Treading Water (16 page)

She lifted the top off and
pushed aside tissue paper to reveal an exquisite ivory silk dress.
Gingerly, she lifted it out of the box. She couldn’t believe he had
done this. The card said,
Even Cinderella
had something new to wear. See you soon. Love, Jack.

Under the dress, she found a gorgeous pair
of high-heeled, beaded sandals she would have chosen for herself.
He had left her office saying he had things to do, but she couldn’t
have imagined this.

“
It’s beautiful, Andi.
It’ll be lovely on you. You never did say too much about what
happened in Rhode Island, and I didn’t want to pry, but I have to
admit I’m curious.”

“
I didn’t say anything
because I had ended it with him.”

Betty followed Andi into the bedroom, where
she laid the dress on her bed.

“
I didn’t know he was
coming today,” Andi continued. “He’s asked me to give him a chance,
and that’s what I’m going to do.”

“
You definitely haven’t
been yourself since you came home from the weekend in Newport. Why
did you feel like you had to end it with him? There couldn’t have
been much to end. You only spent a short time with him.”

“
I spent just long enough
with him.” Andi sighed and sat on her bed. “It’s
complicated.”

Betty sat next to her. “How so? Other than
the obvious geography problem.”

“
He owns a business and has
three daughters—two in high school—so it’s not like he can move.
Eric’s in such a great school, and you’re here. Then there’s my
job. It’s such a mess.” Andi’s earlier excitement faded as she
revisited all the reasons their relationship was such a bad idea.
“I just didn’t see the point of getting into something so
impossible.”

“
I can see what you mean,
but do you love him?”

“
I do,” Andi said, smiling.
That was the easy part. “I love him so much. I know you’re thinking
that I hardly know him, but I already know him better than I ever
knew Alec. He’s a wonderful father, and he’s smart, talented,
and
so
handsome.”
Her belly fluttered with excitement as she thought of how sexy he’d
looked earlier. “He’s everything I’ve ever wanted. I’ve been sick
with missing him since I got home.”

“
He sounds
lovely.”

Andi bit her bottom lip. “There’s one other
thing.”

“
What’s that?”

“
He’s married.”

“
Oh my
God
, Andrea! Tell me you’re kidding
me!”

Andi held up her hands. “Let me explain.”
She told her mother about what had happened to Clare and everything
Jack went through before she met him. “Believe me, he wasn’t
looking for this any more than I was. It just happened. To both of
us. Please try to understand.”

“
You can’t change the fact
that he’s married.”

“
I’m not asking him to
change it. That’s just one of the reasons why I told him we
couldn’t see each other anymore. But he flew out here today and
asked me to give it a chance…” Andi shrugged.

“
You’re far too old for me
to tell you how to live your life, but you were right when you told
him this is a no-win situation. I can’t bear to see you hurt again
like you were with Alec. You’re setting yourself up for a terrible
disappointment.”

Her mother’s words hurt, and Andi knew there
was some truth to them. But as she ran her fingers over the
exquisite dress, she decided he was a risk she was willing to
take.

“
What’s Eric doing?” Andi
got up from the bed. “I want to spend some time with him before
Jack gets here.”

“
Is he your boyfriend?”
Eric signed as Andi helped him into his favorite Spiderman pajamas.
He smelled so sweet from his bath, and she held him close for a
minute before he squiggled away.

Andi was glad now that she’d never told him
about the few dates she’d had with his friend’s father. She’d hate
to have to explain the change in direction to a five-year-old. She
could barely explain it to her mother—or herself. “Sort of.”
Checking her watch, she saw she had only forty-five minutes.

“
Can I meet
him?”

“
Of course you can. He
wants to meet you, too. Mommy’s going to get dressed while you have
your dessert, okay?”

“
Okay.”

She kissed him and left him eating his ice
cream in the kitchen.

