Righteous Obsession (22 page)

McGregor leaned against the door jamb and shook his
head.  “Mr. Crowley isn’t going to like this, Colin.”

“I don’t give a fuck what Steve likes or doesn’t!” 
Colin growled.  He returned to his room, packed his suitcases then went to
bed.  He was up by seven the next morning.  He hadn’t gotten much sleep.  He
just wanted to get to New Orleans and see Alethea.  He had a strong premonition
that if he waited until Unforgiven’s scheduled concert; it was going to be too
late for them.  He opened the opened the small square box he received by Fed Ex
a few days ago.  Nestled inside was the wedding ring Alethea had selected from
the designs his jeweler had sent him.  He turned the ring around on his finger,
admiring the craftsmanship and the way the gems caught the light.  It was 18K
gold eternity ring in a braided design with alternating diamonds and sapphires
around the band.  He hoped he still had a chance to give it to her.  He put it
in the pocket of his jacket, closed his suitcases and did a final check of the
room.  He opened his door, found McGregor and Liam and Liam’s bodyguard.  Colin
looked at him.  “And what do you think you’re doing?”

“Going to New Orleans with you.”

“I appreciate the offer, Liam, but I only reserved two
seats.”

“They sold the last two seats to me,” Liam replied. 
“Let’s not waste time arguing about it.”

Colin went and knocked loudly on Steve’s door. 
“Whoever the hell that is, it better be goddamn important!”  Steve yelled.  He
yanked open his door, looking blurry-eyed.  “Colin, what the hell?”  As his
vision came into better focus, he noticed Liam and McGregor standing behind
Colin.  “What are you guys up to?”

“We’re leaving for New Orleans, Steve,” Colin
announced.

“We’re going to be there in a couple of days.  What
the hell’s the rush?”

“It’s an emergency!”  Colin replied.  “We’ll see you
in a couple of days, Steve.”  He motioned to Liam and the others.  “Come on,
let’s haul ass!  We’ve got a plane to catch.”

“Colin!”  Steve yelled.

The three of them left the hotel and Colin flagged
down a taxi.  He threw the driver fifty bucks and told him it was his to keep
if he got them to O’Hare the fastest way possible.  The cab driver got them to
the airport in record time.  They picked up their tickets and found their
gate.  Although they only had a half-hour before boarding their plane by the
time they got through checking in, the wait seemed interminable to Colin.  They
had to sit separately on the plane.  Colin noticed all the three-piece business
suits and power suits as he was making his way to his seat.  He couldn’t help
thinking they must stick out like a sore thumbs!  Certainly nobody else had
waist-length hair or was dressed in ripped jeans!  Once the plane was in the
air, he stared moodily out the window, wondering how he was going to patch
things up with Alethea or even if he could.

Alethea sat on the window seat in her bedroom with her
arms wrapped around her knees and her cheek, resting on them as she stared out
her window at her mother’s formal rose garden.  There was a knock on her door. 
“Come in,” She said flatly.

Her mother, Louisa, peeked inside.  “Would you like
some company, darling?”

Alethea shrugged and replied indifferently, “I don’t
care.”

Louisa came in and sat down opposite her daughter. 
“Do you want to tell me what’s bothering you?”

“What makes you think anything’s bothering me?”

Louisa sighed.  “Darling, you haven’t been out of your
room since you arrived and your young man has called twice and you’ve refused
to speak to him.”

“He’s not my young man any longer!”  She snapped.  “So
he can screw around all he wants!”

“So, that’s what this is about.  What makes you think
Colin was unfaithful to you?”

“I guess it was those newly healed scratches on his
back!”  Alethea shook her head.  “Mom, I’m so angry with Colin I even
considered sleeping with another man just to spite him!”

“Did you ask him about it, darling?”

“No!  I was mad that if he’d started in with that
calm, reasonable tone of his I would have bashed his head in!”

“Alethea, it’s not fair not to allow him to explain
his side of things,” Louisa argued persuasively.

“Why should I listen to his excuses?  There is no
excuse for this!”

“Isn’t casual sex an unavoidable part of Colin’s
particular profession?”

“Mom, Colin and I were engaged!  He isn’t supposed to
be sleeping with another woman!”  Alethea snapped.  “Why do you keep defending
him?”

“I’m not, Alethea, but you can’t keep avoiding him and
hope he’ll just disappear.  You need to talk to him to make sure you aren’t
making a decision based solely on anger that you might regret later.”

“I know exactly what I’m doing, Mom!”

“I know you’re hurt and very angry, but you do need to
talk to Colin because you can’t make a rational decision if you don’t have all
the facts.  If you talk with him and you decide it’s over then I’ll feel
comfortable that you’ve made your decision with all the facts in front of you. 
Will you think about what I’ve said, Alethea?”

“I’ll think about it, Mom, but I can’t promise you
anything more than that,” Alethea conceded.

