married Ember, everything seemed to have settled. But Heidi was never going to go away and so once again his past was staring him in the fucking face.
He took a few minutes to calm down. Hearing a light knock on the door, he tried to school his expression just as Ember appeared.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“Yeah, sorry, a business thing.”
She studied him a moment before she asked, “You sure everything is okay?”
“Everything’s fine.” And then to change the subject, he said, “You look beautiful tonight.”
He touched her hair, needed to feel those silky strands beneath his fingers. Even after everything they’d been through, she blushed over a compliment.
“Thank you.”
She smiled and pressed her mouth to his. His arms tightened around her just as she said, “Our guests are going to start talking.”
“Let them fucking talk,” he said as he pulled her in for another kiss. He was tempted to push her up against the wall and sink himself into her, but the thought of her father and uncle in the other room dampened his ardor. She knew where his thoughts were, and not just because he was as hard as a pike.
“I’m feeling the need for a back washing later,” she whispered.
“Oh hell yeah.” He kissed her hard and then put some distance between them before he threw caution to the wind.
He started for the door. “A back washing, a front washing . . .” He looked back at her, only to see her blushing.
“Don’t do that, sweetheart, or we aren’t leaving this room.”
“How do you do that?”
“What?” he asked.
“Turn it on so fast.”
“It’s not fast, Ember, I want you twenty-four seven.”
“Now I need to splash my face with cold water.”
“You do that and I’ll go stick my head in the freezer.” He was halfway out the door when he looked back at her and winked before disappearing down the corridor.
Trace was talking with Rafe when Ember reappeared, and based on her lack of makeup, she really had splashed her face with water. He was about to walk over and whisper something suggestive in her ear when the doorbell sounded. He changed course and answered the door to see Lucien, carrying a present wrapped in silver with a white bow. The oddness of the picture made Trace ask almost harshly, “What the hell is that?”
“My laundry. What the hell do you mean what’s that? It’s a hostess gift, you moron.”
Ember appeared then, pulling the door open wider as she bestowed a smile on Lucien. Trace’s jaw clenched.
“Lucien, hi. Please ignore this lug and come in. Can I take that?”
“Let the lug take it.” Lucien didn’t even bother waiting for his friend’s reply before he thrust the gift into Trace’s hands. To be a dick, he reached for Ember’s hand, and brushed his lips across her knuckles before lacing her hand through the crook of his arm. He looked at Trace over Ember’s head and was happy to see that his flirting had hit its mark. A smug grin played over his mouth. Trace would get him back later for that, but it had been so worth it.
Ember walked him to her father just as Trace appeared and deftly inserted himself between Lucien and Ember.
“Lucien, how are you, son?”
Lucien grinned at Shawn, ignoring Trace, and extended his hand. “I’m good, sir, and you?”
“Wonderful.”
Lucien watched as Trace drew Ember back against his chest and wrapped his arms around her waist. For a moment, they weren’t Trace and Ember, but him and Darcy, a vision of what could have been had their lives gone differently. It was in that moment he was able to admit to himself that he never dated seriously because none of the women in his life were Darcy. He didn’t know what to do with that knowledge, but thankfully he didn’t have to think too long on it, because Chelsea appeared and took his hand and said, “Come and see my room. I painted it purple.”
The following morning, Trace walked up the two floors to the small apartment in the Village that he’d bought five years earlier. He rarely came here; he didn’t see a need to twist the knife in any more than necessary, but Heidi had gone too far. He had been willing to take on the responsibility he found dumped at his feet, but he wasn’t willing to do so at the cost of his wife. No fucking way.
He unlocked the apartment and wasn’t surprised to see the ice princess lying on the sofa watching television. Her