Lacey had no idea if Ty was that man. And she certainly didn’t know how Ty felt about her now. He kept himself closed off to her in a way Alex did not, and she had no idea if Ty was even capable of giving her all she needed. Even if he did desire her, he might not want the kind of life and future she envisioned for herself.

She punched her pillow and eased herself onto her back. But none of that stopped her from wanting him. And she had no doubt that with Ty, it wouldn’t be just sex. He reached inside her, he always had. She realized now that she’d never gotten him out of her heart. Of course she’d been seventeen when she’d fallen for him and ten years later, she didn’t know him at all. But she wanted to.

She wanted to be the girl who’d gotten on that bus and she wanted to see what her life and her future held.

MARC DUMONT PACED the floor of the ballroom area of what he’d come to think of as his home. It wasn’t, of course. He had no rights to the mansion any more than he had rights to Lilly’s trust fund. Not anymore.

Years of anger management sessions and Alcoholics Anonymous had brought him to this-from being a man on the verge of achieving everything he’d wanted, including a fiancée he loved and a future-to a man about to lose everything thanks to the sudden resurrection of his presumed dead niece.

He poured himself a glass of club soda. It wouldn’t be easy being at this party with the cocktails flowing, but his fiancée insisted the guests would be disappointed without alcohol. He suspected she didn’t want to encourage the talk and speculation caused by a dry party. So he’d just have to gear himself for one minute at a time instead of one day. Or one hour. The temptation to drink was still strong.

Stronger now that things around him might fall apart.

THE HOUSE LOOKED BIGGER and more imposing than Lacey remembered. No matter how many people were inside, to Lacey it still felt as lonely as it had after her parents died. As Ty drove her up to the place where she’d grown up, the lump in her throat grew larger, the fear greater.

If she closed her eyes, she could imagine her parents-her mother greeting her with a hug and a kiss, and milk and cookies after school, waiting for her father to come home after a long day at work. It didn’t matter to him that her mother had money. He enjoyed a day’s work and she assumed he hadn’t wanted to live off his wife.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Ty asked.

She glanced at him and forced a smile. If he could show up at the mausoleum dressed in a suit and tie, she could handle walking inside. “I’m a big girl now.” She treated him to a lighthearted laugh.

He shook his head. “I’m not buying the act. We can turn around right now and nobody would know the difference.”

“I would.” But she appreciated his offer. “Besides if we left, then nobody would see how well you dress up.”

In a powder-blue shirt and black sport jacket, he wasn’t her rebel, but her knight coming to her rescue all over again. Still, even in her dreams, he’d never looked this sexy or this male.

“Thanks,” he said gruffly. He inclined his head toward her. “Since you’re looking pretty hot yourself, you’re right. We should do this.”

Her body tingled at his compliment. She was so glad he’d noticed. When picking out her little black dress, she’d had him in mind. When she’d looked into the mirror to view herself in the dress, she’d imagined Ty’s eyes staring back at her. But nothing in her imagination had prepared her for the heated look he gave her now.

He slowly pulled his gaze away and back to the road, turning up the long circular drive.

Lacey turned her attention back to what awaited her tonight. A valet greeted them as they stepped out of the vehicle.

“Fancy.” Lacey wondered how her uncle was paying for this party.

She knew he had some money of his own from whatever jobs he’d worked over the years but he’d never come close to matching her mother and father’s wealth. The incoming money from her father’s business was long gone. And though the upkeep on this house was covered by the trust, or at least that had always been her assumption, she doubted her uncle received a stipend once he no longer had Lilly to care for.

But since she didn’t know the exact terms of the trust, all she could do was guess based on the information her uncle had given her when she’d lived here with him.

The assumptions would end, since she’d made an appointment with the law firm Hunter had told her had possession of her parents’ will. Information was power and soon she’d have some in her hot little hands.

With Ty’s hand on her back, they walked into the house side by side. Lacey’s first glimpse told her the decor was exactly as she remembered. Gray-and-white marble floors, white walls and floral furniture all remained the same, but the warmth she recalled from her early childhood was missing. She wasn’t surprised. Lilly had learned not long after her uncle moved in that people made a house a home-or an empty shell of one instead.

“Are you okay?” Ty whispered.

