Cross My Heart (Ty & Hunter #1)(38)
Author: Carly Phillips

“Lacey, please stop talking nonsense. Whatever’s going on in your hick hometown—”

“Hawken’s Cove is not a hick town.” Surprise and a small pang of hurt rose inside her.

Well, what did she expect? She’d broken things off with him by phone. Had she thought he’d understand and wish her a long happy life?

She’d just never heard him be so nasty before. But she’d never disagreed with him until now, either. At least not on something so monumental.

“Well, obviously the people there are messing with your head. You’ll come to your senses as soon as you return.”

“Don’t count on it,” she said, clenching her jaw tight.

He made a tsking noise. “Nobody will ever love you as much as I do.” His words sounded more like a threat than the lie she knew them to be.

“Alex, I’m sorry. I care about you and you deserve so much more than I can give. You’ll see that one day and you’ll thank me for coming to my senses before we made a mistake,” Lacey said, trying to maintain her dignity in the face of his hurt and anger.

“I doubt it. And I don’t believe for a minute that we’re finished.”

She shivered at his words. “You’re wrong. We are over, ” she said, needing him to hear it one more time. “Goodbye, Alex.” Lacey disconnected the line and placed the phone on the bed.

Her head throbbed badly. She made her way quietly back to the bedroom, tiptoeing as she let herself back inside. She climbed back under the covers and snuggled deep into the pillows, inhaling Ty’s comforting scent.

She assured herself she’d done the right thing. She’d told Alex the truth as soon as she knew it herself. There was nothing more she could do. Time would heal his pain over her rejection.

She glanced at Ty, then rolled closer and wrapped her arm around his waist for comfort. Because time would also tell her what her future held.

TY PULLED the frying pan out of the cabinet and greased it with oil, preparing for his pathetic version of an omelet, then placed the pan on the stove. He opened the refrigerator to retrieve the eggs and came up empty. Muttering a curse, he searched the kitchen for something to make for breakfast but the cabinets were empty, too. There was no cold cereal because he’d finished a box of Cheerios yesterday, no milk because Lilly lived on milk and cookies, and he remembered now there were no eggs because she had finished those, too. He had promised to pick up some things after work but he’d forgotten all about making the stop.

He was too used to living alone and not answering to anyone. Most mornings he grabbed coffee and a bagel at the place next door to his office. Most mornings he didn’t awaken wrapped around Lilly, too content to move.

The longer he’d lain beside her, his groin pressing into her back, the more aroused he became.

Aroused and content at the same time. Two scary enough prospects to jolt him into reality and force him out of bed.

He couldn’t allow himself to get too used to feeling good. To having Lilly around. He knew all too well how quickly things changed and not for the better. She’d be gone before he knew it. So he decided he was better off padding around his cold kitchen cooking instead of wishing for things that couldn’t be.

One last glance into the refrigerator and he knew he had to hit the grocery store if they wanted to eat. Besides, the pooch would be back soon and she needed more food, he thought, looking at Digger’s empty bowls. He glanced around at his kitchen, the frying pan on the stove, the dog dishes on the floor, and then turned toward the bedroom where a beautiful woman lay sleeping in his bed.

Ty grabbed his jacket and headed out in search of food, fresh air and hopefully some sanity along with it.

HUNTER PULLED Digger along the sidewalk in front of Night Owl’s bar. The dog stopped for every odd smell and Hunter wondered how Lilly walked her dog every morning and still made it to work on time. He’d been at it for a solid forty minutes and she still hadn’t done her thing.

Considering he’d woken up face-to-face with Her Smelliness as he’d come to call Digger, he couldn’t wait to return the dog to her owner.

“Hunter?”

He heard his name being called and turned to see Molly stepping out of the new Starbucks that had opened next to the bar.

“Hey there,” he said, his heart picking up speed at the sight of her in tight blue jeans and a gold long-sleeved shirt with matching gold scarf that picked up the highlights in her hair.

She glanced down at Digger who’d begun to sniff at Molly’s feet. “Did you adopt a pet?” she asked.

“Hell no. The mutt is Lilly’s. I’m on my way to return her and be free.”

A grin tipped Molly’s lips. “Aaah, so females confine you?”

“Did I say that?” he asked, laughing.

“Just call it a woman’s inference.” She took a sip of her coffee.

“How was the party last night?” Hunter asked.

While she’d been at the party with Ty and Lilly, Hunter had been surrounded by takeout Chinese food cartons and legal files. He’d been working late, pulling together a defense for a man accused of stealing a car, which had led to someone’s death. In the end, Hunter’s strategy came down to relying on his client’s willingness to take risks in the hopes that the jury bought his story.

Molly shrugged. “It was okay. Parties aren’t really my favorite thing to do but everyone seemed to have a good time.” Her gaze shifted away from his.

He wondered if things at the mansion had been as happy as she’d like him to believe. Ty and Lilly would tell him for sure. “I’ve got to get Digger the Dog here back home, but I was wondering—”

“Yes?” Her eyes grew wide.

“I don’t have much free time right now because my case has been moved up but a man has to eat and it’s pretty lonely having to do it alone.” Leveling with Molly wasn’t easy but last night he’d decided he had no choice.

“Is that your lame way of asking me on a date?” she asked.

“As a matter of fact, it is. And not one of those joking questions where you can blow me off to paint your toenails,” he said, his tone as serious as he felt at the moment. “And not a meal I’m going to bring by your place so Anna Marie can listen in and take notes. A real date with real conversation.”

Last night, as Hunter had worked out the defense plan for his client, Hunter’s thoughts had strayed to Molly and the parallels of his case to his life. Could he ask another human being to take chances when Hunter was unable to do the same? He’d decided then and there to go after what he wanted, risking the rejection he’d been avoiding for years.