Beautifully Forgotten (23 page)

Lucien had drunk his body weight in Scotch over the past two days and still he couldn’t make the guilt or the pain fade. He had blamed Darcy for breaking his heart, and yet the truth was that he hadn’t had enough faith in them and let things lie for too long.

Who the hell was the man who had talked to Darcy fourteen years ago, and why had he been so determined to keep Darcy away? The idea of beating a confession out of Heidi almost put a smile on his face.

An hour later he tracked Heidi down at her apartment in the Village. He wasn’t surprised that he only needed to ring the bell and she buzzed him in without bothering to find out who he was. She was the reckless type. In the stairwell on the way up, he passed Todd on his way down. He wondered briefly if Todd lived in the building, but then he reached Heidi’s door and immediately dismissed Todd from his thoughts.

She looked genuinely surprised when she opened the door. Who was it she had been expecting? But then, looking in the face of the bitch who’d helped to break him and Darcy up sent his temper soaring.

“Lucien Black, what a pleasant surprise.”

“Heidi, you’re looking as slutty as ever. Still chasing after what you can’t have?”

Her eyes flashed hot, but her voice remained even when she said, “No, I get what I want now.”

“I bet.” He moved into her apartment and noticed that, though it was nicely furnished, the place was filthy.

“Looks a bit like a pig pen. I guess you’re spending too much time in the bedroom.” He looked back at her and eyed her from head to toe before he added, “Probably not making much these days. You’re getting a bit tired around the eyes.”

She snapped. “What the hell do you want?”

“Who put you up to kissing me?”

It took her a minute to understand what he was asking, but then an evil smile curved her lips. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“I’m only going to ask you once more.”

She laughed. “Or what?”

He kept his voice even and soft, making the threat all the more frightening. “I’ll find another way to get you to talk. I’ve had a very colorful past and I’ve learned a lot about how to persuade people to tell their secrets. To me you are simply someone who has information I want and I will get it from you in any way necessary.” He stepped closer to her before he added, “With what you cost me, painfully would be preferable.”

Heidi’s eyes widened with fear before she caught herself. He could see the wheels turning in her head and he suspected that telling him what he wanted to know would jeopardize her carefully constructed future plans. His gut knew what she said next would be a lie.

“I don’t know. I never saw him before or since. He gave me a hundred bucks to hold the door open and keep you distracted.”

“But you didn’t live at St. Agnes then.”

“I liked to visit.”

That was bullshit, but he let it pass. “Why don’t I believe you?”

“Because you’re cynical.”

He grabbed her arm so hard that he knew it was going to bruise, but rage fueled him. She wasn’t going to give him what he wanted. “Hurt me if you must, but I don’t know,” she said.

The door to the apartment opened, which made Lucien release his hold on Heidi. He had been about to issue a threat when a boy walked in. Heidi had been pregnant when she’d first arrived at the orphanage and seeing the boy who was the spitting image of Trace had the threat dying on his tongue.

“Ah fuck.”

“Looks just like his daddy, doesn’t he?” Her words dripped with smugness.

Y
ou can’t eat the raw dough, Chelsea.”

“Why not? It’s delicious.”

“Don’t you think it tastes better cooked?”

“I like it both ways.”

Ember grinned in response because she happened to agree. The sound of the front door opening made Chelsea squeal before she took off into a run.

“Trace!” she screamed.

His laughter carried down the hall to Ember, as did the sound of his body crashing against the door. Moments later, Trace entered the kitchen.

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Hey. Where’s Chelsea?”

“Some movie caught her eye.”

“I guess there goes my helper.”

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her quite soundly. “What are you making?”

“Chicken pot pie.”

“Nice. I’ll be out to help you in a minute.”

“Okay.” He pressed his lips to hers once more and then turned and walked out of the kitchen. It had been a few days since Ember’s talk with Charles, and over a week since she’d seen Trace with Heidi. She had hoped he would voluntarily share with her what was going on, but so far he hadn’t.

It was more than a little disturbing to learn of the part that Heidi had played in Darcy and Lucien’s past. It seemed that Heidi was an instigator. What was it she held over Trace that kept her on the periphery of his life?

Ten minutes later, Trace had still not returned, so Ember walked back to the bedroom to see what was taking him so long. She reached the office and heard his clipped, angry voice. She couldn’t make out what he was saying, but he was definitely pissed. Not wanting to eavesdrop, she returned to the kitchen, but wondered if he was talking to Heidi.

Trace appeared a few minutes later and he looked completely at ease. Had she not heard his argument, she would never have believed he had just had one.

The question tumbled from her mouth. “What took you so long?”

Something passed over his face. “I needed to make a quick call. Can I help you?”

“Is something wrong? Is it Heidi?”

Surprise swept his face. “Why do you ask that?”

“Just something Charles said to me.”

“What did he say?”

