To Love Twice (10 page)

“I know, but it’s my pleasure.  I intruded on your time
and enjoyed myself thoroughly.  It’s the least I can do.”

“Thank you,” Kate said sincerely.  She took another sip
of her tea and wondered about the man sitting across from her.  He dressed
nicely, Kate could tell they were designer clothes.  His manners were
impeccable.  He seemed well-educated and had told her of his
travels.  He was handsome, more than handsome.  She liked the way his
eyes twinkled when he smiled.  She liked the way he stared at her, as if
she was a work of art that was hanging in the gallery.  She could see
herself spending time with him and enjoying his company. 

“You’re welcome,” Edward said.

Kate smiled.  She rose to leave and watched in awe as
Edward rose with her. 
He definitely has good manners
, Kate
thought.  Kate stuck out her hand, “It was such a pleasure to meet you,
Edward.”

Edward took her hand firmly in his and lifted it to his
lips.  “The pleasure was mine,” Edward murmured against her hand. 
“Until we meet again.”

“Goodbye,” Kate murmured and she could feel her cheeks
warming.  She’d never met anyone like Edward and she wondered as she left
the restaurant, if they would ever meet again.

Three months later…

Kate was exhausted.  Mary had been up practically every
hour the night before with a fever.  When her fever had risen to 103, Kate
had panicked and taken Mary to the emergency room.  Kate could count on
one hand the number of times Mary’d had a fever, let alone be sick, in her
life.  She counted herself lucky that Mary hadn’t been one to catch every
virus and bug that she came in contact with.  Kate had heard stories of
the kids with constant stomach viruses, colds or the dreaded ear infections.

After spending three hours at the ER, the doctors hadn’t
found anything wrong with Mary, concluding it was just a virus that must be
going around.  Georgie had insisted that Kate not cancel her trip to
London.  A fever wasn’t enough to keep her and Tim from getting their week
with Mary.

As the taxi pulled up to the hotel, Kate envisioned the
pampering she was about to indulge in.  She’d brought the new Anita Blake
book and was planning to order some wine and sink into a hot bath with lots of
fragrant bubbles.

“Welcome back, Ms. Walker,” the front desk attendant
greeted.

“Thank you,” Kate said.  “Has Ms. McNamara arrived
yet?”

“Let me check on that for you, one second.”  She tapped
a few keys on the computer, looked up and smiled.  “It looks like Ms.
McNamara has not arrived yet.  Would you like to leave a message for her?”

“If you could just tell her that I’m here, but going to bed,
I would appreciate it.  I’ll see her at breakfast in the morning.”

“My pleasure, Ms. Walker.”  She tapped a few more keys
and began Kate’s checking in process.  “It seems you have a message,” the
attendant said as she passed Kate a slip of paper.

“It’s probably from Ms. McNamara,” Kate said as she slipped
it into her pocket.

The attendant pushed a form across the counter. 
“Please sign on the line.  I’ll just swipe your card for incidentals while
you’re doing that.”

Used to the routine of checking in, Kate was already
prepared with her credit card resting on the counter.  She signed the form
and passed it back to the attendant.

“Here’s your card, Ms. Walker.  Can I help you with
anything else before you head upstairs?”

“No, thank you.  I’m all set.”

The attendant passed Kate her room key.  “Enjoy your
stay.”

Kate hefted her bags and quickly walked to the
elevators.  When she got to her room, she opened the door and deposited
her bags on the bed.  She walked over to the phone and called down to room
service, ordering chilled white wine and a fruit and cheese platter.  The
light dinner would suffice as she planned to make it an early night.

She walked into the bathroom, started the water for her bath
and then put her things in order while she waited for room service to
arrive.  When she pulled her suits out of the suitcase, she was relieved
to see that they’d made the trip with minimal damage.  A quick iron in the
morning would be all she had to do to make herself presentable. 

Just as she finished putting her things away, she heard a
knock at the door.  “Yum, wine,” Kate murmured to herself as she crossed the
room to answer the door.  She signed the slip and deposited the order on
the desk.  Pouring herself a large glass of wine, she gathered up her robe
and book and retreated to the bathroom.

