Beautifully Forgotten (17 page)

“Alone, but not always lonely.” She was silent for a minute before she added, “I want to know what you’ve been up to for the last fourteen years, but I don’t think I have a right to ask you that.”

He silently watched her before the slightest of smiles pulled at one side of his mouth and he leaned over and tugged on a lock of her hair. “What do you want to know?”

“Have you forgiven me?”

She saw the flash of pain in response to her question before he asked, “For not showing up?”

“For not following my heart and for breaking yours.”

The silence stretched out for so long it became awkward; Darcy was trying to find something to say to change the subject when Lucien abruptly stood. Darcy felt like kicking herself for bringing up the painful memory. The friendship they’d been trying to rebuild was about to go up in flames.

She’d just opened her mouth to apologize when he reached his hand down to her. She slipped her hand in his and felt the heat that always sparked when they touched burn up her arm. He pulled her to her feet, but didn’t let go of her hand. They stood for a few minutes just staring at each other and then he said, “It’s late. I’ll hail you a cab.”

Darcy had to stifle a sigh when she thought about Lucien and her dinner in the park. She never thought that he would ever again look at her as he did last night: affectionately. They might never get back what they’d had, but they were finding their way as friends, and that was far more than she’d ever hoped for. Worry churned in her belly because they were speaking regularly and so she really didn’t have an excuse to not tell him her secret. Fear was keeping her silent now. Would he hate her like she hated herself? Would he turn from her again? The idea of losing him after just finding him again was enough to bring her to her knees. She couldn’t avoid telling him forever, but she didn’t have to do so today.

She stood and walked to his door, knocking lightly.

“Come in.”

Darcy pushed the door open and strolled to his desk, calendar in hand. She didn’t waste time on pleasantries, but got right down to business.

“You’ve got lunch with Declan Grant at Savannah’s at noon, a meeting at two o’clock with Kenneth to discuss the new menu for Tapas, and dinner with Candy or Sandy at Clover at seven.”

Lucien looked up from his paperwork. “Well, is it Candy or Sandy?”

She rolled her eyes at him before she muttered, “Of course there would be a Candy
and
a Sandy. I don’t know. Her voice was so high it was almost outside the range of human hearing.”

Lucien leaned back in his chair as a smile pulled at his mouth. “Did you just crack a joke?”

The deadpan look she gave him in reply should have been answer enough. “No, merely stating a fact.”

He studied her for a minute.

“What else are you thinking?”

“Me? Thinking independently? I will endeavor to squelch that unattractive trait immediately.”

“Meaning?”

“Candy and/or Sandy? Do I have to spell it out? Oops, hopefully not in front of them or they’ll be completely lost.”

Instantly the humor fled from his expression and was replaced with anger. It was so sudden and so dramatic that Darcy felt her heart drop into her stomach. His next words were clipped with anger. “My personal life is none of your damn business.”

It stung, but then again, she had crossed that line. They were friends, or working on it, but some topics just hit too close to home. She wasn’t as quick to reply again, and when she did, her voice had lost the teasing quality it had held a moment before.

“I apologize. Do you need anything?”

“No.”

She didn’t hesitate to turn from him, pulling his office door closed behind her with a decided click.

By the time Lucien finally called it a night, it had grown late. He had canceled his dinner with Candy since she wasn’t the one with whom he wanted to share the evening. He flicked off the lights to his office and looked down the hall to see that Darcy had already left for the day. He felt bad about earlier, but he couldn’t seem to help the bitterness that sometimes came up out of nowhere and threatened to choke him. He should be over it, for Christ’s sake. It was fucking fourteen years ago, but he wasn’t and wondered if he ever would be.

Like his feelings over losing Sister Anne, a place in him would always be empty from losing Darcy; he was beginning to realize that Darcy had claimed a piece of his heart that would forever be hers.

Allegro was packed as he walked through the club, looking for Darcy to apologize for being such an ass. He knew she usually had a drink before she left for home, but when he found her, she wasn’t alone. Her head was slightly turned so he could see the smile and the way her eyes were sparkling from too much alcohol.

The man was touching her, a light brush of his finger over the back of her hand, and he felt a primitive urge to rip the bastard into shreds for touching what was his. In the next minute, the brazen bastard reached for Darcy’s hand and pulled her from the stool to the dance floor. Even though the music was upbeat, he pulled her close as he staked his claim that she, at least for the night, was his.

It should be his arms she was in and his body pressed up against hers. They belonged together, so why was he constantly pushing her away? That was an easy question to answer: he was an idiot.

He moved to the opposite end of the bar from where Darcy and her friend had been sitting, and signaled Tara.

“Hey, boss, what can I get you?”

“Dewar’s neat.”

“You got it.”

Tara placed the glass in front of him and poured the Scotch. She noticed Lucien’s eyes were on the dance floor. “Darcy made a friend. He’s been watching her for the past few nights and finally worked up the nerve to make his move.”

