Triplets Found: The Virgin's Makeover / Take a Chance on Me / And Then There Were Three

“I’m really sorry.” The words seemed so hollow, so insignificant. But not because they weren’t sincere. She knew what this meant to Mark, to Jared, to everyone who loved the little boy. They’d have to search for an unrelated match. And that narrowed their chances of finding a bone-marrow donor in time.

“And there’s something else,” Jared said. “The paper work we found at the Children’s Connection indicated Olivia’s child had a different blood type than the lab reported for you.”

Her heart went out to the poor man. The records he’d found had been painstakingly pieced together. But that left all kinds of room for error. “Maybe you were mistaken, Jared. I might not be your daughter after all.”

“Actually,” he said, “the preliminary tests indicate you are my daughter, but that’s where things get confusing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Originally, I came to the vineyard looking for Adam Bartlite. His name was listed on one of the scraps of paper we’d found in the salvaged file. Your address was on a different piece. I put those two bits of information together when I shouldn’t have.”

Obviously. But she understood his desperation, his need to find a donor for his son. “Jared, I’m still not following you.”

“There was yet another scrap of charred paper in the file. One that listed the blood type of a child born to Olivia Maddison.”

“And my blood type doesn’t match that one?” Lissa furrowed her brow. “I don’t understand. My parents were told my mother’s name was Olivia. And that was before the fire destroyed any of the paperwork.”

“I think Olivia may have given birth to twins who were separated at birth—a boy and a girl. Although it’s rare, you have different blood types. Your brother was adopted by another family. And his name is Adam Bartlite.”

“Are you sure?”

“No. But I intend to find out.”

Lissa leaned against the side of the sofa. Her life had certainly taken a strange twist. Once the adopted daughter of Ken and Donna Cartwright, her family had grown to include Jared, his wife and three half siblings. And that wasn’t all. She might have a brother. A twin brother.

“I didn’t mention this before,” Jared said, “because I didn’t think it was relevant. But multiple births run in my family. And Olivia told me she’d had a twin who died as an infant.”

“I’m stunned,” Lissa said. “To say the least.”

“Me, too. But a twin birth is the only possible explanation.”

“And now you need to find Adam,” Lissa said.

“Yes.”

Her real brother. Did he look like her? Did they share any of the same mannerisms? The same likes and dislikes? Had her twin been blessed with a loving home, as she had?

“I’d like to meet Adam,” Lissa said. “When you find him.”

“It may take some time. I just came to this conclusion this morning, after the doctor called to give me the lab results. But I’ll keep you posted.”

“Thanks, Jared. And if you need any help looking for Adam, I’ll do what I can.”

“I appreciate that.”

When the telephone disconnected, she stood in the living room for the longest time, trying to sort through things.

There’d been a lot of changes in her once simple life. Her family was growing by leaps and bounds, assuming Jared was right about her having a twin brother.

And then there was Sullivan. Lissa couldn’t wait to share the news with the man who’d become so much more than a lover. Did she dare dream that they might create a family of their own?

By the time she arrived at the office, Sullivan was busy working on another ad layout. He glanced up from the desk, no doubt wondering what had kept her. After all, she was never late to work.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“Good news and bad. First of all, Barney is doing much better. And the vet thinks he’ll make it.”

“That’s obviously the good news. What’s the rest of it?”

She adjusted her hair, then sat on the edge of the desk. “I’m not a match for Mark, Jared’s son.”

“That’s too bad.” Sullivan leaned back in the tufted leather desk chair. “What happens now?”

“Well, Jared has reason to believe I might have a twin brother out there someplace. And he’s trying to find him.”

Before she could go into any further explanation, the office telephone rang.

Now what? She wondered, unable to quell her impatience. Or a sense of dread.

She lifted the receiver and tried to command an upbeat voice. “Valencia Vineyards.”

“Lissa, this is Gretchen Thomas with Through the Grapevine magazine. I’m sorry about not being able to make it to the reception last Saturday night.”

“That’s all right,” Lissa said, glad the woman hadn’t been in attendance. She didn’t think she could have stood by watching the reporter make goo-goo eyes at Sullivan. “Sometimes things don’t work out. I understand.”

“Well, my boss was at the reception and was very impressed with what you’ve created. He believes Virgin Mist is going to be well received by consumers and connoisseurs alike. So he suggested I do a bigger spread on both the wine and the vintner.”

“That’s great,” Lissa said, although her enthusiasm was muted by the fact she couldn’t donate bone marrow to her younger brother. And also by the possibility that she had a twin. Somewhere. For the first time in her life, she found it difficult to focus on business.

“So if you don’t mind,” Gretchen said, “I’d like to make an appointment to come out to the vineyard and interview you.”

“Sure.” Lissa glanced at Sullivan. She wasn’t excited about watching the reporter flirt and fawn over the man she was sleeping with, the man she loved. But the publicity would be good for the vineyard and Virgin Mist. “When did you want to come out here?”

“The sooner the better. If I can get a photographer to accompany me, I’d like to set something up for this afternoon.”

“That’ll be fine,” Lissa said, although she’d rather send Sullivan on an errand that would keep him busy until after the blond bombshell had left the premises. Maybe he could go get Barney at the vet—without her.

If she scheduled it right…

“Should we aim for one o’clock?” Gretchen asked.

The vet was out for lunch between twelve and two. So much for orchestrating Sullivan’s absence. But the article was too important. And Lissa’s jealousy was silly and misplaced. After all, Sullivan hadn’t given the busty blonde much attention when she’d made a play for him at dinner. “Sure, Gretchen, one o’clock will work out fine.”

“I think Roger, my photographer, is free, but I’ll confirm as soon as I know for sure.”

When Lissa hung up the phone, she told Sullivan what Gretchen had said.

“Having the editor of a wine magazine think that highly of Virgin Mist is a real plus. I guess we’d better turn on the charm when Gretchen arrives.”