Ties That Bind (8 page)

“I really don’t see what you’re worried
about,” Liz declared. “He’s British – they’re more mature than
American men. A 25-year-old British guy is easily the equivalent of
a 30-year-old American man.”

“Oh. Well then,” Kate threw her hands up.
“Problem solved. Seriously, though. It’s not just the age. I can’t
explain it. I just don’t think I’m in a good place for this right
now.”

“Isn’t that when it happens?” Jessica
observed. “Who falls in love when they’re expecting it? I certainly
never saw Ryan coming.”

“Hey, watch it with the L-word,” Kate
shuddered. “I’m not there yet.”

“Let us know when you get there and put us
all out of our misery – especially Gavin,” Liz shook her glass of
tea, watching the ice settle.

“I haven’t known him long enough for
that.”

“I’m not suggesting you elope,” Liz
qualified. “Just let the poor guy in.”

“I don’t think I can,” Kate admitted
miserably.

“Who needs shoes?” Liz switched topics all
together.

“Define need,” Jessica smiled. The rest of
the afternoon passed with lighter topics of conversation. Jessica
filled them in on her adventures in car shopping and Liz regaled
them with stories of the crazy IT guy who was trimming his toe
nails the last time she’d walked by his office. The guy creeped her
out and since Jack had hired him, there was never a shortage of
stories.

They dropped her back off with two hours to
get ready and the promise of a car coming by to pick her up. She
took her time primping, indulging in a bubble bath and painting her
toe nails, too. She wanted to feel pretty, classy and
sophisticated.

After she clasped her necklace in place, she
checked her reflection in the full length mirror. The sapphire blue
dress clung to her curves, ending just above the knee. Delicate
high heels made her long legs even longer; her reddish hair was
swept up with wispy tendrils framing her face.

She wore simple jewelry and her skin had a
healthy honey glow from the recent sunshine. She approved. That
left her little to do besides wander around the clean apartment
searching for things to straighten until her cell phone chirped to
announce the arrival of her ride.

She was careful not to bound down the steps
despite her anticipation. Her doubts about attending the symphony
had long since given way to excitement. The distant soprano of the
violin played in the back of her mind, the memory calling to her
like a long-lost friend.

She was duly impressed by the sleek black
limo that waited at her curb and only mildly dismayed to realize
that she and Gavin had been treated as a couple for the evening. He
was, of course, breathtaking in his suit. He treated her as if
there were nothing unusual between them and she realized he hadn’t
been privy to her nightmares and was completely unaware that she’d
determined to put him right back where he belonged – at arm’s
length.

“Do you enjoy the symphony?” Tara asked her
politely.

“I love it,” Kate couldn’t contain her
excitement and, after a moment’s hesitation, decided it wouldn’t
hurt to put at least a piece of herself out there. “I miss it,
actually.”

“Miss it?” Gavin cocked his head to study
her. “Did you play?”

“Violin,” she nodded with a shy smile. “I
went to college on a music scholarship.”

“Really?” Liz leaned forward. “I’d love to
hear you play sometime.”

“Oh I don’t play anymore,” Kate shook her
head.

“You haven’t played since college, have you?”
Jessica guessed immediately.

“I intended to,” Kate reached back to a
memory she had locked away. “My business degree was only plan B.
I’d actually accepted a position with the San Francisco
Symphony.”

“What happened?” Gavin asked gently.

“The music went away,” she smiled sadly,
unable to think of the words to succinctly describe that time in
her life.

“How very sad,” Jessica breathed.

“Oh not really,” Kate smiled brightly. “If I
had followed that road, I wouldn’t be sitting here with you guys
tonight. I don’t regret the choices I’ve made. But I am looking
forward to tonight. Very much.”

“Absolutely fascinating,” Gavin clasped her
hand in his and brushed his lips across her knuckles, a gesture
that was not lost on Jack. His eyebrows shot up in question as Kate
tried unsuccessfully to reclaim her hand. Kate was grateful when
the topic turned from her to the wedding, which was quickly
approaching. She was happy to realize that it didn’t even bother
her anymore. Tara was growing on her. Other than the distracting
heat caused by Gavin’s hand enclosed around hers, Kate was fairly
at ease.

