She put the cell back to her ear. “Yeah, I’m here, Reggie. Were they able to get enough info to piece it together?”

The man who’d been entrusted by her grandfather to keep her secrets gave a frustrated sigh and Annabelle knew Reginald Kauffman was running one hand over his bald head as if shining it. “That’s the thing, Annie. I’m not sure. Whoever was nosing around was damn good. My IT guy wouldn’t have caught it except for the fact that he was actually in the system at the same time as whoever was attempting to access the files. He’s not even sure if the guy got in or not.”

“And when was that?”

“Last Saturday afternoon.”

The day Dane had been there.

“Thanks for letting me know, Reggie.”

“Would you like me to look into it?”

If Dane was as good as Jared claimed, Reggie wouldn’t find anything. And if it hadn’t been Dane, then maybe she’d be forewarned about some journalist’s interest.

“Sure. That’d be great.”

Reggie paused. “You sound…unsure. Is something going on, Annabelle? Is everything alright?”

“Yes, everything’s fine. I’ve just…I’ve been thinking about revealing my identity, Reggie. I’ve met a man…”

“Ah.”

So much said in one word.

“Annabelle, are you sure that’s wise?”

“No, I’m not.”

Another pause. “Would you like me to have him checked out?”

The thought had occurred to her, though she couldn’t imagine Reggie would be able to discover anything about Jared she didn’t already know or couldn’t find out by asking.

And maybe she was being incredibly naïve.

If Dane had been the one digging into her background for Jared, what was he looking for? Did Jared suspect who she was? And if he did, was he only interested in her because of who she was? And the paintings she owned?

What should she do?

“Listen, can I call you back, Reggie? I need…I’ll let you know.”

“Of course you can. And you know I’ll do whatever I can for you, Annabelle.”

After saying good-bye, she hung up the phone and silence filled the shop.

Jared had left Tuesday morning for Philadelphia to deal with hotel stuff. And put an offer together for the property, which looked like it was a go.

He’d called every night but hadn’t been able to return yet. Hotel business, he’d claimed.

She tried to take a deep breath but it kept getting stuck on the lump in her throat.

Was he playing her?

Yesterday, she might have said no. Today…she didn’t have a clue. It made her feel like an idiot.

He’d said he’d call tonight. Should she confront him? What if it turned out Jared had nothing to do with this and she revealed her most closely kept secret without cause?

Would it be bad if he knew who she really was?

And what if someone else was hunting her? What if someone exposed her before she got the chance to tell Jared who she was? Would he be angry she’d lied to him?

Hell, maybe her true identity didn’t even matter anymore. The tragedy that had destroyed her world more than a decade ago was old news. She’d survived. She’d built a life and a career.

And she’d fallen for a guy who deserved to know who she was. Because if the past blew up in her face, she wanted him to know what he was in for. But did she want to continue a relationship with a man who was having her investigated behind her back?

There were too many damn questions.

The bell over the door rang, startling a gasp out of her.

“Hey, you ready to head—Whoa, Annabelle.” Kate held out her hands, as if declaring surrender. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I…” Kate’s gaze flashed over her, concern showing in her narrowed eyes. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

She sighed. “Someone’s digging into my past.”

Kate frowned. “Oh. That’s not good. Who do you…” She paused. “Wait, you think it’s Jared, don’t you?”

“It makes sense. He’s seen the painting of my mom and he’s a smart guy.”

Annabelle abandoned the rug in the middle of the floor to sit on the stool behind the main desk, resting her elbows on the counter.

Kate followed, mirroring her pose on the other side of the desk. “Assuming you’re right, and that’s a big assumption at this point, what are you going to do?”

Annabelle bit her lip. “Do you think I should tell him?”

Kate just gazed at her steadily. “Do you want to tell him?”

She thought about it for several seconds. “I don’t want this secret hanging over our heads like a black rain cloud. I want to trust him with this.”

Kate’s smile had a wry twist to it. “But…”

She shrugged. “What if he’s only after my dad’s paintings? And I’m just the means to get them? Or what if it all blows up again? What if all the publicity is just too much? He shows up in the tabloids sometimes. I don’t know that I want to live that life. Not with my past.”

