Redemption by Lindsey Gray Read Free Book Online Page A

knew Becca would find her, but right now, she couldn’t bring her into the life she had made. Becca was the only person who knew almost everything there was to know about Lily. At times it was a tremendous relief to have her, although at others, it felt like she had placed an overwhelming burden on Becca. She felt selfish for having her in her life, but even the distance could not break the kind of bond the two of them shared.
    Lily knew she needed to put Becca’s mind at ease, so she queued up the web-cam and swept a stray piece of hair behind her ear as she began. She knew she wouldn’t be able to hide her emotions from someone who knew her so well, so she wouldn’t even try.
    “Hey sweetie, I was afraid you were going to reach through the screen and grab me if I didn’t respond soon. Stranger things have happened, you know?”
    Lily looked down at her hands, hopelessly intertwined. Her eyes dark pools, not from hunger, but from emotion.
    “You know me too well. It has been really rough here, especially today. I haven’t had a day like this since the day your mother died.”
    Lily’s breath caught in her throat.
    “Someone here, who I’d become close to, passed away today. I had nothing to do with it, mind you. A heart attack. Now, I feel I’ll be here even longer than I had ever expected. I’ve kind of found a new home away from home. It’s sort of effortless here, but I know I can’t exist in this symphony of darkness forever.
    I do miss you. It’s been way too long since we’ve seen each other. I will never forget how incredibly embarrassed I was when I looked into the audience and saw you in the crowd. I thought I was going to get the talking-to, but you were just supportive as always. If you could find me in Vegas, I know you could find me here. I need a little more time. Just know that I’m safe and I can always take care of myself.
    I think the temptation would be too great if I came back now. You don’t know how close I came to telling Ian everything. I wish I would have been able to see how he’d react. I wish you would have seen us in Boston, it was almost magical. I knew him for such a short time, but there was something so familiar about him. I felt so safe, too safe. I let down my guard and somehow fell in love, something I thought would never happen again. Not after Ryan.
    I know it’s been a long time and he’s gone now, but I can’t get him out of my head. I remember everything about the last night we spent together. I know you’ve heard the story a million times, so I won’t bore you with it. I guess I just want that again. I had it, a little, with Ian. But even though I love him, I couldn’t doom him to a life with me. It’s bad enough that you’ve been stuck with me all these years. I hope it hasn’t been too terrible for you.”
    She stroked her slender fingers through the hair that dangled past her shoulders. “There will be a funeral soon, in a few days I think. I’ll be kind of caught up in that for a while. I promise, we’ll see each other soon. I love you.”
    Lily blew a kiss before shutting off the web-cam. Dry sobs came hopelessly pouring out of her as she pressed the button to send the video on its way.

“Aent Swift, if you would please fasten your seat belt. We are about to make our final descent. Welcome to Boston.”
    Becca had stowed her things away and securely fastened her belt at least thirty minutes before the pilot had made his announcement. She was trying to work through the hundreds of scenarios swimming through her head. She was at last meeting Ian – Lily’s Ian. Possibly the man that could give Lily the happiness she truly deserved.
    How would Ian take the news?
    Would he even believe her?
    How much would he want to know?
    Could she really pull this off?
    Her nerves were visibly fraying. Boston was only the beginning of her journey. Would Ian be willing to go with her after he knew their secrets?
    Becca’s private plane landed at Logan