Beautifully Forgotten (16 page)

“What are you wearing under that?”

Her eyes widened a second before narrowing to sexy slits. Her voice lowered to a seductive purr. “Nothing.”

“Good girl.” His hand moved over her ass and squeezed. “Maybe we should find a closet.”

Her reply was a pout. “Not yet. I haven’t even met the man of the hour.”

“And you’re not going to. My dad is too busy schmoozing. Trust me, you aren’t missing anything.”

He noticed the line that formed between her brows, but he just wasn’t interested in what was going on in her head. The idea of introducing her to his father was out of the question. He’d never hear the end of it until he dumped her and frankly, he liked her. She was a bit clingy, but she was smart and fun and very daring in the sack. He wasn’t getting rid of her until he was ready to.

Lena linked her arm through his, and when he looked down at her, she smiled.

“Okay.”

Her easy agreement was suspicious since Lena was anything but agreeable, but he was thankful that he didn’t have to deal with her that evening as well.

“Let’s get a drink,” he suggested.

“I want to run to the powder room first. I’ll be right back.”

She moved through the crowd with grace, his eyes on her ass, which looked fantastic in that dress. Oh yeah, he definitely couldn’t wait until later.

“Close your mouth, Dane.”

He closed his eyes on a moan. “What the hell are you doing here, Heidi?”

“You know damn well why I’m here.”

He thought he had finally gotten rid of her, because he hadn’t heard from her since she’d come to his apartment, and that was over two weeks ago. His eyes looked down her body and he wasn’t surprised to see her looking regal in her formfitting white gown, or that most of the men in the room were eying her. Heidi Moore knew how to play her looks to get what she wanted.

“Going for virginal, are we?”

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and eyed him coolly. “I have every right to be here.”

“I suspect there are those here who would disagree with that,” Dane countered.

“Whatever.”

He grabbed her arm and lowered his voice in warning. “You have no idea who you’re fucking with. I’d be very careful in this game. You’ve been warned,” Dane said before he turned and walked away.

“Watch your step, Ember. There are more boxes just at the top of the stairs too,” Brandon cautioned before he stepped into the darkness to turn on the light, bringing a soft glow to the dark attic. “Thanks for coming. I was surprised when you said yes.”

“I love looking through old things and, with Trace off helping a friend deliver some of his pieces, I had the morning free.” Ember reached the top and took a moment to look around. “You weren’t kidding about there being a lot of stuff up here. I don’t think I’d ever leave here until I’d uncovered everything.”

“It is tempting. I’ve been through those boxes over there already: mostly old clothes and shoes that’ll be washed and distributed among the kids. My friend and I are working on this part.”

“Your friend?”

“Yeah, Seth. The one who works at that restaurant we went to the other day. He’ll be here soon.”

“Does he live here too?”

“No, he lives with his mom, but he’s been here a few times with her. Not sure why she would come here, but on one of their visits I asked Seth to play video games with me while he waited. After that, he started coming on his own. He’s cool. We’ve talked about getting a place together when we’re older.”

“I can’t wait to meet him,” Ember said. She settled down in front of a large cedar chest. There was a lock, but it wasn’t secured because when she lifted the lid, it opened with ease. “Are you sure no one will mind us going through this?”

“I’m sure. They want it gone, so the more people helping the better.”

She pushed the lid all the way back before she reached in and picked up a small blanket. The colors were fading, but outside of that it was in remarkably good condition. There was no mistaking that it had been handmade and Ember thought it strange that such a piece would find its way up here. Why would a child who had received such a loving gift be abandoned? She refolded it and placed it gently aside before she reached in for a small pair of shoes. With sparkly rhinestones on the top, she imagined they were once a little girl’s prize possession.

There was a part of her that wondered if she might uncover anything of Trace’s. A smaller wooden box was buried deep in the chest and opening it revealed letters tied together with a pink silk ribbon. She didn’t have to read them to know they were love letters.

“Brandon, where did all of this come from?”

“Apparently, the Mother Superior who used to work here was a bit of a tag sale junky.”

Well, that certainly explained the wooden box. It was sad that the letters were here, forgotten, when they had clearly meant a great deal to someone. She wanted to read them; though it would be an invasion of privacy, the temptation was too strong.

“Can I take these to read? I’ll bring them back.”

“Keep them. Stuff like that is going to be tossed.”

Ember looked down at the letters, debating with herself.

“Just take them,” Brandon insisted; that was all she needed to hear before she tucked them in her purse and continued her exploration of the chest. When she reached the bottom, she carefully put everything back. She stood and started over to the corner of the attic, but almost fell backward onto the boxes. Brandon was there to steady her.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, thanks. Just lost my footing.” She looked down at the floorboard like it was at fault; but she’d really stumbled from the head rush from seeing a box labeled “Sister Anne.”

