She looks like me?
After shoving the receipt beneath the register tray, Vicki walked around the counter and placed trembling fingers on the soon-to-be-bride's back as she guided her to the exit. "It's a gorgeous gown, and you'll be an even more gorgeous bride."
Vicki managed to remain upright through the parting pleasantries until the moment the door latched shut. Her chest constricted, and she grabbed for a counter and doubled over, gasping for air. It couldn't be. Her baby had died. It was why she'd left town years ago. Right?
"Josie, I have to go," she called to her store manager, as she fumbled for her phone and checked her bag for keys.
"Sure. You're white as a ghost," Josie answered, as she glanced at Vicki from behind a pouf of white lace she'd been steaming. "Hope everything is okay. Can I do something to help?"
"No, thank you."
The phone vibrated again. Get over here, now.
On my way. Stall him.
She ran out the door.
Her brother, John Morgan, was engaged to Alice Collins, Colt's little sister. Vicki swallowed as she fumbled to get her keys. Her father, Mitch Morgan’s fingerprints were all over this. Her father had been the only person with her the day she found out her own daughter died, and he had always intended her to help Morgan Enterprises succeed.
His pressure to date one of his future acquisitions was why she let her family believe her to be dead.
How did Colt Collins get involved in this? And why would he have her baby?
She had a pain in her chest as she dropped the keys onto the ground. She fell to her knees to pick them up.
Her mind swirled. Alice had mentioned to her Colt was leaving his service with the Marines soon. She hadn't mentioned a child. Vicki's gaze clouded.
She brushed her knees then ran in the parking lot.
Had Colt stolen their daughter? Images of the past all collided in her head, where nothing made sense. This was too much to believe, considering how things ended between them. She hadn't told him she was pregnant. Then, the day of her baby's birth, she'd run and disappeared. Colt had been at boot camp then. He couldn't have taken her baby. She needed to breathe. Vicki ran to her Lexus SUV parked behind in the lot.
Her heart raced, and she fumbled with her keys as she tried to get them into the lock, but she succeeded and jumped into the driver's seat. Tugging at her ear, she started the engine and waited for someone in the next spot to close a car door. Her skin prickled with unease.
Finally, she drove out of the back gate.
One fact repeated itself over and over in her brain as she stared at the red light. Her father had been the one with her at the hospital the day she gave birth then lost her baby.
Everyone in the House of Morgan had one person to blame, including her.
Her adrenaline spiked, but she worked out the situation. The Marines didn't let out cadets during advanced training to be an officer and they didn't let them return with infants, but Mitch Morgan had specific ideals on how he could profit on her life, like she was a business deal.
She nodded to herself. This was logical. Something else happened, and the foul taste in her mouth reeked of a Morgan trick.
Her heavy stomach refused to accept this. Her baby being alive changed everything. Cocking her head to the side of the road, she saw sunshine that beamed onto the street in front of her. What if what John texted was true and her daughter lived? Her hand flew to her chest, like she could hold in the hope growing there.
Like the humidity in Miami, the sensation pressed through faster than lightning in her skin.
Someone walked across the street, and Vicki slammed on the brakes. She'd almost missed the red light. Lowering her forehead to the steering wheel, she took a deep breath and waited for the dizziness to abate and her thoughts to clear. She inhaled deeply. She'd been so stupid.
The light turned green and she continued on. Touching her mother's necklace around her neck helped steady her. Vicki shook off the powerful fear and turned down the last street. Colt had been the most honest man she'd ever known. He was nothing like the men who wished to impress the House of Morgan, her father's way to say "family."
After driving well over the speed limit, she finally parked in John's driveway and fixed her gray floral skirt and pink blouse. She stepped out into the pressing, never-ending heat, and took a deep breath to stop her stomach from flipping.
She massaged her throat and stared at the white door. Then she gazed into the front yard. Colt's old blue pickup truck and a Marines license plate made her knees buckle. He was here. Breathlessly, she told herself there was a reason, but it didn't matter.
Her high heels clinked on the pavement of the driveway. She tried to not believe. Her baby was dead. She shouldn't let her heart race so fast. Everything was a probably a misunderstanding and wishing on her part.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she battled to steady her racing pulse. She finally pressed the doorbell and waited for someone to open. Questions flew through her head. What would her baby look like? She must have her blonde hair for John to recognize her. Perhaps her eyes too?
Seeing with her own eyes her baby being alive was all that mattered, as her foot tapped against the stoop and she heard Alice's voice inside.
Vicki stared at the ground, forced herself to inhale and exhale, but her hands twitched at her side. The lock clicked and Vicki waited. A memory flashed to the day at the hospital. Her father hadn't said anything when the nurse told her, except he said everything was as it should be.
Her breath hitched as the door opened. Mitch Morgan's crimes grew if he truly did this.
Heaviness spread down her spine and pressed against her heart.
The doors opened, and she hesitated. Vicki rubbed her forearms and fought the chill spreading through her body. Alice smiled at her and opened the door wider. "Hello. We weren't expecting you, Vicki."
She gazed into Colt's brown eyes. Her childhood crush's face lost its color, and the tension in her body lessened. For four weeks, Colt had been hers, and her mouth fell open slightly. The Marines had transformed him from sexy, cute boy to hard-bodied, muscular man. Those strong arms, wide shoulders, and deliciously sexy body were all new. But the coldness he stared back at her with kept her silent.
Alice called out, "John, Vicki's here."
She then walked backward and went to the bedroom.
Vicki couldn't breathe. She did a double take. Colt wouldn't lie. Her father had always lied. What happened? And where was her baby?
She swallowed, and her gaze went to bedroom door.
John stood in the kitchen with a tray and coughed for her attention. She turned toward him, but she was lightheaded. Her heart cracked open. The air in the room held something, and she was in the right place. Her eyes met her brother's stare, and she asked, "Where is she?"