Ties That Bind (28 page)

True to their word, they’d returned a couple
of hours later with a new dress for Kate. They’d found a green
Calvin Klein satin baby doll dress that Kate could never have
pulled off before the accident.

“Did you call Gavin?” Jessica asked eagerly
as she handed Kate the dress.

“He’s worried about taking me out in public.
He’s afraid I’ll get hurt.”

“When he sees you in this dress he’ll stop
thinking you’re breakable,” Liz predicted. “Come on, we’ve only got
a few hours. Let’s get you ready.”

“A few hours? How depressing. It takes a few
hours to make me pretty now?” Kate hated being petulant but
couldn’t seem to help herself.

“Oh, did we forget to mention we made
appointments at Bliss?” Jessica held her hands up innocently. “Just
don’t tell Gavin. He’ll yell at us for wearing you out.”

“Deal,” Kate reached for her canes. She was
more than ready to leave this blasted house.

Her friends seemed to understand how very
sick of herself Kate was. They talked about Jessica’s pregnancy
over pedicures, about Liz’s mother-in-law over manicures, and about
the magazine over facials. By the time Kate stood anxiously waiting
for the car to arrive so she could get Gavin, she felt human—and
almost attractive at that. There wasn’t much to be done about the
two canes she still walked with. Gavin wouldn’t hear of her leaving
those behind, she was sure. Maybe she could stow just one in the
trunk and use Gavin for support on the other side, though….

“You’re going to make him a very happy man
tonight,” Tara smiled reassuringly at Kate.

“I hope so,” Kate hesitated. “Do you think
he’ll ever treat me the way he used to?”

“Give him time,” Jack answered. “It nearly
killed him that night. Watching you suffer after… He’ll
adjust.”

“Thanks,” Kate smiled at him. She was
enjoying the easy relationship that had developed between them. It
wasn’t quite a typical father-daughter thing, but they were
becoming friends. Kate knew she had Tara to thank for that. She
wondered how hard it had been for Tara to share her new husband
with his grown daughter.

“The driver’s here,” Tara handed Kate her
purse. “Come on, Jack will help you down.”

“Thanks,” Kate accepted the help with only
the slightest twinge. She was getting better at that.

It was a short drive, but that didn’t stop
Kate from working up a good case of nerves. When the limo pulled up
outside her apartment, Kate called Gavin to let him know his
chariot awaited. She stared longingly at her door, wishing she
could see her little apartment. It had been hard, not being there
when Gavin moved his belongings in. For someone who had always been
in control, not even knowing how the furniture was arranged in her
home was driving her nearly mad. But more than the home, she missed
Ty. Maybe she could convince Gavin to at least bring Ty for a
visit.

“Hello there,” Gavin slid into the car beside
her “Are you doing okay today?”

“I’m fine,” Kate tried to stamp down her
irritation. Those weren’t supposed to be the first words out of his
mouth. “Happy Birthday! You look nice.”

“You said to dress up,” he shrugged. “So
you’re not too tired for this? I’d planned on running by Sunflower.
You love Vietnamese takeout.”

“I wanted to do something special,” Kate
interrupted.

“Oh,” he paused. “I could have gone somewhere
else.”

“I wanted to go out to somewhere special,”
she tried again. “The girls even brought me a new dress.”

“That is new,” he finally noticed. “It’s
nice.”

“Thanks,” Kate couldn’t help it if her voice
was a little curt.

“Is something wrong? Do you need to lie down
for a bit?”

“I do not need to lie down,” the words were
more guttural growl than anything.

“Kate, what on earth is wrong?” he seemed
bewildered.

“I miss you, Gavin. That’s what’s wrong,” she
was angry with herself for the tears that brimmed.

“Do you want me to take off work tomorrow? I
thought you wanted me to work my normal schedule, but I could take
off.”

“I don’t miss my caretaker,” Kate spat. “I
miss the man I love. You know—the slightly dangerous one who bribes
me to do crazy things and considers it one for the win column when
I get arrested. I miss the man who looks at me like he wants to
devour me. I miss the man who makes me laugh and assaults my senses
with desire and always pushes me to be a better Kate. Where did he
go? Did Justin kill him in that stupid crash, too?”

