by Jerilee Kaye
Karl stood in front of me open-mouthed. “Okay, so I’m personally your fan now!” he said.
“What are you talking about?”
“That is just amazing! I think this is the first time I ever saw someone stand up to Travis Cross!” he said.
I laughed and then turned to the waiter and ordered three of their beef set specialty.
“Why three? Their servings here are massive,” Karl said.
“Yes. The other one is for you.”
Karl shook his head. “No, no. I can’t.”
“Consider it my treat,” I said to him, smiling. Then I turned to the waiter. “Please don’t put sesame seeds on one of the sets.”
“Are you allergic to sesame seeds?”
I shook my head. “But Travis is.”
“How did you know that? I’ve worked with him for three years and that never came up. Who are you and where did you come from?”
I laughed again. “I’ve known Travis since we were ten,” I said. “He was my brother’s best friend.”
“How did you…end up engaged?”
“Ahhh…” I hesitated. I didn’t know how to say this. “Spur of the moment, I guess. Things just sort of happened. But before that, Travis and I were…like the best of friends.”
“How could you be best friends and engaged to an intimidating man like that?” he asked. “And how can you spite him…and make him bend?”
“I don’t really have an answer to that,” I said. “Since my brother died, Travis sort of…took it upon himself to take care of me. We’ve known each other for years.”
“And that makes it easier for you to stand up to him,” Karl said. “Do you mind if I look at your ring?” he asked.
I nodded and extended my hand to him. “Didn’t he ask you to pick this one out?”
He shook his head. “I know rings. This is gorgeous! The design is nothing like you’ll see in the shops today. It’s absolutely out of this world!” He looked at me. “Perhaps this is an heirloom?”
I pulled back my hand and stared at the design of the ring. The center stone was probably four carats or more, and the diamond was very clear. There were stones and carvings on the side that made it look elegant and classic. It was a beautiful ring. And I knew it was more expensive than any of the rings I’d dreamt of wearing whenever I thought about being proposed to.
“Where do you live?” I asked him.
“Same building as you,” Karl replied. “Travis was generous enough to rent an apartment for me. Part of my package.” And he seemed really happy.
We walked back to the building. “Are you sure you’re okay? You walked a couple of blocks!”
I laughed. “I’m a part-time dancer. I have much more stamina than you think.”
“You dance?” he asked. “Ballet?”
I shook my head. “Contemporary. And sometimes jazz, hip-hop. I’ll probably try breakdancing soon!”
He grinned. “Wow! You’re cool! No wonder he’s smitten with you.”
When we reached the lobby of the building, I told him that he could have lunch in his apartment.
“But Mr. Cross might need something.”
“And I’m here to take care of that. I’m sure he will not need a rundown of what happened to his businesses while he was gone. Just go to your apartment and enjoy your lunch. I’ll bring our lunch up. And besides, he might be pissed off with me when I get back. You don’t need to be there when we have our verbal judo!”
I took the paper bags from Karl when we entered the elevator. He pressed his floor.
“Are you sure this is okay? I’m worried.”
I smiled at him. “I promise you won’t get ‘disciplinary action’ for this.”
He grinned. “You’re a breath of fresh air, Brianne Montgomery. I think you really are what a guy like Travis Cross needs in his life.”
When I opened the door of Travis’s apartment, he was leaning on one of the walls, watching me come in.
“Where is Karl?”
“I sent him to his apartment to have lunch.”
He narrowed his eyes at me.
“It’s lunchtime, Travis,” I said. “The guy’s been waiting on you for hours. He needs nourishment if you want to keep your assistant for a very long time. And whatever you need for the next hour, I think I can handle it.”
I placed the paper bags on the table and prepared our food. When all was ready, I came to find Travis. He was sitting on the balcony, staring at his wonderful view. He seemed lost in his thoughts.
I knew that he was raging mad at me right then. Travis was used to having things in order. I was slowly disturbing that balance, and I knew he wasn’t happy about it.
But he was too tense all the time. I knew he didn’t have to apply military tactic to everything he did. The Travis I knew still knew how to have fun, how to let things go. He used to be so mischievous and naughty when we were growing up. He even managed to joke and laugh whenever we saw each other in Connecticut. Now, here in his own world, he seemed engulfed with an invisible cold, tough case.
“Lunch is ready,” I said to him.
He slowly stood up from the chair and faced me. I smiled at him. He didn’t smile back.
I sighed. And because I didn’t know how to please him better, I stepped closer to him and gave him a hug. He didn’t hug me back, but I kept my patience.
“You said it wasn’t going to be easy for me to live with you,” I said. “Well, it isn’t going to be easy for you, either. Because while you’re cold and ruthless, I’m warm and sunny, remember?” I stared up at him. “Do you want me to stop smiling all the time?”
He stared down at me for a long moment. And as if realization had seeped through to him, he took a deep breath. He wound his arms around me and gave me a kiss on the forehead. “No,” he whispered. “I wouldn’t want you to stop smiling at all.”
I smiled. “I love you, Travis,” I said to him. I meant that. I might not love him as a lover, but I knew I loved Travis with all my heart.
