Beautifully Damaged (34 page)

I agreed with him there; Charles was handsome but he was a cold fish.

"She was a working stiff just like us when she first arrived but she came here to win over Charles and I guess she did."

I felt my heart start to pound before I asked, "Do you happen to know where she lived prior to moving here?"

"Pennsylvania somewhere."

"Really?"

"Yeah. In fact, her name wasn't even Vivian then it was something else but I don't remember what."

I turned my head to look at Pablo. "You're better than the CIA, Pablo."

He grinned before he replied, "I know."

I left the hair salon and stood just outside of it for a few moments trying to decide if I should go right home or stop at Starbucks for a sandwich and cake-pop. I knew I needed to be cautious until Dane was handled but considering my great fondness for those little mouthfuls of pure joy I was willing to take the risk. I started down the street but found myself detouring when I saw a familiar face.

"Lucien." I called which had him turning around and as soon as he saw me a big smile spread over his face.

"Ember." He walked towards me before pulling me into a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm good. How are you? It's been an age." I said as I smiled up at him.

"I'm good, better now that I'm seeing you." He studied me for a minute before he added, "You look great, happy."

"I am happy."

"So, I'm guessing you took my advice and it all worked out."

"I did and, yes, it took us a bit to get there but, yeah, we're happy."

"I'm glad to hear that, Ember, I really am. Are you doing anything now?"

"No, I was just going to grab a sandwich."

"Join me for lunch?"

"I would really like that."

He reached for my hand as a smile spread over his face. "So would I."

We found ourselves at a little outdoor cafe and once our orders were placed Lucien leaned back in his chair and smiled.

"I haven't seen you at the clubs lately."

"I know and I've missed it. I never imagined that I'd have the courage to sing in front of a room full of strangers but I really love it. I'm thinking there's a trip to a club in my very near future; maybe we could go together."

"I'd like that, Ember."

The waiter came with our drinks so I waited until we were alone again before I asked, "How is it that someone as wonderful as you is still single?"

A grin cracked over his face before he said, "I'm picky."

I doubted that since he was interested in me but I didn't say as much before I added, "I've wanted to tell you, Lucien, that had my heart not already been engaged elsewhere I would have very much liked to have seen where we ended up."

He was silent for a moment before he offered very softly, "Thank you for saying that."

"I mean it, Lucien, and I do so hope that we see more of each other because I really enjoy your company."

He reached across the table to cover my hand with his. "I'd really like that, too, Ember."

"Cool."

After lunch, Lucien walked me outside to an awaiting car.

"Can I drive you home?"

I looked at the black Mercedes Maybach before looking back wide-eyed at Lucien. "Nice car. What exactly do you do?"

He grinned. "I invest --a lot."

"I bet. I've never ridden in one of these."

A man, dressed in a black suit, walked around the car and opened the door for us. Lucien waited for me to precede him as he offered, "Wait until you try the seat massager."

After I returned home, I changed into my sweats as I marveled how great my back felt. Lucien had been right, the seat massager was awesome. It had been a real treat seeing him and having lunch with him. Trace was still out so I texted him.

Hi Trace. I'm home. Met up with Lucien for lunch. Don't get mad since Mr. Black and I talked about you a fair amount of the time. Miss you, love you.

I walked into the kitchen to pour myself a glass of wine when my phone buzzed with an incoming text.

Lucien Black is your Lucien? Sweetheart, honestly, could you pick a more eclectic group of dangerous friends? I'm heading home. What are you wearing? ; )

I grinned as I looked down at my sweat pants and t-shirt before I typed.

Nothing but a blush.

I laughed out loud when I got his reply.

%$^&%(@%$

Trace usually made dinner but I decided to cook for him for a change. I wasn't as good a cook as he but there were a few things I was quite adept at making and pot roast was one of them. The secret to the success of my cooking efforts is the
America's Test Kitchen
cookbook because it's like the diary of the cooking gods; every recipe is a winner.

I reached for the Dutch oven from the potting rack hanging over the kitchen island and noticed that all the pots and pans were All Clad and Le Creuset and smiled. Trace really did like to cook. I wondered if he ever cooked at Clover or Coq Au Vin? I thought that he was certainly skilled enough to do so.

I moved to the subzero refrigerator and pulled out the chuck roast and carrots before reaching into the cobalt-blue bowl Trace had on the counter for the onions and potatoes. I had just finished seasoning the roast and was browning it when I heard the sound of the front door opening and closing seconds before that wonderful voice called my name.

"Ember?"

"In the kitchen."

I heard his heavy footfalls coming down the hall and then I felt the heat that sizzled my nerves endings. I peeked a look at him from over my shoulder and saw that he was leaning against the doorjamb watching me. I looked down at myself in my sweats before I looked back up at him and grinned.

"Not naked, sorry."

A grin cracked over his face before he replied, "Disappointing, yes, but you look beautiful."

"Have you been to an eye doctor, Trace? I think maybe your eyesight is failing."

He pushed off the wall and walked over to wrap his arms around my waist. His lips brushed lightly along my jaw and across my cheek before lingering just over my ear.

"You're gorgeous, it's your eyesight that's failing if you can't see it." He took a sniff as he looked at the roast in the pot.

"...pot roast?"

"Yes."

"...sounds delicious. Do you need help?"

"Actually, could you show me how you chop the vegetables in that way of yours?"

I turned to him and saw the weird look on his face.

"What's that look for, Trace?"

"You want me to teach you to chop vegetables?"

"You don't have to but I just love the way you do it and I'd like to learn how to do that."

He was silent for a minute and I honestly couldn't discern what he was thinking and then he said very softly, "I'd love to teach you."

"Oh, cool. We have to chop some carrots, potatoes and onion."