Sinking into the bubbles, Kate sighed with
contentment.  It felt decadent to be able to drink wine and soak away her
stresses in the tub.  She wouldn’t trade her life for any amount of money,
but these little breaks were so good for her soul.

She took a sip of her wine and cracked open the latest
installment of Anita Blake.  Unashamed of her complete obsession with
these books, Kate couldn’t wait to continue reading about Anita and Jean
Claude’s adventures.  There was no doubt in her mind that Anita was meant
to be with Jean Claude.  She didn’t argue that he was powerful and would
do whatever he had to in order to survive, but he adored Anita.  Kate
thought their love story was timeless and at times she could admit she longed
for a love story of her own.  She was lonely and while her life was beyond
busy, she felt that she was meant to find love again.  Or at least she
hoped she was.

I wonder if I’ll bump into Edward
?  She thought
to herself.  Smiling, she took another sip of wine.  She didn’t think
it was likely as it had been a chance meeting to begin with.  And if she remembered
correctly, he traveled a lot for his job.  But oh, he was hot and she
definitely wouldn’t be opposed to bumping into him on this trip.

Putting him out of her mind, she sipped more wine and began
her book.  Two hours later, water chilly and her wine long since gone,
Kate emerged from her bath.  Quickly toweling herself dry, she wrapped
herself in a robe and refilled her wine glass.  Climbing into her warm
bed, she sipped more wine and continued reading her book.  She was
completely hooked and the early night she’d planned on was out the window.

When she started to nod off, Kate reluctantly put aside her
book and went into the bathroom to get ready for bed.  After finishing her
beauty routine, Kate went back into the room to hang up her clothes.  As
she was folding her pants, the slip of paper that the front desk attendant had
given her fell out of the pocket.  Picking it up, she gave a slight gasp
when she unfolded it and realized who it was from.

Kate,

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting you last night and I hope the
next time you’re in town, you’ll give me a call.  I promise I’m not a
crazy stalker, even though this note probably paints me as such.  My
number is below.

–Edward

Kate giggled and refolded the note.  She’d love to see
him, but it had been three months, surely he’d forgotten about the note and
her.  He seemed a very sophisticated, well-traveled and busy man. 

No, Kate would leave it up to fate one more time.  Fate
had served them well once before.  Maybe if they didn’t find each other
this trip, she’d give him a call the next time, after all, three months was a
long time.  She thought back to their dinner at Tempo and how much she’d
enjoyed the food and the man.

The next morning she’d shared a taxi with Erin to the
airport.  Kate had been staring out the window at the passing scenery when
Erin had nudged her.

“You okay, Kate?  Where’s your ‘Mary Smile’?” 
Erin asked. 

Smiling, Kate glanced up at Erin.  “I’m happy to get
home and see Mary.”

“But?” Erin asked.

“But I found out that Papa Don died a couple of months ago.”

“What?!  That’s horrible.”  Erin
interrupted. 

Kate nodded.  “Mama Maria took him back to Italy for
the funeral and ended up staying there with her family.  She sold the
business and a Japanese couple bought it.  It’s now called Tempo. 
Since I was already there, I decided to try it.  The food was amazing!”

“Really?  I didn’t think you liked Japanese food,” Erin
quizzed.

“I don’t, but this chef melds the Japanese and
Italian.  And I gotta say, it works.”  Kate paused, sadness washing
over her as she thought of Mama Maria.  “I told my waiter I’d call him
when I got home for Mama’s address in Italy.  I really want to send her a
card.”

“Pass it to me as well, please.  I didn’t know them as
well as you did, but I’d also like to send something.”

“I will,” Pausing again, Kate wondered if she should mention
her encounter with Edward.  “The strangest thing happened last
night.  While I was asking the waiter for information about Mama Maria,
this incredibly handsome man joined me.  Apparently he used to work at
Pappagallo’s a long time ago, and said he liked hearing stories about them
because it brought back good memories.  We ended up chatting through
dinner,” Kate grinned.

A smile lit up Erin’s face.  “You have got to be
kidding me!  That’s great, Kate!  How handsome is incredibly
handsome?”

“Beyond incredibly,” Kate smirked.

