Ties That Bind (19 page)

“What is The Mint?” Kate wondered, reading
the sign on the building.

“Can’t even wait two more minutes to find
out?” His eyes danced merrily. “One would think you would have
developed patience by this stage in life.”

“Are you calling me old?” She demanded. “Do
you want me to start obsessing about our age difference all over
again?”

“Kate! You look great,” Liz greeted her with
a quick hug.

“So do you,” Kate meant it. She couldn’t help
being just a little jealous of Liz. She had that perfect mix of
pretty and sultry down pat.

“Derrick, how is life treating you?” Gavin
extended his hand to greet the other man.

“My fiancée has my mother not speaking to us.
Other than that, things are great.”

“Ouch, that’s rough. What did you do, Liz?”
Gavin turned to her.

“Why do you assume it’s Liz’s fault?” Kate
slapped him on the arm and turned to Liz. “What did she do
now?”

“She didn’t listen when I told her to cut
back on the invites, so we went with Gerard’s edits.” Liz shrugged
daintily.

“As long as no one like Derrick’s
grandparents were victims to Gerard’s edits, I see nothing wrong
with that,” Kate declared.

“We should probably elope, shouldn’t we?”
Gavin winced, picturing his own mother’s reactions if Kate had done
that.

Kate just stood there, trying to process what
he’d just said. Did it terrify her, or was her heart tripping that
strange little beat out of joy at the thought of spending forever
with him?

“Hey guys!” Like the ray of sunshine she was,
Jessica interrupted what could have turned into a bickering match.
A new cycle of hugs and handshakes went around.

“Whose idea was karaoke? I haven’t done this
in forever,” Ryan opened the door for everyone.

“You dork,” Kate laughed at Gavin’s amused
expression.

“They did have this back in your day, didn’t
they?”

“Stop it,” she slapped him on the arm again.
Right then and there, she decided that if he was going to make her
sing in front of strangers, she knew exactly what song she’d
choose. She’d just need a beer or two before she’d have the courage
to sing Abba in front of anything besides the mirror.

“I’m not singing,” Liz announced firmly as
she stepped into the bar.

“Okay,” Gavin smiled at her.

“I mean it,” she reiterated.

“That’s like throwing the gauntlet down,
Liz,” Kate warned.

“Hey, I’m all for a certain amount of cheesy
in life. But I do not sing.”

“Duly noted,” Gavin threw his hands up in
surrender. The look on his face said there was only one woman he
would get on that stage if he had to carry her. Kate headed
straight for the bar—best to start building up courage right
away.

They spent the first round of drinks
alternating between making fun of the people who were singing and
cheering raucously for them. Gavin was the first from their group
to hit the stage, but everyone agreed he was kind of cheating since
he was the only actual singer. Jessica and Ryan sang a duet and won
the cutest couple ever award. Derrick pulled Liz up on stage, who
spent the entire song giving Derrick a look that very clearly
stated “I hate you.”

And then there was no avoiding it, Kate’s
turn had come. Gavin didn’t strike her as the type to listen to
Abba, so it took him a few lines of the song “Does Your Mama Know”
to get the joke. The song had originally been sung by one of the
men in the group, so Kate had to remember to change the gender
references, but it was worth the work.

About the time it dawned on Gavin that the
song was about an older woman trying to warn off the young
innocent, a bark of laughter escaped. Kate batted her eyelashes
prettily and sang that sure, she’d dance with him if he wanted… but
did his mama know he was out? She smirked a little and sang that he
seemed kind of young to be searching for that kind of fun.

By the time she’d reached the middle of the
song, he was laughing so hard there were tears rolling down his
cheeks and the rest of the table wasn’t too far behind him.
That—and the beer—gave Kate the courage to really ham it up. The
enthusiastic applause took her completely by surprise and she
flushed with a mixture of pride and embarrassment. Gavin couldn’t
seem to stop laughing as he stood to wrap his arms around her.

“I love you, crazy girl.” He kissed her
temple, his lips still curled into a smile.

