Cross My Heart

by Carly Phillips

“Before Lilly’s return, you were getting a steady diet from Gloria, so I’d say there’s more going on than frustration. Maybe you need to explore the possibilities,” Hunter suggested.

  And set himself up for guaranteed heartache when Lilly returned to her life? “No thank you. I’ve gotta get going,” he said.

  “You can avoid me, but you can’t avoid Lilly,” Hunter said helpfully. “Speaking of which, don’t forget to give her my message, and let me know if she wants me to hook her up with a trust and estates lawyer.”

  “Will do. One more thing.”

  “Yeah?”

  “You might want to check in with your friend Molly.” Ty had been so preoccupied with his own frustrations he’d forgotten to fill Hunter in on the incident at the mall and did so now. “The cops have no leads except Molly and Lilly’s quick glimpse of a dark car with out-of-state plates.”

  “Were they hurt?”

  “They’re both fine, but—”

  A click sounded in Ty’s ear and he found himself holding a dead phone in his hand. He laughed, knowing Hunter was already dialing Molly Gifford, a woman who, for whatever reason, wouldn’t give him the time of day.

  When it came to women, Hunter and Ty had a lot in common these days, and as the old expression said, misery loved company.

  But Hunter had given Ty no time to explain details, including the fact that Ty had an uneasy feeling about the so-called accident. He’d called Derek on his way home from his mother’s. Derek, who’d been watching Dumont, said he’d been at home the entire time Lilly and Molly had been at the mall. The only thing Derek’s information provided was an alibi. It didn’t mean Dumont hadn’t hired someone to do his dirty work.

  For the second time in one week, Hunter found himself banging on Molly’s front door, only this time he had a damn good reason to be here. He wanted to see for himself that she was okay.

  What kind of idiot nearly ran down two women in a parking lot, he wondered. When she didn’t answer, he banged again, harder this time.

  “You could be a little more considerate of the neighbors,” Anna Marie said, poking her head out her front door. “What’s with the racket?”

  Hunter groaned. “I hope I didn’t disturb your dinner.”

  “You woke me from my prebedtime nap. I like to sleep so I can stay up and watch The Tonight Show..”

  “Is Molly home?” he asked.

  The older woman shook her head. “Not anymore. She came home earlier and was all shook up from nearly being run down at the mall. I’m sure that’s why you’re here.”

  “It is.” And he wasn’t surprised the town’s main source of gossip had heard, as well.

  “About twenty minutes later, she left the house again and hasn’t been back since. You’re out of luck unless you’d like to bide some time with me until Molly comes home.”

  “Thanks anyway.” He turned and started back down the porch.

  “Don’t you want to know where she went?” Anna Marie called to him, speaking without waiting for him to answer. “I heard Molly on the phone and she mentioned going to have dinner with her mother.”

  He paused on the front lawn. He had to refrain from asking the older woman whether she’d obtained the information by holding a glass to the wall. “I’ll just call Molly later.”

  “You could always stop by The Palace in Saratoga. That’s where Molly went. With her mother and Marc Dumont,” Anna Marie added. “I heard Molly say it’s their new favorite it restaurant.”

  Anna Marie had heard right. The Palace was owned by a chef who’d relocated from Manhattan, opening an upscale establishment in the heart of downtown Saratoga.

  It was a place a kid of Hunter’s background didn’t frequent easily. Just like Molly’s family gathering was one Hunter had no business intruding upon. “I think I’ll catch up with Molly tomorrow,” Hunter said, ending Anna Marie’s hope for more gossip to pass around today.

  “Suit yourself.” She stepped back.

  “Anna Marie, wait,” Hunter called to her before she could go inside.

  “Yes?”

  “The Barber case,” he asked of the pro bono case moved up by the court. The one that would conveniently keep him from helping Lilly.

  “What about it? I already told you Judge Mercer requested the change himself.”

  “Is it possible someone pushed the judge to move it up on the docket?”

  Anna Marie shrugged. “I wouldn’t think so since the original date is the start of his vacation.”

