Ethan’s ex-fiancée checked her nails before glaring at him. “Look, I’m really busy right now.”
“You knew I was coming for the last of my stuff,” he said. “I gave you a heads-up.”
He walked into his old apartment, forcing her to step out of the way. Feeling awkward, Lily followed him inside. As she passed the woman eyeing her from beneath thick fake eyelashes, Lily couldn’t help but notice the silk robe wrapped around her narrow waist. She was no longer pregnant.
“I didn’t know you’d be bringing someone with you,” Julia said to Ethan. She scrutinized Lily’s outfit until she spotted Molly. “Or a freaking dog. This is exotic hardwood flooring. I don’t want nail scratches all over it.”
Molly seemed to sense she was being talked about, so she growled. Lily scooped her up, thinking the last thing they needed was for Julia to kick them out.
Ethan ignored his ex. “Where’s my stuff?”
“Let me guess. It’s probably all work-related.” She leaned in close to Lily. “You’re new, so let me fill you in on a little secret. You’re still in the honeymoon phase. He’ll wine and dine you, promise you the moon. But one day soon, it will be a canceled dinner here, a ‘Sorry, I’m working late’ there. Suddenly, you’re eating alone every night and sleeping by yourself. Even when he’s there, it will be like talking to a piece of furniture.”
Hostility oozed like venom from every word out of her mouth. Her body was rigid and tensed beneath that silk robe, much like a coiled snake about to bite.
“I’m kind of in a hurry,” Ethan said like he was immune to that venom by now.
Julia acted like she didn’t hear and threw a casual arm around Lily’s neck like they were buds now. “Take it from me, honey. Get out before it’s too late. I’m much happier now that I found someone who will actually spend time with me, who is interested in me and my day.”
A vibration shook Lily’s chest as Molly growled, eyeing the woman. I’m gonna bite that arm clean off.
Lily flicked Julia’s arm away. “That’s the difference between you and me. I wouldn’t have spent my nights alone. I would have been by his side, helping him. Love is a two-way street.”
Julia snorted before her gaze slid over to Ethan. She jerked her head toward the hallway. “All your crap is in the spare room. Hurry up.” When he appeared uncertain, she rolled her eyes. “It’s all clear. He’s at his grandparents’ house.”
Obviously eager to be out of there, Ethan spun on his heel and marched down the hall. Lily followed, passing far too many rooms for an apartment—more than her full-sized home had. As they reached the last door, he came to a sudden stop. She ran into his back, but he barely flinched.
Gripping the handle, he turned it slowly and pushed the door open. However, he just stood at the threshold like he wasn’t sure he wanted to go in. They’d come all that way. Their lives literally depended on it. An innocent man’s freedom hung in the balance. Even so, he hesitated. Finally, reaching out to the wall, he flicked on the light.
A crib stood in the corner, made up with blue blankets and a big fuzzy teddy bear. Woodland animals dangled above it from a mobile. Posh furniture filled up the rest of the room: a cozy rocker, a nappy changing table, and a chest of drawers that looked to be of better quality than anything in Lily’s house.
As though pushing against some unseen force, Ethan finally walked inside and headed straight for the closet. While he rifled through it, she set Molly down. The dog’s nose went into overdrive, taking in all the unfamiliar scents. The room smelled of baby: a combination of sweet, milky spit-up and a hint of dirty nappies.
Lily picked up the stuffed bear and stroked its ridiculously soft fur. After a moment, she could feel Ethan watching her. When she turned to face him, his focus flitted around the room before settling on his feet.
“I suppose you’re wondering about this.”
“Your mum kind of let it spill already.”
A million questions filled her mouth. Why are you leaving if you have a baby here? If you want a family so badly, then what about this one? There was always shared custody.
However, she bit her lip to hold them all back because his shoulders slumped like the life had gone out of him. He took the bear from her and held it to his chest. It was clear he wanted nothing more than to stay.