Kate had to admit that it was an all-around
fun evening. She wasn’t even going to charge him a responsible act
for that one. The night came to an end all-too-soon, and their time
together came to an end just as quickly. Gavin insisted she keep
his Audi with her after she drove back from the airport rather than
rent a car each weekend. Kate was a little giddy at the thought of
driving it. If driving that car didn’t make you feel young and
alive, nothing would. Besides, it smelled like Gavin and it would
be like having a piece of him there to keep her company.

“Just don’t get a ticket,” he’d teased her
with a wink as he handed her the keys.

“No promises,” she answered honestly.

“I just don’t understand why Jack is acting
like this,” Jessica shook her head in frustration. “It’s not like
him at all to yell at someone for voicing an opinion.”

“Don’t worry about it. He was right; I’m not
part of the creative team. It wasn’t my discussion,” Kate sipped
her tea, hoping she sounded more flippant than pathetic.

“Don’t act like that,” Liz immediately
reprimanded her. “He was being a jerk in that meeting. You are part
of our team and Jessica and I like hearing your input. Don’t let
him make you feel unimportant.”

“Not all of us are as put-together as you,
Liz,” Kate envied her friend’s self-assurance.

“Don’t let appearances fool you. I’m a total
wreck inside,” Liz told her around a bite of salad.

“I don’t believe you,” Kate nearly dropped
her fork.

“Total façade,” Liz reiterated.

“It was so rude of him to say that in front
of everyone,” Jessica couldn’t let go of her consternation.

“I’ll give you that,” Kate winced a little at
the memory of all those eyes on her. “But it’s over now. Let’s talk
about something else. Oh, I didn’t tell you what happened
yesterday. Some girl called Gavin on the car phone. He swears he
didn’t give her the number, but I thought that was like the bat
phone, so I’m not sure I believe him.”

“That’s not good—the seeds of distrust,” Liz
predicted, eyeing a piece of cake being served at the table next to
them.

“I want to trust him,” Kate frowned. “But she
sounded really cute. I would have understood if he’d said he gave
her the number before we met. What do you think?”

“I think he’s crazy about you,” Jessica
weighed in on the topic. “I think he’s telling the truth. If some
girl was determined enough to meet him, I bet she could find a way
to get his number.”

“You’re probably right,” Kate toyed with her
straw.

“Stop thinking he’d rather be somewhere
else,” Liz guessed Kate’s hesitation. “He worked hard to get you.
He’s right where he wants to be.”

“She has a point,” Jessica agreed.

“Hey, how’d the follow-up with Tom go?” Kate
changed the subject again.

“Nice deflection,” Liz smirked.

“Really well,” Jessica happily filled them in
on the details of the interview. Tom was a good guy; they were all
excited to see how the spread on him turned out. The rest of their
lunch the topic stayed on the magazine and the launch.

Aside from the slight creepiness with Justin,
who’d taken to showing up at random times uninvited, Kate’s public
relations efforts were going really well. There was already a buzz
around town about the upcoming party. Somehow Kate managed to get
through the rest of her day without crying or calling Gavin for
comfort. Although, she had been tempted to crawl under her desk
when she realized Liz was in Jack’s office to read him the riot act
for his treatment of Kate in the morning meeting.

“I wish she wouldn’t do that,” Kate
considered interrupting the pair to apologize for any
inconvenience.

“Don’t worry about Liz,” Jessica assured her.
“Jack’s used to her voicing her opinions rather plaintively.”

“What’s it like?” Kate asked wistfully.

“What’s what like?”

“I don’t know, having that kind of
relationship with him? He’s so crazy about you and Liz.”

“You two will get past this,” Jessica
predicted.

“Sometimes I don’t know. He seems to like me
less the more time passes. I think I remind him of ghosts from his
past.”

“You probably do,” Jessica acknowledged. “But
he’ll get over it. He’s a better person than this.”

“Hey ladies,” Tara breezed into their office,
her face bright. “What did Jack do to set Liz off?”

“He was a real jerk to Kate in the morning
meeting—in front of everyone.”

“It was no big deal,” Kate blushed.

“I was embarrassed, and he wasn’t even
talking to me. It was a big deal.”

“I can make him sleep on the couch tonight if
you want,” Tara offered.

“No,” Kate gasped.

“Please do,” Jessica grinned at the exact
same moment.

