Heat Vol. 4 (Heat: Master Chefs #4) (4 page)

“And
that’s why I don’t remember anything?  But I got over the depression and went
on to be happy.  It doesn’t make sense.”

“That’s
not all, Lilly.  During that time, you tried to take your own life.”

“Suicide?” 
I shook my head.  It was so unlike me.  Despite normal moments of sadness, I
was a happy and optimistic person by nature.  “What did I do?”

“How
you tried to kill yourself isn’t important, Lilly.”

“I
want to know.”

He
looked at me.  “You threw yourself out your bedroom window.  Fortunately, you
didn’t bother looking down first and landed in a pile of wood shavings the
gardeners were set to spread throughout the flowerbeds.”

“What
did my father do?”

“He
brought a psychiatrist in to talk to you.  After only one sitting, he decided
to shut down the chateau and move you away.”  He shrugged.  “I don’t know what
the psychiatrist told him, but he wanted you to start off fresh… a new home, a
new life… without me, without him.”

“What
about you?  How did all this affect you?”

“I
was an angry young man.  I was bitter, but I was driven.  I wanted revenge and
knew that my success would be the beginning of that revenge.  The more I
thought of what your father did to you, to us, the harder I worked to become
the man I am today.”

“And
our engagement?”

“My
desire to marry you never faded.  I was in love with you then, and I knew I’d
find you again someday.”

It
was my turn to stare out over the lake.  I didn’t know what to make of
everything he’d told me. He was right; the pain of going back to that period of
my life was difficult to handle.

Would
that pain always accompany us?  He held such an important place in my heart,
but the sting of those memories as they flashed before me was all too powerful.

Chapter 5

A
s we headed back to the chateau, I was flooded
with more and more memories of my childhood, most of them involving Rial, but
nothing about my father came back to me, especially the dark period Rial
mentioned.

Once
within reach of a signal, my phone beeped.  “I got a few texts while we were
gone.  I guess there wasn’t any reception out in the country.”

“Who
from?”

“Errol,”
I said.  “He wants to know how I’m doing.”

“You’d
almost think that he was your big brother instead of mine.”

“Of
course, he wants to know how you're doing too,” I said as I continued to read.

“Does
he actually say that?”

“Well,
not in so many words…”

“I
knew it.”

“But,”
I went on, “He would like me to take you to Errol’s Gourmet Foods.”

“What
the hell for?”

“Rial,
don’t be like that.  It’s where I work.  He’d like you to take a tour of the
facilities and get to see what I’m working on.”

He
reached for my hand.  “Sorry, honey.  I didn’t mean to snap.”

“You
know, Errol’s happy about your success.  You could be happy for his, too.”

He
smirked.  “I’ll try.”

“Besides,
I really think you’ll find it interesting.  I’ve come a long way since you knew
me as a little girl.  I want you to be proud of me.”

“I
am proud of you, Lilly.”

“Okay,
then I want you so see why I’m proud of myself.”  I continued to scroll through
my phone.

“Anything
else?”

“Taryn. 
She’d like us to have a girls’ day out.  You know, coffee, lunch, shopping…
stuff like that.”  I didn’t tell him about the news she said she wanted to tell
me about, news she thought I should learn in person.

My
heart raced.  It was surely about Bobby, but what about him?  I already knew he
was staying in New York.  Had he already met somebody new?  Was he in love? 
Was he to be married?

I
swallowed the lump of discomfort that’d lodged in my throat and continued to
the next text.

My
heart stopped.  It was from Bobby.  I quickly scanned through his message and
turned off my phone.  “That’s it,” I said, leaning back and closing my eyes as
the words Bobby had written flashed before me.

Lilly,
I’m back in Paris.  Please see me.  I have someone I want you to meet – love,
your Bobby.

Chapter 6

T
wo days later, Rial finally came to work with
me.  As proud and confident as I was about my work, I was suddenly nervous and
anxious.  Would he find my work trivial and insignificant, or would he truly be
proud of me?

The
moment we entered the facility and he saw how my sauces were prepared, poured
into jars and boxed, ready to be shipped to specialty stores around Europe, I
knew he was impressed.

He
cocked a brow and wrapped his arm around my waist, kissing my temple.  “This is
really something,” he said as the empty jars rolled by, ready to be filled at
the next station.

“Want
a taste?”

“Sure.”

At
a station, I asked an employee to let Rial test taste the contents of a jar.

“Wow,”
he said as he licked his lips.  “This is really good.”

