Unforgettable (10 page)

“You?” Tom sputtered.

“Been there…done that, my friend. Catch up, will you?” Patrick uncharacteristically teased right back.

“I don’t believe it!” Tom exclaimed. Susan and Patrick laughed at his astonished expression.

“I thought your last name was Brenton?” Patrick asked Susan.

“It is! Or rather, it was. Brenton is my maiden name. Tom and I have only been married a little over a year. Most of my business associates don’t know I’m married yet so they still use my maiden name. I thought you were a client when you called me that day,” Susan explained. “What about you, Mr. Mysterious? First it was SD, then Sean, and now Patrick. What’s up with that?”

“Actually, that’s my name…Patrick Sean Day. Only my friends call me Patrick, everyone else calls me Sean, or Mr. Day,” he explained. He didn’t bother to tell them the only people who’d called him Patrick in the last ten years had been his father, Liam and Tom. Nobody else dared call him Patrick, not even the many wealthy businessmen he’d done business with over the years.

“Wait a minute,” Tom interrupted again, “Everybody just back up and start explaining ‘cause I’m lost and a little confused here.” Tom had been so busy buying another radio station and worrying about Breezy’s health when Susan had told him the story, he hadn’t asked any questions about the stranger who’d saved her life. He only knew the basics of what had happened to Breezy. Now, she was in New York looking for that stranger. Susan and Patrick laughed again at Tom’s expression.

“You two go on and sit down. I’ll put dinner on the table and we can talk,” Susan said. She pushed them both out of her kitchen and into the dining room. To her surprise, they both leaned down and kissed her cheeks at the same time. The two men laughed and walked into the dining room with their arms slung across each other’s shoulders.

During dinner, Susan and Patrick filled Tom in on the details he’d missed before, including the flowers, songs and all the other gifts Patrick had sent to Breezy. After dinner, they sat in the living room talking over drinks.

“How is Brittany doing? Is she well?” Patrick finally asked the question he had been dying to ask from the moment he’d first seen Susan.

“She’s doing just fine. She did have to take pain meds for a while and stay off her feet for a few days, which she hated, but she’s back to normal now. Whenever something bad happens to Breezy, she always bounces back a little stronger than before. It’s cooled off quite a bit since then so we shouldn’t have any more heat related worries,” Susan said.

Patrick was relieved to hear it, but the way Susan had said, ‘Whenever something bad happens to Breezy…’ upset him considerably. Did terrible things happen to Breezy all the time? Surely, she meant
if
. He didn’t like the thought of anything happening to Breezy, let alone people seeming to expect it.

“Did you know she’s in New York looking for you at this moment?” Tom asked.

“Yes, I know,” Patrick replied softly. He ran his fingers through his tousled black hair in exasperation. “I heard her message and dedications while I was driving to the airport this morning and I wanted to get in touch with her. Unfortunately, I was already running so late I almost missed my flight to get here for today’s meetings. They were too important not to attend, I’m afraid. Besides, I didn’t want to talk about this over the phone. That’s just so impersonal and I didn’t know what I could possibly say to her. Everything I thought of just seemed so inappropriate.” Patrick sat there for a few minutes in silence, completely lost in thoughts of Brittany Spring. “She said she’d be home tomorrow,” Patrick finally said, “Maybe that’ll give me more time to think about what to say. By the way, Susan, in her dedication to me she said something about guardian angels. Do you know what she was talking about?”

Susan explained how Breezy had mistaken him for her guardian angel and how ironic it was he had called her his Earth Angel.

“Since we didn’t know who you were, Breezy and Susan just kept referring to you as the guardian angel, or Breezy’s guardian angel,” Tom said. “That’s all I’ve heard for two weeks now.” Tom rolled his eyes at the thought of ‘The Terror of NYU’ being anyone’s guardian angel.

“I’ve got a fantastic idea!” Susan said, snapping her fingers. “Breezy doesn’t know you are here, right? And she’s coming over tomorrow after she gets home to help me with the decorations for our Halloween party tomorrow night. Why don’t you come to the party and surprise her, Patrick? It’s a costume party and it’ll be a lot of fun, I promise,” Susan declared.

“You should come, Patrick. Susan and Breezy are famous for their parties around here,” Tom added.

