He hadn't told Nancy he had money or that he was actually a Morgan.
Charlotte should have been first—before the press for sure.
Last night had gone on too long, choosing clothes, and cars, and getting the image of being a Morgan down. Jack was sure she’d been asleep when he was finished transforming.
His sister’s text that they had Charlotte and were on the way relaxed him until the grandfather clock rang nine times.
What was taking them so long? Security knew his mother and her new license plate. He squared his shoulders when Antonio patted him on the back. “Jack, are you ready?”
Max said, “Mom and Lucy aren’t here.”
Or Charlotte, but if he said her name his brothers would laugh so he sealed his lips.
Will stated the plan of action Finn and Will had decided on despite Jack’s protests earlier. “We can cushion the shock in the community if we take the brunt of surprise from the press. Antonio promised that Mom, Charlotte, and Lucy will have a safe path inside.”
This plan was to protect their mother and their baby sister. It was rational. It didn’t allow him to see Charlotte. He followed the other three O’Conner now Morgan men outside onto a veranda designed to host parties during the Gilded Age where the wealthy lived in their own bubble. Jack checked his phone.
No more messages. Hopefully Charlotte, Lucy, and their mom would get here soon.
And that Charlotte understood. The past twenty-four hours had gone so fast that he hadn’t had a second to call her as her stepmother blocked the house phone and Antonio’s old number had been turned off. As they passed Antonio, he ignored the twist in his veins to quash the irrational jealousy he had toward him. “Then let’s go.”
At the top of the grand staircase they paused like debutantes in a Cinderella movie, and two gorgeous women hugged and greeted them. The blonde said, “Hi, I’m Victoria Morgan. This is Caro. I’m your half-sister and Caro is married to one of your half-brothers—she’s the heart of my business venture. Do you like the designs?”
The clothing line his siblings owned and operated. The banks of their father. Engineering and property and pretty much any venture business he now wanted to start he could with a snap of his fingers.
These Morgans were used to all of this. He said to the brunette who seemed more like Charlotte in her easy temperament, “Thanks for the clothes.”
Caro hugged him like they were family. “We’re going to flank you going down so we can answer the press. Let us know if you need anything of us.”
As lighting effects flashed outside the door, he knew their entrance was a moment away. He asked Caro, “Are you sure our mother and sister will be safer away from the spotlight?”
She whispered back her question, “Your sister is a teenager, right?”
Lucy was still in high school. “Yes.”
“Then let the press talk to the adults. Come,” Caro said and had him line up.
Bright lights were revealed as the doors flew open and the six of them, four brothers and two women on either side, were bombarded with cameras in their faces.
Victoria glided forward, took the first step, and said loud enough for him to hear her on the other side of their line, “Your half-brother Axel is making the announcement now.”
Smile. Wave. Get through this.He did as directed earlier and Max next to him said, “I can’t believe we’re related to rock stars and movie stars. Today seems unreal.”
Absolutely true. This wasn’t even a dream, as he’d never wanted to be famous and had avoided being talked about all his life. As they reached the bottom step, a man kissed Caro’s cheek, and she smiled like it was her husband. From his youth, he vaguely remembered his father sending his mother into unusual bouts of emotion that leveled off once they’d packed up and moved into their own home. The man said, “None of us are like our father, so welcome to the House of Morgan. I’m Luke.”
Luke. Right. Hopefully at some point he’d be able to remember the names of his half-siblings and not willfully ignore the name Morgan like it was some betrayal of his mother’s trust. She’d left their father to protect them and every article he’d ever read only confirmed she’d made the right choice. But that still didn’t mean he’d memorized sixteen half-sibling names or their spouses and children.
He scanned the sea of faces that were mostly blurred from flashing lights in his eyes. The reception room had been designed for the steel and oil tycoons of another century with wrought iron wrought pillars like an ancient Roman temple. Jack wished Charlotte was here.
Axel, the singer of Indigo Five, a band he’d heard playing on the radio for years, and a person he'd watched on TV all his life then said, “We called you together tonight to announce that the House of Morgan has found five more of our half-siblings here in Pittsburgh, a city our father frequented when he checked on investments.” The crowd cheered like they’d been included in something huge. Axel waited for the applause to lower and then said, “So we’ll be introducing the adult siblings. This is William Morgan, Finn Morgan, Jack Morgan… not to be confused with John, of course,… and Max Morgan.”
Axel had said brother, not half. Axel was one of the French-born relatives who were Mitch Jr, supposedly the spitting image of their father, Damien, Galen and Catherine, and all of them were happily married. And they blended easily into the six Miami Morgans, Peter, who ran their father’s businesses, John, Victoria, Luke, Matthew, the movie star, and Elizabeth who were also all happily married. It seemed the other Morgans were close. He waved again as directed by Caro.
And soon it was done.
Despite the crush of people around him, he needed to find a spot away from the others. He walked to a bar on the side behind the steps and the lights stopped glaring in his eyes.
Someone handed him a glass of champagne, not that he’d ever drank it before, and a man who was almost his height stood next to him and introduced himself. He was dark-haired, like Antonio, but taller. He raised his flute in greeting. “I’m your half-brother Bart. I offer venture capital to inventors in order to find green technology for the future. What will you do, Jack?”
