Ties That Bind (7 page)

With that done, she issued her first lunch
invitations to the local reporters that seemed to matter most to
her cause. Liz and Jessica had helped her line up the best
restaurants to take them to. If all went as planned, she’d have
lunches set up for the next couple of weeks and some really good
contacts to show for it.

When she’d completely caught up on work, she
decided to nose around the Internet a little to see what she could
learn about either of her parents that might link one to the other.
She wasn’t sure if Devon would still be helping her since she’d
been avoiding Gavin like the plague.

A knock at the door startled her and she
glanced at the clock on her computer. Eight o’clock. That’s odd.
She looked around the apartment briefly for a weapon, her search
interrupted by Jessica’s voice.

“Kate it’s us.”

“Yeah, let us in,” Liz added.

“What are you guys doing here?” Kate wondered
aloud when they filed in past her.

“Some welcome,” Liz teased.

“You know you’re always welcome,” Kate rolled
her eyes.

“We’re taking you out,” Jessica announced,
handing her a hanger with a bag over its contents. “Put this
on.”

“Why?” Kate eyed them suspiciously.

“Because I can promise you that not one thing
in your closet is fit to wear to this place,” Liz shoved her gently
towards her bedroom.

“Not sure how to take that.”

“Be sure to put on makeup,” Jessica called
after her.

Kate wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that,
but it was hard to argue with those two women when they set their
mind to something—even harder when you didn’t feel like arguing all
that much. With the new little black dress in place, her makeup
carefully applied, her hair freshly styled, and Liz incessantly
tapping on her door, Kate could procrastinate no longer and
reemerged from the bedroom.

“Perfect,” Jessica smiled, quite pleased with
herself. “We’d better go or we’ll miss our reservations.”

“Reservations?” Kate’s anxiety renewed
itself.

“No questions. Just follow us.” Liz handed
her a small black purse.

Kate started to protest that the bag wasn’t
hers, but realized that Liz had put her things in it. Of course
they’d thought of everything. Her curiosity was piqued as she
followed them into a cab. What was really starting to make her
antsy was their complete and total lack of questions. The looks
they’d been giving her for the past few days were those of women
dying of curiosity. Now they had her alone, they chatted about the
guest list for Liz’s upcoming wedding. That scared her. A lot.

“Her guest list is up to 200 people,” Liz
threw her hands up in despair. “The reception hall only fits 300. I
have five aunts and uncles. Apparently Justin and I don’t get to
invite anyone we know. You will not believe who she invited
yesterday.”

“Who?” Jessica leaned forward eagerly.

“His third grade teacher! Apparently she ran
into her at the store. Who does that? Really?”

Kate tried to hide the grin she felt creeping
up. That was one perk of having no family; she’d never have to
worry about runaway guest lists.

The cab ride was short. Jessica paid the
driver and Kate found herself standing on the sidewalk with her
friends in front of a white building with shiny gold doors and the
words supperclub all lowercase above them. Kate felt her heart rate
return to normal. They were taking her out to dinner. How very
thoughtful. With a renewed sense of adventure, she followed them
through those shiny doors.

Kate was so instantaneously caught up in the
surreal nature of her surroundings she paid little attention to Liz
as she whispered instructions to the man at the door. Otherwise,
his smile and knowing nod would have put her on edge.

She was too wrapped up in all-white
surroundings, odd lighting and even odder people to take in much
else as she followed the man towards her…. Bed? White beds lined
the walls where there should have been chairs. Dinner in bed?

Even as her mind tried to process this, a
chocolate-covered woman wearing a snake slid passed with a pleasant
“excuse me”. Kate wasn’t sure she could be this trendy, this…
decadent. The part of her that craved order looked longingly back
towards the exit. That’s when she realized with sickening clarity
that Jessica and Liz were no longer with her. The traitors.

