by Judy Angelo
“Wow,” she whispered as her eyes roamed the field, the track and the stands surrounding the racing area. “This is huge.”
“Not by international standards,” Max pointed out as he gazed at his handiwork. “You’re looking at a capacity of about sixty thousand. Compared to Daytona and Indianapolis, this is nothing. But it’s good,” he said, nodding, “good enough for Cupertino.”
“Good enough for me,” Silken said emphatically. She wanted to be among the first to try out this new racetrack. “When will it be open for business?”
“It still needs a couple more months of work and my team is finalizing all the necessary paperwork, then we’ll be good to go.”
“Great. I’ll be front of the line for a ticket.”
“For you,” he said, giving her a slow smile, “tickets will be no problem.”
Despite herself, Silken blushed a rosy pink. She didn’t need a mirror to tell her that. She could feel the heat rise in her face and she ducked her head, embarrassed. And all he’d done was offer her tickets. What the beeswax was wrong with her?
But she knew what was wrong and it was Max’s fault. She knew it and he knew it. It was the way he said things, slow and sexy and seductive so no matter how innocent the comment, it came out like an invitation to join him in the bedroom. Damn the man.
Her skin prickling with awareness, she tore her gaze away from his and turning away, she drew in a surreptitious breath. Don’t let him get under your skin, Silken. You’re in control. As always.
She began to walk toward the exit. “This is really great,” she said over her shoulder, “but we’d better head back now. I promised Suave that I wouldn’t be long.”
Max strode toward her and, with his long legs, within seconds he was by her side. “The sister I’m supposed to be meeting this afternoon, per your orders.”
“Oh, yeah,” she said, giving him an apologetic grin. “Sorry I didn’t ask you first. I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“I don’t mind at all,” he said in a fake British accent that made her laugh.
The mood lightened, she took the hand he stretched out to her, accepting his help as they made their way along the uneven section of the pathway. As they headed back to the car, Silken had the tiniest of smiles on her lips. She liked this playful side of Maximillian Davidoff. This, she could handle…a whole lot easier than when he was being seductive.
Because, as weird as it was, she was beginning to like this man – sort of – even though she hardly even knew him. On an impulse she’d gone and arranged for him to meet her sister which meant she was a tad bit more than curious about him.
And based on his response she would say he was a tad bit curious about her, too.
This could be interesting…
***
Silken was a fast driver. No matter that all she was driving was a staid-looking Volvo sedan, she was eating up the highway, nearly leaving him in the dust. Max had driven her back to his office where she’d hopped into her car and told him to follow her. He’d thought she would be put-putting along but no such thing. This girl needed a NASCAR racetrack of her own.
Twenty minutes later they were pulling into a yard where at least half a dozen cars were parked, some with their hoods open. As Max drove further in he realized they were at an auto repair shop. She hadn’t told him she needed to drop off her car but he didn’t have a problem with that. He didn’t mind giving her a ride to her office. Heck, he would love it. This girl was growing on him real fast.
She pulled the Volvo into an empty parking space then waved him over to park beside her. She hopped out of her car and walked over to stand by his door. “Slowpoke,” she teased, grinning down at him.
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “You surprised me,” he said and he meant it. “For someone driving a Volvo I definitely didn’t expect you to tear up the road like that. Do you always drive that fast or were you showing off?”
“Oh, that’s my sister’s car,” she said with a toss of her head. “I drive a Corvette but the guys were working on it this morning. And yes, I always drive that fast.” Then she gave him an impudent look. “Think I can give Danica Patrick a run for her money?”
That made him laugh. “You want to test a world class NASCAR champion? You’re nothing, if not ambitious."
She laughed, too. “No taxes on dreaming, right?” Then she stepped back and tilted her chin toward the tiny building with the sign that read ‘Steady Auto At Your Service’. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s go see what Suave’s up to.”
He’d opened the door and was hauling himself out of the convertible when her words made him frown. He looked at the building then back at her. “This is the business you were telling me about? The one you and your sister set up?”
“Yup. So if you ever need auto service in Cupertino, you know where to come.”
“An auto shop?” He looked around. “What do you know about…” he began then he stopped himself, realizing how patronizing he was sounding. That was not the kind of question to ask a woman, not in the twenty-first century. And definitely not a woman like the one standing in front of him, her face beginning to show just a hint of annoyance. “That’s pretty cool,” he said smoothly, taking his eyes off her to look around the yard. That was when he noticed the two men at the far end of the lot with their heads and half their bodies stuck under the hood of a Land Rover SUV. “Your staff?” he asked, more as a way of diverting her attention from his blunder than anything else.
“Yeah,” she said, her face clearing. “That’s Bill and Keith. They’ve been with us since we opened shop.” She started walking toward the building, leaving him to follow. “The guys and I,” she said as she led the way, “we’re a team. Rain or shine, we’re out here working on cars. Suave, she keeps everything else running smoothly, handling the paperwork, the advertising, client calls, that sort of thing. Me, I like to be outside in the thick of things.”