“Oh, I didn’t tell you guys what happened
yesterday,” Liz giggled, earning an irritated glare from Derrick.
“Gerard ate one of the guest lists…. Do you want to guess which
one?”

“It isn’t funny. That dog eats everything,”
Derrick grumbled.

“He didn’t eat my mom’s guest list,” Liz
informed him sassily.

“You get to ask my mom for a new one.”

“Or thank Gerard for editing the old one and
leave it at that.”

“Liz….” The exasperation was clear in his
voice.

“Derrick…” She tried to mimic his scowl. Kate
couldn’t help grinning along with Gavin.

The limo pulled up along a side door to let
them out. It was strange to have someone hold the door for her like
that. She felt a little like a movie star as she descended from the
car to Gavin’s waiting arm. As they entered the building, she
caught sight of one of the violinists scurrying to the back.

He appeared to be late and a smile flickered
across her face. If she were playing here tonight, it would be her
and her best friend Gaston scurrying to the back together. She’d
been a little less structured in those days. With the memory came
recognition and she called out before she could remember her
manners.

“Gaston!”

The hurried violinist stopped in his tracks
and turned, searching out the one who’d called his name. Kate waved
and quickly covered the ground between them.

“Gaston, it’s me, it’s…”

“Katie!” His face lit up and he pulled her
into a one-armed hug. “Wow, look at you!”

“I wondered if I’d see anyone I knew,” she
beamed at him. “And I’m lucky enough to find you.”

“Can you get together after the show?” he
asked her eagerly, clearly torn between visiting and reporting for
work.

“As long as you don’t mind a group – there’s
several of us here tonight.”

“I’d love to meet your friends.”

“It’s a date, then,” she couldn’t help that
she was still smiling at him.

“I’ve missed you Katie,” he smacked a loud
kiss on her cheek and headed for the stage door. “After the show –
don’t you disappear on me again.”

“I won’t,” she promised.

“Should I be worried?” Gavin slipped up
behind her, wrapping a protective arm about her waist and pulling
her to him.

“Only if I were a six-foot blonde male,” she
giggled. “Gaston was my best friend back in the day. I bet if you
bought him a martini or two he’d spill all kinds of dirt on
me.”

“Well then, point us to the after-party.”

Kate instantly wished she hadn’t planted the
idea in Gavin’s head. Gaston knew the dirt no one else did. Maybe
that’s why she’d disappeared on him in the first place. He’d been a
painful reminder of a life she had been trying to put behind her.
When he’d moved to Chicago, it had been a little too easy to lose
touch.

They had to catch up with the rest of their
party in the box. Kate was eager for the music to begin. She wasn’t
at all surprised to learn that Gaston was the first chair. He’d
always been the best. Her fingers itched all the way through
Beethoven’s ninth. How she missed it.

She could almost feel the bow gliding across
the strings, leaving a white mist of rosin in its wake. Her fingers
would trill with the vibrato, the music would swell and ebb,
building an energy of its own until the intensity was palpable in
the air.

Hearing it now, something seemed to shake
loose within – maybe just a little. When the last note hung in the
air, a single tear wound its way down her cheek. She went to brush
it aside but Gavin beat her to it, gently wiping it away with his
thumb. His eyes seemed to be trying to bore into her soul in
attempt to divine its secrets.

Kate tried to even her breathing as she
stared for a timeless moment at the man she so badly wanted to lose
herself in. The rustle of the others leaving their seats brought
her back to reality and she turned to them with a smile fixed in
place. “Who’s up for a party?”

Of course they all were and Kate went in
search of Gaston. He was waiting for her at the stage door where
she’d first seen him. After brief introductions, he gave Gavin
directions to the nightclub he’d agreed to meet the others at.

“Kate,” he grabbed her hand and pulled her
back to him as she moved to walk away. His expression was suddenly
serious.

“If I tell you something, do you promise to
still show up?”

“What is it?” She frowned.

“He married one of our cellists. He’ll
probably be there tonight.”

“Please tell me this is a bad joke,” her
frown deepened to a full-blown scowl. There were some ghosts she
preferred to leave in her past… Peter was at the top of that
list.

