MrTemptation (24 page)

The smell was infused with fresh flowers, and warm light
spilled in from a mullioned window.

Where the heck was she?

She could hear whispers all around her, which confused her.
What was going on? Then she remembered what she’d seen.

“Mother?” she asked shrilly, sitting up too quickly, and the
furniture swam around her.

“Go easy, lass,” someone said and put a hand on her
shoulder.

Her breath came in pants. Someone handed her a glass of
water. She took it and gulped it down.

Cadence slumped back, her head sinking into a soft pillow.
After a long minute, she looked around her. Hovering over her was her mother. A
tall, bearded man stood next to her.

Her mother smiled. It was a smile mixed with sadness and
happiness, perhaps even regret.

“Cadence, my baby,” she said as she knelt before Cadence.

She could feel her mother’s arms around her, warming her,
but Cadence couldn’t believe she was real. It was a delusion. There was no way
this was her mother.

Cadence shoved the woman away. She was older, with lines
around her mouth and eyes. She wore her hair shorter and some strands of gray
had appeared.

“But you’re dead. You died at Ground Zero. We had a
funeral.”

“I’m very much alive.” The woman, this imposter, brushed the
hair off Cadence’s forehead.

Cadence welcomed her touch, was comforted by it.

Oh my God. I’ve completely lost my mind.

“Preston?” she shrieked.

She was scared, things weren’t making sense, she was either
dreaming or had gone completely mad. When her mother loosened her hold, Cadence
began to sob.

“Preston Night?” Mother asked.

“I need him,” she said between sobs.

Mother looked at the man by her side. “I’m sorry, honey.
Preston isn’t here.”

Anger began to boil inside her. Mother had faked her own
death and gone into hiding?

“How could you? How could you leave me? What is wrong with
you?” Cadence was shouting, creating a scene. She didn’t care.

She sat up and put her feet firmly on the floor.

“Cadence, please, let me explain,” her mother begged.
“Please stay. We need to talk. I want to tell you what happened.”

Cadence jumped up from the sofa. “No, whatever you need to
tell me you can tell me while I’m standing.”

“If that makes her feel more comfortable, let her stand.”
The man who’d been beside her mother stepped forward.

“Who are you?” Cadence asked, furious that he’d interfered.

“I’m your father, Bryce McClain.”

Cadence took a deep, cleansing breath. Her head hurt. The
room wavered.

Bryce McClain extended his hand. She stared. She wouldn’t
shake the man’s hand. She was not in a conciliatory mood. She certainly wasn’t
going to be doling out greetings to the people who had betrayed her.

“Cadence, we’ve been waiting so long for you to come here,”
Bryce said.

“Yes, a decade is a long time.” Bitterness smothered her
words.

“We couldn’t tell you,” Mother said. “What I did,
disappearing, letting people think I’d died in the Twin Towers, is a crime.”

“You could’ve taken me with you.”

“Cadence, I couldn’t. You were so young. I assume Maryanne
told you about Edward Burke.”

“She told me enough to know he wasn’t my father.”

“I’d hoped you’d understand. I had to get out of my mock
marriage to Edward Burke. It was my chance to come to Bryce and start over.”

“Why didn’t you just leave the mayor?”

“I should’ve and I didn’t. I’m not brave. I don’t have your
courage.”

Bryce put his hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Now that you
know, you have to keep Audra’s identity a complete secret.”

“You want me to keep this,” Cadence exclaimed, gesturing to
the two of them and then around the room, “a secret?”

“I do.” Mother sat on the sofa and clasped her hands in her
lap. She looked fragile and old. “There never seemed to be a good time to tell
you. I knew Maryanne was taking care of your best interests and Edward would be
a father to you because of his political ambitions. We decided it was best to
keep our secret from you. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”

Cadence straightened as her mother’s explanation sank in.
The pain of being lied to and the feelings of betrayal were stronger than ever.

Her gaze fell on the man who was her father. He was a
handsome man even with his craggy face and shock of gray hair.

