Heat Vol. 5 (Heat: Master Chefs #5) (4 page)

Chapter 5

T
he phone rang just as Bobby dozed off. 
Fearful it’d awaken him I rushed to answer.  “Yes.”

“Lilly, honey.  I’m so happy to hear your voice.  How did things go?”

My heart jumped.  It was Rial. 

“How are you? How’s Bobby?”

“I’m doing well, Rial, and Bobby’s fine.  They stitched him up and now
he’s resting.”

“He’s at your place?”  His displeasure was all too evident.

“I wanted to check up on him and make sure he was all right.  After
all, he was wounded trying to help me.  It’s the least I owe him.  The wound
wasn’t quite as bad as we thought.  He should be good to go tomorrow.”

The line was silent for a long tense moment.

“Rial?”

“I don’t want you spending the night there with him.”

I glanced over at Bobby.  “Well, he’s resting comfortably now.  I guess
there would be no harm in leaving him to sleep for the night.  Do you want to
come over to get me?”

“No.”

I was stunned by the categorical refusal.

“Did you look outside?”

I glanced out the window.  “It’s a beautiful day out.  The sun should
be going down in an hour or so.”

“Not that.  Go look.  Do you see what’s waiting for you outside?” Rial
said.

Had he already sent the limo to pick me up?  I walked to the window and
looked down at the curb.  The limo wasn’t there.

“What am I supposed to be looking for?”

“Something that’s red and shining like an apple.”

A series of cars lined the curb, but a bright red sports car shined like
a ruby among common stones.

“Is that a…?”

“A little Mercedes two-seater.  It handles really nice.”

I smiled as my eyes danced over the car.  It certainly was a beautiful
little gem. “Rial! You don’t have to,” I said.

“After the ordeal you went through and me realizing how close I came to
losing you, Lilly, this car…it’s the least I can do so you can have the
confidence to be fully independent.  After this, I will teach you how to fight,
and get you a personal instructor. I’ll hire a bodyguard even, and…”

“Rial! Rial!” I laughed, happy to hear how much he cared about me and
loved me over the phone, but eager to stop his worrying.

“You read me well,” I said.  “Instead of coddling me after this ordeal,
like what my father did years ago and I became worse and worse, you want to
empower me, make me feel like I can take back some control over my life. Make
me feel that I have the freedom to go anywhere I want and not be imprisoned in
a room or kept hidden away in a convent like my father did.”

“I’m sorry for everything you went through, Lilly,” Rial said.  “Back
then and now.  I didn’t know about the kidnapping when you were a girl and
thought it was just your father keeping you away from me.  It was because he
wanted to protect you, and he did it the way he thought was best, only it made
you withdraw into yourself…the isolation, the fear.  Someone of your spirit,
your fire, you need the opposite.  You need to get out, to taste freedom, not hide…that’s
why the car…”

“Rial,” I said. “You understand me perfectly. I didn’t think you would,
but right now, I really need to get out, get away, feel the breeze through my
hair, and get the taste of freedom. I need to get out. I need to…”

“The keys are in your mailbox.  Hurry over.  I’m eager to see you, but enjoy
your car.”

“Okay.  I’ll be right there.”

As I hung up, Bobby stirred, but remained asleep.  Tormented, I
questioned the wisdom of leaving him alone.  What if he awoke in the middle of
the night, pained and disoriented?  What if he tried to get up and opened his
wound, or fumbled his way around my apartment and hurt himself even more?

I suddenly wished I could split myself in two.  I longed to stretch out
with Bobby and keep him warm and watch over him for the entire night, but I
missed Rial and my body tingle at the mere sound of his voice.  I could tell he
was worried about me still, and that he was deathly afraid of losing me again,
mentally, and psychologically.  Like the first time I was kidnapped by those
men.  I lost it, and tried to kill myself.

I took another look at Bobby. He seemed to be resting well enough,
after taking some of the pain medication the doctor had prescribed.  I left him
a quick note and the numbers of my neighbors, which he already knew, having
lived with me briefly at this apartment. 

My phone buzzed, and I looked down. Rial.

“Lilly, did I mentioned how much I love you? You are everything to me.
I need to see you are alright.”