“Rial,”
Errol said as he came out of his office and joined us.  “Glad you could come. 
So what do you think of your Lilly now?”

“I’m
even more impressed with her than I was before, though I’m hardly surprised.  I
knew she was a smart and talented woman.”

“She
certainly is.  She was able to pinpoint what was missing on store shelves and
she went for it.”

“Okay,”
I said, holding my head between my hands.  “If you guys don’t stop, my head
won’t fit through the door anymore.”

“And
she’s as humble as they come,” Errol added.

“Well,
I did have a pretty powerful helping hand,” I said, looking at Errol.  “Without
you, none of this would have been possible.”

“It
would have taken a little longer, and would have been a little more
complicated, and a little more work, but you would have succeeded all the
same.”

“I
guess.”

“Oh,
and by the way, you received a delivery from
Aliments Vestige
.  If you
want to check in to see what it is, I’ll continue giving Rial the tour of the
facilities.”

I
was in no rush to see the package I’d received, but I could see Errol wanted to
be alone with Rial, so I nodded.  “I’ll catch up with you guys a little later.”

Once
in my lab, I cut through the packaging tape and was about to pull out the
contents of the box when my phone beeped; another text.

From
Bobby.

Lilly,
I’m down in the shipping department of Errol’s Gourmet Foods.  Come down to see
me.

He
was in the building. What was he doing there?  With my fingers ready to tap out
an answer, I hesitated.  Rial was somewhere in the building with Errol.  I
couldn’t just go out and meet Bobby.  But before I’d made a conscious decision,
my fingers took over;
I’m on my way
.

I
checked the mirror in the bathroom at the back of the lab, pass my fingers
through my hair and touched a dab of lipstick to my lips before rushing out of
the lab and down the flight of stairs that led to the shipping department.

Down
at the loading dock, I saw him.  Standing just outside the large garage door
that awaited the next delivery truck, his face was tilted up to the sun while
his hands were plunged deep in his pockets.

He
looked even better than I remembered.  Something about him had changed.  It
could have been the dark sports coat over the beige sweater, or the dark and
sexy jeans, but somehow I knew it was more than that.

There
was something in his features, something in his eyes when he turned to face me,
I knew he’d grown up on his trip back to New York.  While the playfulness and
mischief were still in his eyes, there was also a depth that hadn’t been there
the last time I’d seen him.

“You
came,” he said as I approached him.

“Bobby. 
I’d heard you were staying in New York.”

We
stood three feet apart, awkward and fidgeting as we looked at each other.

“Can
I give you a hug?” he finally said.

“Of
course,” I said, stepping up to him.

He
enveloped me in his arms and held me tight, the warmth of his embrace filling
me with boundless love.

“When
you left… I thought…”

“I’m
only back in Paris for a short while.”

“Oh,”
I said, unable to hide my disappointment.

“I
made a promise to you, Lilly, and I never forget a promise.”

“But
we split up.  You don’t owe me that promise anymore.”

“Not
in my book.”  He gripped my shoulders and looked down at me.  “Despite
everything that happened, I still care for you, Lilly.  I know you're confused
by everything that’s come your way lately, but I still wanted to go ahead and
deliver on that promise.”

“What
promise is that?”

“That
I would find your father.”

“Bobby,
did you…?”

“And
that I would bring him to you if ever I found him.”

I
gasped.  Had he really found my father?

“Whether
it was your father or any other member of your family, I wanted to find someone
who could confirm or deny this alleged engagement.  I don’t want that Rial guy
to forever hold your past against you.”

Feeling
like a hundred eyes were on us, I glanced around.  “Look, Bobby, I’d really
like to discuss this with you, but for now Rial is…”

“Rial. 
You're with him, aren’t you?”  His tone was angry while his eyes softened with
sadness.

“I
am,” I admitted.  There was no getting around it.  I was with Rial.  “It’s a
long story, Bobby, but I’ve known him since I was a little girl.  We were…”

“Bobby!”
Errol called out as he entered the shipping.  “You're back in Paris.  How great
it is to see you.”

“It’s
good to see you, too,” Bobby said.

“Taryn
told me you’d be in town, but she didn’t know when you’d arrive.”

“Red
eye.  Got in this morning.”

While
they chatted amiably about Bobby’s return to Paris, I was suddenly panicked. 
Rial was sure to follow closely behind Errol.  Any moment now he’d come in and
see Bobby, and then what?

“You
should have let me know what flight you’d be on.  I would have picked you up at
the airport.”

