Secrets & Seductions Read Online Free Page B

out.”
    â€œWe’re not speaking,” Emma said bluntly as she poked at her salad. “I can’t forgive them for lying to me all these years.”
    At the next table, a cell phone rang and the man sitting there launched into a loud, annoying conversation about a deal he was putting together.
    Ivy rolled her eyes in reaction. “What exactly did your parents tell you?”
    Emma arched her brows. “Do you mean the Wrights?” she asked, unable to resist.
    After her divorce, she had taken back her maiden name. If she had known when she signed the papers what she knew now, she wouldn’t have bothered.
    â€œThey’re still your parents,” Ivy chided gently before taking a dainty bite of arugula.
    Emma didn’t bother to argue. She couldn’t expect her friend to understand her sense of betrayal. Ivy was under constant pressure working at the family firm, but at least they were her family.
    Someone dropped a tray inside the café with a loud crash that made Emma’s hand jerk. Iced tea sloshed over the rim of the glass.
    â€œDid they tell you anything else about your background?” Ivy asked.
    â€œOnly that I was a newborn when they adopted me,” Emma explained as she wiped up the spill with her napkin. “It was handled by an agency here in Portland called Children’s Connection.”
    Blotting her lips with her napkin, Ivy studied herthoughtfully. “I’ve seen their ads. The Logans are big patrons of their fertility clinic.”
    Emma was aware that Ivy’s family and the wealthy Logans had a long, mutually antagonistic history, but she wasn’t sure why. Ivy had told her their companies were rivals, but the rift seemed far too bitter for that. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t know they were involved.”
    â€œNo reason you should.” Ivy studied her thoughtfully. “It’s good to know the adoption was legitimate and not part of some backroom black-market baby ring.”
    â€œI guess,” Emma acknowledged.
    A sudden breeze stirred Ivy’s hair. Two men at a nearby table stopped talking to stare at her. Despite being so pretty, she had been raised in the shadow of her older siblings, which made her rather shy. She was oblivious to the men’s attention.
    â€œI don’t know what I’d do if I found out something like that,” she told Emma. “Is that where you went this morning?”
    Emma leaned closer and lowered her voice. Thankfully the hotshot at the next table had concluded his call and was eating his lunch. “I had an appointment with the director, because I wanted to learn everything I could about my biological parents.”
    Ivy set aside her plate. “I guess I’d want to know the same thing. What did you find out?”
    â€œNothing!” Emma’s frustration bubbled out. Several patrons glanced over at her, so she quickly lowered her voice. “He refused to tell me anything. He claimed that my file is confidential.”
    â€œWell, maybe it’s for the best,” Ivy said in a conciliatory tone. “I mean, are you sure you really want to know the reasons someone gave you up? What if they’re painful?”
    â€œLike what?” Emma fired back at her. “You mean, if my mother was too young to take care of me, or if I was the result of some kind of assault or incest, or left in a Dumpster?” She had already spent a lot of time thinking about all the different possibilities.
    Ivy shrugged. “I don’t know. Some people don’t want anyone to find out they had a child and gave it up. They’re ashamed, or they have a new family they never told. Or they just can’t face what they did.”
    â€œI still have a right to know,” Emma disagreed. “It’s my personal history.” She could feel the frustration rising up again, but the last thing she wanted was to argue with Ivy.
    â€œBut you said