After a quick shower, she pinned up her long
dark hair in an elegant French twist. When she couldn’t keep a few
curls from springing free, she gave up trying. She realized she was
nervous when her hand trembled as she applied mascara.

Her mother’s somber warning ran through her
mind, but she chased those thoughts away when it was time to put on
the gorgeous dress and shoes, which fit as if they’d been made just
for her. She wondered how he’d managed such a wonderful
surprise.

Cinderella
indeed
, she thought, checking the complete
ensemble in a full-length mirror. She couldn’t have done better
herself. As she walked out of her room, the doorman rang to
announce her visitor. She asked him to send Jack up and called for
her mother to bring Eric.

Andi opened the door, and her mouth went dry
at the sight of Jack in a tuxedo.

He handed her a single red rose and kissed
her cheek. “Magnificent.”

Wiggling a finger to bring him closer, she
kissed him back and whispered, “You, too.” She took him by the hand
to lead him into the living room where her mother and Eric waited.
“Jack, this is my mother, Betty Franklin. Mom, Jack
Harrington.”

He shook Betty’s hand. “Pleased to meet you,
Mrs. Franklin.”

“
Likewise.” Andi heard the
hint of reserve in her mother’s tone but didn’t think Jack tuned
into it.

“
Who’s that cute guy behind
you?” He crouched down and signed, “Hello, Eric, my name is
Jack.”

Andi’s heart swelled with love as she
watched him communicate with her child.

Eric’s big blue eyes sized up the stranger
in the funny clothes as he signed, “Hi.”

Jack turned to Andi. “I might need your help
here.” He spoke slowly and signed, “Do you like baseball,
Eric?”

Eric looked at his mother, and she signed
baseball correctly.

Jack watched and mimicked her signs.

Eric nodded enthusiastically.

Jack reached for his inside jacket pocket
and withdrew four tickets to the next day’s Chicago Cubs game.

Eric’s eyes lit up when Jack handed him the
tickets.

“
Do you want to go?” Jack
signed.

Eric looked at his mother, who nodded and
signed rapidly to remind her son of his manners.

“
Thank you,” Eric signed
and scampered from the room with the tickets and his grandmother in
pursuit.

“
Have a nice evening,”
Betty called over her shoulder.

“
How did you learn sign
language?” Andi asked, astonished.

“
Don’t be too impressed.
That’s about the extent of it. Kate’s friend Miranda has a sister
who’s deaf. She gave me a few pointers last night.”

“
It must’ve taken you hours
to learn that much!”

“
Just a few,” he confessed
as he walked her to the front door. “I was a good student. Miranda
said so.”

“
Thank you for doing that
and the dress and the tickets. How did you manage all this?” she
asked in the elevator.

“
I’ll never tell my
secrets.” He led her to the limo he had waiting at the curb. “I’ll
admit to having had just a tiny bit of help, but that’s all I’m
saying.”

“
I’ll get it out of you,”
she said confidently.

He laughed. “I’ll look forward to that.”

“
So where are we
going?”

“
You’ll just have to wait
and see.” He slipped an arm around her, drew her close, and kissed
her. “I’ve needed that since the minute you opened the door. You
look stunning.”

“
Thanks to my secret
shopper.” She reached up to caress his face. “I didn’t think I
could love you any more, but what you did with Eric… Thank you,
Jack.”

He kissed her again, this time more
intently, and after a few minutes they were both breathless with
longing.

“
Ever done it in a limo?”
he asked, nibbling his way up her neck.

She laughed. “Nope.”

“
We’ll have to fix that
later.” He kissed her again. “Hey, I forgot to tell you before that
Frannie and Jamie got engaged last week.”

“
That’s wonderful! You must
be delighted.”

“
We all are. Jamie asked me
to be his best man.”

“
Of course he did. When’s
the big day?”

“
New Year’s
Eve.”

“
I like
that
—
a new year
and a new start.”

He kissed her hand. “I hope you’ll be there
with me.”