“That’s all I ask, darling.”  Louisa replied.  She got
up from the bed and kissed Alethea’s cheek.  “I’m making lunch.  Can I bring
you up a tray?”

“No, I’m not hungry right now.”

Louisa sighed as she left the room.  She feared
Alethea was about to make the biggest mistake of her life and there was no way
she could protect her from it.  The doorbell rang as she was coming down the
stairs.  “I’ll get it, Beau,” she called to her husband.

Colin looked up and swallowed nervously as the front
door opened.  “Mrs. Ford, I’m Colin Matthews.”

“Of course.  I’m Louisa Ford.”  She extended her arm. 
“Won’t you come in?”

“Thank you.”  He, Liam and McGregor came inside. 
“This is my brother, Liam, and my bodyguard, Buck McGregor.”

She nodded at them pleasantly.  “It’s nice to meet you
both.”

“Is Alethea home?  I haven’t had much luck reaching
her lately.”

“She’s upstairs in her room, Colin, but she doesn’t
want to see you.”

“Would you mind if I go up and talk to her?”

“No, I think you should.  Alethea’s room is at the end
of the hall.”

“Thank you,” Colin replied.  Both Liam and McGregor
wished him luck and he ran up the stairs and strode down the hall.  He stopped
in front of Alethea’s room, took a deep breath then knocked on her door. 
“Alethea?”

“Go away, Colin!”  Alethea yelled.  “In case it hasn’t
sunk in yet – we’re through!”

Alethea’s father, Beau, came out of his study and
joined his wife, Liam McGregor and Liam’s bodyguard where they were standing at
the foot of the stairs.  “What’s going on upstairs?”

Louisa smiled faintly and replied, “I think our
daughter’s met her match.  I think Colin’s as stubborn as she is.”

“Matthews doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of
changing Alethea’s mind,” Beau declared.

“Colin really loves Alethea and she loves him.  I
think they’ll be able to patch things up,” Liam spoke up.

“Young man, you are a romantic!”  Beau commented.

Colin knocked on Alethea’s door again.  “Alethea,
would you please open this door so I can talk to you.”  When he didn’t get a
response, he said loudly, “Okay, don’t, but I’m staying outside your door until
doomsday if necessary!”

Alethea suddenly yanked open her door and slapped
Colin so hard across his face that it reverberated downstairs.

“Sounds like he just lost round one,” Beau murmured.

“Jesus!”  Colin yelped, rubbing his jaw.  He saw the
open door and thought it a good sign.  He walked into the room and noticed
immediately its ultra-feminine décor, the canopied bed, the lace curtains
covering the windows and the comfortable pillows scattered around.  He sat down
on a cedar chest at the foot of her bed.  “Will you tell me why you’re so angry
at me?”

Alethea, who had retreated to the window seat again,
turned a disbelieving look in his direction then stormed over to him and yanked
up his T-shirt.  “Will you tell me how you got these?”  She countered angrily.

“I’m assuming you already know.”  He ducked his head for
a moment, trying to get his thoughts together then looked up at her again. 
“Alethea, I’m not going to lie to you.  This wasn’t something I planned to
happen, but when it started, I didn’t try to stop it either.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

Colin got up and tossed his hair over his shoulder. 
“I’m sorry for what happened.  I never meant to hurt you because I love you.”

“You certainly have a funny way of showing it!”

“I do love you, Alethea and I want to makes things
right between us again.”

“How considerate of you!”  She sneered and turned her
attention back to her mother’s rose garden.

Colin sighed.  This tactic was definitely not
working!  Maybe, it would have been smarter to wait until tomorrow to talk to
her.  “I’ll go. If you feel like talking more, I’m staying at the Royal
Orleans, room 712.  If I don’t see you, I’ll understand.”  He took out his key
to her home in Los Angeles and laid it on her dresser.  “If you decide it’s
over, you can mail me my key.”  He paused at the door and turned back to her. 
“I think you should know other than this one time; I haven’t slept with anybody
but you.”  He went back downstairs and motioned to Liam and McGregor then said
to Louisa, “Thank you for letting me to talk to Alethea.”

“Colin…” Louisa started to say, but he was already out
the door.  Liam and the two bodyguards hurried after him and they all got into
the taxi Colin had asked to wait for them.  She watched as the taxi pulled away
from the curb and was quickly out of sight.

“Well, I’m certainly glad Alethea had the sense to
send him packing!”  Beau remarked.

Louisa bit her lip as she fretted about the
situation.  She’d told Alethea that she’d accept whatever decision she’d made
after she’d talked with Colin, but she definitely felt that her daughter had
made the wrong one.

Colin, Liam and McGregor arrived back at the hotel. 
Colin hadn’t had much to say on the ride back.  Liam didn’t know what to say to
make his brother feel better.  “I’m sorry about Alethea,” he offered.

