Carly Phillips - Cross My Heart

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.

A few seconds of awkward silence followed.

“Lilly and I were just about to get some fresh air.” Ty broke the tension and nudged her forward with his hand.

“It was nice seeing you,” Lacey said to her uncle. She shot a grateful glance at Ty. She’d been uncomfortable with her uncle who was virtually a stranger.

So were the rest of the guests who must be friends of her uncle and his fiancée because Lacey knew no one. She and Ty stepped outside onto the terrace, which thanks to the nice autumn weather, had been opened for the party.

“My mother used to play bridge with friends out here,” Lacey said. She inhaled, forcing cool, fresh air into her lungs and immediately felt more centered. “I don’t know what I was thinking, coming here.”

Ty leaned against the railing. “You needed to see the house, the people. Gain some closure. It’s understandable if you ask me.”

She inclined her head. “I’m going to go to the bathroom. When I get back, would you mind if we left?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yes, I mind. I wanted to stay and shut down the place,” he said, grinning.

“You’re a laugh riot.” She playfully poked him in the shoulder. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“I’ll miss you.” He met her gaze with a sizzling one of his own.

Surprised and pleased, she turned and wound her way through the crowd, heading for the bathroom. Not the powder room downstairs but the one in the upstairs hall, directly outside the old bedroom where she’d grown up.

Molly watched Tyler Benson over the rim of her Diet Coke glass. Lacey had walked toward the doors seconds before, leaving Ty alone. Drink in hand, he wandered around the room crowded with guests. Like Hunter, Ty was obviously a man who kept to himself and in this crowd, Molly couldn’t blame him.

Coming here hadn’t been easy on Lacey or on Ty. The past probably surrounded them until they wanted to choke on it, Molly thought. But they’d come. And she was grateful.

She might be silly, but she hoped they could all come to a peaceful coexistence just as she prayed her mother was finally marrying for love and not money. She wondered which wish, if any, had a chance in hell of coming true.

She walked over to Hunter’s best friend. “Ty?” she asked, capturing his attention.

He turned. “Hello again.” He greeted her with warmth.

She enjoyed studying people and Ty, with his dark hair and hooded expression gave off a rebel-like attitude she couldn’t mistake. He was guarded and she understood why.

“Enjoying yourself?” she asked wryly.

“I’m hanging in there.” She caught a hint of laughter in his voice.

“Well, I’m glad you could make it.”

“Thanks.” He placed his empty glass on a passing waiter’s tray, then shoved his hands into his pockets.

“I heard you had a little excitement at the mall the other night.”

She nodded. “I’m still shaking.” She still saw that car coming at them. Good thing Lacey had such quick reflexes, she’d thought over and over since then.

“I can understand. Mind if I ask you something?” Ty gestured to an empty corner of the room where they could speak in private.

“Of course not.” She stepped toward the area he’d suggested. “What is it?” He had her curious.

Ty leaned close. “How’d Dumont take it when you told him about Lilly being alive?”

She tried not to stiffen. She attempted not to become defensive. She tried and failed even though he was entitled to have that question answered and a whole lot more. But the truth was, Molly didn’t have the answers he sought. She’d asked Marc the bare minimum-what she could handle hearing and no more. Molly hadn’t considered herself a coward but faced with losing the inroads she’d made with getting closer to her mother and having a family, she discovered she was definitely a coward and more.

“Why do you want to know?” she asked Ty warily.

“Because,” Ty said.

“Because isn’t an answer and you know it.”

He gave her a curt nod. “Because the last time something happened that screwed up Dumont’s plans, he reacted. Lives were changed as a result. And he might be playing the role of the good, repentant uncle by inviting Lilly here, but I’m not buying into it. And I intend to make sure she doesn’t suffer again because of some revenge scheme he has going.” Ty ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the wall, his gaze locked with Molly’s.

She admired his defense of Lilly and wondered if anyone would ever love her enough to look out for her that way. She’d certainly never experienced it before, not even as a child, which probably explained why she fought to keep her mother’s love now.

“Let me tell you something,” she said, focusing on Ty’s words. “You and Hunter might think I’ve been taken in by Marc’s charms but I haven’t been. I weigh facts and I make up my own mind.” Except this time she hadn’t asked. But Ty didn’t need to know that.

He grinned. “That’s good to know.”

“What’s got you smiling all of a sudden?”

“You’re feisty.”

“So?”

“You could give a man like Hunter a run for his money,” Ty said, his dark mood lifting just for a moment.

She was shaken by his perceptive words. “We’re not talking about me and Hunter.”

Ty nodded. “I wish we were. That kind of conversation would be much more fun.”

She had to laugh, then, because he’d mentioned Hunter, she decided to tell him the truth. “Look, I went to Marc and told him Lacey was alive, just like Hunter expected me to do.”

“And?” Ty prodded.

She drew a deep breath. “He was stunned. At first, he was angry, then he controlled it,” she said, remembering. “Finally, he asked me to leave so he could be alone. I did. That’s all I know.” Molly brushed her hand over her black dress, smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles. Then she toyed with the fringes on her bright lavender belt.

That conversation had been one of the most painful she’d ever had, mostly because of all the questions she hadn’t asked. She couldn’t look at Ty head-on knowing what Hunter claimed Marc Dumont had done to him and to his friends. And she hated feeling selfish because she had every right to the close-knit family she desired. Didn’t she?