Page 101 (1/2)

“No” Harvard took a seat facing Rupert Talbot “This isn’t about your ga debt This is about Rachel”

“Rachel?” Rupert turned gray “Is she okay?”

Harvard opened the folder he’d brought in with him and took out a copy of one of the photos that had been left for Rachel to find “No She’s not okay”

Rupert leaned forward to look at the photo He gasped, and what little color remained in his skin drained away entirely “What the hell?” he , he reached for the photo His body swa

yed And then he toppled sideways, falling off his chair and onto the floor—out cold

“What a fabulous idea to sit beside your pool while we did this,” Salass of Merlot before settling into the lounger beside her

“It was your idea” Rachel sipped her wine, glancing at the skylight above, where the remainder of the sunset turned the clouds pink

“That’s why it’s fabulous” Sane “All of my ideas are fabulous”

“No one could ever accuse you of suffering fro she had h She loved her cousin dearly, but she was in noideas “Where’s this folder of yours?” Rachel put her eht-headed as she did so They should have eaten before they got into the wine

“Oh, blast I otten it” Sam didn’t seene flute

“Honestly,” Rachel said, tugging at the throat of her dress The thermostat for the pool roo far too fast “If you made up an excuse just so you could coht now I don’t have the patience to put up with it”

“No” Saely cold “I know that Harvard belongs to you He seems to be just as faithful to you as the rest of your fa the loyalty of the people around you, aren’t you, Rachel?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Her head spun now, and all she wanted to do was lie down in a darkened room

“You’ve always been the darling of the Talbot clan, no rated when I was a child, and I find it grates even more now I’m an adult Why are you so popular? Do you have any idea? Because I’m at a loss”

Rachel placed a hand on her sto Her brain felt cloudy and the rooet up off the seat, but she just became more disoriented, so she sat back down “You have to call someone,” she told her cousin “I don’t feel very well”