She had no time for a real social life since she’d been determined to work hard, focus on school and become a self-supporting attorney. Unlike her mother, who needed a man to validate her existence and keep her afloat financially, Molly intended to be independent. Unfortunately, her success had come at the expense of any real relationships.
But now that she’d moved to Hawken’s Cove in an effort to renew ties and family connections, she’d mentally begun to open herself up to the possibility of a social life, a sex life.
With Hunter. But his walls were as high as hers. Even though he’d repeatedly asked her out, he’d never pushed. Now she thought she understood why. Foster care. She shivered. The reserve in his demeanor finally made sense to her. She couldn’t see someone who’d been raised as he had, being willing to put himself on the line for rejection.
And Molly was by no means certain she could move forward, either. Since she’d been a little girl, Molly had dreamed of a relationship with her mother. She’d wished for a mom who’d take an interest in her life, her friends, her schoolwork. Someone to talk to about boys and hard times. Unfortunately, her mother had been too self-absorbed to worry much about Molly, who had been a mistake with husband number one. Her father was a wealthy California vineyard owner who Molly knew of but didn’t really know. And he had another family.
But since meeting Marc, her mother’s attitude toward Molly had changed and warmed, something she didn’t want to risk losing. And she knew Marc would feel betrayed if she started anything with Hunter. She’d lose the beginnings of her newfound family closeness.
Which brought her back around to the quagmire she suddenly found herself in. Marc had definitely left gaps in his story about his past with his niece. Hunter’s name had never come up, nor had Tyler Benson’s. Yet both had apparently played a big role during that time. She bit down on her lower lip, wondering how Marc would handle it if she questioned him.
Then there was Hunter, who’d finally stepped up and brought her dinner—an assortment of choices no less—yet had an agenda. He’d wanted to dig for information about Marc, as well as let her know Lilly was alive.
Where had Lilly been for the last ten years, Molly wondered. And why had she suddenly resurfaced now, just in time to stop her uncle from claiming her fortune?
Molly drew herself up and headed toward the telephone to call her mother and Marc, to see if they were up for an evening visit. Because she wouldn’t have any answers unless she asked the right questions.
The late-afternoon sun shone through the blinds in Ty’s apartment, but not even the bright light eased the feeling that Lacey was shut in. She hated being confined. She’d been on her own for so long, she was used to coming and going as she pleased. Instead, she’d spent the last three days sitting around and waiting for Ty to come home from work. True, she went out with the dog, taking frequent walks with Digger behind the building where Ty lived, but she was more isolated than she’d ever been. Being idle wasn’t her idea of fun, but she’d promised. In return, Ty and Hunter had assured her it was only temporary.
They didn’t want her to be recognized by the locals and have to explain her presence just yet. Explanations would come soon enough. Hunter said he’d spoken with her uncle’s lawyer and stepdaughter-to-be. He’d let Molly know that Lilly was alive and well, and he’d left it to the woman he claimed was his friend to inform Marc Dumont of that fact. Lacey knew Hunter would have some news of her uncle’s reaction soon, but still, she was antsy and on edge while waiting.
She missed her job and her routine. As a means of keeping busy, she’d spent the last few days cleaning Ty’s bachelor pad, which obviously hadn’t seen clean in ages. On the first day, she dusted, vacuumed, washed a stack of dishes piled high in the sink, and then straightened up. The man obviously never picked up after himself. On day two she worked on the closets, and today, she was starting the picking up process all over again.
She wouldn’t have thought it possible, but she found the whole messy bachelor pad thing kind of endearing, just like Ty himself. Lacey didn’t know if Ty had a woman in his life—nor did she care to think about it right now—but she wondered if there was a female who stopped by and picked up after him when Lacey wasn’t around. Nobody had called since she’d arrived. Nobody female, anyway, though Ty had had more than his share of clients leaving messages.
She picked up his sweats which lay beside his bed and placed them in the laundry basket, then continued with what had become her routine. Normally when Lacey cleaned, she was working for a living and the process was a distant, methodical one. She’d come by her job choice by accident and good fortune, but the occupation suited her. She’d always found solace in organization.
She couldn’t say she found the same comfort here in Ty’s place. Because along with cleaning up here, she discovered an intimacy she couldn’t deny. One she never thought about when she’d taken care of other clients’ homes.
She was learning how Ty lived day-to-day, what clothes he wore… what brand of boxers he preferred. Her fingers tingled when she touched his personal items, something else that never occurred when she worked at home. Ty made her think about the past, about a time when she’d felt cared-for and safe. And he made her think about the heavy-duty sexual attraction that she just didn’t feel for anyone else. Not even Alex.
With that thought, Lacey decided she’d had enough of being surrounded by Ty—his scent, his things, him. A short walk would help clear her head. She whistled for Digger, who jumped off the couch where she’d perched her lazy body, and within minutes, Lacey started for the door, the dog at her feet.
A loud knock startled her, and she glanced at the door warily. Ty used his key and Hunter usually called to let her know he was stopping by. She looked through the small peephole and sucked in a startled breath.
“Uncle Marc,” she said under her breath. She wasn’t prepared to handle him, but she refused to run away, either. Those days had passed.