She knew in an instant what they had
done—even before she turned around to find Gavin stretched out
lazily on the bed, his long frame dressed in black and creating a
rather striking image against the white linen. And he was smiling
like the cat that just ate the canary, obviously pretty proud of
this one. Kate hesitated briefly, deciding that a royal
temper-tantrum would probably just make him laugh. So she settled
on the bed with as much dignity as she could muster, silently
cursing her friends for the dress.

He studied her for a moment and she blushed
in spite of herself.

“You look amazing,” he finally broke the
silence between them.

“So do you,” she grudgingly admitted. “But
I’m not sure I’m going to forgive you that easily.”

“Understood,” he acknowledged.

“You really need to do something about that
nervous tic in your mouth,” she snapped. The way his lips twitched
when he was trying not to laugh might have been sexier if it hadn’t
been for the fact that she knew he was trying not to laugh at
her.

“I hired a maid,” he ignored her last
statement.

“Not the same as doing the cleaning yourself,
but making sure you don’t get dysentery is still a good thing.”

“Somehow I don’t think I was quite to the
stage of acquiring dysentery.” His lip was twitching again.

“So this is my end of the deal?” She arched
an eyebrow and gestured at a grown man walking by in what looked
like a diaper.

“No, sorry; you’re not getting off that
easy.” He paused to thank the waiter who was setting their first
course in front of them. “This is Jack’s idea.”

“Jack’s idea? Really? And he didn’t have any
help at all coming up with this idea?”

“Well, maybe a little guidance.”

Kate shook her head and took a drink from the
glass in front of her. The alcohol content immediately burned her
throat and she made a mental note to sip rather than gulp. The man
in the diaper and the chocolate-covered woman began what Kate
assumed was the evening’s entertainment. She ignored her mental
edict and polished off the drink.

“Could you please take whatever pictures you
need to?” She whispered when she finally regained the ability to
speak.

“Why is that?” he leaned in towards her,
curious.

“Because I’m about to run screaming from the
building.”

“But what about the other three courses?”

“I’d be really happy with a burger from the
diner down the street,” her eyes pled with him to have mercy on
her.

“Then I guess I should tell you I actually
staged the pictures earlier, before they opened,” he whispered
against her ear.

“You… insufferable… BEAST,” she seethed.

“Probably, but you’re really cute when you’re
angry.”

With one last indignant cry, she stood as
quickly as her skirt would allow and swept from the room. She knew
he was right behind her but did her best to ignore that fact.

“You really shouldn’t be out roaming the
streets at night alone,” he grabbed her elbow gently. “Not dressed
like that anyway.”

“Fine, then take me home,” she demanded,
practically stamping her foot with outrage.

“Can I at least feed you that burger
first?”

She paused. His eyes were impossibly
beguiling. Had it only been two weeks that she’d stubbornly been
refusing to even look at him? She’s missed his face. He could sense
her relenting.

“Please?”

Ugh. How was she supposed to say no to that?
“Fine.”

“Wonderful,” his expression instantly
brightened as he hooked her arm through his. “I know a great place
overlooking the water. I’ll drive.”

And just like that she found herself sucked
back into a comfortable rapport with him. All that hard work to
distance herself was undone. She laughed with him and enjoyed a
truly decadent cheeseburger.

She didn’t pull away when his leg brushed
hers or he reached out to touch her face. She only stiffened for
the briefest of seconds when he took her hand in his. She knew
better, but she’d just missed him so much. He was like a slice of
chocolate cake; once she’d tasted just a little it was really hard
to leave the rest on the plate. All the while he filled her with
stories of his family back in London and she soaked in every
word.

“You miss them,” she stated.

“Yeah, I guess I do,” he agreed.

“Then why did you take a job so far
away?”

“This was an amazing opportunity for me, for
my career. I didn’t know how long I’d stay at first.”

“Oh,” Kate frowned. She hadn’t thought of
that. “Are you planning to stay now?”

“I guess that depends,” he leaned
forward.

“On what?” her breath caught. He answered
with his intent stare. She blinked, trying to comprehend that. She
wasn’t sure how long they sat there watching each other. This was
too fast. She could feel her life careening out of control.