That, Max could believe. Silken didn’t strike him as the bookish type. She had ‘tomboy’ stamped all over her and that building they called their office would certainly not contain her. He could tell. Silken, a demure office flower? Not happening.
When they got to the building he held the glass door open for her and she stepped in.
“Hey, Suave,” Silken called out. “I’m here and I’ve got a visitor.”
As Max stepped in behind her he heard a rustling of papers and from behind a door at the back of the room came another Silken. The woman standing in front of them looked so much like the one with whom he’d just spent the afternoon that he blinked. No matter that he’d been told that Silken had a twin, it was still a heck of a shock. How did they even tell each other apart?
The new Silken – or rather, Suave – heaved a sigh and her face broke into a smile. “Finally. You’re here. I was beginning to get worried.”
“What for?” With a toss of her head Silken dismissed her sister’s concern. “I’m always careful. You know that.”
Suave didn’t answer but the roll of her eyes told Max that Silken’s statement left quite a bit of doubt on the table. Then she turned her attention to him and it was only then that he began to see the difference between the two women. The eyes had the same color and also the same shape but where Silken’s eyes flashed with a bold impertinence, Suave’s glance was gentle and calm and serene. There was no liquid fire in her eyes, just a friendliness that made you relax in her presence.
“Hello,” she said as she shifted the papers to her left hand. “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Davidoff.” She walked up to him, a soft smile on her lips, and held out her hand.
He took it and it was soft and warm in his. “Good to meet you, too, Ms…”
“McCullen. But call me Suave.”
When he released her hand she turned to look at her sister. “And I hope Silken apologized for the…misunderstanding…the other day?” She glanced back at him. “She did apologize, didn’t she?”
He didn’t even get a chance to respond.
He noticed that Suave didn’t answer that. Instead, she turned her attention back to him and on her face was a pained look. “We really are sorry,” she said, her voice tinged with regret. “I know you must have been…terribly embarrassed and I feel so bad about it.” Then she looked at Silken again and this time she gave her a stern, almost impatient look. “And please forgive Silken for her irrational behavior. The remnant of her childhood ADHD.”
“Suave.” Silken opened her eyes wide. “You didn’t have to tell him that.”
“Yes, Silken, I did. How else would he understand your impulsive actions?” Then she heaved a sigh of obvious frustration. “I’m sorry, Silky, but when is this going to stop?” She shook her head but said nothing further.
Silken answered that with a roll of her eyes as if she’d heard that story a thousand times. She didn’t look the least bit perturbed by her sister’s frustration.
Max had to fight to keep his face serious. These sisters were a trip and if anyone had to choose between the two it was pretty obvious which would be the sane choice. Although Silken kept harping on being the older of the two, he could see that Suave had the more mature personality. She was calm and collected and she seemed very patient, a striking contrast to the sister who had brought him here. If steady and sure was what you were looking for, Suave was it.
But, ironic though it might be, Silken’s defiance was like a magnet. All this trouble with the twins must have driven him insane, but where Silken was concerned it was a long time since he’d felt this level of attraction to a woman he hardly even knew.
His thoughts were halted when Suave walked over to take Silken’s hand. “I’m sorry I said that,” she said, her voice soft and her look earnest. “I just wanted Mr. Davidoff to understand you and not judge you.”
“I understand Silken fine.” Max gave them a crooked smile. “She just needs to be taken in hand by the right person.”
Just like he knew it would, that brought a flash of fire to Silken’s eyes. She turned to stare up at him. “Oh, really? And who would that ‘right person’ be?”
Max took a step closer and looked down at her, his eyes holding hers captive.
“That ‘right person’,” he said, his voice cool and matter-of-fact, “would be me.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Silken stifled a sigh as she watched Suave peering at the laptop screen. Her sister had been at it for almost an hour already and she was still there, scrolling through name after name and still coming up with nothing. After five more minutes Silken had had enough. “Give up, will you? You’re never going to find her.”
“Oh, stop grumbling over there.” Suave waved her off. “I’m the one killing my eyes with this everlasting search and you don’t hear me complaining.”
“Well, at least let me get you a cup of tea.” Silken slid off the sofa and padded across the living room.
“Thank you,” Suave called after her.
“You’re welcome.”
In the kitchen Silken plugged in the electric kettle and pulled two cups from the cupboard. What they needed was some hot ginger tea to wake them up. It would be another long night of searching.
In another few minutes she would throw Suave off the computer and then she’d be the one scrolling through reams of records and information, trying to find their mystery woman. It was like searching for one special grain of sand on a mile-long beach. Winning the Lotto jackpot would be easier. Sometimes she didn’t even know why they kept on trying. But they did, night after night.
She was on her way back to the living room, tray in hand, when she heard Suave’s squeal.
“Silken, come quick. I found something.”
Silken’s heart leaped and she tried to hurry, but it was hard with two steaming cups of tea balanced on a tray. When she got to the room she saw that Suave had hopped up from her chair and was standing there, her eyes glued to the computer screen, flashing her hands in her excitement. “This is it, Silken. This is it.” Her voice was a high-pitched squeak.
