The Parks Empire: Secrets, Lies and Loves. Marie Ferrarella

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СКАЧАТЬ never could resist a surprise,” the neighbor said. “Let me get my keys.”

      Stacy went into the house, although they hadn’t been invited. Cade stepped into the foyer, too.

      “Let’s lock the front door,” he called after Sara, liking the way she moved, an almost catlike grace in her form as she stopped by a table where her purse sat. “We can go in through the back.”

      When she nodded, he turned the dead bolt on the ornate front door, then followed as Stacy ran in front to walk with her new teacher. His gaze stayed fastened on the alluring sway of her body as she shortened her steps and took his daughter’s hand. Stacy chatted nonstop down the hall, out the back door, onto the shared deck and into their home.

      The scent of the baking cake filled the town house, welcoming the three of them inside. “Mmm, is that the surprise I smell?” Sara asked.

      “It’s a chocolate cake,” Stacy told her, unable to hold the secret inside anymore.

      “My favorite,” Sara said, her eyes going wide. “How did you know?”

      Stacy grinned. “Because it’s mine and Daddy’s, too.”

      Their laughter flowed over and into him, adding to the intimacy of the moment. Observing their guest as he removed plates from the cabinet, he wondered if they had met before.

      He felt as if they had. In another life, perhaps. Perhaps they’d been lovers, separated by some tragic fate, but destined to meet again….

      A surge of need so great, it was almost a pain rolled over him. He’d never felt anything like it, not even when he fell for his wife. Rita Lambini was the deb of the season six years ago, a beautiful socialite who’d enchanted him with her smoldering glances and flirty, laughing ways.

      That hadn’t lasted long.

      In less than six months, the enchantment was gone, leaving the bitter knowledge that she’d married him for the money he’d inherit one day. He’d wanted out of the marriage, but she’d been pregnant by then.

      Recalling his own past, with his mother in a Swiss sanitarium due to health reasons and his father only interested in the diamond business, Cade had known he couldn’t leave his child fatherless. So he’d stuck it out until Stacy was born.

      Watching his daughter come into the world, he’d felt nothing but love at first sight. And it had stayed that way.

      Rita, knowing she now had a weapon, had fought the divorce and threatened a lengthy custody battle. She’d even hinted she would accuse him of child abuse if he tried to kick her out.

      He still felt guilty over the relief her death had brought. She’d been returning from one of her many social affairs…a few drinks and the winding, fog-slick coastal road coupled with fast driving had ended at a curve with a fifty-foot cliff on the other side. Rita had crashed through the barrier and gone over the edge—

      “Daddy!” Stacy tugged at his arm.

      He realized she’d been speaking to him. “Sorry, what did you say?”

      “We’re ready. Sar—Miss Carlton and I set the table.”

      Seeing those green eyes watching him with a curious expression in their depths, he shrugged off the past and smiled at the other two. “Good job.”

      The timer buzzed just then. He removed the cake layers from the oven and put in three dinner rolls to brown while they started on the salad course.

      “Is this your first teaching position?” he asked when they were seated.

      “Uh, no. I taught for almost five years in Denver.”

      “So what brought you to San Francisco?”

      Her hesitation was noticeable. “I have friends here,” she said. “They arranged things for me.”

      Disappointment hit him. “A boyfriend?”

      She glanced at him, then shook her head. “A fellow teacher, actually. She’s a friend of a friend of the artist who owns the other town house.”

      “Miss Hanson,” Stacy informed her father.

      “Yes. Rachel and my…”

      Again the pause, as if she wasn’t sure if she should disclose this much, Cade noted.

      “Rachel and my brother thought I needed to get away.”

      “From Denver?” he asked.

      She nodded.

      “Why?” He realized he sounded like a lawyer before the court, trying to wring information from a witness.

      “My…my mother died after a long illness. In the winter. She loved the spring in Colorado and the wildflowers. She used to say flowers and children were the only consolations life offered.”

      This last part was said with such sadness, Cade felt like a heel for making her speak of it. “I’ve caused you pain,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

      “No, no, it’s okay.” Her smile bloomed once more. “I thought it was time for a change, too. Meeting Stacy today convinced me this move was the right thing.”

      Again he had an overwhelming sensation of déjà vu, as if they’d talked like this before, as if they’d shared secrets, laughed together. It was damned odd.

      “The rolls are ready,” Stacy announced.

      Cade served the rest of the meal, then they opened a can of chocolate icing and finished the cake. “Let’s sing Happy Birthday,” Stacy requested.

      “It isn’t anyone’s birthday,” he reminded his daughter.

      “Mine was back in the spring,” Sara told them. “No one made me a cake, so this can be a belated one.”

      He thought of all she didn’t say—her grief over her mother, the loneliness in those eyes, the fragile quality that brought out something protective in him.

      “Great,” he said. “Stacy, start us off.”

      Stacy began. “Happy birthday to you…”

      He joined in, harmonizing with her childish soprano. Their guest looked at him in surprise. He smiled, pleased that he’d managed to break through the reserve that surrounded her.

      “How old are you?” Stacy demanded while he cut the cake, then served their guest first.

      “Twenty-nine.”

      “Stace, you’re not supposed to ask a woman her age,” he chided.

      “Why?” she asked.

      “Yes, why?” Sara echoed.

      He pretended to think. “Darned if I know,” he finally said. “Someone told me it was rude, that women don’t like admitting how old they are.”

      “We СКАЧАТЬ