“
Maybe,” she said
wistfully, still finding it hard to believe they could have a
future together.

The limo slowed to a stop,
and Jack helped her from the car onto a pier. A uniformed man
waited to welcome them aboard the
Esmeralda
, a classic eighty-foot
Trumpy yacht.

“
Oh, Jack, it’s gorgeous!”
She turned to him as a steward escorted them up the gangway. “Whose
is it?”

“
It belongs to a former
client who was happy to loan it to us for the evening.”

The steward led them into a large dining
room where a single table was set for two. A trio in the corner
provided background music.

She gazed at the extravagant surroundings
while the steward told them the boat, built in 1966 in Annapolis,
Maryland, was considered the “Rolls Royce of American motor
yachts.”

Andi walked around the elegant, candlelit
dining room. When she turned to Jack, he shrugged, as if it’d been
nothing to arrange this fairy-tale evening.

They dined on one exquisite course after
another. The musicians kept up a quiet tempo while they ate the
delicious food and enjoyed the exceptional wine. After they shared
a chocolate soufflé for dessert, Jack held out his hand to her.

He escorted her to the small dance floor at
the front of the room and pulled her close as the musicians swung
into a different tune. One of them stepped to the microphone and to
sing “The Way You Look Tonight.”

“
Jack,” she gasped when she
heard the familiar song.

“
I wanted to be sure you’d
remember all our first times,” he whispered, brushing his lips over
hers.

The band played one love song after another
as they danced close together. After a while she looked up to study
his handsome face.

“
What is it?”

“
Just admiring the
view.”

He smiled. “Happy?”

“
Mmmm.” She rested her face
against his chest. His heart beat against her cheek as she played
with the hair that curled above his collar.

“
Let’s get some air,” he
said, leading her off the dance floor with a wave of thanks to the
musicians.

Jack dropped his tuxedo jacket over her
shoulders, and they leaned on the rail to watch the water rush by
below as the sleek yacht sluiced through the vast lake.

“
I can’t believe you did
this, Jack. I’m overwhelmed.” She reached for him and could tell
she surprised him with a deep, searching kiss.

His hands moved with tantalizing slowness on
her back under the jacket he’d put around her.

Her skin tingled from his touch.

The kiss went on forever, or so it seemed,
before he pulled back to kiss her cheeks, her forehead, and the end
of her nose. “I can’t get enough of you,” he said, his voice hoarse
as he kissed her again. “I need you so much, Andi. Tell me you’ll
give us a chance.”

“
I want to so badly. More
than anything.”

“
But?”

“
I’m so afraid of getting
hurt again. It nearly killed me once before. I don’t know if I’d
survive it again—not when it’s so much bigger this
time.”

Jack leaned his forehead against hers. “As
much as I wish I could offer you guarantees, that’s one thing I
don’t have to give. All I can do is tell you again how much I love
you and how much I want to be with you—if you’ll have me. That’s
all I’ve got right now.”

She reached up to caress his face. “It’s far
more than I’ve ever had before.”

He reached for her hand and pressed a kiss
to her palm.

A tremble rippled through Andi. She’d never
wanted anything more than she wanted him.

“
There’s a very cozy
stateroom down below that’s ours for the evening.” Tilting his head
in invitation, he extended a hand.

Aware that she was agreeing to far more than
a few hours in a cozy stateroom, Andi met his gaze and sealed her
fate by wrapping her fingers around his.

He led her down a small flight of stairs and
through a narrow hallway. The moment he closed the cabin door
behind him, he reached for her.

Their kiss quickly became urgent.

She pushed his tuxedo jacket off her
shoulders, and it fell to the floor. Reaching for his collar, she
removed the bow tie and went to work on the onyx studs lining his
shirt.

He unzipped her dress. With
a soft flutter, it billowed into a cloud at her feet. “Oh my
God
,” he whispered,
gawking at the ivory lace corset that boosted her full breasts to
overflowing.