“I don’t think so, guys. Thanks for the invitation, though. I’m just not big on parties, especially not costume parties. Besides, I don’t have a costume,” Patrick said, trying his best to get out of attending. A Halloween costume party was just not his style. Hell, fun in any way, shape or form had not been his style for years.

“Oh, come on, Patrick! I’ve got a costume for you and everything! All this talk of angels these past few weeks made me decide to go as one but my costume is way too big for me. In fact, it’s so big I’m sure it would fit you perfectly. And since I don’t have enough time left to alter it anyway, you’d be doing me a huge favor by taking it off my hands. Come on, Patrick! Please?” Susan begged relentlessly.

“Breezy already thinks of you as her guardian angel. Just imagine the look on her face when she sees you for the first time actually dressed as an angel, with wings and everything! It would be priceless. Besides, the way Tom tells it, you used to be the life of the party,” Susan cajoled. There was no way she’d let him off the hook.

“A lot has changed since then, Susan. Even if I did take you up on your offer, that would leave you without a costume for your own party and I couldn’t do that to you,” Patrick replied. As reluctant as he was to attend this party, dressed as an angel no less, he had to admit the look on Breezy’s face might be worth it.

Before she could argue the point further, the phone rang, “That’s probably Breezy now. She said she’d call me tonight,” Susan said as she answered the phone.

“Hi, Susan. It’s me,” Breezy said despondently.

“Hi, Breezy. Can you hold on a minute? Tom has a friend over for dinner and I want to pick this up in the kitchen, OK?”

“Sure.”

Susan placed her hand over the receiver so Breezy couldn’t hear her. “Patrick,” she whispered, “Go pick up the extension in the kitchen and listen in. Don’t say anything, just listen.”

“Why?” Patrick questioned in a whisper.

“Just do it, please? Maybe hearing her talk about you the way she does will convince you to come to the party tomorrow night.”

“You might as well do it, Patrick. She won’t give up until you give in,” Tom said, trying not to laugh out loud. Patrick may not know it yet but he was definitely coming to the party, whether he wanted to or not. Tom knew his wife all too well and she wasn’t about to take “no” for an answer. Poor Patrick had no idea what he’d gotten himself into.

Patrick reluctantly went into the kitchen and picked up the receiver. He felt like an eavesdropper for listening in on a private conversation when Brittany wasn’t aware of it. But, if it got him out of his current predicament, so be it.

When Susan heard the click, she said, “OK, Breezy, I’m back. Did you hear from your guardian angel yet?”

“No. That poor station manager received thousands of calls but not one of them was Sean.”

Patrick’s heart beat wildly when she spoke his name. Her voice was so soft and gentle, so full of kindness. He longed for her to say his name again but the disappointment in her voice was painful to hear. “I asked Dave what all those callers had said but he told me I was too much of a lady to know and he was too much of a gentleman to repeat even half of it. As for the rest, he said it was against the law and against his morals to repeat such vulgarity,” Breezy said.

Patrick was furious. Those damned perverts would have scared her half to death if she’d spoken to any of them. Thank God the station manager had had enough sense to know that. He couldn’t understand why he was so angry right now, but he’d like to kick somebody’s ass for talking that way about her.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Breezy,” Susan said. “There’s still time. You may hear from him yet.”

“What am I going to do, Susan? I have to find him, I just have to. I’m beginning to doubt my guardian angel even existed. Maybe he was just a dream, after all.”

Something about her sad, sweet voice made him long to reach out and touch her, to hold her in his arms and put her doubts and fears to rest forever. A strange tingling sensation swept throughout Patrick’s body. He didn’t understand that feeling nor did he know where it came from. He tried telling himself it was probably just jet lag, only he knew better. Brittany’s words had touched his stone cold heart and warmed it, just a little. He almost spoke to her, but changed his mind when an idea came to him.

“Breezy, I assure you he is real and larger than life. Dreams can’t send flowers and musical water globes through the mail. You just have to find him, that’s all. Remember what you told me in the hospital about him? About how he held you so protectively and how beautiful he was? Remember, Breezy? You told me he was the most perfect, most gorgeous man you’d ever seen,” Susan said, smiling because Patrick was on the line listening to every word she said. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Tom sat on the sofa beside Susan trying to maintain his composure and failing miserably. In fact, he lost it altogether and had to cover his face with a throw pillow to keep Breezy and Patrick from overhearing his loud guffaws. His dear, sweet Susan was downright sneaky and underhanded when she wanted something badly enough. God love her, she never gave up.

