Safe in the Tycoon's Arms (Harlequin Romance) (14 page)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

T
HE
HAIRS
ON
Kate’s arms rose. Something was wrong. Tension rippled off Lucas in waves. And no matter how much she tried to sidestep it with a smile and light conversation, he wouldn’t let go of whatever was bothering him. It must be something pretty big.

He stepped closer. “I don’t know how to say this.”

Say what?
Had he changed his mind about having the party here? Surely that couldn’t be it. There was no way they could change venues at this late date. The party was only a couple of weeks away.

“Whatever it is we’ll work it out.”

“I wish it was that easy. The thing is—”

“Excuse me.” One of the men Lucas had hired to lighten her workload entered the kitchen. He looked a bit uncomfortable and stuffed his hands in his pants pockets. “Ms. Whitley, we’re having a problem. You know that room you wanted us to empty? Well, we’re having a problem fitting everything into that smaller room.”

“It’ll fit. There wasn’t that much furniture to move.”

“That’s the thing—it’s not the furniture. It’s all of the toys and stuffed animals.”

“Toys?” The whole time she’d been working here, she hadn’t seen any child’s items. None at all. Her gaze sought out Lucas. “Do you know what he’s talking about?”

“Damn.” Lucas’s mug slammed down on the counter, causing Kate to jump.

He moved with long, swift strides as if the house was on fire. She practically had to run to keep up with him. What in the world was going on? Toys? In this place?

Once they made it to the top of the staircase, Lucas turned left instead of right. Suddenly things started to make sense. When she’d told James to clear out the room at the end of the hall, he must have gotten her instructions mixed up and gone to the wrong end—the room with the locked door.

Lucas’s shoulders were rigid and his hands clenched. The angry vibes reverberated down the hallway. He’d agreed to the fund-raiser under one condition—that this room not be disturbed. How in the world was she going to make him understand it was an accident?

Lucas came to a stop in the open doorway. “Where are the pictures? The crib?”

“We moved them into the spare room down the hall. One of the rooms that doesn’t have any damage like Ms. Whitley told us.”

“And did she also tell you to break the lock on the door?”

The man’s face paled and he shook his head. “We thought the doorknob was jammed. So we removed the handle. Sorry ’bout that.”

“Go. Now.” Lucas turned his back on the man.

The workman sent Kate an uncertain look. She waved him away. But Lucas had another thing coming if he thought she could be dismissed so easily. Especially when she didn’t have a clue what was going on here.

Lucas’s large frame practically filled the doorway. She had to peer around him to get a glimpse into the room. It was painted pink with white-and-yellow flowers stenciled about the white chair rail. There was a gigantic stuffed polar bear with a great big red bow. And a wooden rocking horse. This was definitely a baby girl’s room.

Before Kate could formulate any questions, Lucas turned an accusative stare her way. “We had an agreement. You promised not to bother this room.”

“I didn’t. I swear.”

Kate pressed her hands into her hips and pulled her shoulders back. She wasn’t about to take the blame for a mistake that obviously wasn’t hers. Surely Lucas had to understand that sometimes misunderstandings happened.

He raked his fingers through his hair, scattering the short strands. “I never should have agreed to any of this.”

Her curious gaze returned to the nursery. This stuff wasn’t old. It was actually quite modern and very expensive, which meant that up until recently there had been a child here.

She turned on Lucas. “Is this your daughter’s room?”

Lines etched his face, aging him about ten years. “Yes. Her name’s Carrie.”

This news shocked Kate. After she’d opened up to him about so much of her life, including the ugly stuff she didn’t share with anyone, she felt as if their friendship was one-sided.

“Why is this the first I’m hearing of her?”

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything. Who is she? Where is she?” Then a horrible thought struck her. Was it possible something had happened to his daughter? Was that why he’d reacted so strangely in the pediatric ward? “Did...did she die?”

“No.” A moment passed before Lucas spoke up. “Carrie is a healthy, active four-year-old.”

“But I don’t understand. This room is made up for a baby. Where is she?”

He ran his hand over his face. “I changed my mind. I don’t want to talk about her.”

That answer wasn’t good enough, not after he’d pressed her to dredge up the information about Floyd.

