Treading Water (21 page)

“
Oh, Jack, of course she
would. I’m so sorry that being here is hard for you.”

Reaching for her hand, he brought it to his
lips. “Being with you is never hard for me. Don’t worry about
me.”

Betty joined them a few minutes later. “How
is he?” she asked.

“
About the same,” Andi
replied. “Still sleeping a lot. They’ll lower the pain medication
tomorrow to keep him awake. He’ll be getting up, too.”

“
Did the doctor say when he
could go home?”

“
A couple of days. He
should be back to normal in two to three weeks.”

“
Well, the worst part is
over,” Betty said with relief. “Why don’t you two take a break?
It’s nice outside.”

“
Are you sure you don’t
mind staying?” Andi asked.

“
I’m fine. I have my book
and my knitting. Go on along for a while.”

Andi kissed Eric’s forehead. “We’ll be back
in a few hours. Call my cell if he wakes up or if you need me.”

“
I will. Don’t
worry.”

Jack held the door for Andi and kept his arm
around her while they walked to the elevator. Outside, the city
bustled with limousines headed to the theater district and people
venturing out for dinner. The crisp air held the promise of a
chilly evening as they walked hand in hand along the busy
street.

“
Are you hungry?” he asked
after they’d gone a few blocks.

“
Not really, are
you?”

“
I’m good for
now.”

“
I hope you’re not missing
anything important at home. I haven’t even thought to ask
you.”

“
It’s a good weekend for me
to be gone. Jill had a lacrosse game, but they’ve already clinched
a playoff berth, so the game was a formality. We have some clients
in town, and Jamie’s taking care of them. Don’t worry, honey. I’m
right where I need to be.”

They wandered into a small park, and he
steered her to a bench where they sat to watch an older couple with
two young girls who had to be their granddaughters. The girls
giggled as they fed the pigeons. When the birds chased after them,
the girls shrieked with delight.

“
They remind me of Jill and
Kate at that age,” he said as he caressed Andi’s fingers
absently.

“
Jack…”

“
Hmm?”

“
I’ve been doing a lot of
thinking.”

That got his attention. “Oh, yeah?” He’d
gone out of his way not to mention “the question” to her.

She looked down at their joined hands.
“David offered me the Newport property.”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
Managing the hotel. The
job is mine if I want it.”

Jack sat up straight, his
grin stretching from ear to ear. “Are you
serious
?”

She nodded, smiling at his reaction. “I’m
glad I waited to tell you in person.”

“
Oh my
God
! This is fabulous! When did it
happen?”

She focused again on the girls and the
pigeons. “A couple of weeks ago.”

“
You weren’t going to tell
me?” Jack asked, surprised and hurt that she’d kept such big news
from him.

Turning her attention back to him, she
brushed the hair off his forehead and ran a finger over his cheek.
“I was thinking about the big picture, trying to decide what’s best
for Eric and me. And what’s best for you and your girls.”

“
I’ve told you what’s best
for me—and the girls.” He hoped they’d agree if it happened, but
he’d seen no point in broaching the subject with them until Andi
decided.

“
You’ve been so patient
about giving me time to think, and I appreciate that.”

“
Do you want the Newport
job?”

“
I think I do,” she said
sounding almost surprised. “I love what I’m doing now, but I’m
ready for a new challenge and less travel now that Eric is getting
older.”

He could feel her edging toward a decision
and had to resist the urge to push. “Let’s get going.”

“
Good evening, Ms. Walsh,”
the uniformed doorman said as they stepped into her building.
“How’s Eric?”

“
Much better, Joseph, thank
you.”

“
That’s real good news. You
have a nice evening.”

“
You, too.”

In her apartment, Jack stopped her when she
reached for a light. He took her hand and kissed it as he brought
her into his arms, kissing her neck and working his way up to her
lips.

She pulled him closer, desperate with need
after so many weeks without him. Pushing his jacket off his
shoulders, she unbuttoned his shirt and kissed his chest and neck,
while her fingers caressed his back, making him tremble.

He startled her when he suddenly lifted her
and headed for the bedroom.

He set her down, worked fast to get rid of
their clothes, and brought her down so she faced him on the
bed.

Sighs became moans, arms and legs became
tangled, two became one. Cupping her bottom, he held her tight
against him as he slid slowly into her.

Only when she needed to breathe did she pull
her lips free.

Jack shifted so he was over her and picked
up the pace. Hooking his arm under her leg, he pushed it up to her
chest and sank deeper than he had ever been before.

“
Jack!
”

He opened his eyes to find hers glistening
with tears and froze. “Honey, what is it? Does it hurt?”

“
No.” She arched her back
and fought to absorb the staggering array of emotions and
sensations. The sorrow he’d shown her earlier had touched her
deeply, and she wanted so badly to help him forget his pain, even
if the relief was only temporary. “Nothing…”

He brushed his lips over her face. “What?
Tell me.”

“
Nothing has ever been like
this. Ever.” She reached for him to bring his mouth back to hers.
The thrusts of his tongue matched the motion of his hips. He filled
his hand with her breast and rolled her nipple between his
fingers.

She cried out when the climax hit, her hips
surging up to meet him, and her hands clutching his shoulders.

“
Andi
.” He trembled as he pushed hard against her and groaned with
his own release. They lay panting in the darkness for several
minutes afterward.

“
You can turn the light on
now.”

Laughing, she said, “What
was
that
?” She had
never before felt such a fierce need and was almost frightened to
accept that she’d never again feel it for anyone but
him.

“
That,” he said, kissing
each of her fingers, “was you and me and our love. Something comes
over me when I’m with you.”