“Yes,” she lied.

Everything about how she was feeling felt wrong, from her racing heart to the overwhelming nausea. She wanted to run away fast, which made her all the more determined to face down these demons and these family members.

“Lacey, I’m so glad you could come.” Molly greeted them with a smile.

The other woman’s friendly voice immediately put Lacey at ease. “Thank you. I’m not sure how I feel about being here,” she said, allowing a nervous laugh to escape.

Molly reached for her hand. “It’s going to be okay. I wanted you to see how different things are now. Come meet my mother.”

Lacey glanced back at Ty who shrugged and together they followed Molly through the foyer and into the large living room. She might as well have stepped into a dream because instead of the austere atmosphere she remembered when she’d lived here with her uncle, there were people laughing and the same man who’d abused her now sat at the baby grand playing the piano and smiling.

She blinked twice but the sight remained. Maybe he had changed.

“Lacey Kinkaid, I’d like you to meet my mother, Francie. Mom, this is Marc’s niece,” Molly said, pointedly.

A pretty brunette dressed in what looked like a Chanel suit, grasped Lacey’s hand. “It is such a pleasure to meet you. We’re so glad you could come.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too. I wish you nothing but happiness,” Lacey said, feeling awkward.

“Thank you.”

“And this is Tyler Benson. He’s Hunter’s best friend. I told you about Hunter,” Molly said.

Ty tipped his head toward the older woman. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“Lilly, you came!” Uncle Marc came up beside his fiancée.

Thankfully he was smart enough to keep a respectful distance from Lacey, no kiss on the cheek or attempted hug. “If you could be big enough to invite me, I decided I should come. I hope you and Francie will be very happy,” Lacey said stiffly.

She felt Molly’s eyes on them, watching the interaction.

“Thank you, dear,” Francie answered for him. “I’ve got to go see where the champagne is. They’re supposed to be walking around with a choice of Dom or Crystal.” Molly’s mother headed through the French doors, presumably to find the catering staff.

“Dom or Crystal. She does enjoy spending,” Uncle Marc said wryly.

“She always has,” Molly murmured.

“Then I hope you can afford her.” Nobody could mistake Ty’s point. He wouldn’t be supporting his soon-to-be wife with Lacey’s money.

“I passed my Series Seven stockbroker exam and I’ve been doing well with Smith and Jones,” Marc said of a company in town.

“Well, we wish you luck,” Lacey said, not knowing what else to say.

The older man nodded. “I appreciate that. Please mingle. Meet your relatives. They were all stunned to hear of your return.”

“I’ll do that.” She turned, eager to get away from her uncle as soon as possible.

“Let’s get a drink first,” Ty suggested. Taking her off guard, he slipped his hand into hers and led her toward the bar.

“Does he know the whole story about what we did and where I’ve been?” she whispered to Ty.

He shrugged. “I don’t know how much Hunter told Molly, but I don’t think he does. And I don’t think it matters, either. It’s not like he’s entitled to answers.”

Lacey smiled. “Now that I agree with.”

Ty ordered from the bartender and soon handed her a glass of white wine.

She took a long sip of the dry liquid but the tension remained. “It’s even harder being here than I thought it would be.”

Ty wrapped his hand around her waist, his embrace secure. But there was nothing safe about how he made her feel because along with the comfort came a tingling sense of arousal and desire. A deep, all-consuming need that only he could fulfill.

“Breathe in deep and relax. And try to remember that you’re not a teenager in this house anymore and you sure as hell aren’t alone.” He whispered the words into her ear, his voice deep and husky.

Without thinking, she leaned against his shoulder. “It’s a good thing I’m older and wiser because I really am overwhelmed.” No matter how much she tried to tell herself otherwise. “Your being here means everything to me.”

“Have I ever let you down?”

She shook her head. Ty always came to her rescue. He loved playing the role of her savior. It didn’t matter if it was as big a thing as rescuing her from returning to her uncle or someone in school giving her a hard time. Ty had always been there.

“Lilly!”

She turned to see a tall, balding man stride toward her. His features were an eerie mix of her father and her uncle Marc, making it easy to see the men were related. But so many years had passed, she had to be sure. “Uncle Robert?” she asked.