Drawing a deep breath, she opened the door to face him.
“Lilly,” her uncle said, disbelief in his voice.
She folded her arms over her chest and nodded. In the silence that followed, Lacey took in his appearance. He’d aged. His hair had turned a silver-gray at the temples and he had deeper lines and creases in his slimmer, drawn face.
Digger sniffed at his feet, her nose digging beneath his pant leg.
“Would you please get that dog away?” He stepped back to get away from her pet, but each time he moved, Digger went with him, nudging him and begging for attention.
Uncle Marc’s aversion to Digger didn’t say much about the man’s character. Then again, she’d always known he didn’t have much.
She could have initiated conversation, but a perverse part of her didn’t want to make this easy on him. She paused deliberately, watching the man squirm.
He glanced at her, his eyes pleading.
Lacey sighed. “Digger, come.” When the mutt didn’t move, Lacey pulled her collar so the dog had no choice but to get behind her. To prevent her from sniffing and further attempting to make her uncle’s acquaintance, Lacey blocked Digger’s way with both her body and the partially open apartment door.
“Thank you, Lilly.”
“I’m Lacey now,” she said to her uncle, feeling more powerful in her new life than she’d been in her old one.
Confusion colored his expression. “Well, whatever name you go by, I’m amazed. I simply can’t believe it. I know Molly said you were alive, but…” He shook his head, his face pale. “I had to see for myself.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but it’s true. Here I am, alive and well.” She deliberately remained in the doorway, leaving him outside looking in.
He lowered his head. “I can understand why you’d think I’m disappointed, but it isn’t true. I’m glad you’re fine and I want to hear everything about where you’ve been for all these years.”
“It doesn’t matter now.” She gripped the door frame tightly. P
olite conversation wasn’t on her agenda.
“I’d like to talk. Can I come in?” he asked.
“Only if you want Digger in your lap. She’s a people dog,” Lacey said.
He shook his head, resigned. “Okay, we’ll talk this way.”
Just as she’d expected, Lacey thought, doing her best not to grin. She had no desire to be alone with the man. She didn’t care if her feelings were unreasonable or a holdover from childhood. She wasn’t taking any chances.
“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in the past.” He reached a hand toward her, then dropped it again. “But I want you to know, I don’t drink anymore. I’m not blaming how badly things went between us on liquor, but it didn’t help. I didn’t know anything about being the guardian of a teenager.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Any idiot could figure out that abuse wasn’t the way to go. Especially since you only wanted my money—”
“That was your perception. I never said that specifically.”
“Maybe not to my face.” She pursed her lips. “If I hadn’t come back, are you saying you weren’t going to claim my trust fund by having me declared legally dead?” Nausea rose to her throat at the thought.
He shrugged. “Practicality dictated someone take over the trust.”
At least he hadn’t denied it.
“Besides, your parents provided that if you passed on, the trust would be divided between myself and your uncle Robert. I was just following their wishes.”
Once again, he reached for her arm, but this time he didn’t retreat.
Her pulse pounded in her throat. Before he could touch her, Lacey immediately stepped out of his reach.
His gaze dulled at her rejection.
She wondered whether he really cared or if he was still an excellent actor. She’d bet on the acting.
“I didn’t come here to talk about the money,” he said.
“Then why did you come?” Ty stepped up behind her uncle, surprising them both.
Lacey had never felt more relieved in her entire life. She’d handled her uncle, but Ty’s presence was more than welcome.
Ty stepped past Dumont and came up beside Lilly. He couldn’t believe Dumont had had the balls to show up at his apartment to confront Lilly, and Ty was glad he’d come home early and surprised the man.
“Are you okay?” he asked quietly.
She gave him a curt nod.
Relieved, he turned back toward Marc Dumont and wrapped an arm around Lilly’s waist. From behind, he felt Digger push her nose between them until her head poked out through their legs.
Some protector the mutt turned out to be, he thought wryly. Though Ty wanted to believe Digger wouldn’t have let anything happen to Lilly, he knew the dog was a lover, not a fighter. As for Ty, he wanted nothing more than to protect Lilly, but once again she’d held her own. He had to admit, though, she’d looked awfully relieved to see him.
Now she leaned into him, her flesh soft and pliant, her fragrance sweet and tempting. He was proud of her for not showing any weakness in front of Dumont, he thought.
The older man cleared his throat. “I came to see for myself that Lilly—I mean Lacey—is really okay,” Dumont said.
“You’ve done that and now you can leave.” Ty stepped back, intending to shut the door, even if it was in Dumont’s face.
“Wait. There’s one more thing.” Dumont reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a rectangular envelope. “It’s an invitation. Two, really. One to my engagement party this Friday night, and the other to my wedding next month.”
Lacey accepted the invitation with trembling hands. She was obviously shocked, gripping the invitation so hard her fingertips turned white.
“I don’t expect an answer now. Just know I’m glad you’re alive. I’m sorry about the past and I hope you’ll accept my invitation to start over.”
“I’ll think about it,” she said, surprising Ty.
From Dumont’s wide-eyed expression, Ty would guess she’d taken him off guard, as well.