  “A sudden vacation.”

  “Have you ever met Mrs. Mercer? If she told me to jump, even I’d ask how high.” She gave an exaggerated shiver. “The woman’s one of the bossiest people I’ve ever met. She wanted a vacation and the judge agreed to the week she asked for. No questions asked.”

  Well, Hunter had plenty of questions. Unfortunately, he also had a case to prepare for, which meant Ty would have to do the digging on this one.

  “You should go inside. It’s cold out here.”

  “I’m warm-blooded.” The older woman grinned.

  Laughing, Hunter headed back to his car. He’d call Ty from his cell phone in a few minutes, but right now, his thoughts were on Molly. If she had felt well enough to go to The Palace, she couldn’t be anything more than shaken up from today’s incident, he thought, relieved.

  He called Ty and filled him in and then started the car. As he drove home, he found himself wondering if Molly enjoyed that kind of swanky new restaurant or if she’d merely gone along with her mother’s choice. As for Dumont, Hunter wasn’t surprised the older man accommodated his new wife-to-be. The Palace was the kind of place slime like Dumont would want to see and be seen. Whether he could afford it or not.

  Lacey heard Ty pacing the floor throughout the early part of the night. She heard him on the phone with Derek, who was apparently still conducting surveillance on her uncle, although to what end, Lacey didn’t know. She didn’t buy his nice guy act, either, but the near miss at the mall had been an accident. Her uncle was vicious, but to run her down? She shook her head, unwilling to buy into that particular theory.

  Although she wasn’t tired enough to sleep, she’d decided to stay in her room until the heated feelings between her and Ty cooled off. She couldn’t stop her body’s reaction to him, but she truly needed to turn off her mind. The problem was, she just couldn’t.

  When she was around Ty, she was reminded of the girl who’d gotten on a bus to New York City with no idea what awaited her there. She felt more bold and adventurous. More willing to admit that her steady, dependable relationship with Alex bored her sometimes. She shivered at the truth she didn’t want to face. She might not be engaged to Alex, but she was involved with him on many levels. Enough to be considering marriage. Which meant she should not be thinking about making love to Ty.

  But she was thinking about it. Often. Enough that she tingled between her thighs even now. There were reasons besides Alex to avoid her desires. Her business meant everything to her. It was her reason for getting up in the morning and what helped put her to sleep at night, exhausted and looking forward to the next day. And her business was in New York City, not Hawken’s Cove.

  But her business didn’t fill the empty spaces inside of her. Only a home, a family and the security she’d lacked for most of her life would take care of those needs. Along with the right man.

  Lacey had no idea if Ty was that man. And she certainly didn’t know how Ty felt about her now. He kept himself closed off to her in a way Alex did not, and she had no idea if Ty was even capable of giving her all she needed. Even if he did desire her, he might not want the kind of life and future she envisioned for herself.

  She punched her pillow and eased herself onto her back. But none of that stopped her from wanting him. And she had no doubt that with Ty, it wouldn’t be just sex. He reached inside her, he always had. She realized now that she’d never gotten him out of her heart. Of course, she’d been seventeen when she’d fallen for him, and ten years
later, she didn’t know him at all. But she wanted to.

  She wanted to be the girl who’d gotten on that bus and she wanted to see what her life and her future held.

  Marc Dumont paced the floor of the ballroom area of what he’d come to think of as his home. It wasn’t, of course. He had no rights to the mansion any more than he had rights to Lilly’s trust fund. Not anymore.

  Years of anger management sessions and Alcoholics Anonymous had brought him to this—from being a man on the verge of achieving everything he’d wanted, including a fiancée he loved and a future—to a man about to lose everything thanks to the sudden resurrection of his presumed dead niece.

  He poured himself a glass of club soda. It wouldn’t be easy being at this party with the cocktails flowing, but his fiancée insisted the guests would be disappointed without alcohol. He suspected she didn’t want to encourage the talk and speculation caused by a dry party. So he’d just have to gear himself for one minute at a time instead of one day. Or one hour. The temptation to drink was still strong.