“We never wanted you to be involved in this lie,” he said,
meeting her gaze. His eyes were a lovely shade of blue.

She’d wondered what it would be like to meet him, how strong
her love might be for him but she hardened her heart to the man who’d taken her
mother from her.

“You’ve been declared legally dead,” Cadence said.

“Audra Burke is dead. I’m Audra McClain now.”

“Does Maryanne Night know you are alive?”

“Yes. She’s been extraordinary. Don’t be angry with her. I
swore her to secrecy.”

“She did as you asked,” Cadence said.

“I left my business for her to manage so that you would have
an inheritance.”

“I suppose I should be grateful?”

Her mother looked down at her hands.

She’d suffered, Cadence realized. She wouldn’t add to her
mother’s burden. “So where do I fit in?”

“Wherever you like,” Bryce answered. He took her mother’s
hand. “You’re welcome to stay here.”

How generous
, she thought. They were willing to
accommodate a long-lost daughter because she’d shown up on their doorstep.
She’d never felt so alone. Now she knew the source of the emptiness inside her.

“I don’t want to intrude on your happiness.” Cadence
shouldered her purse. She had to get out of there. “I’ve met Bryce and that’s
all I wanted to do.”

“Cadence, please…”

“Let her go,” Bryce said. “She needs to sort this all out.”

Cadence huffed as she exited. Nobody followed.

As Cadence waited for the driver to load her luggage back
into the black Bentley, a numbing sadness took control of her body. She
couldn’t even bring tears to her eyes.

The search for her father was over. Her mother was alive.
Shouldn’t she be happy?

She stewed, wishing the driver would hurry up. All the
anger, hurt and self-pity fueled a need to lash out, to seek revenge of some
kind. It would be her way of giving back.

Finally, the driver held the door open for her. She couldn’t
even look at him. Did he know who she was? She’d shouted, carried on like a
child. The staff must’ve heard.

Ha!

They drove straight back to the airport in a misty fog. The
swipe of the windshield wipers was oddly comforting. She didn’t want to stay
any longer in Scotland than she had to. She didn’t belong here. She wasn’t part
of their lives.

Where would she go?

Back to New York, for a start. She’d meld into the fabric of
the city, find a place to live, a job, make new friends. She’d leave the old
Cadence Burke to the past. As for family, they could all go to hell.

She’d had enough lies and deception to last a lifetime.

She exchanged her ticket for the red-eye, which didn’t leave
until ten o’clock. Bought a crime novel to read so no one would bother her with
empty conversation. Found a chair in the first class lounge next to the window.

It infuriated her how little thought her mother had given to
her only daughter over the years. When she’d needed a mother’s advice, care and
support, there had only been Victoria. How could her own mother have put her
love for that man above love for a daughter?

Cadence bit her lower lip.

There was one small consolation.

Cadence couldn’t wait to see the look on Victoria’s face
when she told her and the evil spawn. This tasty bit of news would wipe the
smirk off of Cyrus’ face. Edward Burke’s reputation would be in tatters after
the newspapers found out.

A reflection in the glass startled her. The image of
Preston, smartly dressed in light-gray Armani, approached her. She turned away
from the sight. She didn’t want to think about him. He’d been part of the
conspiracy, she realized. What she’d thought they had together had been another
lie.

“Hello, Cadence.”

She looked up. It
was
him.

Her heart thudded. Skipped a beat. “What are you doing
here?”

“I came as soon as your father called. I thought you’d need
a soft place to fall.” He sat beside her and put his arm around her shoulder.

She shrugged out of his grasp.

“You’re angry,” he said.

“Do you think?”

“Don’t be. At least now you know your truth.”

“My life was a lie,” she shot back.

The man sitting across from them lowered his paper and
stared at her. The woman next to him grabbed her child by the hand and moved to
the other side of the room. Cadence was making a scene and didn’t care.

“Do you think the mistakes your parents made define you?”

“Of course not.” Cadence turned to face him, her eyes
burning into his, willing him to tell her the truth. “Did you know that my
mother was still alive?”

