Free Marked by Passion by Kate Perry

I expected.
    Yes, he looked familiar—almost eerily like looking in the mirror and seeing a masculine version of myself. We were both an equal mix of French and Chinese, sharing Wu's thick, straight black hair and Mom's lean height. We both had high, sharp cheekbones. Paul had Wu's dark eyes, though. I had Mom's.
    But he looked polished, almost hardened now. The rounded edges he had as a youth were gone.
    He reeked of money, too. I mean, we'd been better off than most, but we weren't rich. Now he had that ultra-rich look that I'd seen in people who went to the gallery openings Madame took me to. His black hair was perfectly cut and styled, his nails manicured. And Viv was right—his suit was expensive. I wondered what he did to earn clothing like that.
    "It's amazing," he said, shaking his head. "You look so familiar but so foreign at the same time. You've grown up nicely. I like what you've done to your hair."
    "My layered streaks are a far cry from your GQ look."
    He shrugged. "You always had your own style. Remember your gypsy phase?"
    "Oh, God." I laughed. "I must have held the Guinness World Record for most scarves worn at once."
    He grinned. "You even used tablecloths. Which was okay until you cut down that heirloom tablecloth Mom's grandmother gave her."
    At the mention of our mother, we both sobered. Frowning, I played with the frayed edge of my apron. Finally, I just couldn't hold back any further. "Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but why are you here, Paul?"
    Sorrow flooded his eyes. "Dad is dead."
    I blinked, startled but not sure why, since I already knew Wu was dead. I cleared my throat and asked what I hadn't been able to ask Wu. "How?"
    "They say it was an accident." He took a large sip of his G and T.
    "They say?" I frowned. "Who says?"
    "The coroner and the police."
    "The coroner was called?" I asked incredulously. Shouldn't Wu have mentioned that? "How did he die?"
    "I understand it's standard procedure for the coroner to respond." Paul took another sip of his drink, his knuckles white from clutching the glass. "He fell down in the bathtub and broke his neck last week."
    The irony of him dying in a freak bathroom accident when he skirted danger with the scroll was almost humorous. But then what Paul said registered. "When did he die?"
    "Last week. I didn't find out until four days ago, and it took me that long to track you down."
    How was that possible? Yeah, I used my mom's maiden name and my official address was listed as the bar's, but he had money, and money bought results. It would have taken someone with research skills an hour to find me—tops.
    I shook my head. It probably didn't mean anything. He'd most likely not been thinking clearly after Wu's death. He'd idolized our father, after all. He used to follow Wu around like a puppy dog. Wu never gave him the time of day—I was the focus of his mania. I'd envied Paul's anonymity, but I knew he viewed Wu's treatment as rejection. I hoped they'd patched that up after I was out of the picture. "How did you find me?"
    "My private detective."
    "Your private detective." I nodded like everyone had a PI at their beck and call. "What was it you said you do now?"
    "I'm in business. Import-export."
    "Right." It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him how many kilos of coke he moved each year, but he spoke first.
    "I didn't come here specifically to tell you about Dad." He frowned at his glass, revolving it in careful clockwise circles.
    He seemed like he needed prompting, so I obliged. "Why did you come, then?"
    "I feel bad about Mom's funeral."
    He shocked me so badly I almost fell off my chair. "Excuse me?"
    Paul nodded. "I shouldn't have said those things to you. It was cruel and uncalled-for. You were suffering as much as the rest of us. Probably more."
    I didn't know how to feel about this sudden confession. For the longest time I'd waited for him to call and apologize for that day when he turned on me, but after a couple years I gave up. I watched