Her tendency to ramble should have annoyed him. Surprisingly enough, Olly found it oddly charming.
But charming didn’t equate to honest, and since they’d only just begun…
“On the phone, you said you found out about Rose through the results of a DNA ancestry kit.” Not a question, but a statement. One he hoped would be enough to prompt a more thorough explanation.
“I was just about to get to that.” Scarlett smiled again. With another trip to the folder, she produced a set of stapled papers from a company called DNA Your Way. “Those are the results. I’ve highlighted where it shows Rose’s name.” She leaned over the table to point to where she was referring to. “According to this, I share a twenty-five percent match with Rose Danielle Goodwin. It even lists her as my sister.”
Olly followed her pointed finger to the results highlighted in pink.Of course, she’d choose pink.Sure enough, the results listed Rose as this woman’s half-sibling. If the results were valid.
“I can tell you’re not quick to believe me, and I understand. Trust me.” She released a small huff of breath. “I’m still having a hard time believing it myself. I even ran the test a second time because I was certain the company’s system had made some sort of error. But then I got the results of the second test back, and…”
Scarlett’s voice trailed off as she pulled another set of papers from the folder and handed them to him. After a quick scan, Olly realized the only thing that had changed was lab’s listed testing date.
“I have no reason to lie to you.”
The soft declaration had him lifting his gaze to meet hers. “Never said you were lying.”
“You didn’t have to.” Those tempting lips of hers curved upward at one corner. “But it’s okay. I probably wouldn’t believe me either, only…”
“Only?”
“What do I have to gain by lying about something like this?”
It was the same question he, Izzy, Grady, and Dec had discussed at length the night before. What did she stand to gain?
Rose didn’t have any money. No real property to try to steal out from under her. So what would someone gain from trying to impersonate a long-lost sibling? The only answer he’d been able to come up with was…
Nothing.
Despite wracking his brain with a plausible explanation, Olly hadn’t been able to think of a single thing Rose had that would make such an elaborate con worthwhile. Stranger things had happened, he knew. But as he stared back into Scarlett’s eyes—eyes eerily similar to Rose’s—his gut said this woman was telling the truth.
Not that he was about to tell her that. Not yet. Because if he was wrong, and thiswassome sort of badly developed attempt to fuck with him and Rose…
Pretty face or not, I will make you pay.
“Look, Miss?—”
“Scarlett.”
“Look, Scarlett. It’s not that I don’t believe you.” Or maybe it was. “But no offense, I can’t just take your word for it.”
This caused her auburn brows to bunch together with a frown. “I’ve given you a hell of a lot more than just my word.” Bending at the waist, she picked up yet another piece of paper and shoved it his way. “There. That’s a copy of the front and back of my social security card. That’s it. That’s all I’ve got to prove I am who I say I am. Unless you want me to call my Dad and have him mail you a copy of my high school yearbook. I could also have a copy of my high school and college transcripts sent here if you’d like.”
The slight snark in her tone sent a rush of arousal straight to his cock. He didn’t know what it was about this woman, but damn if Olly didn’t find her bubbly, feisty personality a massive turn-on.
Focus, dipshit. Quit thinking with your dick and fucking focus!
“I’m sorry.” A heavy sigh pulled at her shoulders as Scarlett sat back down in her chair.
“For?”
Eyes the color of seafoam became fixed with his. “I snapped at you.” She gave a slight shake of her head. “I shouldn’t have. It’s just that…”
“What?”
“I grew up an only child in a town of four thousand people. Since I was a little girl, I always dreamed of having a big sister. Someone to play with and do my hair. To teach me about makeup and boys.” A sad smile barely lifted her lips. “When I got old enough to understand an older sibling wasn’t possible, I started hounding my parents for ayoungerone. But my mother had endometriosis, and one of the side effects is difficulty getting pregnant. They tried for a while, but it never took. A few years later, my mom’s symptoms worsened. Or so we thought. Turns out, it was cancer. Ovarian. She passed away three days before my twenty-first birthday.”
A shadow darkened the light in her gaze. Almost instantly, Olly’s entire being became filled with the overwhelming urge to pull Scarlett into his arms. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to hold her. And tokeepholding her until that fucking shadow went away.