“I think I’d better go home now,” she
swallowed. He merely nodded. Kate couldn’t be sure, but it almost
seemed like he didn’t trust himself to speak. They rode home in
silence, each lost in thought. Despite her protest, he walked her
to the door and waited as she fumbled with her keys. She knew she
should have protested a little more sternly when he followed her
inside but there was a morbidly curious side to her that couldn’t
quite muster it.

“Kate,” his voice was silken as he wrapped
one arm around her waist.

“Hmm?” was the only sound she seemed capable
of.

“You know how you said I had to keep my hands
to myself?” His lips were achingly close to hers.

“Mmm-hmm.”

“I think I’m about to break your rule.” And
then the space between them was gone. She was wholly his for just
that one instant, all fears scattered at his kiss. She found
herself yearning to stay in this place where she was warm and happy
and utterly connected to another human being. And then he was
moving away, breaking that connection and she felt the desolate
cold seeping in even before he was gone. She wanted to pull him
back to her, to hold him in her arms and never let him go.

“Why do you do this to me?” She groaned
softly, resting her head against his shoulder.

“I’m afraid you’ll hate me later if I don’t
stop now,” he whispered, his cheek resting on the top of her head.
He knew her too well. She probably would hate him for it later.
Heck, she might hate him for this later, too.

“But why do you persist in even starting
this? Are you trying to make sure I stay addicted to you? Are you
trying to drive me completely insane?” She railed at him.

“You’re addicted to me?” He grinned stupidly.
“I like the sound of that.”

“Forget I said that,” she ordered
hopefully.

“Nope. It’s out now.”

“Fine, have it your way,” she sighed. “Not
like that’s a good thing anyway. Addictions are bad for you.”

“But fun.”

“And they leave you broken and no good for
anything else.”

“Little miss sunshine.”

“Go home,” she growled and half-shoved him
away.

He obliged, but only after planting a quick
kiss on her forehead. She swatted at him but he easily dodged her.
As she leaned against the door, she could hear him whistling down
the hallway.

That night Kate dreamed of endless hallways
and locked doors. Occasionally she’d find an open door and would
peer inside, only to be cruelly shoved back into the wintery and
desolate hallway by uncaring hands. She could hear the steady beep
of a heart monitor somewhere in the distance, counting down the
beats of her mother’s heart. She could hear the clock thundering
out an unchanging rhythm of minutes looming ahead, or were they
passing her by?

With every door, her desperation grew. She
needed to find her solace. She needed to find the path to a gentle
summer breeze and the warmth of the sun. The cacophony was
deafening. She awoke in a cold sweat, certain that Gavin Nichols
truly would be the death of her.

She padded around her loft, not really
accomplishing much but not in the mood for sightseeing, either. She
was restless, but nothing sounded appealing. The silence had grown
so deafening that when the phone rang, she nearly jumped out of her
skin.

“Hello?”

“Hey! Are you still speaking to us?” It was a
very nervous Jessica.

“Barely,” Kate teased.

“We were just so desperate to get the two of
you in the same room,” Jessica pleaded her case.

“I know,” Kate sighed but didn’t offer up any
of the details she knew Jessica was waiting to hear.

“You know you really are impossible,” Jessica
declared after a moment of silence.

“So I’ve been told.”

“I’m actually calling for Jack. He wants us
all to go to the symphony with him tonight – he has a box. Well,
Tara has a box. You’ve been avoiding us so much at work; we thought
maybe you’d like to meet for lunch and shopping today, too.”

“So you can try to get the dirty
details.”

“Only if you want to share them,” Jessica
promised.

“Don’t tell her that,” Liz protested in the
background.

“Lunch sounds nice,” Kate laughed. “And we’ll
see about the symphony.”

“We’ll pick you up in an hour,” Jessica hung
up the phone.

Kate was happy to have something to do with
her day and hurried to get ready. It was a good day. She bought
herself a dress for that evening. She’d found a new favorite salad
at the coffee house they went to for lunch. It even felt good to
discuss Gavin with her friends.