‘‘There are a couple of items I would like to discuss,’’ she said. ‘‘As I mentioned earlier, my parents don’t know the real reason my sisters and I are in this country. They think we’re here doing publicity for my father’s celebration.’’ She looked up and gave him a quick smile. ‘‘We are doing that, as well, but our real purpose is to find out information about our brother.’’
‘‘You’re not going to get much publicity out here,’’ he said. Then an ugly thought occurred to him. ‘‘You’re not planning on inviting the press to the ranch, are you? I don’t want things disrupted more than they have to be.’’
‘‘Of course not, Mitch. No press, not even an interview. We arranged the schedule so each of us would have some free time to work on the investigation. I have to attend a charity fund-raiser in Los Angeles in a few weeks, but other than that my calendar is clear until after the first of the year.’’
‘‘You’ve thought it all out.’’
‘‘I hope so. This is important to us.’’
She continued to talk about her plans, but Mitch found himself distracted by the thought of what she was doing. While he believed the story about her brother, in his mind the odds that the kid had survived seemed slim. Did she really think that John might be the long-lost heir to a kingdom? Mitch shook his head. Not John. No way. He was a drifter, someone who had, despite the family’s best efforts, never fit in. If he was Alex’s brother, wouldn’t he behave royally or something?
‘‘I’ve already made arrangements for the extra phone lines,’’ Alex was saying.
‘‘You got through to the phone company on a Sunday?’’ he asked.
‘‘I didn’t call the phone company directly. I was given a special number. They’re going to have to run another trunk line to the house.’’ She paused. ‘‘I’m not sure what that means, but I’m hoping it won’t be too disruptive. Of course, I’ll cover any costs involved.’’
He waved her comment away. ‘‘Don’t worry about it.’’
‘‘All right. The rest of my things will be here on Tuesday. The office equipment, the computer, copy machine and fax will arrive tomorrow. Then there’s the messenger service. They’ll be delivering daily, sometimes twice a day.’’
Mitch leaned back in his chair and tried not to let his dismay show. Just as he’d thought, his life was being pulled in a direction he didn’t want to go. ‘‘You’re not going to start playing polo on the front lawn, are you?’’
Alex glanced up. ‘‘I don’t play polo.’’
Her accent intrigued him. He wanted to hear her say his name softly, but with passion. Down boy, he told himself. Don’t go there.
‘‘If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you some questions about your brother,’’ she said, flipping to another page in her folder. ‘‘You both went to school locally.’’ She read for a second. ‘‘You played sports quite a bit, I see, as did John. Football? That’s different from soccer or English rugby. I’ve actually seen a few games live. It’s a little confusing, but I liked it.’’
He stared at her, then at the papers in her hands. He’d assumed she just had lists of whatever princesses kept lists of, but it wasn’t that at all. Irritation built inside him until it pushed him to his feet and across the room.
‘‘May I?’’ he asked, even as he took the folder from her. He scanned the contents of several sheets. There were detailed histories of himself and his family members, information on the ranch employees and even copies of his last three tax returns.
‘‘What the hell is all this?’’ he asked, tossing it back at her.
Alex grabbed the papers and stared up at Mitch with some surprise. His change from cordial host to hostile adversary startled her. ‘‘Is there some mistake? Did they get something wrong?’’
He planted his hands on his hips and glared down at her. She suddenly felt small and faintly alarmed.
‘‘No. They got everything right.’’
‘‘Then I don’t understand the problem.’’
‘‘Thatisthe problem.’’
She studied him for a couple of seconds, then realization dawned. ‘‘Oh, I see. You’re upset because I have this information. What’s the expression? You consider it an invasion of your privacy?’’
‘‘Damn straight.’’
She drew in a deep breath. It was easy to forget that the rest of the world was different from her reality. ‘‘If you would stop looming over me, I could try to explain.’’
Despite his obvious irritation, he flashed her a quick grin. ‘‘I’m looming?’’
‘‘Rather impressively. I’m tall, and most men are my height or shorter. You’re taller by several inches. I’m not used to that.’’
He sank onto the far end of the sofa. ‘‘We grow them big out West.’’
‘‘So I’ve heard.’’ She closed the folder and smoothed the cover. ‘‘I’m sorry this has upset you. I never thought it would be a problem, but that’s because I have very little privacy of my own. I often forget the rest of the world isn’t like that.’’
