Free Silver Sparks by Starr Ambrose Page A

it. It’s Sophie. Cal said if I keep this fight going, the tabloids will find her and drag her into it.”
    “What can they possibly say about her?”
    Maggie raised her eyebrows in weary defeat. “Anything they want, apparently. If they hurt her, they hurt me, and that’s what Rafe wants. Just saying she’s related to me would be bad enough. Having her name dragged through the tabloids won’t help her get a teaching position at a university. Plus, she’s never dealt with this crap. She never had to develop that hard shell, and I like her that way.”
    “Damn. I’ll bet that’s why she wanted to meet us here.”
    Maggie frowned. “When? Next weekend when she comes home?”
    “No, tonight, any time now. She left school early and said she’d meet me here so we could talk about it. You think she’s worried about how this might impact her?”
    “Oh, God. Probably. She should be.” She pressed her lips together and gave Zoe a pleading look. “I can’t let them drag her into this, Zoe. I’d rather let everyone think I had some brief fling with Rafael De Luca than turn the tabloids loose to ravage Sophie. At least one of the Larkin girls can walk through this town without causing whispered comments, and I’d like to keep it that way. Can you understand?”
    “Sure.” Zoe reached out to take Maggie’s hand in her own. “I agree; we need to keep this from touching Sophie. And we can always put the true story out later, that you just lied about having an affair with Rafe in order to stop all the lies.”
    “No, I can’t. I’ll have to sign something that says I can’t talk about it.”
    Zoe made a disgusted face. “Well, I don’t, and I’ll be glad to tell everyone exactly what sort of arrogant asses the De Lucas are.”
    At the crunch of tires on gravel, they both looked toward the front window. Zoe flipped back the curtain and confirmed, “It’s Sophie.”
    They met her at the door, each of them drawing their slender, chestnut-haired sister into a firm hug. “You cut your hair,” Maggie said, fingering the locks that barely reached past Sophie’s jawline. “I love it. It’s even shorter than mine.”
    “Thanks. Listen—”
    “God, those are cute shoes. Where’d you get them?”
    “Boulder. I have to—”
    “Adorable,” Zoe agreed.
    “It’s so good to see you,” Maggie gushed, hugging Sophie again. “Will David be coming soon? I’m dying to meet him.”
    “Maggie!”
    Maggie paused, blinking at her youngest sister. “What?”
    “I didn’t come to discuss my shoes or my boyfriend. Well, not exactly,” she corrected, letting the vague statement hang there. “I want to hear about this stuff with Rafe De Luca. I know whatever I heard can’t be true, and I want the whole story from you.”
    Maggie shrugged it off as she guided Sophie toward a seat in the living room. “I’ll tell you everything, but don’t worry about it, it’s all going to be over soon anyway. The De Lucas are going to spin it as an affair and a lovers’ quarrel, and they’ll make sure all the nasty stories stop.”
    “What!” Sophie popped back off the couch. “You had an affair with that little prick?”
    Maggie scowled while Zoe laughed and pulled Sophie down again. “I’m not that crazy,” Maggie said. “But that lie is better than the lies they’re spreading now, so I decided to play by their rules. It’ll be better for everyone in the long run.”
    “Better for whom?” Sophie demanded, dark brown eyes snapping with anger. She scooted to the edge of the cushion, leaning intently toward Maggie. “How can it be better to just ignore all those things they’re saying, and let everyone who knows us assume they’re true?”
    A sick feeling began in Maggie’s stomach. Everyone who knows us, she’d said, not everyone who knows you . “Did someone on the faculty connect you to the stories about me?”
    Sophie wrinkled her nose. “I think one of the tabloids called my advisor. They called my