In the kitchen, Patrick had snapped to attention, hanging onto Susan’s every word now. That tingling sensation he’d felt before returned and brought with it an extremely different sensation that traveled through his body like slow, warm molasses.

“I remember, Susan. I also remember saying I thought angels should have wings, too. However, if I ever do find him, I seriously doubt the man will have wings. Oh, I don’t care what he looks like,” Breezy sighed in frustration, “I don’t care who he is or what he does. I just want to find him to thank him. At the least, I owe him my gratitude and my life. I can’t allow that to slip by unnoticed. I don’t know why, but it’s important I find him. It’s like, if I don’t find him, I’ll lose something terribly important. I’ll lose a part of myself and I’ve lost far too much in the past to let his friendship slip away. That’s the only way I know how to explain what I feel.”

“I know, Breezy. I know what it means to you. If you don’t hear from him soon, come home. We’ll have the party and, if you haven’t heard from him by then, we’ll find another way. I promise you, OK?” Susan said, grinning at her husband. Tom covered the phone with his hand and whispered to his wife, “You little sneak! Tell me, dear, when’s the wedding?” Susan smacked his hand away and he buried his face in the pillow again to muffle his laughter.

“Thanks, Susan. You’re a great friend. I hope my guardian angel knows he has a friend in both of us.”

“Somehow, I think he does. I’m sure you’ll hear from him soon, maybe even sooner than you might think.”

“I hope you’re right. Night, Susan, and please tell Tom I said ‘good night’ to him, too. Good night, Sean, wherever you are,” Breezy said with a sigh.

“Good night, Breezy,” Susan said as she hung up the phone. Susan slapped Tom on the behind in a warning to straighten up before Patrick returned.
Poor Breezy
, she thought.
So downhearted and sad, but she won’t be for long if I have anything to say about it
.

The turmoil in Patrick’s head and heart nearly overwhelmed him until something clicked. He straightened his tie and fastened the buttons on his suit jacket before returning to the living room.

“We have to talk, Susan. Mind if I ask you a few questions?” Patrick began in his best business-like manner.

“Of course not, what’s on your mind?” Susan replied, shooting a glance at Tom who casually covered his mouth with his hand. Luckily, Patrick was paying little attention to him, his entire focus now on Susan and the questions he wanted to ask.

“If I were to attend this party tomorrow wearing your angel costume, would you be able to find a suitable replacement for yourself in time?”

“No problem. I’ll just get some raffia, a straw hat and some make-up and go as a scarecrow. It’s what I’d originally planned before all this angel talk came up.”

“Does this costume come with wings?”

“Yes, huge ones, with feathers and everything.”

Patrick stood in silent contemplation before asking his next question.

“Susan? What did Brittany mean when she said, ‘…if I don’t find him, I’ll lose something terribly important. I’ll lose a part of myself?’ What makes her so tenacious in wanting to find me?”

“Well, you have to understand that when you saved her life, a connection was made between the two of you. She feels like she owes you for her life and if she can’t repay you monetarily then she needs for you to be a part of that life, preferably as her friend. We value friendship highly around here. Friends are family to us so when a stranger steps in and saves your life, you want to get to know someone that selfless. Believe me, once you meet her, you’ll understand. With Breezy, there’s no ulterior motive. She’s a unique individual, the last of a dying breed…a true lady.”

Patrick blushed to hear anyone refer to him as selfless. It was a new concept and one he wasn’t entirely comfortable with. “And you’re certain she has no idea of who I am…none at all?”

“Are you kidding? I didn’t know and, even after having met you, I wouldn’t have put it together had you and Tom not told me at dinner tonight. To my knowledge, no one has ever seen you. Your family made sure they kept you from the public eye so your identity has remained a mystery to everyone.”

“That’s true. My father was determined to give me as normal a life as possible, even if it was a privileged life. By the time I was a teenager, avoiding the press came to me as easily as breathing,” Patrick explained. That was one of the few reasons he was able to go anywhere and not be recognized. Also, he refused to be chauffeured around, either by limo or private plane. He did his own driving in an expensive Jaguar, just not so expensive it drew the curiosity of the press enough to see who was driving it.