She pulled it into the light and was so tempted to look in it—but she thought it should be Lucien who did so first.

“A friend of mine who grew up here should have this. Maybe I could talk with the Mother Superior and convince her to let me take it.”

“I don’t see why not. It gets the stuff out of here.”

The sound of feet on the stairs made Brandon call out, “Good timing, Seth.”

Ember was dusting off the box when Seth stepped into the attic. “Found someone else to help you go through all this junk?”

“It’s not junk; it’s memories, lost memories, right, Brandon?” Ember said.

“Seth, this is Ember. Ember, my friend Seth.”

“Hey,” Seth said, but Ember remained silent, which made Brandon turn his attention to her.

“Ember, what’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry. I’m being very rude, it’s just that you look so much like my husband that it’s uncanny.”

“It’s cool.” Seth gestured to the box. “What’s that?”

“A box that a friend would very much like to see.”

“I’ll take it down for you,” Seth offered.

“Thanks, I’m going to see if I can track down Mother Superior,” Ember said before she started down the stairs.

Brandon walked up next to his friend and hissed, “I saw her first.”

“Based on what you told me, I doubt it matters.”

“Yeah, still.”

“You’re an idiot,” Seth said and laughed when his friend flipped him off.

Ember continued down the stairs and, though she was flattered that Brandon had a crush on her, she was going to have to be very careful not to lead him on.

G
et both.”

Darcy turned to see Lucien holding a shopping basket. The sight of him doing something so routine had a strange effect on her: it made her sad. She glanced in his basket and spotted the pudding, which caused a smile even as her heart ached.

“Still like pudding, I see.”

If she wasn’t standing there watching him, she would never have believed that Lucien Black looked embarrassed, but he recovered quickly. “It’s an addiction.” In the week since her run-in with Kenneth, Lucien was in the office more, and they were definitely making progress in the friendship department. Trouble was, being near him again only reinforced what she already knew. She didn’t want to be just his friend.

In an attempt to ease the craving for something she couldn’t have, she stopped off at the grocery store on her way home from work. Ice cream was a poor substitute, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.

And it was while she stood in front of the freezer, trying to decide between New York Super Fudge Chunk and Half Baked, that the voice of the man she was trying to forget had popped up behind her.

“Do you shop here often?” As soon as the words were out, she wanted to slam her head against the freezer, repeatedly. Now
she
was embarrassed for being so lame.

He seemed to sense what she was feeling and answered, “It’s convenient.”

“Shopping for one?” That was it. She was really on a roll of stupidity now.

Something flashed in his eyes before they drifted to her basket. “Yeah, same as you.”

He studied her for a few minutes, his thoughts his own, then he asked, “Have you had dinner?”

Nerves rippled down her spine as excitement made her heart beat faster. “No.”

He lifted his basket. “I won’t be able to eat all of this myself.”

The memory hit so hard that she felt tears burning the back of her eyes. She knew he was feeling it too because, though he looked unconcerned, she saw his jaw clench.

“You’re a terrible liar, but I’d love some.”

She watched as the weight he seemed to always carry simply dropped from his shoulders before he reached for her hand.

“I know the perfect place.”

They sat under a tree in the park eating a dinner that consisted entirely of chocolate pudding. Darcy licked the spoon before handing it back to Lucien. “Have you ever switched it up and gotten vanilla?”

The grin he gave her was so boyish that for a moment she saw him at sixteen doing exactly what he was now. “No.” When he offered her the spoon, she put up her hand.

“I couldn’t eat another spoonful.” She leaned back against the tree and watched him scrape the small cup to get every last bite. At that moment he reminded her so much of the boy she’d known, but he wasn’t that boy anymore. One glance at his clothes, which cost more than she made in a week, was proof of that.

“Are you happy?” It was a question she’d been wanting to ask him, but had never had the nerve. But the shared memory of the pudding and the reminder of how good it had been between them once had the words tumbling from her mouth. She tensed, prepared for the anger she knew had to be in him. He studied her for a minute and then took a few more moments to throw the cup in the bag they were using for trash. She assumed that this was his way of not answering her, but then his head lifted and his eyes met hers.

“Are you?”

She took a minute to think about it, since it wasn’t something she ever really delved into. “I’ve been content. Happy, I think, is too strong a word, but I haven’t been
un
happy.”

“How’s your mom?”

Darcy rested her head against the tree to look up at the stars. “She’s drinking herself to death and sleeping with anything that has a pulse. But I can’t cut the cord because deep down I fear that I’ll end up just like her, miserable and alone.”

His question was so softly spoken she wasn’t sure he even asked it. “Are you alone?”

Sitting on the grass, she turned to him. How natural that looked for him, and yet she knew he was equally comfortable in suits, socializing with the rich and famous. His question was not one she could answer honestly—every man who came into her life was always lacking something. She knew what that something was, even if she tried to ignore it. None of them were Lucien.