“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said as he caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. He didn’t see any reason to scare her by telling her he planned to be her twenty-four-seven bodyguard. “Seriously, are you okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “The paramedics said I’m fine and after your mother’s cooking, I’m even better.”
She obviously didn’t want to get into detail, but they had to touch on some important things. “I wasn’t talking about physically.”
She swallowed hard. “I know. I’m trying to avoid thinking about it,” she admitted.
“I wish that was the answer.” He paused, then asked, “Do you have a will?”
She blinked in surprise at his question. “Well, yes. I wrote one recently. Alex said anyone who owns a business needs to plan for all possibilities.”
Alex. Another conversation they needed to have. This time it was one
Ty cleared his throat. “A will ensures all your possessions will pass the way you want. Which means you need to claim the trust right away. As soon as you do, your uncle will have no claim to it. He’ll have no reason to kill you in the hopes of getting his hands on the money.” He spoke in a clipped, businesslike tone.
Then he rose, intending to get out of bed. They were too close, too cozy for comfort.
She touched his back, her hand warm through his shirt. “Ty, listen-”
“Your appointment is in the morning, right?” he asked, cutting her off.
“Yes. And we’ll talk some more about the trust fund and about my uncle later. Right now I need you to hear me out.” She paused. “Please,” she said, her tone plaintive.
He never could deny her anything. He lay back, propping his hand beneath his arms as he stared at the ceiling. “I’m listening.”
She breathed in deep. “I called Alex after you fell asleep the other night.”
He turned to look her way. In her Target flannel pajama pants and men’s T-shirt, she looked so soft and vulnerable, he had to remind himself he was the one with his head on the chopping block.
“I broke it off with him,” she said, taking him off guard.
Ty tried not to overreact to the news. He couldn’t allow himself to get his hopes up that her decision would affect his life. But he couldn’t control the kernel of hope lodged in his chest.
A flush stained her cheeks as she explained, “Despite what happened between us, I’m not the type to cheat.”
“I know.” With her words came the realization that he hadn’t been in touch with Gloria at all. Not once since Lilly’s return. He had some nerve being upset about her love life when he hadn’t put his own in order.
She bit down on her lower lip, pausing in thought before continuing. “After being with you, I couldn’t pretend he didn’t exist and I couldn’t go on the way I’d been doing, either.”
“And how was that?” Ty asked.
“Well, I’d been avoiding giving Alex an answer on his marriage proposal and now I know why.”
Marriage, he thought, his stomach churning. “I didn’t realize it was that serious.”
Her eyes remained solemn, her expression even more serious. She nodded. “It was an important relationship in my life. I can’t deny that.” She toyed with the comforter. “I don’t have many close friends in the city. My job just doesn’t lend itself toward meeting people and I’m not a bar person. Alex and I had a lot in common, at least on the surface.”
Ty hated hearing about the guy, yet he also knew he needed to listen if he wanted to know what made Lilly tick. “So why didn’t you say yes before I ever showed up?”
She smiled grimly. “He’s a good man and he loves me. And he could give me a warm, secure future. But I always knew something was missing.”
He wondered if he’d regret asking his next question. “And what was that?”
“He wasn’t you.” She reached out, touching his cheek with her hand. The simple gesture reached past his barriers and into his heart.
Every instinct he possessed told him to back off. Ty prided himself on possessing good, solid instincts but he wasn’t surprised Lilly was able to overcome them. With a groan, he rolled over and pulled her into his arms, his mouth coming down hard on hers.
He felt her desperation in her kiss and in the frantic way she ripped at his clothes, her desire as strong as his. Only when they were naked, hot skin against hot skin, did he let himself calm a little. Enough to remind himself that he wanted to feel every last minute he had with her.
And he did, all the way from foreplay to climax, when he lost himself inside her moist, wet sheath, her fingers digging into his back. They lay together for a while, savoring the moment before he headed to the bathroom briefly then returned and climbed back into the warm bed.
She curled right back into him. “I can’t believe you had protection,” she said, laughing.
He grinned. “The firemen said to take anything that’s important because I might not get back into the apartment for a while.” He shrugged. “I took what was important.”
“You’re so bad.” She snuggled backwards, her behind pressing into his groin, which had already begun to harden again.
“No, I’m good. And smart.” He pressed a kiss against the back of her head.
“And egotistical,” she said, teasing. “But we need to get going.”
So much for a second round, he thought wryly.
“Will you come with me to meet with the trustee?”
“I already put Derek in charge for a while. Until we figure out who’s behind the attempts on your life, I’m not leaving your side.”
He only wished she’d never want to leave his.
“I appreciate you,” she murmured.
As she dozed off again in his arms, he wondered why that couldn’t be enough.
LACEY SHOWERED and dressed quickly. Now, as she and Ty were led to the office of Paul Dunne, the man who’d been trustee since the death of her parents, she couldn’t help but shiver.
She knew from just the fact that he’d been left in charge, that he was someone her parents must have trusted. She also knew she had no relationship with him then or now. She hadn’t thought much about that fact back when she was a child, but she did today. Paul Dunne had left her in her uncle’s care and if he’d checked up on her at all, he’d done so from a distance. He’d probably taken Marc Dumont at his word that Lacey had been a problem child. Understanding thing didn’t leave Lacey feeling charitable toward the older man even if she didn’t know him at all.
The woman who’d greeted them in the reception area knocked on the closed door and stepped inside, leaving Lacey and Ty waiting in the hall for a moment before she stepped out again. “Mr. Dunne will see you now.”
“Thank you.” Lacey walked inside, Ty right behind her.
An older man with gray hair and a navy power suit rose to greet them. “Lillian, it’s a pleasure to meet you at last.” He came around the desk and clasped her hand. “I was so relieved to hear you’re alive after all this time. You must tell me where you’ve been all these years.”
Lacey forced a smile. “The past is the past. I’d rather look to the future,” she told the man. “Isn’t that why we’re meeting? So you can explain what my parents’ wishes were and how things will work from here?”
He nodded.
Lacey took that as her cue and seated herself in one of two large chairs across from his old wooden desk. Once again, Ty followed her lead and took a seat in the other chair. Lacey folded her hands in her lap and waited for the trustee to speak.
As if sensing her discomfort, Ty reached over and covered her hand with his stronger, warmer one, offering her his strength. She appreciated it more than he realized.
The older man cleared his throat. “I’d be happy to get started. However I’d prefer to discuss these matters in private,” he said, his gaze settling on Ty.
Dunne obviously wanted Ty to leave the room, but Lacey decided she was calling the shots. She was too nervous to remember anything said in this room today and another set of ears would help her recall it. Besides, Paul Dunne’s cold aura gave Lacey the creeps. And the last reason she wanted Ty here had everything to do with the