“Sooo…are you going to see him again?  Are you ready
for something like this?  Maybe I’m thinking too far ahead, but I’m just
curious.  This is what, the first man since Brad that you’ve even shown an
ounce of interest in?”

“I’m not sure.  I’ve been asking myself that same
question.  We had such a nice time and I really enjoyed his company. 
He’s been to so many places, he said he was in the entertainment
industry.  He seems well-educated, he dressed very nicely and he had
impressive manners.  We didn’t exchange any information.  It was a
chance meeting.  Besides, I live in the U.S. and he lives here, for the
most part.  I can’t imagine anything will really come of it.”  Kate
said. 

If she’d known that Edward had been just as affected by
their chance meeting as she had, she might very well have exchanged phone
numbers or email addresses with him before she left London the last time.

Sighing with pleasure from Edward’s note and the memories of
that dinner, Kate turned off the light and snuggled down into the covers. 
She was asleep moments after her head hit the pillow.

Kate woke the next day with a smile on her face.  She
was still glowing from the note she’d received and after sleeping on it, was
still sure she wanted to leave a second meeting to fate.

Kate was just about to leave her room and head down to
breakfast, when the phone rang.  Kate hurried over to it and
answered.  “This is Kate.”

“Kate, it’s Erin.”  Tears in her voice, Erin
continued.  “I’m sorry I didn’t call last night, it’s been touch and go
here all night.”

Kate sat down on her bed and gripped the phone tightly. 
“Erin, what’s wrong?  What’s happened?”

Her voice breaking, Erin explained.  “It’s Lily, she
was hit by a car yesterday.  Oh my God, Kate.  Her heart has stopped
twice and she’s in a coma right now.  Luke and I haven’t left her side.”

“Oh Erin, oh my God, I’m so so sorry.  What can I do?”

“There’s nothing to be done right now.  We just have to
wait,” Erin replied in a strangled voice.

“Erin, are you sure?  I can be on the next plane.”

“I’m sure.  I need you there, we have so much to
accomplish this week.  I feel good knowing you’re there,”  Erin
said.  She paused a moment to get her voice under control.  “Kate, my
baby.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t really know.  Luke said she got off the bus
and was walking up the driveway.  Sophie started crying, so Luke turned
from the door to soothe her.  The next thing he knows, brakes are
screeching and Lily’s lying in the street.  We don’t know if she saw
something, someone or what happened.  The driver was this little old woman
and she was hysterical.  The paramedics had to give her something to get
her to calm down.”

“Was she able to tell you what happened?”

“No, she was too hysterical and when they finally got her
calmed down, she went into shock and wasn’t able to talk.  Oh God,
Kate.  I have chills, I can’t catch my breath.  I don’t know how to
feel or what to do.”

“Talk to her, Erin.  Let her hear your voice. 
Hold her hand and pray.  That’s all you can do.  I’ll be praying all
day for you.”

Kate continued to talk to Erin until she was called away by
her husband.  “Don’t worry about anything here, Erin.  I’ve got this
covered.  Focus all of yourself on Lily and your family.”

“Thank you, Kate.  I’ll keep you updated.”

The day flew by, which surprised Kate.  As worried as
she was for Erin’s daughter, Lily, there was so much to do to get the new
product lines launched.  Kate had been in meetings most of the day with
the suppliers and the retailers.  Working out the details of everything
and trying to make everyone happy was very difficult.  She had new
admiration and respect for Erin.  She made it look so easy, but after
today, Kate understood why Erin was plagued with headaches at each product
launch.

Leaving the office well after eight that night, Kate decided
to order up room service and check to see if there was an update waiting for
her from Erin on Lily’s condition.  Kate had paused several times
throughout the day to offer up a prayer of healing for Lily and peace for Erin
and Luke.

The next morning, Kate woke early to the phone
ringing.  Fumbling around for the receiver, Kate managed to knock her cell
phone and book of the nightstand before finally grabbing the receiver and
putting it to her ear.

“Hello?”  Kate answered.

“Kate, it’s Erin.”

Sitting up, Kate turned on the lamp beside the bed. 
“Erin!  Is Lily okay?”

“She’s awake!”

“Oh, thank God!  Erin, that’s wonderful!”