  Stronger now that things around him might fall apart.

  The house looked bigger and more imposing than Lacey remembered. No matter how many people were inside, to Lacey it still felt as lonely as it had after her parents died. As Ty drove her up to the place where she’d grown up, the lump in her throat grew larger, the fear greater.

  If she closed her eyes, she could imagine her parents—her mother greeting her with a hug and a kiss, and milk and cookies after school, waiting for her father to come home after a long day at work. It didn’t matter to him that her mother had money. He enjoyed a day’s work and she assumed he hadn’t wanted to live off his wife.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Ty asked.

  She glanced at him and forced a smile. If he could show up at the mausoleum dressed in a suit and tie, she could handle walking inside. “I’m a big girl now.” She treated him to a lighthearted laugh.

  He shook his head. “I’m not buying the act. We can turn around right now and nobody would know the difference.”

  “I would.” But she appreciated his offer. “Besides, if we left, then nobody would see how well you dress up.”

  In a powder-blue shirt and black sport jacket, he wasn’t her rebel, but her knight coming to her rescue all over again. Still, even in her dreams, he’d never looked this sexy or this male.

  “Thanks,” he said gruffly. He inclined his head toward her. “Since you’re looking pretty hot yourself, you’re right. We should do this.”

  Her body tingled at his compliment. She was so glad he’d noticed. When picking out her little black dress, she’d had him in mind. When she’d looked into the mirror to view herself in the dress, she’d imagined Ty’s eyes staring back at her. But nothing in her imagination had prepared her for the heated look he gave her now.

  He slowly pulled his gaze away and back to the road, turning up the long circular drive.

  Lacey turned her attention back to what awaited her tonight. A valet greeted them as they stepped out of the vehicle.

  “Fancy.” Lacey wondered how her uncle was paying for this party.

  She knew he had some money of his own from whatever jobs he’d worked over the years, but he’d never come close to matching her mother and father’s wealth. The incoming money from her father’s business was long gone. And though the upkeep on this house was covered by the trust, or at least that had always been her assumption, she doubted her uncle received a stipend once he no longer had Lilly to care for.

  But since she didn’t know the exact terms of the trust, all she could do was guess based on the information her uncle had given her when she’d lived here with him.

  The assumptions would end, since she’d made an appointment with the law firm Hunter had told her had possession of her parents’ will. Information was power, and soon she’d have some in her hot little hands.

  With Ty’s hand on her back, they walked into the house side by side. Lacey’s first glimpse told her the decor was exactly as she remembered. Gray-and-white marble floors, white walls and floral furniture all remained the same, but the warmth she recalled from her early childhood was missing. She wasn’t surprised. Lilly had learned not long after her uncle moved in that people made a house a home—or an empty shell of one instead.

  “Are you okay?” Ty whispered.

  “Yes,” she lied.

  Everything about how she was feeling felt wrong, from her racing heart to the overwhelming nausea. She wanted to run away fast, which made her all the more determined to face down these demons and these family members.

  “Lacey, I’m so glad you could come.” Molly greeted them with a smile.

  The other woman’s friendly voice immediately put Lacey at ease. “Thank you. I’m not sure how I feel about being here,” she said, allowing a nervous laugh to escape.

  Molly reached for her hand. “It’s going to be okay. I wanted you to see how different things are now. Come meet my mother.”

  Lacey glanced back at Ty, who shrugged, and together they followed Molly through the foyer and into the large living room. She might as well have stepped into a dream because instead of the austere atmosphere she remembered when she’d lived here with her uncle, there were people laughing, and the same man who’d abused her now sat at the baby grand playing the piano and smiling.

  She blinked twice, but the sight remained. Maybe he had changed.

  “Lacey Kinkaid, I’d like you to meet my mother, Francie. Mom, this is Marc’s niece,” Molly said, pointedly.