My eyes filled with tears. Rial had spent most of his adult life
looking for me, never having stopped loving me since childhood. It was a
misunderstanding and lack of communication that caused him to blame my father
for my disappearance, but in the end, it was those men and the crime
organization they worked for that created the rift between our families and led
to our break up.  I had to make sure he understand it won’t happen again.

Maybe I could make a quick run to Rial’s and come back before Bobby
stirred.  After all, I had a brand new car of my own.

I grabbed my jacket and keys, and hurried out the door.  As promised, I
found the keys to the Mercedes in my mailbox and let out a little squeal of
delight.

Walking out to the curb, I couldn’t believe Rial would lavish such an
extravagant gift on me.  The car was perfect in every way; the lines were sexy
and aerodynamic, the interior was comfortable and elegant, and when I slipped
in the key and turned the ignition, the motor purred to life while the radio
played one of my favorite love songs, a song I’d fallen in love with so many
years ago.  Struck by the coincidence, I looked at the radio and realized it
was a CD playing; one that Rial had surely inserted himself.  He was so
thoughtful, and I was in heaven.

The drive out to the chateau was all too short behind the wheel of the
sporty little car that hugged the curves and sailed over the few bumps in the
road as smooth as could be.  I didn’t want the ride to end, but as I pulled up
to the gate and brought the car up the long drive to the main entrance, I was
suddenly eager to leave the new gift behind and find Rial.

I entered the chateau without knocking, a habit I’d acquired during my
time with Rial.  More than once he’d made it clear that I was to feel at home,
just as I had as a girl.

“Rial,” I called out.

“Hello, Mademoiselle Lilly,” the butler said as he rounded the corner. 
“
Milles excuses
.  I didn’t hear you ring.”

“I do apologize.  It’s my fault.  I barged in.  Do you know where Rial
is?”

“Monsieur Rial is out in the garden.  Would you like me to call him?”

“No.  That’s all right.  I’ll go out and find him. 
Merci
.”  I headed
straight to the French doors that led out the back and stepped out onto the
stone terrace.  In the distance I saw him, his face tilted up to the dangling
limbs of an enormous weeping willow.

Just as I was about to call out to him, I realized he was speaking to
someone.  The conversation seemed animated and amicable, and throughout the
murmurings I could hear the distinct sound of friendly laughter.  I couldn’t
imagine who he could be speaking to.

Errol had mentioned talking to the police, and I would imagine they
wanted to speak to Rial as well, but surely they weren’t out in the garden
discussing my ordeal… and certainly not in such lighthearted tones.

I took a step down towards the garden, then another, straining to catch
a glimpse of the mysterious visitor who now had Rial in stitches.  I couldn’t
remember ever seeing Rial laugh quite so cheerfully.

A few more steps and I was down at the garden level, the murmur of
their voices reaching me a little more clearly.  For a shocked moment I
listened as the visitor’s voice registered.

“Dad?” I whispered to myself then quickly shook my head.  It couldn’t
be.  Rial hated my father for all that had happened.  If anything, he probably
blamed him for my kidnapping as well.

But as I took a few more steps closer, my initial suspicions were
confirmed.  It was indeed my father who had Rial so completely engaged in a
lively conversation.

“I don’t know if you remember,” Eugene said, “but you actually used to
hate this garden.  You hated flowers and thought they weren’t very masculine.”

“That’s not so,” Rial said.

“Oh, maybe you didn’t hate the entire garden, but you definitely had an
aversion to the roses.”

“Ah, yes,” Rial said as if remembering a time long ago.  “The beautiful
blossoms with the distinctive scent and those unforgiving thorns.”

Eugene laughed as he stepped closer to the rose bushes and came into
view.  “Lilly had led you off on one of her wild goose chases, and you ended up
diving into the rose bushes thinking she was hiding there.”

“Needless to say, the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.”

“You were so scratched up, it took over an hour to clean you up and get
you bandaged up.”

I threw my hands over my mouth to stifle a girlish giggle.  I
remembered that day so perfectly.  I’d initially been thrilled that I’d managed
to throw Rial off my trail so easily, but had subsequently cried when I’d
realized just how hurt he was.

“And I never wanted to set foot in the garden again,” Rial said.