Lucien downed the whiskey and touched the rim of his glass, indicating he wanted another. “Know anything about him?”

“He’s a regular. Seems to come mostly for the music, like Darcy. No worries, boss, we’re watching out for her.”

“Good.”

“Are you sure there’s actually alcohol in this drink, Tara?” The buzz wasn’t coming fast enough. Darcy hadn’t set out to get drunk, but the buzz kept her from thinking about how she had fucked up earlier with Lucien.

“Double the alcohol, just like you asked.” Darcy almost forgot she’d asked Tara the question. Her mind tended to wander when she drank too much.

“Can’t taste it.” And yet her tongue seemed almost too large for her mouth. The idea of her tongue growing exponentially until it hung to the floor brought on a bout of giggles.

“Where’s your date?”

“Not my date. He’s a nice man who wanted a drink and a dance. I think he’s in the men’s room.”

“How are you getting home, Darcy?” Tara asked.

Darcy shrugged, which prompted Tara to say, “Don’t leave alone, got it?”

Her salute turned into a solid whack to her nose, which turned her giggles into outright laughter.

“Maybe you should eat something. I’ll get you a menu.”

“Just pick something. I’ll eat anything,” Darcy said.

“You got it.”

Her attention was on Tara, so she didn’t know that Lucien had stepped up next to her until he said her name. She turned so fast in her stool, she almost went sailing right off it. Lucien’s quick reflexes prevented a truly humiliating scene.

“You okay?” he asked, but Darcy was more focused on the fact that his hands were still on her. Yes, she knew it was because he didn’t want her falling and suing him, but it felt really nice. She gave herself another minute to enjoy the feeling of his warm hands on her before she slapped her own hands down on the bar so hard she felt the impact all the way up to her shoulder joints.

“Darcy?”

“Hands are funny looking, don’t you think? But not as funny as feet.” She bent forward to look at her feet, which almost made her slide off the stool again. Lucien steadied her. Her gaze moved to his hands.

“Not yours,” Darcy said.

Darcy saw the grin that twisted his beautiful mouth. She wanted to kiss him breathless and actually felt herself moving toward him.

“Not mine what?” There was humor in his tone.

His lips were moving, but she didn’t hear what he said because she was too busy visualizing her tongue in his mouth.

“Darcy?”

“Um.”

“Not mine what?”

Oh right, hands.

“Your hands are beautiful.”

His expression turned his eyes darker, and the sight of it had the words that were always on the tip of her tongue just tumbling out of her mouth. “You are so fucking beautiful.”

He moved into her so close that she felt the stir of his breath against her mouth. The moment faded fast when the man, Kevin, returned.

“Hey, Darcy.”

She wanted to hit Kevin because she was fairly certain that had he not walked over, her tongue would now be in Lucien’s mouth, but she controlled the urge and smiled. “Hi. Kevin, this is my boss, Lucien. Lucien, Kevin.”

Darcy didn’t see the look Lucien gave her at referring to him as her boss because she was too busy contemplating how else she could have introduced him.

“Are you ready to go home, Darcy? I’ll take you if you are.”

He was sweet, Kevin, and she should go with him, but that was a little difficult to do at the moment because Lucien’s hands were still on her arms. Before she could come up with an excuse, Lucien said, “I’ll take her home. It’s on my way.”

Kevin seemed to have the sense not to argue with her boss. She was fuzzy from the alcohol, but there was a touch of annoyance in her that Lucien was being so high-handed when he was the one who just that morning had drawn such a harsh line in the sand when it came to their relationship.

Kevin was looking at her expectantly, so she said, “Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m usually here for a bit every night.”

“It’s a date.” He looked at Lucien as he spoke, issuing a silent challenge. Darcy laughed out loud.

“Don’t worry about him. He’s just my boss. I’m not his type anymore. He can’t forgive me for something I did fourteen years ago. I can’t blame him, but talk about holding a grudge.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Kevin leaned over and pressed a kiss on Darcy’s lips despite the fact that Lucien was hovering over her like a protective mama. He turned and walked away and Darcy grinned.

“Let’s go, Darcy.” Lucien started to reach for her purse, but she stopped him.

“I have to get my bag from my office.”

“I’ll get it,” Lucien said before he looked over at Tara. “Can you watch Darcy for a minute? I’ll be right back.”

“You got it, boss.” She dropped a plate of nachos in front of Darcy.

“Eat this while you wait.”

“Oh, good call.” She was chowing down on chips smothered in cheese when Lucien returned.

“Are you ready?”

She popped the last chip into her mouth and licked her fingers. “Yep.”

He reached for her hand and linked their fingers before calling to Tara. “See you tomorrow.”

“Night, boss. Night, Darcy.”

It was surprisingly cool when they stepped outside. Without having to ask, the valet ran to get Lucien’s car and Darcy wondered what it felt like to have so many people ready to do your bidding.

“What are you thinking?”