“Do you honestly think he’s sleeping with you just so he can get to your dad’s paintings?”

Damn, she really hoped not. But…

“The media was relentless after my parents were killed. They were vicious and cruel. I don’t know that I could live through that again. I come with a lot of baggage, Kate. He’s got family issues of his own, big ones. Maybe he just won’t want to deal with my shit.” Shaking her head, she sighed. “You know, I don’t know why I’m even stressing over this. It’s not like he’s going to ask me to marry him. When we first met, he told me he was never getting married. Said he didn’t believe in it and I think I understand why now. Maybe none of this will even matter. Maybe he’ll just say ‘See ya’ and move on.”

“But you don’t want him to, do you?”

Kate’s quiet question made her breath hitch in her chest. “I knew going into this that he didn’t want a long-term relationship. And I wasn’t looking for that either.”

“But that’s changed?”

Had it? Honestly…Yes, it had. Christ, why didn’t she just ask to have her heart broken?

She stared at Kate, whose eyes seemed so sad.

“Hey…did something happen?”

Kate’s gaze dropped for a second before she nodded. “I called off the engagement.”

Annabelle’s eyes popped wide and her mouth opened on a gasp. “Oh, God.” She reached across the counter to take Kate’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “When?”

“Last night. I knew I couldn’t keep going like this. It wasn’t fair to Arnie or me.” She sniffed, blinking back tears. “He didn’t even put up much of a fight.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Me too, for letting it go on so long when I knew it wasn’t right.”

“Then it was right thing to do. And maybe that’s what I need to do. Break it off now. Before it goes too far.”

“Do you really want to?”

Kate’s quiet question had Annabelle shaking her head, though not in denial.

“This day is totally fucked up,” Annabelle finally said. “This calls for several bottles of Arbor Mist, Double Stuf Oreos, Cherry Garcia ice cream, and that first season of True Blood we’ve been meaning to watch. I think we deserve to forget about the world for a little.”

* * *

“Are you going to tell her? It was difficult to find but I did find it, Jed. If someone else decides to look…”

Jared spared Dane a glance as he read over the report Dane had prepared. How Dane had found a copy of the court order changing Graceanna Belle O’Malley’s name to Annabelle Elder, Jared wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He had no doubt the paper was legit, though Dane’s means of retrieval were probably slightly less than legal.

It was the smoking gun. And it screwed Jared five ways to Sunday.

From outside, he heard the muted chaos of Philadelphia traffic. So different from the occasional buzz of traffic he could hear at Annabelle’s place.

He’d called her last night to tell her he could come up today. She’d sounded…drunk.

Not sloppy, falling-down drunk. Just buzzed enough to slightly slur her words. And she’d sounded sad. Upset.

He’d asked what was wrong. She’d told him about Kate breaking off her engagement.

He knew how she felt about Kate’s engagement. She wouldn’t have been so sad over just that. Did she suspect something? Or was that his own guilty mind talking?

Shit. He tossed the paper on the desk. “If I tell her I know, she’ll be upset that I had her investigated. But if I don’t, her identity’s not safe and someone could use this to hurt her. And then I’ll have to kill them. Christ, this is a fucking mess.”

Dane laced his fingers over his stomach and stared at him. “So what are you going to do?”

Good question. After the horror she’d lived through, he understood why she’d wanted to be someone else, someone no one knew. It explained her reluctance to be seen in public with him. His family and his bank account made him a public figure. He’d never had a problem with it before. Now…

They may cost him the woman he…What? What did he want from Annabelle?

Jared raised a hand to rub at his temple. “Damn, my head hurts.”

“You need to tell her what’s going on,” Dane said.

Hot anger that anyone might dare hurt her boiled in his stomach like acid. He’d do whatever it took to spare her that.

Including telling her he’d had her investigated. “And when she tells me to go to hell…”

Dane gave an amused snort. “The mighty Jared Golden thwarted by a beautiful redhead. I’m more impressed with her now than I was last weekend.”

When Dane had been the second man in her bed. The remembrance of her passion that night made Jared hot as hell. He wanted to haul ass back to Adamstown, get her back into bed, naked and panting his name.