Safe in the Tycoon's Arms (Harlequin Romance) (16 page)

“Katie girl, I’m sorry—”

Her voice shook. “I don’t know why you picked now to pass through my life, but just keep going. You’re good at walking away, so don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

Floyd’s gaze moved to Lucas. A light of recognition filled the man’s eyes.

Lucas might not have talked to the man online, but looking back now, he realized even seeking him out and sending a friend request had been too much. The man had already been curious about who he was—all he had to do was look on Lucas’s MyFriends page to find a picture of Kate. He’d unwittingly laid out a trail of breadcrumbs that anyone could have followed—including Floyd.

Finding his voice, Lucas said, “You should go. Now.”

Kate’s shocked look turned in Lucas’s direction. He froze. The breath trapped in his lungs. He wanted to wind back time and change things, but he couldn’t any more than he could ease her pain.

“You did this.” Her voice vibrated with emotion. “You brought him here, didn’t you?”

Her pointed words jabbed at his heart. He wanted to explain and make her understand that he hadn’t invited Floyd here. He’d never ever orchestrate a public reunion.

“I didn’t invite him—”

Her eyes narrowed. “But you contacted him, didn’t you? You couldn’t leave well enough alone.”

Lucas wanted to deny it, but he couldn’t. He was losing the woman he loved and there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it. He merely nodded.

“You had to prove me wrong, didn’t you? You had to prove to me that...that he—” she pointed at Floyd “—had some excuse for leaving me just so you could feel better about walking out on your own daughter. I should have never trusted you. When will I ever learn not to trust people?”

“You can trust me—”

Her chin lifted and her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “No, I can’t. You just proved me right. Molly and I are better off on our own.”

Lucas could feel the curious gazes boring into his back. He wasn’t worried about himself as he was used to providing fodder for the press, but Kate didn’t need her private life made public knowledge.

“Kate, this isn’t the place for this.”

Her brows drew together. “Maybe you should have thought about that before you started poking around in my life. I’m not the one who made it possible for Floyd to be here. You did that all on your own. I should have known I couldn’t trust you. I won’t make that mistake again.”

Kate spun around and sailed up the stairs. Even though he hadn’t invited her father here, he had opened Pandora’s box. Like Cinderella running off into the night, Lucas knew their fairy tale had just ended.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

I
T
HAD
TO
BE
HERE
.
It just had to be.

But search as she might, Lucky Ducky was missing.

Kate shoved aside her purse. How could this happen? Ducky was always in her purse. And as Molly’s surgery dragged on, Kate was starting to feel nervous. She knew it was silly, but that toy made her feel somehow connected to Molly. She could still envision her sweet smile when she’d handed over the trinket—back before Molly had gotten sick.

With a sigh, Kate slouched back in the stiff hospital chair. Two days had passed since she’d left Lucas at the party. She still couldn’t believe he’d stepped so far over the line by contacting her father. She glanced over at Floyd. He sent her a reassuring smile. It was good to have family around. And if it hadn’t been for Lucas’s meddling, Floyd wouldn’t be here. But did that excuse Lucas’s actions?

“You’ve got plenty of time before we hear anything about the surgery,” her father said. “Why don’t you call that young man of yours and let him know how things are going?”

“I don’t see the point. Even if we find a way to get around what he’s done, he’ll eventually leave.”

“I know you don’t have any reason to believe me of all people, but not everyone walks away.”

“The people in my life do.”

“If he really loves you, like I suspect he does, he’ll stick.” Her father sighed and ran a hand over his day-old stubble. “Don’t let my poor decisions color the rest of your life. If you quit letting people into your life, you’ll end up old and alone. You know Molly isn’t going to stay small forever. Why don’t you give him a call and see what happens?”

She hated to admit it, but Floyd had a point. Molly would eventually move on with her own life. But the thought of putting herself out there only to have Lucas reject her scared her to bits.

“I doubt he’ll want to talk to me.”

“You’ll never know until you try. From the sounds of it, you both have some apologizing to do. But he appears to be a good guy. Is he?”

She nodded. “But I can’t forget that he went behind my back and contacted you.”

“Everyone makes mistakes.” Her father reached over and grasped her hand, giving it a squeeze. “If it wasn’t for him, I might never have gotten up my courage to track you down. I know we still have a long ways to go, but you are willing to give me a second chance and what I did was so much worse than Lucas’s misstep.”

