Chapter 21
Mac and Felicia explained who Faison was to Carly and Nikolas as quickly as they could.
“So, you’re saying that instead of dying on that boat, he’s alive and pretending to be Lucien’s uncle?” Carly asked, trying to clarify the details.
They nodded. “There’s just too many things about Lucien that don’t add up. I’m starting to think he really is Lucky,” Nikolas said quietly.
“But, I don’t see how that’s possible,” Mac said. “I saw the coroner’s report myself. The body that was found in his apartment matched Lucky’s dental records perfectly. It had to have been him!”
Luke thought for a moment. “Hey, Bubba, do you think I’d be able to see those records? Maybe your guys missed something.”
Mac looked at him hesitantly, and Felicia grabbed his arm. “Come on, Mac. It can’t hurt. Maybe he’ll see something they didn’t.”
He sighed. “Okay, Luke, I’ll see what I can do. But this is all I’m doing, so don’t start thinking about exhuming the body or anything!”
“Don’t worry, I don’t think it will come down to that. Just get me those records and we’ll go from there. I’ll check with Sonny tomorrow and see what he’s got.”
“Sonny? Since when is Sonny in on this?” Mac asked angrily.
Luke shrugged. “I just wanted to cover all the bases. There are things he can find out that you guys can’t, that’s all. Look, this is my son we’re talking about here. I can’t take any chances.”
“What can we do to help?” Nikolas asked, trying to change the subject before the two men started to trade punches.
“Just keep being his friends, and don’t let on that you’re not buying his new identity. We don’t know what we’re dealing with yet. Can you do that?”
They nodded.
Luke smiled. “Good. And keep trying to get information out of him. Any little thing will do. You never know what could end up being our big break.”
Carly’s phone rang. “Uh, just a second,” she said sheepishly as she answered it. “Yeah?”
“Carly, it’s Lucien. I hope you don’t mind me calling you. Is it a bad time?”
She smiled and looked up at Luke. “No, Lucien, it’s fine. How’d you get my number?” Everyone exchanged surprised looks and listened intently to her side of the conversation.
“Elizabeth. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, no problem. What do you need?”
“Well, she’s being released tonight, and I’m taking her out for dinner, but I’m not sure where to bring her. I found this really nice restaurant, but they don’t take reservations from you unless you have connections. I thought being a Cassidine would be enough, but I guess since they’ve never heard of me, it wasn’t. Do you have any suggestions?”
“What’s the place called?”
“I don’t know. There wasn’t a name anywhere.”
She smiled. “That must be the No-Name, then. They’re very exclusive, but you’re in luck. Jason is very connected, and since he’s my husband, so am I. I’ll call and make the reservation for you guys. What time?”
“Oh, Carly, thank you! I hope she likes it. I’m picking her up at 8:00, so why not make it for 8:30?”
“You got it. Have a good time, Lucien.” They said good-bye and she hung up, a huge grin on her face.
“Well, what was all that about?” Luke asked anxiously.
“Liz is being released tonight, and Lucien is taking her out to eat. Somehow, he managed to pick the same restaurant that Lucky and her went to on their first date. You still think this is all a big coincidence?” she asked.
Luke just shook his head. He still didn’t want to allow himself to believe that Lucien Cassidine was really his son.
~*~
Elizabeth hurried to get ready. It had taken longer than she expected to fill out all the paperwork at the hospital, and Lucien was supposed to pick her up in 20 minutes. She finally decided to wear the dress she wore on Valentine’s Day, hoping that it would help trigger his memory. She smiled at her reflection, remembering. For the first time since the fire, she was able to think about that day and smile, not cry.
She quickly did her hair and applied some make-up, and was finishing just as the doorbell rang. She rushed down the stairs, took a deep breath to collect herself, then opened the door. She gasped when she saw him standing there. He was in a nice suit, with his hair pulled back, giving it the illusion of being short again. If it wasn’t for the goatee, he would look exactly like Lucky used to. He smiled and handed her a rose, and her eyes teared up. It was white, not red or pink or yellow. White.
Lucien couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She looked absolutely gorgeous, like an angel. There was something familiar about her dress, but he couldn’t place it, and he was so entranced by her that he quickly forgot about it. He held out his arm. “Shall we go?”
Giggling, she slid her arm through his and they walked out to his car. He had borrowed Nikolas’s Jag for the evening.
“So, where did you decide to take us?” she asked, curious to see what he had picked.
“You’ll see. I just hope you like it.”
She smiled. “I’m sure I will. So, how did you convince Nikolas to let you drive his car? He’s very protective of it, you know.”
“I guess I just begged long enough,” he answered, grinning.
Liz laughed. “A Cassidine, begging? Well, I never thought I’d see the day!”
“Actually, you didn’t see it, since you weren’t there. See, we never beg when others are around, but since Nikolas is family, I figured it would be allowable. Anyway, it was important.” He looked at her and smiled, and she felt her stomach flutter. Pretending all night that he was a virtual stranger was going be much harder than she had anticipated. All she could think about when he smiled at her like that was how much she wanted to take him in her arms and kiss him.
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