“Thinking about it is all I can ask. I don’t even deserve that much. But I’m going to have a new family and a fresh start. I’m hoping we can have that, too.” Dumont shifted his gaze to Ty. “The apology and invitation includes you, as well,” he said a bit more stiffly.
Ty merely nodded. He had no intention of acknowledging anything the man said. He figured that made Lilly a better human being than him. He didn’t care.
In the wake of the silence that followed, Dumont turned and walked away.
“He’s full of crap,” Ty muttered, shutting the door behind them.
Lilly nodded. “How could he expect me to forget he had me placed in foster care at seventeen?” she asked, her voice shaking.
And Ty knew that foster care was one of the nicer things Dumont had done to her. None of them would ever get past the shift all their lives had taken as a result. “At least one good thing came out of it. You met me,” he said trying to lighten the mood.
“And my life was never the same.” Lilly turned toward him, a smile on her lips. “It seems that once again, your timing was perfect.” She stared at him with wide eyes that were less vulnerable than when she was younger, but no less compelling.
“I’d been running DMV searches all afternoon.” The department of motor vehicles was computerized but no less bureaucratic.
He’d been searching for a missing husband and running checks on an alias his wife thought he’d use in various states. If Ty wasn’t already jaded by life, his missing persons and cheating spouses cases would leave him sour on romance. Instead, he was just ambivalent in general and wary of the damage Lilly could do to his heart—again.
Ty was a textbook case—fear of abandonment and rejection, caused by an unreliable father who’d taken off and a gut feeling that Lilly would do the same.
“Good thing it was damn boring work. I thought I’d surprise you and come home early to keep you company.”
In truth, work that should have taken him no time had extended itself for hours because he’d been preoccupied wondering what Lilly was doing back at his place, knowing she couldn’t possibly find much more to make sparkle and shine.
“Well, you definitely surprised Uncle Marc. You should have seen his expression when he heard your voice behind him. His whole face turned pale.”
Ty had wanted to take her mind off waiting for her uncle’s reaction. He’d wanted to get her out of the stuffy apartment and make her smile. He still did. But first he had to take care of her uncle. So to speak.
“Give me one second.” Ty pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Derek’s phone number. “It’s Ty,” he said when the other man answered. “I need you to do me a favor. Call our friend Frank in Glen’s Falls. Ask him to cover our active cases. I have something pressing I need you to handle.” Frank Mosca owned a P.I. agency in the next town over. His business was larger than Ty’s and he’d have the extra manpower.
“Name it, boss.”
“I want you to tail Marc Dumont. Morning, noon and night. Get one of Frank’s men to help if you have to, but I want to know what the guy’s up to.”
“Surveillance. I’ll get right on it. I’d rather be out in the field than doing paperwork and traces anyway.”
“It’s all part of the game. You need to get comfortable with both.” Although Ty agreed with Derek. He secretly preferred being out and about to sitting behind a desk. But until they found someone to hire who enjoyed the more routine aspects of their business, Derek was it.
“Maybe I can snag one of Frank’s guys to come work with us.” Derek laughed.
“No poaching. Call me at the slightest sign of anything out of the ordinary.” Ty turned his gaze toward Lilly.
“You’re doing it again. You’re protecting me.”
He felt the heat rise to his face. “I’m doing what comes naturally. It’s my job to be suspicious. Especially of that bastard,” he muttered. “And especially when he’s suddenly doing a one-eighty, acting
like a repentant old man instead of the prick we know him to be.”
Lilly grinned. “Well, I like seeing you in action.” She smiled at him, her lips curved in a sensual pout, her mouth begging to be kissed.
He stepped forward. The years melted away, the desire for her suddenly as real as it had once been. The light in her eyes told him the feeling was mutual. Something that strong and lasting couldn’t be denied, despite all the obvious reasons they should both walk away.
But he didn’t. From the moment Ty had laid eyes on Lilly again, he’d known he was a goner. Why bother fighting what he wanted so badly?
Putting the consequences aside for later, he lowered his head and let his lips touch hers for the first time. The old spark caught fire and burned between them. He kissed her, brushing his lips back and forth over hers, moisture and friction building. The play of his mouth, the eager movements of hers tempted him to take it further.
He slipped his tongue inside her mouth, filling his senses with everything she was. She let out a soft purr from the back of her throat and his body tightened with need and overwhelming desire. Sweet and warm, sensual and feminine, she curved her body into his, fulfilling every dream he ever had. And some that he hadn’t.
Suddenly, Digger began to bark, jumping up and down on her stubby hind legs, begging for their attention. It wasn’t the best way to be brought to his senses, but it did the trick.
He stepped back fast, still dazed but much more aware of what was going on around him. “That was—”
“So long overdue,” she said, jumping in before he could get his actual thoughts together.
“That it was.” Though he doubted those would have been his words of choice.
Mistake probably would have been more like it. He sure as hell didn’t need to search hard for the reasons why. She had a guy named Alex at home and a life that didn’t include him. Yeah, he’d known those facts going in, but in the heat of the moment, he hadn’t cared.
Cross My Heart Page 8