“I didn’t, I honestly didn’t until yesterday morning. I was
just as shocked as you must have been, when your mother called my mother. But I
understand why she did it. Do you?”

She shook her head.

“It’d been easy to disappear that morning. She’d been with
your father at the hotel you love so much. She’d told Edward Burke that she was
going to see her broker. Everyone assumed she had been in the first tower when
it fell.”

“Incredible. How did she leave the country?”

“She had her passport. In the aftermath of that terrible
day, everything was confusion.”

“Why did she leave me behind?”

“They took advantage of a disaster. Their decision was
probably made in a hurry. There wasn’t any way she could take you with her.”

A lump formed in her throat. When Mother had seen a chance
to be happy, she took it. Cadence had no problem with that.

Why didn’t she ever contact Cadence? Or let her know
somehow? Why had she waited a friggin’ decade?

Preston sat back in his chair. “Your mother loves you.”

“My mother died on that day in September.”

“The Audra Burke everyone knew.”

“This Audra left me in a den of wolves.”

“She thought it best you not know for your own protection. “

“She should’ve told me.”

“Yeah.”

She appreciated that he agreed with her. “Why did she put
the clause that I’d be disinherited if I looked for my father?”

Preston shrugged. “Probably thought the money would be
enough to keep you from finding her.”

“Did she think so little of me? Did she think I’d reveal her
secret?”

“She admires your strength. She wishes she could be as
strong as you.”

“She told me that. I wish I could believe her.” Cadence
slumped. The shock was wearing off. “What do I do now?”

“What happens now is up to you,” he said.

“I’m broke.”

“Yes, you are.”

“I suppose I’m expected to keep my mouth shut?”

“Do you want your mother to go to prison?” he asked.

“No, I don’t.” She tried to look petulant, defiant, but the
anger had drained out of her.

“What will make you happy?”

Preston knew perfectly well what made her happy.

She settled down, took a deep breath. “How’d you get here so
fast?”

“Took a private jet.”

“That must’ve been expensive.”

He smiled. “I’ll bill the client.”

She snorted. “I hate you, you know.”

“I love you.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“You’ll have to take a leap of faith.” He took her hand. She
didn’t resist.

“Interesting how big a mess people can make of their lives,”
he said sadly.

“Yeah, my mother and father screwed up big-time.”

“I was talking about you.”

“My mother abandoned me and I paid a heavy price.”

“Yeah, I think she believed there wasn’t any other choice.
You, on the other hand, have several options.”

She sighed heavily. “You mean become one big happy family?”

“Isn’t that what you always wanted?”

Cadence thought long and hard about what Preston was saying.
He was right. She’d give Victoria her small victory and keep her mother’s
secret.

“I behaved horribly at Bryce’s home.”

“You were angry. Why should you have pretended otherwise?”

“How’d you get to be so wise?” she asked.

“Experience,” he replied, “and something more. I want you to
be happy.” He brushed a tender kiss across her fingers.

Cadence and Preston walked hand in hand in the garden behind
the manor house. Lunch had been scrumptious.

Her father had an outrageous sense of humor. He’d brought
them all to tears with his stories.

She still couldn’t believe all that had happened.

“It’ll take time,” Preston said as if reading her thoughts.

“Yes,” she said, a bittersweet laugh following.

“At least now you are together with the people who love
you.” He laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“Thank you.” She reached up and touched his hand.

He pulled her into a hug and kissed her lightly on the neck.
It was amazing how swiftly her body reacted to his touch. Instantly, her
panties were drenched and her nipples throbbed for his lips to capture them.

“I saw a garden maze around the corner…should we take
advantage of it?” he asked, his voice teasing, but his eyes looking hopeful.

“I’ll race ya!” she said and she took off down the path.

Preston caught up with her just underneath a nicely
concealed arbor. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back flush
to his chest.

“God, I’ve been waiting for this moment for what seems like
forever,” he murmured as he kissed her neck.

“Me too.” She turned in his arms and wrapped them around his
neck, pressed her lips to his and lifted up on tiptoe to better grind her
crotch into his.