“Sorry. I know; it’s a small world.”

“Freakishly small.” She considered backing
out now that she knew.

“We could go somewhere else if you want,” he
offered suddenly. “I’ll just call Jason so he knows I’m not
lost.”

“No, that’s okay. I’ll be okay,” Kate lied.
It was obvious Gaston wanted to be with his other friends. She felt
like she owed him at least that much. She could feel the question
in Gavin’s gaze as they rejoined the others, but he held his
tongue.

Kate was quiet on the ride there, trying to
quickly build a mental wall around her emotions required all of her
attention. Gavin absentmindedly stroked her arm, his own arm thrown
protectively over her shoulder. God help her, she leaned up against
him, grateful for something solid and warm to protect her.

By the time they arrived at the noisy little
club, she’d almost convinced herself he might not even be there. So
naturally, he was the first person she came face-to-face with once
they were through the door.

“Hello, Peter,” she smiled sweetly, the hand
behind her back nearly crushing Gavin’s.

“Kate.” He blinked twice. “Kate. Um. You look
good. It’s good… Kate.”

“It’s good to see you as well,” she nodded
her head demurely. “Now if you’ll excuse me, the rest of my party
is waiting.”

She turned and walked away with as much
dignity as she could muster.

“You aren’t going to introduce us?” Gavin
rumbled low in her ear.

“I have absolutely no intention of doing
that.”

“Why not?”

“Well because either you’ll rip him apart in
some misguided burst of chivalry that will land you in jail, or
you’ll be perfectly civil to him and I’ll be mad at you for not
ripping him apart in some misguided burst of chivalry. There’s
really no way for you to win that one.”

“Makes sense,” he agreed. “And I won’t even
ask you who he is… yet.”

“I really appreciate that,” she closed her
eyes for a second to compose her happy face.

“Katie! You came!” Gaston pulled her away
from Gavin to sweep her into a twirling hug that lifted her off the
ground.

“Please stop calling me Katie or you’ll get
him going on that again,” she nodded towards Gavin, laughing in
spite of herself.

“I make no promises. So tell me about
yourself,” he set her back on the ground but didn’t relinquish his
hold on her waist.

“Let me introduce you to my friends first.
You’ll love them.”

And he had instantly liked them. The evening
was a happy little dream for Kate, her old friend here in the midst
of the new. The only thing keeping her from total euphoria was the
pair of eyes that never seemed to leave her back. What was his
problem? Hadn’t he done the leaving?

“I don’t think he’s ever really forgiven
himself,” Gaston whispered, noticing the direction of her
scowl.

“Poor baby.” There was venom in her
voice.

“Just throwing it out there,” Gaston shrugged
and rejoined the lively banter between Liz and Jack.

It wasn’t until night turned to early morning
that the little group finally disbanded for home. When the limo
pulled away from Kate’s curb, it didn’t surprise her to find she
wasn’t standing alone on her sidewalk. Gavin gave her a lopsided
grin and wordlessly followed her to the fourth floor. Kate wasn’t
sure how she felt about that. She was dangerously close to being a
blubbering idiot and she didn’t want him to witness that. On the
other hand, would it be all bad to have a shoulder to cry on?

Without much fanfare, he busied himself
making them some tea while Kate went to change into some pajamas.
She was beyond the point of pride. She needed to submerse herself
in comfortable at the moment. Besides, they both knew why he was
here tonight and she didn’t need a pretty blue dress for that.

When she was seated cross-legged on the couch
facing Gavin she began her story.

“I met Peter in college. He was there on a
basketball scholarship. I thought I was hopelessly in love with him
for years. Some days he would notice me, some days he wouldn’t. But
then we ran into each other just after graduation. It was summer.
We were both feeling very adult. I’d taken the job at the San
Francisco symphony. He’d taken a job with a tech company in Silicon
Valley.

“That had to be a sign, right? It was amazing
– like something right out of a storybook. He always told me I had
a very pretty smile,” she paused, a smile playing upon her lips as
she was lost in a memory. Gavin was hardly breathing, his fingers
wound through hers and a stony expression covered his face.