“Yep.”  Eugene shoved his hands deep in his pockets as he rocked on his
heels.  “That’s why I’m so surprised to see how magnificent this garden is. 
It’s almost identical to how I remember it, but even better.  You cleared a few
of the higher limbs on that tree allowing a lot more sunlight.  That’s genius. 
I’d never even thought of that.  All I did was gripe about the lack of sun.”

“I guess you had a lot of other things on your mind.  But, if you look
a little more closely, you’ll probably notice that there aren’t nearly as many
rose bushes as you had in the day.” 

Rial seemed in extraordinary good spirits and I was thrilled to see my
father was responsible for it.

Eugene patted Rial on the shoulder and looked at him with pride and
admiration.  “You did a great job here, Rial.  Really a great job.  When I had
to abandon the place and learned that it was just sitting empty, left to rot, I
feared it would never regain its glory.  If anything, you’ve made the chateau
even more comfortable and more lavish than before.  The front gate is
spectacular, the new coffered ceilings are quite handsome and the marble work
in the en suite is pure elegance.”

“Thank you.  I’m happy to see you approve of the few changes I’ve
made.”

“You have a startlingly accurate eye for details.  It’s amazing.  It’s
no wonder you became such a successful young man.  I knew you had it in you.” 
Eugene looked around and took in a long, fragrant breath.  “I have to admit,
I’m happy you were able to restore the maze.  You and Lilly spent so many hours
chasing each other around in there.”

“It’d become a dense jungle by the time I got my hands on the chateau,
but I was determined to have that maze back.  I had far too many fond memories
of it.  You know the very first time I saw Lilly was in the garden.  Right away
she sped off and ran to the maze, giggling and shouting ‘catch me if you can’
all the way.  Of course I thought she was childish, and since she was only
eight years old, I thought she was far too young.  I didn’t even entertain the
thought of ever having a relationship with her.  But then, there was something
so lively, so enticing about her, I found that I had no choice but to chase
after her.  I think I’ve been chasing after her ever since.”  Rial smiled and
coyly looked at my father.

“You're really in love with her, aren’t you?”

“I am, sir, even more than I ever thought I could be.”

“I thought whatever affection you might have had for her would fade
with time.  I almost wished it, for your sake, but I’m happy to see that love
is still alive.”

“It is, and that’s why I wanted to let you know just how strongly I
feel for Lilly.  The boyhood infatuation I may have had has grown into full-fledged
love and adoration.”  Rial slowly turned around, his hands aloft as if
embracing his surroundings.  “All this, it means nothing to me if Lilly isn’t
here to share it with me.  This chateau, the garden, the maze, it’s all for
her.  It’s always been for her.”  He returned to face Eugene.  “I asked you to
come here so that you could witness for yourself the success I’ve made of my
life, and the beauty and richness I’ve brought to my home, a home I want to
share with Lilly.  I wanted you to see what I can provide for her… the life of
a princess.”

“What are you saying, Rial?  Are you asking me for her hand in
marriage?”

“Our engagement was settled years ago and you’ve already promised me her
hand.  What I want now is your blessing.”

My father grasped his chest as he suddenly struggled for air.

“Eugene,” Rial said, alarmed.  “Are you okay?  What’s happening?”

“I’m fine.  I’m fine,” he said as he reached out to accept Rial’s
proffered hand.  “I’m sorry.  You caught me off guard.  I… I didn’t expect that
of you.”

“You had to know the subject of my marrying Lilly would come up.”

“Yes, but I didn’t think you would ask for my blessing.  To tell you
the truth, I thought you didn’t care less what I thought of this marriage. 
After all that has happened, all the suffering, the pain I caused you… I can’t
imagine you would…”

“I’ll admit that a few days ago, I didn’t care what you thought.  I was
angry and was only too pleased to openly blame everything on you.  But the fact
is, you’re the father of the woman I love, and she loves you.  Besides, I
realize now that there was more to the story that I knew at the time.”

Eugene shook his head.  “Yes, even more than I was aware of, it seems. 
To think that such devoted and trusted employees were behind the failure of my
company.  I should have never blamed your father for what happened.  I should
have never accused him of embezzlement.  I should have given him the benefit of
the doubt.  I should have…”