Bliss was horrified. “That’s not what it was like. Tiffany, you’ve got to understand that—”

“What?” Tiffany said hotly, then appeared to bite back another sarcastic remark and sighed audibly. “Look, it’s not your fault, but I blamed you. When I finally wanted to know more about my ‘dad’—if that’s what you could call him—I asked around about John. It turns out my grandmother had a wealth of information and was more than happy to let me know every intimate detail of my father’s life. That’s when I found out about you and discovered that you had this privileged life up in Seattle—that you had Dad—so I made the mistake of calling you ‘the princess’ in front of my son.”

Her cheeks colored as she explained. “You seemed to have everything—anything a daughter could ever want. You and your mom had my father’s name and his money and everything while my mother struggled, never married, and worked two jobs just to raise me. Even though my grandmother was and still is supportive, it was hard. Real hard.” Tiffany turned back from the window and offered an unhappy smile. “Obviously, coming here was a mistake. I’m not going to your dad’s wedding and I’m not going to act like the past didn’t happen, okay? I can’t.”

She turned and Bliss caught hold of her arm. “I understand your frustration.”

“I doubt it.”

“Okay, so maybe I can’t. But I think we should try to get to know each other.”

Tiffany silently appraised her. “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have called you ‘princess.’ Pollyanna would have been more appropriate.”

“Maybe so, but no matter what happens,” Bliss said, unable to hold her tongue, “I’m not going to be bitter about it or carry a huge chip on my shoulder.”

Tiffany shook her head. “Good for you, Bliss.”

“Would it be so terrible to get to know each other?” Bliss asked, and wondered why it was suddenly so important. So what if Tiffany didn’t want to have anything to do with her? She’d lived all her life not knowing she had a half-sister, so why push it?

Tiffany’s eyes were cold as ice. “I just don’t know if there’s any reason to pursue this. I’m not going to make any bones about not liking your father. And trust me, I’ll never think of him as mine, so, as for you, all that I feel toward you right now is idle curiosity.”

“But you came over here.”