admit they’d lied to her about her birth, her basic trust in human beings was destroyed.
It wasn’t even finding out that she was adopted that hurt the most. Millions of children are adopted and grow up with a solid sense of self. It was that her parents had never intended to tell her. That she’d always been led to believe that she was their natural child, that their heritage was her heritage, their culture her culture.
That she was a Reavis, and Reavis’s were doers and go-getters and survivors. It was in her blood, who she was.
And only when her mother became ill and the truth leaked out were her parents forced to confess the family secret.
Everything she had, everything she was had been a lie. And Nicole hadn’t been the same person since learning the truth.
“What are you doing?” Penny pleaded. “You’re going to lose!”
“Going once,” the announcer said.
“She’s wising up. This is too much money,” Eve said.
And in the midst of it all, Nicole’s mind went blank with confusion, halting her from taking action or knowing which way to turn. The same way it had every time she tried to make a move with her life or to find the answers she’d been seeking.
Perpetual limbo. Handed down by Don and Betty Reavis to their grown daughter.
“Going twice,” the announcer said.
“Come on,” Penny urged. “You’re going to be a millionaire. Who cares about the price? Get the guy, already!”
“I don’t…”
Nicole didn’t know what to do. Fixing her eyes on Devon’s she saw a mist of disappointment. A gentleman, he tried to hide it for the audience, but she could see the falseness in his smile. It wasn’t the same smile of expectation he had a moment ago, and she wondered if it had turned because she wouldn’t end up as his date or because the price hadn’t gone as high as he’d hoped.
Closing her eyes, she fumed. This was silly. Ten seconds ago, she was having a great time, anticipating a romantic date with the first man to warm up her insides in as long as she could remember. The chemistry was real. So why was she standing here doubting it all?
What happened to the old Nicole who went for what she wanted, reached out and grabbed the brass ring without worrying whether or not it was just worthless plated steel?
What happened to the doer, the go-getter, the woman who made things happen?
“Sold for three-thousand-five-hundred dollars!” the announcer said.
Sold to another woman, Nicole conceded, pulling her gaze away from Devon and turning from the stage.
“I can’t believe you let him go!” Penny cried.
She looked to Eve and Penny. Only Eve knew the truth about why she’d come to Atlanta, but even so, she still couldn’t explain why she could be confident one moment then a pile of hesitation the next.
Heck, even she didn’t get it. So instead, she lied.
Sticking up her chin, she pasted on a smile. “Eve was right. The price got too high.”
“But—” Penny started.
Nicole held up the crinkled pages in her hand. “I’ve got his phone number right here, remember? Let the woman have her date. I’ll catch him on the rebound.”
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