But it was more than Lucas contacting her father—it was the way he was willing to back quietly out of his daughter’s life. Sure, he had his reasons, but none of them were good enough to walk away from someone you loved. A lump formed in the back of her throat. But wasn’t that what she was about to do—walk away from the man she loved without giving him a chance to explain?

The realization that she still loved Lucas even after everything that had happened jolted her. What should she do now? Ignore her feelings and hope they went away?

“Call Lucas.”

It was as if her father was privy to her thoughts. Was that even possible after their extended separation?

Just yesterday morning, the day after the party, Floyd had caught up with her here at the hospital. At first, she hadn’t wanted to hear what he had to say, but eventually she reasoned that if she ever majorly messed up with Molly, she’d want to be given a chance to explain.

Her father had struggled with the words, but at last he admitted how he’d gotten caught up in gambling and put the family in deep debt. Things continued downhill to the point where he got involved with some unsavory loan sharks. A shiver had run over her skin when he’d described how they’d roughed him up when he didn’t have the money he owed. Unwilling to make his family targets, he’d left. It’d taken him years to conquer his addiction, but by then he figured it was too late to fix things.

“The difference is you were trying to protect us.” Though she still hadn’t made peace with her father’s choices, she was willing to give him a chance as long as he was up-front and honest with her. But there was something she’d wondered about. “Mom never spoke of you after you left. I never understood why.”

“I hurt her deeply.” Her father leaned back in his seat and ran a hand over his aged face. “Things were so messed up back then. I loved her, but love doesn’t mean that two people are good for each other. Your mother and I, we were too different. You and Lucas, do you have things in common?”

She thought of the man who could make her heart skip a beat with just a look. They were different, but not to extremes. They liked the same sorts of food. They both enjoyed quiet evenings at home. And they both thought family was important. Secretly she was missing Lucas and wishing he could be here with her now. When he held her close she felt safe and protected—as if nothing could go wrong.

The push-pull emotions raged inside her. But when it came down to the bottom line, she loved him. Nothing had changed that.

And there was something he’d intended to show her. If she didn’t talk to him, she would always wonder what it had been. Would it have made a difference?

Oh, what would it hurt to let him know that thanks to his help, Molly was having her surgery? And she would thank him for bringing her father back into her life. She owed him that much.

“I’m going to step out into the hall.” Kate got to her feet. “Can you let me know if there’s any news?”

“Sure. Go ahead. I’ll be right here.”

“You don’t know how many years I’ve waited to hear those words.” She started to lean down to kiss his weathered cheek but hesitated. They had a long way to go before they’d be that close. “Thanks.”

“Things will be different from here on out. I promise.” His voice cracked with emotion. “Now go patch things up with Lucas.”

“I’ll try.” But she wasn’t getting her hopes up too high. She already missed Lucas terribly. To set herself up for another fall would be devastating.

* * *

Lucas waited as the hospital elevator stopped at each floor, allowing people to get on and off. Every muscle in his body was tense. Logic said he shouldn’t be here. He didn’t want to do anything to upset Kate on such an intense day. But he had something important to give her. He stared down at Lucky Ducky in his hand. He ran his thumb over the toy and prayed some of that luck would rub off on him.

His cell phone vibrated and he retrieved it from his pocket. He was surprised to see Kate’s name flash across the screen. “Hello.”

“Lucas, it’s Kate. I...I needed to talk to you.”

“Where are you?”

“At the hospital. Today’s Molly’s surgery.”

“Hang on a sec.” He worked his way through the throng of people and stepped off the elevator into the hallway. “Any word on how she’s doing?”

“Nothing yet. We should hear something soon.”

He heard the echo of Kate’s voice. He took a few steps and peered down the hallway, finding her leaning against the wall with her back to him. He hesitated, not knowing what sort of greeting to expect. He reconciled himself to the fact that he deserved whatever she dished up.

He continued down the hallway. “Kate, turn around.”

When she did, surprise lit up her eyes. She looked bone-tired and he wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her. But he couldn’t. It wouldn’t be what she wanted after the way things had played out with her father. If only he’d thought it through and realized how easy it’d be for the man to track them down via the party announcement on his MyFriends account.

But it all came down to the fact that he shouldn’t have been meddling. He’d totally messed things up. And the only thing he could think to do was apologize and hope she’d forgive him.

They stared at each other, but he was unable to read her thoughts. Her face was devoid of emotion.

“I’m sorry,” they said in unison.

“You are?” Again they spoke over each other.