“Are we going to make the driver stand there
awkwardly all night, or should we go eat dinner?” Gavin’s eyes were
dark, his jaw set stubbornly.

“By all means, let’s go eat,” Kate hated the
fact that she needed his help to get out of the car. She wished she
hadn’t tucked away the other cane as she was now forced to walk at
his side as she clumsily made her way to the door.

Once inside, Kate could almost forget how
horribly awry the evening had gone thus far. The dimly lit interior
exuded warmth and elegance. The twinkling lights and marble floors
added to the romance of the place. Jessica and Liz had chosen well.
Once they were seated, she took a deep breath and looked Gavin in
the eye.

“Can we start over? The night wasn’t supposed
to begin like this.”

“Oh?” A hint of amusement touched his voice.
“And how was it supposed to begin?”

“Well,” she fought a blush. “You were
supposed to tell me how beautiful I was. And then you were supposed
to kiss me—passionately. By the time we arrived here, we were both
supposed to be completely wrought with desire and immersed in our
love for each other.”

“I did muck that up, then, didn’t I?” his lip
curled into a rueful smile.

“Yeah, you really did,” the corner of her
mouth tugged into a smile as well.

“Can I make it up to you by saying that you
look amazing tonight?”

“I don’t believe you now. It doesn’t count if
I have to ask for it,” Kate shook her head firmly.

“Oh come on. Don’t be that way.”

“That’s not me. It’s a pretty firm rule. Ask
any woman.”

“That seems pretty harsh.”

“Hey, I don’t make the rules,” she shrugged
daintily, happy at the sparkle that seemed to have come back to his
eyes, if even just a bit. He ordered them a bottle of wine and they
turned their attention to the menu. Once the food was ordered, he
seemed eager to resume the conversation.

“So, had we made it this far successfully,
what was the next step for the evening?”

“Ah, are we to that already?” Kate took a
deep breath. “I’d almost put it from my mind.”

“Is something wrong?” he nearly came out of
his chair, itching to be at her side.

“No, no, just a case of nerves,” she sought
to calm him. “It’s just that it occurred to me today—with a little
help—that I’ve been living as if life shouldn’t move forward.
Anyway, I wanted to ask you tonight if, well, what do you think of
the third weekend in June for our wedding?”

“You want to set a date?” He seemed to be
holding his breath.

“Yes. That would give me six months to plan
after the Christmas party, and would give Jessica time to fit into
a bridesmaid dress.”

“I think June sounds perfect,” he broke into
a grin. “I’d like that very much.”

Gavin’s mood was much lighter after that.
Kate’s was, too. There was another moment of tension when Gavin
suggested canceling dinner with John and Vicky rather than have
Kate out two evenings in a row. He quickly backed off of that
one.

When he would have tucked her into bed and
gone home, Kate insisted he stay with her. Just as he’d done what
seemed so long ago, he stretched out beside Kate on her bed and
held her close.

“You really were beautiful tonight,” he
whispered against her temple.

“Thank you,” she conceded. “You really are
devastatingly handsome.”

“Devastatingly?”

“Don’t question my adjectives.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And no cracks about me being old.”

“Should I just be quiet now?”

“I do have a favor to ask…”

“Anything.”

“Good…”

“Almost anything,” he quickly corrected.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t catch that…”

“The favor?”

“I miss my dog.”

“No.”

“Gavin…”

“Too dangerous.”

“I miss him. You were the one who said dogs
were amazing healers of the soul. And I bet he’s worried about me.
Please, Gavin?”

“He’s so big and unruly, he could hurt you
still.”

“And I could get hit by a bus tomorrow. So
what? I want to see my dog.”

“I’ll think about it,” was all he would
promise. “I really should go.”

“Since when are you the responsible one?”
Kate teased. “Don’t worry, Dad’s sound asleep…”

“I was more worried about your dog than your
dad.”

“Right, right…” Kate frowned. “I want to move
home.”

“Nice try. You do remember it’s on the fourth
floor, right?”

“Then leave Ty here when you bring him
tomorrow.”

“I said I’d think about that.”

“Right. So anyway, bring his dishes and leash
when you bring him tomorrow. I’ll talk to Tara, but I doubt she’ll
mind.”

“We’ll see.”