“You’re the only thing I have left to love,” he whispered.
I pulled away from him. “Come. Lunch is waiting.”
***
Over the next week, I settled into Travis’s apartment. He was busy most of the time, but he checked up on me almost every hour. He left at eight in the morning and came home between eight and eleven at night.
I usually waited up for him. When he came home, I took off his coat, put his shoes back on the rack, and asked him if he’d had dinner. Usually, we had midnight snacks together on his balcony, and he told me bits and pieces of what had happened during the day.
“I’ll go to the gallery tomorrow,” I told him one night. “I haven’t called Mom yet. Perhaps I will surprise her. I sent her my resignation from our branch in Connecticut. She told me she would talk to me when she gets back from Paris. That’s tomorrow.”
Travis nodded. “I’ll send a car to drive you.”
I shook my head. “I can take the train, Travis. You don’t have to worry about that.”
He raised a brow at me. “You’re my fiancée, Brianne. You won’t take the train.”
“You don’t have to spoil me, Travis. I’m just an ordinary girl,” I said to him.
“Brianne, could you please…at least for the first few weeks while you’re still settling in…just allow me to do this,” he pleaded.
I sighed in defeat. Then I nodded. “Okay. But once I’m settled, the car and driver need to go.”
“What time are you coming home?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I’ll go around noon. I’ll probably be back around five. Why? Do you need anything?”
He shook his head. “Just give me a call if you do.”
I slept on the bed, Travis slept on the couch in the bedroom. It was big enough to be a bed. Once or twice, when I couldn’t wait up for him, he slept in the guest bedroom, just so he wouldn’t disturb me when he came in.
Living with Travis was not as hard as I thought it would be. Th
ere were a couple of times that I still stared in space and thought about Chris…the last man I was in love with. But anger immediately crept in when I remembered Alana and how she was in his apartment a couple of hours after Chris and I broke up.
I had yet to give up my apartment. I’d sell my stuff…as soon as the idea that I’d be living with Travis for a very long time sunk in.
My mother was surprised when she saw me at her doorstep the next day.
“I saw the limo, and you’re the last person I was expecting to step out of it!” she said, hugging me.
“It’s nice to see you, Mom.” I hugged her back.
We sat at the coffee table by her glass window.
“What happened? You are resigning? And now I see you in Manhattan, being driven around in a limo.”
I took a deep breath. “Well, I might be living in Manhattan for a while.”
“Why are you leaving your life in Connecticut behind? Everything okay?”
I nodded. “Everything’s fine.” Although I still thought about Chris once in a while.
“I would like to have you here. I need help managing this branch when I travel most of the time,” she said. “And I think you’ll be safer here.”
I raised a brow and giggled. “This city is not crime-free, Mom.”
“True. But Travis is here,” she said. “I know you’ll be well looked-after here.” She looked at the limo outside. “I take it you have seen each other already.”
I smiled. “How else could I afford that?”
“He spoils you,” she smiled. “By the way…are you still with that guy you brought to Aunt Vicki’s party? Is he…getting close to popping the question? You’re gonna be thirty soon, you know.”
I sighed. I shook my head. “No, Mom. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out.”
She was taken aback. “Oh my God, sweetheart,” she sighed. “You’ve broken up? Why? I thought you’d been dating for a while now.”
I nodded. “But apparently, he has so much insecurity in life. He doesn’t sit well with…our marrying-early tradition.”
My mother looked at me apologetically. “Oh, sweetheart. It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I married your father young and look where we are now. Don’t mind the stupid family tradition. I don’t think it’s true. It’s better to wait for the right man to come.”
I laughed. “Thanks, Mom. But I’m not going to be the subject of table talks and family gossip, or risk being ‘cursed’ in love for life. I do intend to get married this year.”
“Well, this Chris character should come to his senses! He should know what a beautiful, amazing woman you are!”
“I’m not marrying Chris,” I said to her.
She looked confused and then her eyes drifted off to my finger. She immediately pulled my hand to examine my ring.
“What the…” she started. “This is expensive! And it looks like an heirloom! Are you marrying royalty?”
I laughed. “No. But I know he’s rich. Although that isn’t the reason why I’m marrying him.”
“You just broke up with Chris. How come you’re marrying another man? Chris didn’t propose to you and you dated him for two years. How long have you been seeing your fiancé?”
I shrugged. “Forever, I guess.” Because Travis and I never really started dating, I couldn’t figure out the right answer to that.
“Who is this guy?”
“Take a wild guess, Mom. I think I’ve only known one filthy rich guy in my life,” I replied.
She was thoughtful for a while, and then her eyes widened. “You’re kidding!”
I shook my head and smiled. I think I was blushing, too.
“I didn’t even know you two were dating!” she said. Then she narrowed her eyes at me. “Don’t tell me you two just got drunk one night and then you got pregnant and you decided to get married. Because I will kill Travis if that is the reason!”
I laughed. “Relax, Mom. That’s not it,” I said. “I guess…Travis and I had always thought we’d get married one day. We treat each other like family anyway. I guess marriage is the way to make it official.”