“When she told me she was pregnant, starting a family had been the furthest thing from my mind. I was working my ass off all day at work and then poring through old Phantom case files half the night. And until then, I’d been so busy aiming for a life of sports cars and champagne that I hadn’t even considered kids fitting into all of it. Then she threw a positive pregnancy test on my desk in front of me.”
Her mouth twisted into a sad smile. “I bet that put a kink in your plans. Car seats and baby spit-up don’t look good in a BMW.”
“I wouldn’t have thought so either, but in that instant, it was like a lifetime of memories yet to be made filled an emptiness I didn’t even know was there.” He smiled down at the bear in his hands. “I treasured my childhood. I looked forward to having that feeling again, to building memories with my own family. The Christmas traditions, Easter egg hunts. I imagined coaching soccer games or watching ballet recitals.”
“So why not stay and build those memories?”
He set the stuffed animal down and backed away. “Because apparently she prefers to build those memories with the child’s real father.”
Her mouth fell open, and she covered it with a hand. Her nose tingled with oncoming tears. There was so much to unpack, so much she wanted to say to him, but nothing felt adequate.
All she could say was, “Oh.”
“I was crushed. And once I knew that happiness, that anticipation, I couldn’t go back to my empty goals of status and wealth. I wanted a family. And I wished to be close to the family I had left, to know my niece or nephew, to never miss another moment.”
Finally, the last piece clicked into place, and she regretted ever doubting him. “That’s why you moved to San Francisco. Not because you lost your job or were ridiculed.”
He nodded. “The firing-slash-quitting was a blessing in disguise. It allowed me to let go of the anchor keeping me in this perfect life that had become so much bigger than me, something I could never live up to even if I worked my whole life. After I left my job, Julia told me I wasn’t the father and kicked me out, and I’d officially lost it all.”
“I’m sorry.” She caressed his stubbled cheek and locked gazes with him. “I know you’ll get your own family one day.”
“I hope you’re right.” His eyes drifted over to the crib. “If it had been a girl, I thought ‘Molly’ would have been a nice name.”
At the sound of her name, Molly’s ears perked. She trotted up to his feet. Her tail slapped the exotic hardwood floor until he bent down to give her chest a scratch. As Lily watched him, she recalled how quiet he’d become when he named the puppy. In fact, there’d been little signs all along.
He cleared his throat and rolled his shoulders as though he could literally feel the weight of their conversation press down on them. Turning to the closet, he picked up a box containing a desk lamp, several coffee mugs, and a few other office-related items.
He frowned at it all, a sneer crossing his handsome face. “Julia was right. It’s all work stuff.” He held it out to her. “Do you mind taking this one?”
She took it, and he grabbed the other box from the closet floor. He beelined it out of the room like a swimmer rising to the surface for air, Molly hot on his heels.
Lily followed them down the hall, past the opulent kitchen with marble countertops and stainless steel appliances, to a dining room with a twelve-seat table. They plopped their boxes down and began rifling through them, plucking things out and laying them on the table.
“What are we looking for?” Lily asked.
“A USB stick, but I assume it will still be in some kind of package or envelope.”
Footsteps scuffed against the floor behind them. Back in Phantom mode, they wheeled around like they’d been cornered.
Julia glowered at them from the kitchen. “What do you think you’re doing? You’re going to scuff the table’s finish.”
Ethan turned back to his search. “I want to make sure I’ve got everything.”
“What? Do you think I’m going to steal your stapler?” She picked the stapler up before tossing it back down with complete disregard to the finish. “Can’t you do this somewhere else?”
“No. I need to be sure it’s here.”
She crossed her arms. “Be sure what’s here?”
“Something that means life or death,” he snapped.
“Are you telling me you had something dangerous hidden here? In my home, with my child sleeping in the same room?”
“I didn’t hide it. I just didn’t realize I had it until recently. It’s for the case.”