“Obviously you’ve been keeping this to yourself for far too long. Look at this house. You’ve kept it locked up like some museum. I’m guessing you did this to hold in all of the memories. If you won’t talk to me, you should find someone to talk to.”

“Fine.” He exhaled a long, weary sigh. “If you want to know the truth, my ex-wife left me and took our daughter.”

Kate knew she was missing a piece of the puzzle because she couldn’t make sense of his anguish, his need to keep this room locked up. “You must miss her terribly.”

“More than you know...”

Kate approached him and reached out, touching his arm. “I’m sure when you have her here for visitation, she sees how much you love her. She won’t forget you. You’re her daddy.”

He jerked away from her touch. “Carrie doesn’t know me.”

Surely she hadn’t heard him correctly. “What do you mean she doesn’t know you?”

“I mean she lives in California with her mother.”

“And?”

“There’s no and. That’s it. End of story. They have their life and I have mine.”

The jagged pieces of this puzzle fell into place. She knew this picture—had lived out a similar experience. Lucas was just like her father, a love ’em and leave ’em type. And like a fool, she’d gone and opened her heart to him.

Anger, frustration and disillusionment bubbled up in her. “You don’t see your own child? But why? How can you just forget her, like she never existed?”

He nailed her with a stern look. “I will never forget her. Ever!”

“Then why isn’t she here with you? At least part-time?”

“It’s better this way.”

“Better for whom? You?”

“Of course not. Do you think I like this?” His shoulders drooped and his gaze no longer met hers. “Do you think I enjoy having my daughter run from me because I’m a stranger to her?”

Kate crossed her arms and angled her chin. “It doesn’t have to be that way.”

He shook his head. “You don’t understand.”

“Then explain it to me.”

He sighed. “My ex-wife has gone to great lengths to keep me from my daughter. And now that she’s remarried, she doesn’t want me ruining her picture-perfect family. She’s threatened to make everyone’s life impossible if I push her on this.”

“She can’t just keep you from seeing your daughter because it suits her. You have rights—”

“And I also know what it’s like to be the pawn between two warring parents—how torn you feel when they want you to take sides. If it wasn’t for Aunt Connie looking out for me, I don’t know what I’d have done to get away from the fighting.” A muscle twitched in his jaw as he stared off into space. “I won’t put my daughter through that.”

“So instead you’ll let your daughter wonder the rest of her life why you didn’t love her enough to stick around.” Kate’s voice wobbled. “You ran instead of standing up and doing the right thing for your daughter.”

“I’m doing what’s best for Carrie—”

“No. You did what was best for you.” Her chest ached as though her heart had been ripped out. “You aren’t the man I thought you were.”

His head lowered. “I suppose I’m not.”

“How could you keep this all a secret after I opened up to you about my father? I started to think we might have a future. I was so wrong.”

“And I was wrong to let you in this house. You need to leave.” He strode away, leaving her to make sense of things.

“What? But the fund-raiser—”

“Can be held elsewhere. I don’t care where you hold it as long as it isn’t here. I don’t want anything else moved or disturbed. Send those men away.”

Lucas stormed off down the hallway. He couldn’t be serious. After all the work, all the plans, he was canceling everything? The backs of Kate’s eyes stung. She blinked repeatedly. One lousy mistake and her chance to raise the money for her daughter went up in a puff of smoke. She told herself that’s what the tears were about—not the fact that Lucas had been keeping this big secret from her.

She swiped her cheeks and sucked in a shaky breath. Things couldn’t end like this. He had to be reasonable about the party. They had an agreement. She started after him.

By the time she made it downstairs, Lucas was gone. There was only one thing for her to do. Leave. But this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. But first they both needed to cool down.

* * *

Lucas stood alone in the elevator. Just him and a fuzzy pink teddy bear that was wearing a pink rhinestone tiara he’d had specially made for Molly. He hadn’t seen or heard from Kate since he’d reacted without thinking and fired everyone. And he couldn’t just leave things like this. He wouldn’t let Kate or her daughter down. He had to do something to remedy things. Something drastic.