  A pretty brunette, dressed in what looked like a Chanel suit, grasped Lacey’s hand. “It is such a pleasure to meet you. We’re so glad you could come.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, too. I wish you nothing but happiness,” Lacey said, feeling awkward.

  “Thank you.”

  “And this is Tyler Benson. He’s Hunter’s best friend. I told you about Hunter,” Molly said.

  Ty tipped his head toward the older woman. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

  “Lilly, you came!” Uncle Marc came up beside his fiancée.

  Thankfully, he was smart enough to keep a respectful distance from Lacey, no kiss on the cheek or attempted hug. “If you could be big enough to invite me, I decided I should come. I hope you and Francie will be very happy,” Lacey said stiffly.

  She felt Molly’s eyes on them, watching the interaction.

  “Thank you, dear,” Francie answered for him. “I’ve got to go see where the champagne is. They’re supposed to be walking around with a choice of Dom or Crystal.” Molly’s mother headed through the French doors, presumably to find the catering staff.

  “Dom or Crystal. She does enjoy spending,” Uncle Marc said wryly.

  “She always has,” Molly murmured.

  “Then I hope you can afford her.” Nobody could mistake Ty’s point. He wouldn’t be supporting his soon-to-be wife with Lacey’s money.

  “I passed my Series Seven stockbroker exam, and I’ve been doing well with Smith and Jones,” Marc said of a company in town.

  “Well, we wish you luck,” Lacey said, not knowing what else to say.

  The older man nodded. “I appreciate that. Please mingle. Meet your relatives. They were all stunned to hear of your return.”

  “I’ll do that.” She turned, eager to get away from her uncle as soon as possible.

  “Let’s get a drink first,” Ty suggested. Taking her off guard, he slipped his hand into hers and led her toward the bar.

  “Does he know the whole story about what we did and where I’ve been?” she whispered to Ty.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know how much Hunter told Molly, but I don’t think he does. And I don’t think it matters, either. It’s not like he’s entitled to answers.”

  Lacey smiled. “Now that I agree with.”

  Ty ordered from the bartender and soon handed her a glass of white wine.

  She took a long sip of the dry liquid, but the tension remained. “It’s even
harder being here than I thought it would be.”

  Ty wrapped his hand around her waist, his embrace secure. But there was nothing safe about how he made her feel, because along with the comfort came a tingling sense of arousal and desire. A deep, all-consuming need that only he could fulfill.

  “Breathe in deep and relax. And try to remember that you’re not a teenager in this house anymore, and you sure as hell aren’t alone.” He whispered the words into her ear, his voice deep and husky.

  Without thinking, she leaned against his shoulder. “It’s a good thing I’m older and wiser because I really am overwhelmed.” No matter how much she tried to tell herself otherwise. “Your being here means everything to me.”

  “Have I ever let you down?”

  She shook her head. Ty always came to her rescue. He loved playing the role of her savior. It didn’t matter if it was as big a thing as rescuing her from returning to her uncle or someone in school giving her a hard time. Ty had always been there.

  “Lilly!”

  She turned to see a tall, balding man stride toward her. His features were an eerie mix of her father and her uncle Marc, making it easy to see the men were related. But so many years had passed, she had to be sure. “Uncle Robert?” she asked.

  “You remember me?” he asked, walking up and taking her hands in his.

  She nodded. “A little. But the family resemblance made it easier.” She shifted toward Ty. “This is my father’s other brother,” Lacey explained. “And this is Tyler Benson, an old friend,” she said, the word friend a pale description of what Ty was to her.

  “A pleasure,” Uncle Robert said.

  “Likewise.” Ty studied the man as they shook hands.

  “Where’s Aunt Vivian?” Lacey wouldn’t recognize her, but she did remember he’d been married.

  “I take it you haven’t heard.” The other man’s eyes glazed over, and Lacey realized she’d touched a sad subject. “She had a stroke a few years ago and she requires constant care. She’s in a facility back home.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “No need. It’s part of life,” her uncle said.

  Obviously, he’d had years to come to terms with his wife’s situation.