Sarah wasn’t buying it. “Even if that were true, why would my mom lie to me all these years?”

“That’s what I’m wondering too.”

Feeling a little annoyed that Sydney would take this stranger’s words over her own mother’s, Sarah peered at him. “Because she hasn’t been, Sydney. This guy could be anyone. He doesn’t even have—”

“Listen to me,” Sydney said, quickly holding up a hand. “For days after, I thought the same thing. Then I started remembering things such as when your mom asked if she could use our address to have things delivered because she claimed she didn’t trust the mailboxes at the apartments you guys lived in.”

“What do you mean claimed?” Sarah snapped at him, suddenly feeling defensive for her mom. “People had things taken from the boxes downstairs all the time.”

“But the things she had delivered to our house usually came from UPS or FedEx, not the post office.”

Sarah thought about that for a moment. “If we weren’t home, she didn’t want things left at our door. Those things could be stolen in our building. She probably thought it safer to have them delivered to your house.”

“I’m thinking she was having things delivered from someone back home. Maybe she was afraid somehow it could get back to your dad, so she didn’t want to risk having the stuff delivered straight to your place.”

Sarah shook her head. That didn’t make sense. It still meant her mom had lied all this time and that Sarah actually had a father who wanted to know her and her mom had denied not only him but Sarah the chance to get to know each other.

There was no way.

“Think about it. If she really wanted to, she could’ve just had the packages delivered to her work. But then she would’ve risked them tracking her down there.”

“Maybe her work didn’t allow it,” Sarah argued. “Maybe she just thought it would be easier to have them delivered to your house. Any of that makes more sense than her lying to me.”

“Lynni, until he screwed up about your age and birth date, I was convinced I was talking to your dad.”

She shook her head stubbornly. “Why? Because he said so?”

“No.” Sydney frowned. “Because when I first opened the door, the thing that struck me most was his light green eyes and dark lashes. I couldn’t stop looking at them. I felt like I was looking into your eyes the whole time. As dark as your hair is and as light as your mom’s is, I always knew you must’ve gotten your hair color from your dad, and I was right. His brows are even arched just like yours. It was eerie as shit.”

In all the years she’d known Sydney—even when her mom had left her alone a few times, most notably the New Years she went to Vegas and Sarah was hurt that she wouldn’t be there for her birthday—Sydney had never once spoken badly of her mother. Minutes ago she’d begun to wonder if maybe he secretly harbored feelings of resentment towards her mom all this time and that’s why he was so quick to think the worst of her. But that wasn’t Sydney. He’d never hurt Sarah by making her feel her mother had kept something this huge from her. What he was saying now actually made sense.

Torn between excitement and feeling hurt that her mom may have lied, Sarah stared out the window aimlessly, unable to argue anymore. “You really think I have a brother?”

“I don’t know. He might have his age wrong too.” She turned to watch Sydney pull his phone out of his pocket. “He left me his number and email address in case I got a hold of you. He said he and your alleged brother would be waiting anxiously, and my mom said he sounded real genuine. She also agreed that the resemblance was uncanny. You could try emailing him first—get a feel for him before talking to him.” He tapped a few things on his phone screen then stopped and looked up at her. “But you have to promise me, Lynni, that you won’t agree to meet with him or your brother alone.”

“I promise,” she said, unable to believe after twenty years she might actually be meeting her dad—maybe even a brother she had no idea existed.

Sydney texted her the information, and then they sat there and theorized some more for a while. They finally left to go get that ice cream with Sarah’s insides a mix of excitement, hurt feelings, and anxiousness. If by chance this was some kind of con, her mom might be hurt that Sarah had ever considered it to be true.

After talking about it until she was exhausted, she decided her mother deserved the benefit of the doubt and she’d just ask her before doing anything else. But it would have to wait until tomorrow when Sydney was gone. Sarah didn’t want to risk there being some truth to this and her mother having to explain something so personal in front of Sydney.

By the time she’d set up Sydney on the front room sofa and was getting ready to climb in her bed, she remembered Carina and felt bad that they’d spent the whole night discussing her issues—again. His Carina troubles and asking Sydney about them had been the last thing on her mind. She tiptoed out into the front room in case he’d already fallen asleep. The second she walked in the room he turned to her and smiled. “Can’t sleep?” he asked. “I can’t either.”

He patted the spot on the sofa adjacent to his waistline. A million years ago, or at least that how long ago it felt, she would’ve thought nothing of it and plopped right down next to him. There was no way now. She leaned against the hallway doorway instead.