“What is it? Tell me.” Silken dumped the tray on top of the piano and rushed over to peer at the computer screen. “What are you so excited about? I don’t see anything.”
“There. Look at it.” Suave pointed at row after row of names, the font so tiny you had to squint to read them.
“What?” Silken's voice rose with frustration. She plopped down on the chair and stuck her face close to the screen. “You’d better start talking before I shake it out of you. What the hell are you seeing that I’m not seeing?”
“Don’t you see?” Suave was hopping from one foot to the other now, like she was hardly able to contain her excitement. "It’s right there. Our names.”
And that was when Silken saw it. In tiny print, right in front of her nose, “Silken McCullen. Suave McCullen. Monday, September twenty-three, seven p.m. Live births. University of Wisconsin Hospital.” Her eyes snapped from the screen to Suave’s flushed face then back to the screen. “Oh, my God,” she breathed, “that’s us. That’s really us. How the heck did you find this?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I’ve searched this database so many times I’d given up hope. I…I…” She was stuttering now, still flashing her hands, and Silken had to reach up and grab the tail of her shirt to still her agitated movements.
“Calm down, Suave. We have to think this through.” She turned her attention back to the screen. “Okay, so we finally figured out exactly where we were born. Now how do we go from here to finding the woman who gave us birth?”
***
Max took another sip of his lemonade and leaned back in the lounge chair. It was a good thing he was wearing sunglasses because the light reflecting off the shining water in the pool was near blinding. Relaxing into the shade, he shifted the cell phone to his other ear. “When is he going to be here?”
“Two weeks from today,” his brother said, “and it’s about time. I’ve been inviting that kid to come chill in California for almost two years now. What is it with London? He just can’t tear himself away.”
“Our kid brother’s a workaholic. That’s the problem.”
Duke chuckled. “Good thing he loves what he does. At least he’s having fun on the job.”
“Yeah, who wouldn’t?” Max asked, his tone sardonic. “He chose the fashion industry so he could surround himself with scores of beautiful models.”
“Do I detect a note of envy?” Duke asked, ribbing Max. “I haven’t seen any beautiful women on your arm lately. You’ve got to get with the program, big bro.”
“Don’t you worry about me,” Max countered. “What about you? I don’t see you looking like you have any significant other in your life. What’s up with that?”
Duke groaned into the phone. “Too busy with the business,” he said, then gave a grunt. “And too soon. I’m not ready for the dating game.”
“Aw, come on. It’s been almost a year since you and Amy broke up. When are you going to move on?”
Duke sighed. “After what she did to me, I don’t know if I can ever trust a woman again. Lying, cheating-”
“All right, let’s not go there. You found out in time to cancel the engagement before she got her claws on your money. Give thanks little brother. Things could have been worse.”
“Yeah, I know.” There was a pause as if Duke was deep in thought. Then he spoke again. “But it still hurts, you know?”
“Yeah, I know,” Max said, his voice quiet. “Been there, done that.”
There was another pause, a longer one this time, then Duke broke the silence by changing the subject. “Have you heard from Mom and Dad?”
“Yeah, they’re back home in the Cayman Islands. They say the cruise was great.”
Duke gave a sigh. “Oh, to be retired on an island with nothing to do but tour the world.”
Max chuckled. “You’d hate it and you know it. You’d be bored out of your wits.”
“Yeah, you’re right. With all that time on my hands I’d be yanking my hair out, just for something to do.”
Max could relate to that. “Me, I’ll be working on new projects till the day I die. Can’t see myself doing otherwise.”
“I feel you.”
Max’s phone began to buzz. He glanced at the screen. “Listen, I’ve got to go. My project manager's calling in.”
“Okay, no problem. Catch up with you later.” With a click, Duke was gone.
Immediately, the second call came through. “I’m here,” Max said, his voice brusque. “Talk to me.”
"Mr. Davidoff, something’s come up,” Frank Slater said, his tone anxious, "and it’s not good.”
***
It took Silken and Suave four more days of research before they made any more progress in their hunt for information. “Doctor Raul Pintero,” Silken said, feeling like this was almost unreal. “That’s our doctor. The man who brought us into this world.”
“Raul Pintero.” Suave repeated the name, her voice soft and breathless. “Wow.” Then she dropped her armful of laundry in the middle of the sofa and pulled up a chair beside Silken. “He’s the key to this mystery, Silken. If we find him, we’ll find her.”
Suave’s emphasis on the last word was not lost on Silken. “Our mom,” she said reverently, staring unseeing at the screen in front of her. Her eyes glazed over as her thoughts played the scene in her head, the scene she’d imagined ever since she was a little girl. Their mother, seeing them for the first time since their separation, holding her arms out to them, tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry, so sorry,” she would sob and it would be tears of sorrow and of joy because she would be so relieved to have them back in her life.
And they would forgive her for everything, for giving them up at birth, because there would be a good reason for her action. There had to be. And she and Suave would understand. And from that point they’d be a family again.