“
The same thing comes over
me.”

“
Whatever it is, I love it,
and I love you.” He gazed at her. “You’re all I want in the world,
all I’ll ever want.”

She caressed his face. “Ask me again,
Jack.”

It took a second for him to understand, and
then he seemed to know. “Andrea,” he said, his voice heavy as he
gazed into her eyes, “will you come live with me and be my
love?”

“
Yes,” she
whispered.

He closed his eyes and rested his forehead
on hers. “Thank you.”

Chapter 15

“
So when did you decide?”
Jack asked on the walk back to the hospital.

“
I think it was the minute
you stepped off the elevator when Eric was in surgery. I was so
upset, but everything became crystal clear in that
moment.”

“
That’s not why I came, you
know.”

“
I know that.” She tucked
her hand into the crook of his arm. “I already told you if I hadn’t
had Eric and my job to think about, I would’ve said yes the first
time you asked me.” She reached up to kiss him. “I’ve never doubted
us. Not for one minute.”

“
Neither have
I.”

“
What would’ve happened if
I just couldn’t do it?”

He thought about that for a minute. “I guess
we would’ve kept doing what we’re doing until Kate graduates next
year. Then Maggie and I would’ve moved out here.”

Startled, she said, “But Clare and your
business…”

“
I would’ve figured it
out.”

“
Now you don’t have
to.”

He leaned down to kiss her as they walked.
“I think we should keep this to ourselves until after Frannie and
Jamie’s wedding.”

“
I agree. This is their
moment—and they’ve certainly waited long enough for it.”

“
That doesn’t mean I
wouldn’t like to shout it from the rooftops,” Jack said with a
devilish grin as he stopped to look around at the people on the
street. “Matter of fact, I don’t see anyone I know…”

“
Jack…”

He smiled and restrained himself. “She loves
me.” Against her lips he whispered what he wanted to shout. “She
loves me, and she’s coming home with me.”

“
Oh, yes, she loves you.
Even though you’re crazy, she loves you.”

When Andi and Eric arrived in Rhode Island
for Thanksgiving, everyone was relieved to see him fully recovered
from his surgery. Andi got to meet Jack’s parents and Jamie’s
parents, who had flown up from Palm Beach for the holiday.

On Thanksgiving morning, Jack and the girls
left for an hour to visit Clare.

“
How’d it go?” Andi asked
him when they got home.

“
It was okay. They were
good,” he said, referring to the girls.

With her hand on his cheek, she asked, “How
about you?”

“
I’m fine.” He kissed the
palm of her hand and smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes the way
his smile normally did. “Let’s eat.”

As everyone sat down for dinner, Jack
proposed a toast.

Jill folded her arms and scooted down in her
chair. “Get comfortable. Here comes the annual speech.”

He swatted at her with his napkin while the
rest of them laughed. “That’ll be quite enough out of you.” In that
moment, he realized how far they’d come from the somber holiday
they’d observed a year ago. “I’m thankful for my girls, even the
bratty one,” Jack said, raising an amused eyebrow at Jill.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

“
There’ll be no speech
except to say I’m thankful to everyone at this table who helped me
through the worst time in my life. Better days are ahead for all of
us, so let’s drink to that.” Glancing at Andi, he raised his
glass.

The others followed suit.

Neil barked out “Hear, hear!”

After dinner Frannie corralled the women
into the study to look at the books she’d brought from the dress
shop so the girls could pick their bridesmaid dresses.

“
Are they gone?” Jamie
peeked around the corner and reached into the pocket of his tweed
jacket. He pulled out a fistful of cigars and passed them
around.

“
Let’s enjoy them while we
can,” Neil said in what he considered to be a whisper. The others
shushed him.

Jack rounded up ashtrays and poured brandy
as the others lit up.

“
When do you leave for
Tokyo, son?” Neil asked Jamie.

“
Monday. I’ll be back
Friday night, though. I tried to put it off until after the
wedding, but the account needs some attention.”

“
You’ll need two full days’
sleep after doing it that fast,” Jack said, taking a deep drag on
his cigar. Clare never would have allowed them to smoke in her
house, a thought that gave him a pang of guilt, so he opened the
sliding door to let out the smoke.

The gorgeous day was unseasonably warm for
late November in Rhode Island, and the yard was littered with large
yellow leaves dancing in the sea breeze.

“
I’m going to get some
air,” Jack said. “It’s so nice out.” The mild November had put them
ahead of schedule on the hotel, and the foundation had been poured
earlier in the week.

Jack walked past the now covered pool to the
edge of his property to look down at the shoreline. Light seas hit
the rocks, launching salty spray into the air but not high enough
to reach him. He was enjoying the roar of the ocean and his cigar
when his father walked out to join him.

“
Beautiful day,” John
Harrington said.

“
Sure is. Won’t be many
more like it before winter.”

“
So how are you, Jack?”
John puffed on his cigar and placed a hand on Jack’s
shoulder.

Jack looked down at the hand and then up at
his father with surprise. His hair was now all silver, and his
brown eyes were filled with unusual warmth. “I’m much better. We
all are.”

“
I’m so glad to hear it—and
to see it. Much different than last year.”

“
We still miss Clare very
much, but life goes on.”

His father nodded in agreement. “I like
Andi. She’s a beautiful girl. I never could fault your taste in
women.”

“
Well, at least there’s
something,” Jack said dryly.

“
That’s not
all.”

Jack stared at his father as if he had never
seen him before.

“
Don’t look at me like
that. I’m trying here… You shouldn’t have had to wait almost
forty-five years to hear this, but I’m proud of you,
son.”