a small cell. Simple floral posters were framed and lined the walls, while live plants filled the room. Colored pillows brightened up the sofa and a matching area rug lay beneath the table.
Noticeably absent were photographs of family and friends and for the first time, he realized she’d left more than just Ty and Hunter behind. She’d abandoned a life and tangible memories. She’d turned her back on money and material things. She couldn’t have lived easily or well. All the more reason for her to return and stop her uncle from claiming what was rightfully hers.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Her voice distracted him and he turned toward the light sound.
She rejoined him, this time wearing jeans and a plain pink T-shirt, both fitted, both showing feminine curves he couldn’t help but admire. Her brown hair fell to her shoulders in damp waves, framing her porcelain skin, and her chocolate-brown eyes were still as deep and perceptive as he remembered.
“No problem,” he assured her. “It’s not like you knew I was coming.”
She extended her hand toward the couch. “Why don’t we sit and you can tell me what’s going on. Because I know you didn’t just happen to be in the neighborhood.”
He sat beside her and leaned forward on his elbows. Despite the fact that he’d had time to rehearse his speech on the three-hour ride here, the words weren’t easy ones. “I wish I had just been in the neighborhood because I hate what I have to tell you now.”
“Which is?” she asked, remaining calm and composed.
“Your uncle is getting married,” Ty said.
She shivered at his words, her revulsion at hearing about the man clear in her expressive face.
Unable to help himself, Ty reached out and covered her knee with his hand. He’d meant to comfort her but this first touch was electric and her leg flinched beneath his palm, telling him she was affected by his touch.
As for Ty, his body tingled and desire settled low in his belly. Damn, he thought. The old feelings were as real as ever, stronger even because he was older, wiser and he understood that his physical reaction was the tip of the iceberg. Below the surface, his feelings for her still ran deep and he had to remind himself she was just passing through his life. She’d passed through once before, as had other people he’d cared for and lost.
After his father had taken off, Ty shut down until Hunter and Lilly arrived. He’d opened up to them only to have Lilly desert him in the end. Though she’d had no choice in going, she had had the option to return after she’d turned twenty-one and became of legal age. Even if she came to Hawken’s Cove with him now, it would only be to reclaim her money, not her old life.
Knowing that, Ty wouldn’t be putting himself out there for her in a way that would guarantee heartache and pain again. He slowly removed his hand.
“What does the fact that my uncle is getting married have to do with me?” Lilly finally asked, meeting his gaze with a hooded one of her own.
“His marriage is an aside, actually. He’s also decided to have you declared legally dead in order to get his hands on your trust fund.”
Her eyes opened wide and the color drained from her cheeks, leaving her pale. With a groan, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. “The man is such a prick,” she said.
“That about sums it up.” Ty chuckled at her apt description.
Watching her reaction to the news, he didn’t know how he’d finish explaining the other reason he’d come. But then he reminded himself that although she appeared fragile and in need of protection, she had a deep internal strength that had served her all these years.
Ty cleared his throat and dove in. “You know this means you’re going to have to come home.”
Her eyes snapped open, her gaze one of horror. “No. No way.”
He’d expected her initial resistance, at least until she had time to think things through. “So you’re going to just hand over your trust fund without a fight?”
She shrugged. “I’ve done fine without it.”
He rose from his seat and began to walk around her small but cheery apartment. “I’m not going to argue the point. But it isn’t his money to take. Your parents left it to you and you’re still alive and well. It’s one thing to leave the money untouched, another to let that bastard get his hands on it.”
She inhaled deeply, her indecision and pain evident. “How’s your mom?”
He eyed her warily. “We’ll have to get back to the subject eventually.”
“I know but give me a chance to chew on it for a little while. So how is your mother?”
He nodded, accepting Lilly’s need for time. “Mom’s fine. She has a heart condition now but with medication and diet she’s the same old Mom.” Ty tried not to let his tone change when discussing his mother but the first thing that came to his mind was the cash deal Flo Benson had made with Marc Dumont.
As a kid, Ty had been blind to the truth even when his mother had started to buy them nicer things. He’d remained in the dark when she’d surprised him with a car on his twentieth birthday, claiming she’d used her savings. He’d gone to college with much less in student loans than he’d thought he’d need, and once again his mother said she’d been saving. He realized now he hadn’t wanted to see bad in his only parent, so he’d ignored the signs that something was wrong.
“How’d Flo take my-uh-disappearance?” Lilly asked. “It was hard for me, thinking about how much she must have suffered, believing I died while in her care.” Lilly’s eyes grew soft and damp at the memory.
Ty understood. He’d felt the same way. “Mom felt guilty,” he admitted. “She blamed herself. She wished she’d kept a better eye on you.”
“I’m sorry for that. I loved her, you know.” A smile curved her lips. “And Hunter? How is he?”
A much easier subject, Ty thought. “He’s fine. He’s turned into a stuffed shirt. He’s a suit-wearing lawyer, believe it or not.”
“So he can argue and stand up for himself legally now. Good for him.” She grinned, obviously pleased and proud of the news. “And you? Did you go to college the way we talked about?” she asked hopefully.
Ty and Hunter had shared a room while Lilly had a bed in an alcove off the kitchen which Flo had turned into a comfortable nook Lilly called her own. Ty recalled sneaking into her bed one night and they talked until morning- about his mother’s desire to see her son in college and his plan to fulfill that dream. Back in those days he’d been so focused on making his mother proud and repaying her for all she’d given him, he hadn’t let his own dreams see the light of day.
He still wasn’t sure what those dreams were since his plans were so tied up in his mother’s. Lilly’s hopes for him were based in the fantasy they’d woven as kids. Ty’s life now was based in a different reality.
“I went to college,” he said. “And then I dropped out.”
Her pretty mouth opened wide.
“Now I’m a bartender.”
She furrowed her brows, her curiosity and disbelief evident. “And what else are you?” she asked.
“A bartender’s a good, solid job. What makes you think I’m also something else?”
She leaned in close. “Because you never could sit still and just tending bar would be too boring for you,” she said, obviously certain she still knew him that well.
She did. “I’m a private investigator, too. Now are you coming home or not?”
She exhaled, transforming in front of his eyes from secure female to exhausted woman. “I need time to think about it. And before you push me harder, you should know that maybe is as much of an answer as I can give you right now.”
“I hear you,” he said, his tone laden with understanding. He figured she’d need time and since Hawken’s Cove was three hours away, he knew her indecision would mean a night or two in New York.
He rose and started for the door.
“Ty?” she asked, rushing after him, dog at her heels.
“Yeah?” He paused and turned too fast. She skidded to a halt, bumping into him, her hands coming to rest on his shoulders.
All the questions he’d lived with for ten years were suddenly answered. Her scent wasn’t as sweet as he remembered, it was more sensual and warm, more enticing and inviting. Her skin glowed and her cheeks flushed as their gazes met and lingered.
She licked her lips, leaving a tempting moistness behind.
Understanding and yearning mixed together in one confusing yet arousing package.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