Colin shrugged and answered glumly, “I’ve got nobody
to blame but myself.”

“Maybe, if you give Alethea a little space,” Liam
suggested.  “Give her time to think things through without any pressure.  I
know she loves you.”

“Some things just can’t be repaired, Liam and I’m
afraid this is one of them.”

“I think you’re wrong,” Liam said “I think Alethea
will forgive if you give her time.”

“I think you’re being overly optimistic.”  He shook
his head. “Think I’ll lay down for awhile.  I didn’t get much sleep last night.” 
He looked at McGregor.  “You should get some rest, too.  You look like shit!”

McGregor smiled and nodded.  “Thanks for the
compliment, Colin.  Maybe I will if you’re going to stay in one place for a
while.”

“I am.”  Colin assured him.  He unlocked the door to
his room and went inside.  Liam stared after Colin in concern.  He’d never seen
him so down or known him to give up so easily.

Colin sprawled across the bed.  Something sharp dug
into his side and he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the
jeweler’s box.  He opened it and looked at the wedding ring he’d gotten for
Alethea.  He’d never have a chance to give it to her.  He got up, unlocked his
suitcase, stuck it inside and locked the suitcase again.  He took off his
jacket and left it on the floor and then flopped back down on the bed.  The
loss of Alethea hurt like hell – it tore at his gut!  He couldn’t bear to think
about having to go on without her.  The fact that the whole mess was due to his
stupidity made it even harder to deal with it.  He didn’t realize he’d fallen
asleep until a knock on his door woke him.  He considered ignoring it, but he
figured it was Liam who might worry if he didn’t answer his door.  He groggily
pulled himself to his feet.  “Coming,” he yelled as he heard a third knock.  He
opened his door and found Alethea standing outside.

“Can I come in, Colin?”

He shrugged.  “Sure.”  He stepped aside and she came
into the room.  “Sit down.”

Alethea sat down, stiffly, on the edge of the bed
while Colin leaned against the dresser.  “What can I do for you?”

“Colin, I wanted to come here because I don’t think
you understand how I’m feeling.  When I saw those scratches,” Alethea began to
sniffle.  “And imagined another woman lying in your arms, I felt like I’d been
stabbed through my heart!”  She broke down and began crying in earnest.

Colin sat down beside her and put his arms around
her.  “God!  I’m so sorry I’ve hurt you!  If there was a way I could take it
all back, I’d do it in a second!”  He kissed the top of her head.

“I don’t want to lose you,” Alethea said.  She buried
her face in Colin’s shoulder.

“And I don’t want to lose you either!”  He replied,
holding her tightly.  “I know I don’t deserve a second chance, but I love you
and the thought of having to live without you is agony!”

Alethea nodded then sat up, rubbing the tear stains
from her face.  “I want start fresh too because I love you and I can’t stand to
think about living without you either.”

Colin felt like grabbing her and kissing her but
thought better of it.  “I’ve been thinking about something.  Hear me out before
you say anything.  Okay?”

She wiped her eyes and nodded.  “Okay.”

“I don’t want to wait until next summer to be
married.  I want us to get married before I leave here Sunday morning.”

“Why do you want to be married now, Colin?”

Colin looked into Alethea’s eyes.  “Because I love you
and these last two days without you were the most horrible days I’ve ever had
and I don’t ever want to be without you again.  I want to know that when I’m
done with this tour, you’ll be waiting for me.”  He ducked his head,
embarrassed by his unusual emotional outburst then asked softly, “Will you
marry me?”

Alethea smiled and squeezed his hand.  “Yes!  I’ll
marry you today, tomorrow or next week!”

Colin swallowed a sigh of relief.  “We have to get…”
He grimaced.  “Blood tests and get a license.”

“We can do that right now.  I know a clinic where we
can get it done fast.”

“Let’s go!”  Colin said, grabbing her hand.

Colin, much to his embarrassment, fainted when they
had their blood tests.  Alethea touched Colin arm as they were standing in line
to apply for their license.  He looked at her and she asked, “Are you sure
you’re okay now?”

“Aside from feeling like a total dork, yeah.”

“How come you never told me you’re so afraid of
needles?”

Colin rolled his eyes.  “Because it’s so stupid, but
I’ve never been able to cure myself of it!”

“So, that’s why you only have one ear pierced.”

“I fainted then, too!”  He admitted.

They applied for their license then returned to her
home to tell her parents of their impending nuptials.  Louisa seemed genuinely
happy for them although Colin sensed she was a little disappointed there
wouldn’t be time for all the rituals usually associated with getting married.  Alethea’s
father, however just appeared disappointed they had gotten back together.

“Are you sure about this, Alethea?”  Beau said. 
“Because you don’t have to do this if you have the slightest doubt.”

“Mom, dad, we want to be married because we love each
other and we don’t want to be apart any longer,” Alethea said emphatically.