Cross My Heart by Carly Phillips Page A

knowing, too, that her time in Hawken’s Cove would define exactly what.
    Ten years ago, Lacey had left a life behind and hopped a bus for New York City with no idea what to expect there. Tomorrow she was about to go back to where it all began except this time, she knew exactly what awaited her. She tossed and turned for the rest of the night.
    The only thing that kept her from changing her mind was her parents. If she didn’t go back, nothing would be left of her family and their legacy. Nothing good, anyway. She owed it to them to take control of what was rightfully hers. She owed it to herself to finally put the past behind her by facing it, not running away.
    Even if that past included Ty.
    Â 
    T Y AWOKE with Lilly’s ugly mutt stretched out on top of him and the sun streaming in through the open window blinds in Lilly’s apartment. He hadn’t slept well but who could blame him? Between his smelly couch mate and Lilly’s revelation that there was someone special in her life, sleep had eluded him.
    It wasn’t like he’d expected her to become a nun. Hell he hadn’t been celibate, either. Nor had he come back to Lilly looking for a relationship of any kind. Yet when he thought of her with another guy, every protective instinct he possessed kicked into high gear. Those same instincts never took over when it came to other women, not even Gloria who he’d been sleeping with for the past few months. Yet those damn instincts were alive and well with Lilly, full-blown and making him crazy. Despite the fact that he had no right to feel anything at all.
    He’d helped set her on the path to this new life, but she’d opted to stay in it. To not come home for the past ten years. To stay out of touch, secluded and alone. The best thing for everyone involved was to bring her home, let her handle her personal affairs and then allow her to return to New York City. To her boyfriend, her business, her life. Maybe in settling Lilly’s past, he’d find a way to settle his own and move on. Because if seeing her again proved anything, it was that he needed to put her behind him, this time for good.
    He glanced toward her still closed bedroom door. Since he was up first, he showered and changed before letting himself think about his growling stomach.
    He glanced down at the mutt who’d followed him loyally around Lilly’s apartment, going so far as to push open the bathroom door that wouldn’t lock and lick his damp legs when he’d stepped out of the shower. “I wish I could feed you, but I don’t know where your food is.”
    â€œShe needs to go out first,” Lilly said, stepping out of her bedroom fully dressed.
    Ty cocked his head to one side. “I thought you were sleeping.”
    â€œI’ve been up since five. I showered and dressed before you dragged your lazy body out of bed at six-thirty.”
    So she’d heard him puttering around out here. “Have you eaten?” he asked.
    She shook her head. “You?”
    â€œNot yet.”
    â€œHow about you come with me to walk Digger and we’ll pick up something to eat while we’re out?” she suggested.
    â€œSounds like a plan.”
    She hooked Digger on a leash, grabbed a plastic bag from a kitchen drawer, and together they walked down the flights of stairs, onto the front stoop and out to the sidewalk. The sun was just rising over the tall buildings and a chill hovered in the air.
    Digger didn’t seem to mind. She took off at a run, tempered by Lilly’s hold on the leash, pausing only when she’d reached a small patch of dirt and a lone tree.
    Ty shook his head and laughed.
    â€œWhat can I say? She’s a creature of habit,” Lilly said. “And this is her favorite spot.”
    Once the dog had finished and Ty had taken the bag from Lilly to clean up and throw away, they took a more leisurely walk around the city. Everything was familiar to Lilly