“He warned me that Heidi was trouble, so I just assumed that she was up to something.”

“Charles warned you about Heidi?” Trace asked, genuinely surprised.

“Yeah, why?”

“I wasn’t aware he knew her.”

“Is it Heidi?”

He looked her right in the eyes. “No, Ember.”

Her heart sank. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that she had seen him with Heidi, but the words just wouldn’t come. She knew whatever was going on, he was trying to protect her from it. The fact that he had to lie to her to do that was something she had to overlook. “Okay.”

He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “What can I do?”

Ember woke in the morning to an empty bed. She quietly looked through the apartment, but Trace was not home. Chelsea was in the living room eating cereal and watching television.

“Good morning, Chelsea.”

“Hi, Ember. Look, I made my own breakfast.”

“Where’s Trace?”

“He left a while ago. Said he had things to do before his fight tonight.” Trace was an amateur fighter and, though he didn’t fight as often as he used to, he still liked getting into the ring a few times a month.

“Oh, okay. I’m going to make some coffee.”

“I want some.”

“You bet.”

She started for the kitchen when a wave of nausea hit out of nowhere. She hurried down the hall and just made it to the toilet. After she puked she went to the sink to splash some water on her face and caught the ghostly reflection looking back at her in the mirror. How long had it been since she’d had her period? When realization dawned, excitement almost made her call Trace immediately, but she decided it would be better to know for sure before she said anything. She called a drugstore and made arrangements to have several pregnancy tests delivered to the apartment. An hour later, she was looking at three positive results. She didn’t trust it, though. She wanted to be absolutely certain, so she called her doctor.

She was lucky to get an appointment later that same day and she battled excitement as she sat in the waiting room. The sound of her name brought her to her feet and she followed the nurse to the scale where she was weighed. She was handed a paper robe.

“Undress, opening in front. Dr. Cole will be with you in a moment.”

A few minutes after she’d climbed up onto the table, Dr. Cole entered. She’d been Ember’s gynecologist for years.

“Ember, you look wonderful. Married life certainly agrees with you. So, you think you’re pregnant. Let’s take a look.”

Ember’s heart lodged into her throat because if she wasn’t pregnant the disappointment that followed was going to be tough.

She lay back on the examination table as the doctor squeezed some cold goo onto Ember’s stomach.

“Okay, let’s see what we see. Normally we’d used a vaginal probe, but to confirm pregnancy, the old way works just as well and isn’t as uncomfortable.”

Dr. Cole moved the probe, but Ember’s focus was completely on the screen. She couldn’t tell what she was looking at until she saw a small little point that was fluttering. She pointed to it and asked, “Oh my God, is that the heart?”

“Sure is. Based on the size I would say you are about seven weeks along. It’s important that you start taking prenatal vitamins. I’ll prescribe them before you leave.”

Ember was surprised that she was that far along, but then, her period had never been regular, so tracking her cycle was always a challenge. By the way Dr. Cole was looking at her, Ember realized that she was awaiting an answer. She quickly replied, “Okay.”

Dr. Cole started moving the probe around again, but Ember’s thoughts were already on Trace and telling him he was going to be a father. She knew at first it was going to terrify him—the thought that he could end up like his father—but he really wanted children. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t hear Dr. Cole until she laughed and handed her a towel to wipe off the goo.

“We need to schedule an internal ultrasound at your earliest convenience. Now, here’s what you can expect in the next few months . . .”

Ember stood outside the doctor’s office and dialed Trace. She wanted to find out where he was so she could tell him the good news in person, but he didn’t answer. For the rest of the afternoon, she was unable to get through to him. That night as she waited for Trace’s fight to start, she felt almost restless with the need to tell him that he was going to be a dad. She didn’t want to blow his concentration, but she couldn’t bear to wait any longer. She glanced over at Lucien and knew something was up with him too, and took a moment to appreciate that she was coming to know him well enough to know his different levels of silence.

“Is everything okay, Ember? You’ve been awfully quiet.”

His question surprised her and she answered him with the joy she was feeling. “Everything’s wonderful. When is the fight starting?”

He looked at his watch. “In about ten minutes. Why?”

“I need to talk with Trace.”

“Now?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s probably in the locker room. Come on, I’ll get him for you.” He reached for her hand as he battled his way through the bodies. “You know, you look like the cat that just ate the canary,” he said over his shoulder.

She only grinned in reply. They’d just reached the back near the locker room when Lucien stopped abruptly and Ember slammed right into his back.

“You could have warned me you were stopping,” she said jokingly, but when she saw the reason for the suddenness of their halt, all humor left her. Trace was standing in a dark corner, and he wasn’t alone. Heidi was with him. As they spoke, their heads nearly touched. Ember knew he loved her and she knew that he wouldn’t cheat on her, but he’d lied and, for some reason, seeing the proof of that lie hurt even more than the actual lie.