“Don’t
worry about it.  I rented a car.  A lot simpler for everyone.”

As
I expected, Rial walked in.  One of the female employees, obviously enamored
with him, escorted him into the shipping area.  Rial was all smiles as he spoke
to the young woman, but the smile quickly disappeared when he spotted Bobby.

Time
stopped and I held my breath as the two men I loved came face to face.  The
explosive reaction I’d anticipated never came.  Instead, Rial came up beside me
and put a possessive arm around my waist.

“I’m
so proud of you, honey,” Rial said.  “You deserve every ounce of success you
get.  This is a real triumph.”

Bobby
came closer and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.  “I always knew you had it
in you.  You're a true talent.  Just look at you; I leave you for a few months
and I return to find you successful in your endeavors, but also more beautiful
than ever.”  He leaned in to kiss me.

“Enough
with the congratulations,” Rial spat as he pulled me away before Bobby’s lips
could touch me.

“Lilly,”
Bobby called out.  “Don’t you want to see who I brought with me from New York?”

“Yes,
of course,” I said, even as Rial continued to pull me away.

“Rial,”
Bobby went on.  “Maybe you’d like to see who I brought also.  I think you might
be very interested.”

“I
don’t see why I would be interested in meeting any of your acquaintances.”

“I
do.  If you have the guts to sit down and talk to this person, maybe you’ll
leave Lilly alone once and for all.”

Rial
stopped dead in his tracks and turned a ferocious glare at Bobby.

Bobby’s
eyes were on me, imploring.  “He’s out at the front desk.  All you have to do
is come with me and see him.” 

Errol’s
phone beeped and he looked at me after he’d checked his text.  “That was from
the receptionist.  I agree with Bobby, Lilly.  I think you should go down and
see.”

“Will
somebody please tell me who this damned mystery visitor is already,” Rial said.

Bobby
looked straight at me.  “It’s your father, Lilly.”

Chapter 7

I
was stunned and didn’t know what to say, and
by the look on Rial’s face, he was just as stunned as I was, but his clenched
jaw told me he was also angry.  The bitterness he harbored for my father was
just as intense as ever.  His fingers twitched as if readying themselves to
throttle the man who’d killed his father, who’d left him an orphan, and who’d
turned his back on him.

“Lilly,”
Bobby said.  “Are you coming?”

“My
father?  Here?  But…”

“That’s
what I’ve been telling you.”

Yes,
that’s what he’d been telling me, but a part of me denied the possibility.  Now
the reality of it all hit me with such force, I reached out to the wall to keep
my balance, but Rial took a firm grip of me and held me steady.

“He’s
been dead for so long,” I murmured. “I mean, as far as I knew he was dead.  The
thought of seeing him, now… after all these years… I…  What do I say to him? 
He tore my childhood love away from me.  He abandoned me.  He left me at that
convent and never even bothered coming around to see me, and now…  Now what
does he expect from me?  Love?  Gratitude?  Forgiveness?”

“You
can ask him all the questions you’ve been asking yourself these past years. 
Just come see him and finally put all those questions to rest.  We’ll all be
there with you.  If at any moment you want to put an end to the meeting, I’ll
take him away.”  Bobby took a step through the threshold and looked at me,
afraid I might refuse him.

Of
course I couldn’t refuse him.  After all these years, the love I’d always had
for the man who had raise me as a little girl still remained.  I’d always loved
him, and learning that he was now still alive…  I was confused, and angry, and
frustrated, but I still loved him.

“There
are a few questions I want answered, too,” Rial said as he pulled me in the
direction Bobby took.  “Like why he split us up.  Why he made you a prisoner in
your own home.”

Lowering
my head, I let Rial guide me behind Bobby, but when we arrived at the lobby, it
was empty.

“The
bastard,” Rial spat.  “Don’t tell me he just ran out on you again.”

“No,”
Bobby said.  “He has to be here somewhere.  He desperately wanted to see
Lilly.”

Errol
came in behind us.

“He’s
gone,” I muttered.  I felt empty and hollow at the thought of nearly seeing
him, only to have him disappear again.

“Don’t
worry.  My receptionist probably took him to my private lounge,” Errol said as
he took the hall to the left.

Rial
looked sidelong at me, his grip on my arm tight and secure as he followed
Errol.  “Let’s get this reunion over with.  I want you to hear what he has to
say to you.  I want you to learn the truth about your father, and most of all,
I want you to remember who you really are, Lilly.”

“Who
I really am?”

