get closer to you… I wanted to feel like your friend. And now I do, but it feels dishonest. I don’t want to keep lying or let this go on for much longer. I’ve wanted to talk to you and Brad about this so many—”
“No.” Her words hit me, shocking me back to reality. “No, Emily. You can’t say anything. Not to anyone.”
The crease between her brows deepened. “I just want to know my parents, Laura. My real parents. I don’t need an explanation. I hold no grudges.” She held her hands up to show she was sincere.
“Emily, listen to me, I need to break this news to Brad myself. When you were put up for adoption…” My voice broke. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Can you just give me