“And then sometimes, just sometimes, you can
stay stretched out with me like this. You won’t always have to get
up and leave.” Kate missed him beside her at night more than she
could say. The nightmares were always worse without him. No matter
how many times Jack rushed to her bedside, it wasn’t the same as
having Gavin there. Not to mention she felt horribly guilty about
waking Jack and Tara up virtually every night. But Gavin was in her
arms now, and that was worth the effort of shoving unpleasant
thoughts out of her mind.

“The idea has merit…” his voice trailed off
as Kate began to trace his jaw line with feathery kisses and the
occasional flick of the tongue.

“Don’t you miss this just a little?” she
whispered against the base of his throat, her hands finding their
way under his shirt to stroke his bare skin. At his sharp intake of
breath, she knew she’d somehow managed to rekindle the fire. He
gathered her in his arms with the urgency she’d so desperately
missed, kissing her until the world dissolved again and there was
nothing left but the two of them and the heat that clung to the air
around them.

His lips broke from hers to trace their own
path along her throat; his hands hungrily explored her body as if
they’d starved for the feel of her skin under his. Satin under
burlap.

Kate knew she’d missed his desire. What she
hadn’t realized was how much she missed her own. Now, the need for
him curled its way around each and every fiber of her being. Of its
own volition, her body arched into his. Her hands sought to pull
him even closer as he ravaged a trail of kisses along her skin. His
lips had just reclaimed hers when the moment was shattered by the
harsh overhead light.

“Oh, wow… sorry,” Jack flipped the light back
off and sprinted from the room.

“What is it with us and our fathers walking
in at inopportune times?” Kate closed her eyes in frustration.
Gavin chuckled ruefully.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” his
voice was ragged.

“Same here,” she wanted to pick up right
where they left off, but could hear Jack rustling around in the
kitchen.

“June?”

“June.” It suddenly seemed very far away.

In the light of day, and without the rush of
desire fueling her thoughts, Kate knew that June wasn’t so very far
away at all. Now that she was confident she could walk down the
aisle at her wedding, she began adding goals to the initial one.
For starters, she would dance. Maybe not the electric slide, but
she would dance with Gavin at their wedding. And she would be free
of her canes.

For the moment, the thing most pressing on
her mind was the fact that Gavin had called to say he was on the
way with Ty. She sat in the great bay window that graced the front
of the mansion, watching for Gavin to pull up. She still wasn’t
used to seeing him in the dark gray Audi Q7. It was pretty, and the
engine hummed just as happily as the Roadster’s had, but he’d gone
from their smallest car to their largest. Because—as she’d heard
many times in the past weeks—it was safe. As the shiny new SUV was
pulling up, Kate could see that Ty had his nose to the window as
eagerly as she did.

His entire body quivered with excitement when
he saw Kate, but he seemed to know instinctively to be gentle. It
took Gavin about half an hour and a hundred reassurances before he
relaxed his grip on Ty’s leash.

“Are you sure you’re up to going out
tonight?” he pursed his lips when he noticed the circles under her
eyes. “Why don’t we see if John and Vicky would be willing to come
over for dinner instead?”

“Sure,” Kate conceded quickly, mostly because
she didn’t want to leave Ty so soon. “Are you going to let me help
cook?”

“I could. Or I could ask Jack’s cook to do it
and we could find another way to pass the time,” he twirled a
strand of her hair around his finger, his eyes seeming to drink in
the sight of her.

“I like that option,” she flushed under his
gaze. “But I’m going to regret letting myself get so lazy after the
wedding when I have to go back to taking care of myself.”

“Well, we do have a housekeeper,” Gavin
reminded her. “So you can still be a little lazy.”

“Good to know.”

Gavin took care of calling their guests while
Kate went to see if Tara and Jack would be joining them and to
speak to the cook. Gavin’s plans for Kate might have been less than
saintly, but Ty kept crawling closer and closer to Kate and she
didn’t have the heart to make him get down, so they wound up lying
there talking. To Kate, life didn’t get much better than being
snuggled in between Gavin and Ty. The poor dog seemed like he
couldn’t be close enough to her and she felt bad for not pushing
the issue sooner. She couldn’t remember the last time Gavin wasn’t
trying to take care of her or see to some need, when he last just
spent time with her. She had missed him so much; she wasn’t at all
ready when the McKinseys pulled up.