The
question just hung there in the air.  How much more could there be to my
forgotten past?  We had already discussed so much of it, it was difficult to
fathom there could be more.

At
the door to the private lounge Bobby and Errol stepped aside letting Rial and
me enter.  The large and airy room boasted several leather covered lounge
chairs, two elegant velvet upholstered sofas, a large wrought iron coffee table
with a glass tabletop and a huge flat screen television hung near the bar.

To
the left was a small kitchenette with sparkling, modern appliances and at the
end of the small granite top counter stood a man, his face buried in one of
Errol’s cooking magazines.

“It’s
a very comfortable and relaxing setting,” Errol said.  “I often come here to
relax.”

His
words were lost on me as I stared at the old man who shifted uncomfortably from
one leg to the other, and as he slowly lowered the magazine, I held my breath.

He
was older than I had expected, or perhaps time had simply been unkind to him. 
I took a step inside the lounge and took a better look.  I knew his face.  I’d
seen him before; not as a child, but as a woman.  I’d known him all my life.

“You?”
I whispered.

His
grin was wan and unsure, and his eyes held a wealth of pain and regret.

I
looked back at Bobby and he nodded.  “It’s him,” he said.

“But,”
I said looking back at the older man.  “You're the gardener... at the convent…
How can you…?”

“What
are you talking about?” Rial said.

I
didn’t know what to make of the old man.  “This man.  He’s been coming to the
convent regularly for years.  He tended the gardens.”  My heart softened as I
remembered the years I’d known him and the many hours I’d spent learning from
him.  “He taught me so much about vegetables and herbs and…”  My voice trailed
off as tears streamed down my cheeks.

The
room was tense and silent for a long moment.

“All
this time…” I whispered.

“I
had to find some way of seeing you without arousing suspicion,” the old man
finally said.

“Are
you really my…?”

“Your
father?  Yes.  I really am.”

I
tried to match his old face with the man I so vaguely remembered.  He took a
step toward me, his smile tentative, but loving.  For a moment I remembered
that smile, remembered the love that came with it, and remembered the happiness
that I’d once felt.

“I
didn’t want you to be completely alone,” he said, his wrinkled old hands
shaking as he set the magazine on the counter.  “And, of course, I selfishly
needed to see you.  I wanted to witness your coming of age, and Lilly, what a
beautiful woman you’ve become.”

“Yeah,
yeah,” Rial said from behind me.  “That’s all good and well, old man, but…”

“Rial,”
Errol shouted.  “Show some respect.  If Anthony Cooke came all this way to see
his daughter and to make amends, the least you can do is let him have his say.”

“Fine,”
Rial grunted.  “Say what you have to say, old man.”

“I
understand your anger, Rial.  I know how things must look to you.”

“Yeah. 
It looks like you went nuts and locked up your only daughter until you drove
her insane.”

Eugene
nodded and looked at the floor, a soft and sad chuckle rumbling from his
chest.  “Yes, I was afraid you might still be angry about all that.  That’s
part of the reason I avoided contacting you all these years.”  He looked to
me.  “That and the fear of reawakening the deep depression that had haunted you
for so long.”

“But
why, Dad?” I muttered.  My hands flinched and I longed to run to him, to be in
his arms, but my legs refused to carry me to him.

“It’s
complicated, but you have to believe I had your best interest at heart.”

“She
doesn’t have to believe anything you say,” Rial said.  “You’ve told so many
lies, fabricated so many stories.  Why don’t you stop the bullshit and just
come out and tell her the real reason?  You couldn’t stand to see her happy
with me, could you?  You couldn’t stand the thought of her loving the son of
the man you drove to his death.  You had to keep us…”

“It
was to protect her,” Eugene shouted, showing his anger and frustration for the
first time.  “I did it all to protect you, Lilly, and you, too, Rial.”

“Protect
me from what?” I said.

He
pulled in a long and tired breath, and glanced at Errol and Rial.

“Why
don’t you come and sit down,” Errol offered as he gestured toward the sofas.

We
all moved to the sofas and sat looking at one another, everyone except Rial who
remained standing stiff and cold.

“I
know it’s futile to ask for your forgiveness, Errol, Rial, but you have to know
that I have profound regrets where your father is concerned.”

“Cry
me a river,” Rial said as he glanced up at the ceiling, biting back the tears
for the father he’d lost.

“Rial,”
Errol snapped.  “I know you're angry and bitter about the whole thing, and so
am I, but I want to know the whole story.  Don’t you?”

Clenching
his jaw, Rial clasped his hands before him and shot a hard glare at my father.

