Into the Fire - Leslie Kelly [75]
"Good morning, Lacey," said Nate's sister. "I hope you don't mind me showing up like this. I came to apologize. I truly didn't realize I was hurting you when I made that comment about J.T." Kelsey spoke in a rush, as if afraid Lacey was going to throw her out of the room before she could finish.
Lacey closed her office door, dropped her purse onto her desk, then looked at the little ones. "Your children?"
Kelsey nodded, smiling with pride as she introduced her daughter, Mulan, and her son, Ryan. "I found out I was pregnant with Ryan the month after we got back from China with Mulan," Kelsey admitted with a grin. "Two in diapers is a challenge."
Lacey couldn't help but smile at the little girl wrapped in her mother's arms. "They're beautiful."
"Thank you. Lacey, I really am sorry. I'm not sure what planet I've been on, but I had no idea your relationship with J.T. was some huge secret!"
Lacey leveled an even stare at the other woman. "Then why did you make such a big deal out of my secret to begin with?"
Kelsey looked confused. "I don't know what you mean."
"Earlier in the show," Lacey explained, "you talked about someone being a fraud, about having something to hide."
An amused smile spread across the other woman's face. "That had nothing to do with you and J.T. That was about Nate's secret—his article, which I'd read just before you arrived."
"You mean Nate didn't tell you about me and J.T.?"
Kelsey shook her head. "Of course not."
"I don't get it. If he didn't tell you, how did you know?"
"J.T. told me," Kelsey replied. Then, obviously seeing Lacey's sudden anger, she continued. "It must have been a month ago. I'd come to meet Nate for lunch. While I waited for him, I met J.T. in the lobby. He hit on me big time."
Lacey sighed. Yes, that sounded like J.T.
"I told him I was young enough to be his daughter."
"I'll bet he loved hearing that!"
Kelsey grinned. "He almost fainted. Then he informed me that his daughter, Lacey, was definitely younger. And that you worked for him at one of his magazines. His pride was obvious."
"Oh, my gosh," Lacey said slowly.
"I never thought twice about it. It was just a casual, passing conversation. When he talked so wistfully about you during the interview, I remembered it and assumed it to be common knowledge."
Lacey mused aloud. "He never imagined it would come back to haunt him later. He figured he could get away with bragging to a stranger." Then she remembered her last conversation with Nate. "Oh, God, what have I done?"
"Lacey, did you really think Nate had betrayed you to me?"
Placing her fingers over her mouth in horror, she nodded. "He gave me his word, and I didn't believe him."
Kelsey pursed her lips. "That's not so good."
Lacey nodded again. "He'll never forgive me."
"Sure he will," Kelsey replied with little-sister certainty. "Nate is a very forgiving kind of guy, particularly with people he loves."
"I don't know that he loves me at all," Lacey said. "I was awful to him—not only for not believing him—there's more to it than that. I think he feels I let him down."
A slow, confident smile curled across Kelsey's lips. Reaching into her diaper bag, she retrieved a manila envelope. "He loves you, Lacey. Nate left this in the studio the other night. I think you should read it."
Lacey took the envelope. "What is it?"
"It's his article. It just might have the answers you're looking for." The other woman stood. "By the way, I know Mulan's too young to be a flower girl, but I fully expect to be a bridesmaid. Purple is not my color—and I don't do taffeta."
Lacey stared in confusion as Kelsey walked away, giving her one last cheery wave. Once the other woman had gone, Lacey shut her office door, sat down behind her desk and began to read.
* * *
Nate took a road trip down to Ocean City the morning after