My mother stared at me as if she was reading me. I felt nervous for a while, afraid that she might see through me, but what did I have to hide?
I loved Travis; he loved me. That was true. We didn’t love each other like lovers, but still we loved each other nonetheless. That counted for a lot. We promised to look after each other for the rest of our lives. That was a lifetime vow in itself. He did propose to me; I said yes. I had an engagement ring. The wedding would take place in a couple of months. So in truth, there was nothing to be guilty about. This engagement was as real as the real thing.
“Are you happy?” she asked.
I would not be ‘cursed’ by my family. I would not join their Hall of Shame. I would marry a guy who loved me and would take care of me better than any other guy could…and would do a better job than my father ever did. I was recovering from my breakup with Chris in record time. I had a new life to look forward to. I didn’t have to worry about losing Travis, at least for the next couple of years. What could be happier than that?
I nodded. “Yes, Mom. You know I am.”
She smiled at me and tears rolled down her cheeks. “I have been…a bad mother, Brianne. I abandoned you so many times, and in so many ways. But I’m glad you turned out okay. And I’ll always be indebted to Travis for looking out for you during those times that we couldn’t. Travis…is one of the many things we will always thank Thomas for.”
Tears rolled down my cheeks, too. Because now, more than ever, I felt that I was not only doing the safe thing by marrying Travis. I was doing the right thing.
When I got back to Travis’s apartment, I was surprised that he was home. The table was set for two. He emerged from the balcony with a beer in his hand.
“There you are!” he said. “I have a surprise for you.”
I smiled excitedly. “Really?”
He took my hand in his and pulled me toward the balcony. There, I saw an easel and a cabinet full of art supplies.
“Oh my God!” I breathed.
I realized just how much I’d missed painting. I felt nostalgic and excited at the same time. Travis just reminded me what I’d been missing about myself all this time.
“I figured you’d want to start making that masterpiece of yours. Paint the world, the way you see it.”
I lunged forward and gave him a hug. “Thank you, Travis!” For years, with Chris, I’d barely bought a brush. He wasn’t fond of seeing me being idle and just painting. He never told me to stop painting, but he also didn’t encourage it. And now, I realized just how much I’d really missed it, how much I missed that part of myself.
Travis hugged me back. “You’re welcome, cherie.” Then he pulled away from me. “How did your chat with your mother go?”
I smiled at him. “Great! She cried, of course. She said she felt indebted to you forever since you’ve been taking care of me since I was…fifteen.”
He looked at me with a sober expression on his face. “And now I will take care of you for the years to come.”
“Until I find the right one,” I said, examining the canvass on the easel.
He didn’t answer. When I stared back at him, his expression was fathomless.
“Do you mind at all, Travis? That you’ll look after me for a couple years more?”
He pulled me to him again. “I’m not worried about that,” he said. “With me, I’m sure you’re taken care of. It’s after the divorce that I’m worried about.”
I stared up at him. “Why?”
“I will only give you a divorce if you are sure that you’ve found the right one. That the guy you find will give you the life you deserve.”
“And you’re willing to stay married to me until I find him? What if…I find him after five years, or ten years? Will you stand by me for that long?”
“Yes,” he replied without hesitation.
“What about your own lif
e, Travis?”
He took a deep breath. He pulled me against his chest and inhaled through my hair. “You’re going to be my life now. Before you, I wouldn’t think about marriage at all.”
“You’re saying that because you haven’t found her yet. But someday, Trav, you will find the girl you want to spend the rest of your nights with.”
He chuckled humorlessly, as if he thought that was an offensive joke.
“I’m not kidding! When you do, you’ll want to marry her…and stay married to her for the rest of your life,” I said.
“Is that what you were looking for?” he asked. “A guy you wanted to stay married to for the rest of your life?”
I giggled. And then I nodded. “Yes. And a guy who wanted to stay married to me forever. Because he loved me…because I ignited his senses, and he couldn’t live a day without me. Not just because I forced him into this fate a long time ago.”
He fell silent for a while. Then he said, “Until you find him, I’ll stand beside you.”
Tears rolled down my cheeks. I hugged Travis tighter. “Thank you, Travis.”
“For what?”
I took a deep breath. “For you.”
Chapter Seventeen
In the mornings, I made sure I was up to make coffee for Travis before he left for work. I did his tie and helped him put on his suit.
He smiled at me. “You’ll do a good job at being Mrs. Cross,” he teased. “I’m beginning to get used to this.”
I laughed. “And who said you were difficult to live with?”
Travis rarely came home at eleven in the evenings anymore. Most of the time, it was earlier than that, and we had dinner together.
One night, he came home late and I had fallen asleep on the living room couch waiting for him. When I woke up again, I was already back in the bed with Travis snoring quietly on the couch.
I had a chat on the phone with Karl one Friday night. He warned me that Travis was in a foul mood. He’d had a meeting with his father, and it didn’t go well.
“Like how bad?”
“Really bad. Travis was pushing his father to the wall, making him realize that he didn’t have any other choice but to sell. When the older Mr. Cross realized he was losing more and more to his son each day, he tried different tactics.”