Eugene
looked at Errol, admiration and pride glistening in his eyes.  “It’s been such
a very long time since I last saw you, Errol.  For years I’ve been hearing
about the famed Errol King and couldn’t imagine it was the same Errol who was
lost and presumed dead.  You’ve made a good life for yourself.”

Errol
nodded.

“And
Rial… I wish I could have done more for you, but…  I was in no shape to handle
what had happened to your father, to Lilly and to you.  After your father
passed away I tried to make a success of the company we’d started, but it
continued to falter, continued to fail and I continued to pour money into it.
Stupid.  I was stupid and stubborn, so sure I could turn the company around,
but I only fell deeper and deeper into debt.  When the banks no longer wanted
to finance my failing venture, I turned to loan sharks… anyone who would loan
me the money I needed.”

“Dad,
you didn’t,” I said in disbelief.

“Your
father was my best friend; a good man and a good friend, and I miss him dearly…
to this day.  I was greedy, I was foolish and I paid a heavy price for it.”

“Yeah. 
So did we,” Rial said.

“What
happened?” Errol said.

Eugene
shook his head and stood, his trembling hands coming together behind his back
as he walked around the coffee table then paced before us.  “The sales never
materialized, the money never came in and I finally had to admit defeat.  But,
of course, the creditors, legitimate and otherwise, wanted their money back,
plus astronomical interest.  Oh, the banks and financial institutions were able
to recoup most of the money I owed them when I abandoned the chateau and the
contents were sold to auction, but the loan sharks…  No, the mafia didn’t take
my failure to repay them very well.”  Grief stricken, he looked to us, his gaze
stopping on me.

“They
threatened to hurt my dear Lilly, and I couldn’t let that happen.  I had to
hide you away, you understand?  I had to.”

“So
it wasn’t just to keep me away from Rial?”

“I
had to keep you away from Rial, but not for the reasons you think.  The mafia
had a few guys following him around.  One day, they followed him to your
school.  Fortunately, they weren’t able to snatch you that day, but I couldn’t
risk another attempt, so I kept you at home.  You understand that I had to,
don’t you?”

His
eyes implored my understanding.  I nodded, though my understanding of the
situation was limited.  A part of me couldn’t help but believe there could have
been another way.

“While
you were in the convent, safe, secure, well taken care of, I went into hiding
then slowly began appearing at the convent to check up on you.  As the years
passed and the danger seemed to have lifted, I spent more and more time there…
with you.  I cherish those moments, Lilly, teaching you what I could about
gardening and the importance of herbs and freshness, and I’m happy to see it
paid off.”  He chuckled softly.  “You're more of a success than I ever dreamed
I’d be.  Look at you… and you're still so young, with so much ahead of you.”

“If
you went into hiding, and you’ve been sneaking around keeping an eye on Lilly,”
Rial said, breaking the tender moment, “how did Bobby find you in the States?”

“Yes,
Dad.  What were you doing in New York?”

He
pressed a wan smile.  “A new venture.  A few years ago I met with someone from
a mining company and we started to work together.  I’ve been going back to New
York to meet with him every once in a while… you know, to see how we’re doing. 
I had to start over, Lilly.  I had to do something to make a life for myself…
for you.”

“Okay,”
Rial said.  “So you didn’t heartlessly abandon Lilly, but what about me?” 
There was something sad and lost in the question.  “I was like a son to you
those years my father and I spent at the chateau, yet you never checked up on
me after you kicked me out.  You just left me to fend for myself.”

“I
considered contacting you many times over the years, but I knew how angry you
were, and I knew you wouldn’t take kindly to seeing me again.  I did my best to
help you when I could, like making the acquisition of the chateau possible for
you.  You have no idea how pleased I was when you purchased it.  But beyond
that, I had to risk your anger and hatred of me in order to protect you.”

He
looked from Rial to me.  “You see, the mafia doesn’t care who gets in their
way.  When they want their money, they take any means possible, and the means
they’d found was through you. They watched you, hoping they could find me, find
Lilly…through you.”

“And
the engagement,” Bobby said.  “Is that real?”

“Absolutely.”

I
glanced at Rial and smiled, his own relieved smile reflected back at me, but
when I caught sight of Bobby, my heart did a somersault.  He was clearly
disappointed by my father’s answer and by my reaction to it.  I wanted to reach
out and wipe the sadness from his eyes, to kiss the pain away.

Truth
was, despite my engagement to Rial, I still had feelings for Bobby.