A smile spread over his face as he walked to the sink to wash his hands. He turned back to me and he looked almost excited and that was when I realized that he had learned this gift of cooking and never had anyone with whom to share what he learned.

I felt the tears burning the back of my throat because he really had been so alone: even with all the women that had come through his life. He was reaching for the knives, from the magnetic strip he had nailed to the wall, as I walked over and wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed a kiss to his back.

"I love you."

I heard as he placed the knives down before he turned into me and wrapped me in his arms.

"What was that for?"

I knew when my eyes met his that mine were a little bright. He watched me tenderly as he wiped away a tear that had slipped from my eye to roll down my cheek.

"Ember?"

"You're an incredible human being, Trace Montgomery."

It was confusion in his eyes but I pulled from him and wrapped his face in my hands before pressing a kiss on his lips. "I just wanted you to know that. Okay, so show me how this is done."

He brushed his knuckles over my cheek as he smiled and then he turned and placed a cutting board in front of me before handing me a large knife.

"This is a chef's knife and, personally, I think it's the best knife to have in the kitchen."

I stood there learning about knives as a smile touched my lips because my inked avenging angel, was an excellent teacher.

That night, as Trace and I snuggled up in front of the television watching
Psych
, the phone rang. Trace reached behind us for the receiver and when he spoke, being that I was resting up against his chest, I felt as his words rumbled up his chest.

"Hello."

"Hi, Shawn. ...really? ...when? One second... Em, you up for a trip?"

I leaned up and turned to Trace before I asked, "What's up?"

"Your dad and uncle located Darlene Moore. She works at a bar in Ramsey, New Jersey and they're on their way to talk with her and wanted to know if we wanted to join them."

"Yes."

He smiled as he lifted the receiver to his ear. "We're leaving now so we'll see you soon."

Darlene was not at all what I expected. She was in her late forties but she looked much older. I couldn't help but wonder, as I watched her, why someone who had been a nurse was waiting tables at a bar. Trace and I arrived before my dad and uncle so we grabbed a table and ordered a drink. Trace was sitting at my side as his fingers lightly brushed over the back of my hand. The action was so unconscious that I didn't think he even knew he was doing it.

"Dinner was delicious, Ember."

"The Test Kitchen Gods never fail."

He grinned at me as he leaned up and took my hand into his. "Just because you have a great recipe doesn't automatically mean you're going to make a great meal. There is skill involved, Ember."

I smiled since I didn't necessarily agree with him but I moved from that and said, "You're a wonderful teacher, Trace."

He blushed which had me leaning closer to him as I ran my finger over his cheekbone. "You're blushing."

"No, I'm not."

"You are and, wow, I understand now the attraction to the blush."

He straightened in his chair and tried to look serious. "I am not blushing, Ember."

I grinned as I sat back in my seat. "Okay, if you say so."

"I do say so."

"Seriously, though, Trace you really are a wonderful teacher. Did you ever cook at any of your restaurants?"

"I was a sous chef at Clover before I bought it. I didn't like the head chef; thought he was an arrogant jackass who didn't know the difference between sauteing and frying. I replaced him with Chef when I bought the place."

"I like Chef."

"Chef likes you."

"How do you know?"

"He told me."

"Does he know about us?"

"Does he know that you are the very air I breathe? Yes, he knows."

I reached for his hand and pressed a kiss in his palm. "I feel the same way about you."

His smile was beautiful. "I know."

We were silent for a moment and then I asked, "Why don't you still work at one of your restaurants?"

"I like cooking but I think I like teaching more."

"Have you ever thought of teaching at a cooking school?"

He was silent a moment and I could tell, from the look on his face, that he had thought of that and then he offered, "I always wanted to open my own cooking school but who wants to be taught by the likes of me? What are my qualifications? Not to mention, I don't have the best reputation."

"I think the only qualification that matters is that you cook like a freaking god, Trace."

"It's not really practical, not for someone like me, Ember." His tone was one of finality and it was that, more than his words, that had the anger stirring. I wasn't mad at Trace, I was enraged at the lingering impact of his parents' neglect. His dream was to open a cooking school then, goddamn it, I was going to see to it that he had his school. I had no idea how I was going to make it happen but it had become my mission. Lucien was probably a good place to start since the man did own a Maybach and he invested, a lot. I was pulled from my plotting when Trace reached for my hand and pulled me from my chair.

"Where are we going?"

He said nothing, just continued to pull me to an area that I realized was a small dance floor before he turned me to him and held me close. His lips were right near my ear when he whispered, "Have you ever listened to the words of this song?"

"What song is it?"

"
Everything
from Lifehouse."

"No."

And then he started to sing to me as he slowly moved me around the floor.

You calm the storms and you give me rest

You hold me in your hands

You won't let me fall

You steal my heart and you take my breath away

Would you take me in, take me deeper now

And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you

Would you tell me how could it be any better than this

And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you

Would you tell me how could it be any better than this

Cause you're all I want, you're all I need

You're everything, everything

When the song came to an end, he pulled back to look at me only to see the tears that were clinging to my lashes and wetting my cheeks.

"That song perfectly states how I feel for you, Ember."

It was the magnitude of the love I felt for him that had me speaking the words that came directly from my heart.

"Marry me, Trace."

Shock flashed over his expression at first and then a smile spread over his face as he framed my face with his hands.

"You're stealing my thunder, sweetheart."

It took me a minute to process his answer and when I had my reply was anything but eloquent. "Wait, what?"

He only smiled before he said, "Yes, Ember, I will marry you."

I felt elation, total and complete joy, and then understanding settled over me. "You were going to ask me?"

He moved so that his lips were just over mine before he whispered, "I'm still going to ask you."