Kate laughed. Her sweet tones washed over him, easing the tension in his neck and shoulders. Maybe there was a chance she didn’t hate him. Maybe it wasn’t too late to fix things. But he knew he was getting ahead of himself. First things first.

“Kate, I’m sorry about contacting your father. I just thought... Oh, heck, I don’t know what I was thinking.” He ran a hand over his tense neck. “Maybe I thought if I could show you that your father was a better man than you thought that I’d have a better chance with you.”

“You were that serious about me that you thought you had to go to such lengths to win me over?”

He nodded, fighting back the urge to pull her close and do away with the talking. But something still needed to be said. “Remember how I wanted to show you something at the party?”

She nodded.

“I was wondering how you feel about yellow gingham? At least I think that’s what the woman at the store called them—”

“Called what?” Kate’s brows drew together as she stared up at him.

“The new curtains I put in the nursery. Well, it isn’t a nursery anymore. It’s a little girl’s room.”

Kate’s eyes widened. “What are you saying?”

He cleared his throat. “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have realized that even though I was working so hard to shield Carrie from seeing her parents fight, she might just be as hurt by the knowledge that I didn’t go the extra mile for her. I had a very interesting conversation with my ex-wife’s new husband. It seems he’s a lot more reasonable since he has kids and an ex-wife. Anyway, he’s going to talk to Elaina, and I have my attorney working on a formal visitation schedule. It will be a gradual process until Carrie knows me, but someday I plan to bring her to New York.”

“That’s wonderful. I’m so happy for you and your daughter.”

“And you? Will you be happy, too?”

“That’s one of the reasons I was calling you. I wanted to tell you, or I mean, I wanted to thank you for bridging the gap with Floyd. You were right, too. He did have a reason for what he did. As for why he never contacted me later, well, we’re working on it.”

“Still, I’m sorry I overstepped.”

“Is that why you’re here? To apologize?”

Then he recalled the trinket in his hand. “Actually, I came to drop off Lucky Ducky. I found him on the floor next to the dresser in your room. I figured today of all days you wouldn’t want to be without him.”

Kate immediately reached for the keychain and held it close. “Thank you. I was searching for this earlier and I was really upset when I thought I’d lost it. I know it’s silly to be so emotional over a cheap toy, but Molly gave it to me and that makes it very special.”

And now he had one more important thing to ask her. His gut churned. “I was thinking maybe of starting over and selling the mansion. I’d like to have my new family start in a new home and make new memories.” He could see the surprise light up her eyes, but he kept going. He had one chance at getting this right. “Kate, would you consider staying with me and being part of that new future?”

* * *

Had she heard Lucas correctly? He wanted a future with her?

Before her brain had a chance to formulate an answer, her father’s voice called out to her. She turned and saw Dr. Hawthorne enter the surgical waiting room. Her heart raced.
Please let it be good news.

“It’s the surgeon. Come on,” she called over her shoulder to Lucas.

They rushed down the hallway and joined her father. The surgeon sat down and pulled off his scrub cap. “The surgery was a success.”

Tears of joy sprang to Kate’s eyes. Her baby had made it. She swiped at her cheeks while Lucas gave her a reassuring smile that made her insides flutter.

The doctor continued going over the results of the surgery. “Lastly you should know that there is no guarantee the tumor won’t come back. She’ll need to be monitored on a regular basis.”

His words rang loud and clear in Kate’s mind. A guarantee. That’s what she’d been looking for with Lucas. She’d been hoping for the impossible—a man who wouldn’t ever fail her. And that was asking the impossible.

Life didn’t come with guarantees. You simply had to make the best of the good...and the bad times. A step-by-step process. And she couldn’t think of anyone that she wanted to be by her side during that journey more than Lucas.

She reached out to Lucas and slipped her hand in his. His touch was warm and strong. Her heart surged with love.

When her father walked with the surgeon into the hallway, she turned to Lucas and wrapped her arms over his broad shoulders and held on tight. She never wanted to let go.

At last, she’d found what she’d been searching for...her home. It wasn’t a building with marble stairs and spacious rooms—it was right here in Lucas’s arms...in his heart.

She pulled back just enough to gaze up at him. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

She swiped away more tears of joy. “This has been a day of miracles.”

“Does this mean that you’d be willing to face the future together?”

She nodded. “And I think the perfect place to start a whole new life is the Carrington mansion.”

“You do? You’re not just saying that?”

With her fingertip, she crossed her heart. “I love it and I love you.”