He stared down at the wide-eyed stuffed animal and started to think over what Kate had said the other day about Carrie. Was Kate right? Would his daughter believe he didn’t love her? Surely when she was older she’d understand his reasoning. Wouldn’t she?

He pushed aside the thoughts of his daughter, though they were never far from reach. But for these next few moments, he needed to be focused.

“This will all work out.” When he realized he was talking to a teddy bear, he moved the stuffed animal behind his back.

The elevator door slid open and Lucas took a deep, steadying breath. A painted giraffe and smiling rhino greeted him, but he didn’t smile back. Hesitantly putting one foot in front of the other, he started down the long hallway. The sounds of young children echoed between the walls. The voices still dug and poked at his scarred heart, but he refused to turn around. This trip was more important than his own pain and guilt.

On the ride here, he’d debated how to say what needed to be said. He still didn’t have a plan. That in and of itself was so unlike him. He was a visionary. He knew where he wanted his business to go and he took the lead. This time he didn’t have a clear vision, only the hope that there was some happy solution to this mess.

He paused outside Room 529. The lilt of Kate’s voice followed by a giggle filled the air. He took a deep breath and then rapped his knuckles on the propped-open door before stepping inside the dimly lit room.

“Who’s that?” The little girl, who was the spitting image of Kate, pointed at him.

Surprise lit up Kate’s face. “Well, that’s...umm, was—”

“I’m your mommy’s friend. You can call me Lucas.”

Molly’s gaze swung between him and her mother as though trying to make up her mind whether to like him or not. At last, she smiled. “What’s behind your back?”

“Who, me? I don’t have anything behind me.” He turned around in a circle as though to look behind him, all the while holding the pink bear against his back. “See. I told you there was nothing there.”

Molly giggled and Kate smiled.

“Silly, it’s right there. Behind you.”

Once again he turned around. “I’m telling you, I don’t see a thing. Maybe they should check your eyes while you’re here.”

“I saw it. It’s a pink bear.”

“You saw a pink bear?” Molly nodded and he stepped closer. “Maybe you better point out this bear that’s following me around.”

He turned slowly this time and just as he predicted, Molly grabbed the bear. “See, here it is. And it has a crown.” Molly pulled the tiara off the bear’s head and put it on her own. “Lookie, I’m a princess.”

“A very pretty one. Just like your mother.” Molly giggled and Kate blushed. “You better keep a close eye on that bear. He seems to like getting himself into mischief.”

He winked at Kate and noticed how she fought back a smile. She wasn’t as easy to win over as Molly. Oh, well, he’d dug his hole and now it was time for him to pull himself out. But if the gleam in her eyes was any indication, he was making progress, even if she wouldn’t admit it.

“I hear you liked the pictures your mother took of the horse and carriage and the merry-go-round.”

Molly nodded. “I get to ride them as soon as I get outta here.”

“Not quite,” Kate corrected. “We have to wait for the doctor to say it’s okay.”

“And I wanna go play on a giant piano. Have you seen it?”

He really liked this pint-size version of Kate. “I haven’t. But it sounds exciting.”

“Mommy’s going to take me pictures.”

“She is?” He glanced over at Kate, hoping to see her stern expression lighten into a smile. No such luck. “Maybe she needs help finding it.”

Molly’s eyes widened. “You know where it is?”

He nodded. Molly chattered some more before she faded off to sleep while watching a cartoon. Since it was the end of visiting hours, Kate left with him.

When they reached the elevator, Lucas broke the silence. “I’ll give you a ride.”

Kate’s brows lifted. “You don’t even know where I’m staying.”

“At my place.”

She made an indignant sound. “As I recall, I am no longer welcome there.”

The elevator door opened and they stepped inside with an older woman and her husband. Kate moved toward the back and he followed.

He leaned near her ear. “I didn’t mean for you to actually leave for good. I lost my cool.”

Kate’s brown eyes flared. “If that’s your attempt at an apology, you have a lot to learn.”

“Come on, Kate. Surely you’ve overreacted before and done something without thinking.”

She crossed her arms and gazed straight ahead as though he wasn’t there.

The older woman turned to him. “Sonny, you need to say you’re sorry and buy her some flowers. Women always like that.”