same thing to her.
“We should probably get back out there. There are still elbows to rub,” she said, and though she sounded like she was trying for funny, it fell flat.
Regret, that was what he felt—but it was for the best. He reached for her hand, which had grown cold, and linked their fingers.
“I’m sorry.”
She turned those eyes on him and he saw a brightness there, as if from tears, but she smiled and squeezed his hand. “Me too.”
Lucien, are you here?”
Darcy was in the middle of finding a file in the cabinet, but looked up to see a woman unlike Lucien’s usual preference: wholesome, kindergarten-teacher sweet, with dark hair and eyes. And after Lucien had withdrawn from her the other night, the thought that this woman was involved with him made Darcy feel suddenly sick; unlike the others, Darcy could see herself liking this woman. When the woman turned and saw Darcy, she seemed genuinely surprised.
“Oh, hi. Is Lucien here?”
“No, sorry, he had a lunch meeting.”
“Right. I should have called first. I’m Ember. Are you new?”
“Yes, I started a few months ago. I’m Darcy.”
Mischief sparkled in the other woman’s eyes before she asked, “What’s it like working for Lucien?”
“He’s actually a pretty fair boss.”
“I bet. Well, I don’t want to keep you. Could you let him know I stopped by?”
“I will.”
She smiled and started away, but stopped and looked back over her shoulder. “Have you had lunch?”
“I was about to.”
“Alone?”
“Yeah.”
“Would you like company?”
Darcy was completely thrown. It had been a long time since she was on the receiving end of such genuine friendliness.
“I mean, unless you prefer eating alone. I completely understand that.”
“No, I’d like to have lunch.”
“Oh cool. I know a great little place that’s close.”
The restaurant Ember picked was in the Village, a café that served organic sandwiches and smoothies. It looked a little grassroots, beatnik, and just up Darcy’s alley. They checked the blackboard of offerings for the day before grabbing a little bistro table with an umbrella to keep them cool in the bright afternoon sun. Once they were settled, a waitress came over and took their drink orders.
“Those planter boxes are beautiful. What an arrangement. I’m going to try to copy that for my fire escape,” Darcy said almost absently.
Ember followed her gaze to the large terra-cotta planters spilling over with color. “You’re a gardener.”
“I work with what I have.”
Ember smiled in reply before she changed the subject. “I didn’t realize that Lucien was hiring, though I completely see his need for help. The man is constantly trying to do everything and somehow manages to do so successfully. Me, if I had that many balls in the air, it would be a disaster.”
“Can I ask how you know him?” Darcy asked.
“He’s good friends with my husband, Trace.”
“Trace Montgomery?”
The other woman gave Darcy a questioning look. “Yes. Do you know him?”
“Not really.”
Darcy wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the sunlight, but it looked as if some of the easy kindness faded from Ember’s gaze as she studied her, so Darcy changed the subject.
“Have you lived in Manhattan long?”
“Close to four years. It’s expensive, crowded, noisy, dirty, and I love it.”
“I agree; there’s something about it here that just feels a bit magical.”
The waitress stepped up to them to take their order, but something across the street caught Darcy’s attention. She barely heard Ember telling the waitress they needed a few more minutes, or ask, “Darcy, what’s wrong?”
She was seeing a ghost.
As Ember turned her attention to see what Darcy was staring at, Darcy didn’t expect to hear her gasp. She turned to see that Ember had turned pale.
“Do you know her?” Darcy asked.
“That’s Heidi Moore, and the man with her is my husband.”
Darcy looked back at the couple across the street who were obviously in the middle of an argument. Ember asked after a minute, “How do you know her?”
“Don’t you want to walk over there and find out what the hell is going on?”
“I do, but I trust him. His past is riddled with shit and she’s a part of that. I’ll find out, but not in the middle of day with all these eyes watching.”
“That’s very . . . wow, I don’t think I could do that.”
Ember turned her attention to Darcy. “Maybe you just haven’t found the right man. So, tell me, how do you know Heidi?”
It wasn’t a story she ever told, but there was something about Ember that made Darcy want to unload the burden she’d carried for