“Oh hey, I just got off the phone with a
little birdie who told me tomorrow is Miss Kate’s birthday.”

Kate gritted her teeth. Could the day get
much worse? “How? How did you find that out?”

“I guess your aunt called Gavin who called
me, since he can’t be here to do the honors. So, clear your
schedules tomorrow evening. I already called Gaston. We’re thinking
Absinthe.”

“Great,” Kate sighed; so much for turning
another year older in peace.

Kate tried to slink into work the next
morning undetected, but her office had been filled with balloons
and flowers, apparently the work of Gavin. Kate took the time to
run a load of both home on her way to meet her aunt for lunch. Kate
had told Joan not to bother driving into town just for that, but
Joan had been insistent. Maybe she knew that Kate’s first birthday
without her mother would be tough. Maybe she was anxious to build a
connection to the sister she missed. Either way, she had been
determined to spend part of the afternoon with Kate.

Truth be told, Kate was glad Joan was there.
She did miss her mom, and she missed Gavin, and she really didn’t
want to be turning another year older. She was also really happy to
be getting away from Jack. Something about her birthday seemed to
be making him crankier than normal.

“So things seem to be going well between you
and Gavin,” Joan observed. “He’s a good guy.”

“Thanks,” Kate smiled slightly. “And yes,
things do seem to be going well. Sometimes I still panic a little,
but I’m trying not to be too neurotic.”

“You’re a smart girl, Kate. You’ll be
okay.”

“You know, sometimes, I feel like this is all
just a dream. It’ll all go away; he’ll go away,” Kate admitted in a
whisper.

“You have been thrown a few curve balls,
haven’t you sweetie?” Joan patted her hand sympathetically.

“Oh no, I’ve become pathetic, haven’t I?”
Kate realized with a start. “I didn’t mean to sound like Eeyore.
Let’s talk about something else.”

Joan had obliged, chatting about anything and
nothing in particular. They rounded out their afternoon together
with makeovers. Kate grudgingly went back to the office afterwards,
determined not to slink around as if she’d done something wrong by
being born.

“More flowers came while you were out,” Jen
informed her with a slight eye roll the second she was through the
door.

“I’m so sorry,” Kate needed to speak to Gavin
about overkill. She glanced at the card and frowned. The flowers
were from Justin. She really was going to have to remind him that
their relationship was a professional one. Today was not that day,
though. She tossed the card in the trash and set the flowers in the
conference room.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. Her
mind had drifted to other birthdays, all the ones she’d celebrated
with her mom, while she played Frisbee with Ty at the dog park. She
hadn’t been able to dwell long, because Gavin had called to sing
Happy Birthday.

“How’s your day been so far?” He seemed
wistful, as if he were sad to be missing it. Kate struggled to
understand why being another year older than him was a thing to be
celebrated.

“You mean, other than people making too big a
deal out of it? Other than swimming in flowers?” Kate’s tone belied
her words. “It’s been okay. Isn’t it the middle of the night in
London?”

“I wanted to catch you before your girl’s
night out to remind you not to do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Gaston’s going too,” she reminded him.

“Like I said… have a grand time with the
girls.”

“You really aren’t a nice person when you’re
feeling threatened.”

“But you love me anyway. What’s that say
about you?”

“Good point,” Kate laughed. “Now go get some
sleep.”

“Yes mum.”

Kate had let that one go. She’d just tell
herself he was referring to her bossy nature, not her age.

Dinner had been fun. Jessica wasn’t feeling
well and went home early. Kate wished she could do the same. Still,
she survived the evening and was able to wake up in time for both
her yoga routine and to play her violin before work.

The next several days were a montage of
meetings and press lunches that seemed to blend together. The only
thing that distinctly stood out for Kate was an unexpected visit
from an old friend from Albuquerque. Veronica dropped in from
nowhere with her perfect husband in tow, only to disappear again a
couple of days later. Playing catch-up was a good distraction, and
it gave her an excuse to go out dancing with the girls.

Other than the brief reprieve of Veronica’s
visit, Kate was a whirlwind, putting finishing touches on the
launch party and making great strides on the Christmas party.
Whatever faults Jack saw in her, he couldn’t complain about the job
she was doing for his magazine.