“The case. You still can’t let it go …”
As they squabbled, Lily backed away, giving them some space. Or, rather, giving herself a reprieve. She found Molly standing next to a yellow wet patch on the white rug in the sitting room. The dog’s tongue lolled out, and she had a self-satisfied curl to the corners of her mouth.
Cringing, Lily looked over her shoulder, but Julia was too busy glowering at her ex to notice. Picking the dog up, she casually walked away from the wet spot.
“Good girl, Molly. I’m glad to know it’s nothing personal when you do it to me.”
Behind her, Julia groaned dramatically and threw her hands into the air before she continued to spit insults in Ethan’s face.
Lily eyed the pup. “Or maybe it is personal. Should I be worried?”
She drifted closer to the sitting-room window and swept the floor-length curtains aside. It was a sliding glass door that led onto a spacious balcony.
Good, she thought. I could use some fresh air.
Opening the door, she stepped out. The view’s magnificence was on par with the rest of the apartment. Below her stretched the road they’d come in on, lined with leafy green trees lit up by spotlights. There were no buildings on the other side of the street, nothing to block the city skyline.
She leaned on the rail and watched a couple of cars drive by. The next slowed as it approached the building and pulled into a free space along the sidewalk. She almost glanced away, but something caught her eye. A patch of color on the bumper glowed beneath the streetlight: purple.
Scrambling away from the rail, she clutched Molly to her chest and ducked back inside. She rejoined Ethan just as he held up a USB.
“Is that it?” Lily asked.
He clutched it and gave his fist a little victory pump. “Yes.”
“Good, because we need to go.” She set the puppy down and started throwing office supplies back into the boxes. “Now.”
Without hesitating, he followed her cue, hands moving in a blur. “What’s wrong?”
“A black car pulled up in front of the building. It has a purple sticker on the bumper.”
“Are you sure it’s the same one from your pictures?”
“No, but do you want to take the chance?” She picked up a box.
His mouth hardened into a firm line. “Come on. We’ll take the back way out.”
Julia fanned herself with a manicured hand. “Oh, my God, what have you brought into my home? You want to throw your life away for that case? By all means, go ahead. I’ll send flowers to your funeral. But I’ve had enough of all that. Get the hell out of my house and out of my life.” She pointed at the door.
“It will be my pleasure,” he said with sincerity.
Taking the other box, he whistled for Molly and made for the door. Julia stormed ahead and flung it open. Lily wasted no time getting out, but as Ethan crossed the threshold, he paused like his shoe had stuck to the floor.
He pinched the bridge of his nose in a “Give me strength” kind of way, then he turned back to Julia. “Are you going to be okay?”
She pulled her robe tighter around her and crossed her arms, but her previous outrage had faded. “I’ll be fine. I’ll call the cops once you’re gone.”
“Do me a favor and leave my name out of it. At least until we do something with this.” He patted his pocket where the USB hid. “I don’t want to risk getting a dirty cop involved.”
“I’ll say I saw some creep hanging around the building.”
He nodded and turned to leave, but Julia took a step into the hall after him.
“Wait. You’ll need somewhere safe to stay. There’s always my family’s townhouse. They’re in Europe right now, so it’s empty.”
Her tone was still a little frosty, but it sounded put-on now. Lily wondered how many years they’d been together. Broken up or not, you don’t forget those feelings. Julia obviously still cared about what happened to him. She couldn’t be all bad, after all.
Ethan shook his head. “I don’t want to drag your family into this.”
The last of her indifference slipped away. “Where will you go then?”
“I have a tent in my car. We’ll camp overnight outside the city, then head out tomorrow.”
“Good luck. And stay safe.”
“Thanks,” he said. “You too.”
She gave him a nod, then flicked her hair over her shoulder and strode back inside.
Lily followed Ethan down the hall. “So … should we tell her that Molly peed on her rug?”
He screeched to a halt, his frozen expression more scared than she’d ever seen it. He gaped at Molly, who tilted her head. What did I do?
Finally, he shook his head. “Over my dead body.”
And because Lily had met the woman, she knew he meant that literally.