And right now, all he had was his job, so he focused on that, just as he had before. But what if he should be doing something different this time?
Christmas music played in the lobby of Sweet Breeze, and Theo basked in the American tradition for several long moments. “Hello, sir,” Maxim said, the security guard standing by Fisher’s private hallway. “Going up tonight?”
“Yes,” he said, and Maxim strode over to the elevator and pushed the button for him. Theo carried several cards in his hand, and he gave one to Maxim.
“Merry Christmas,” he said with a smile.
“Thank you, sir.” Maxim tucked the card inside his jacket and grinned. “Did you hear that Maine Fitzgerald got engaged?”
“The quarterback?” Theo didn’t particularly follow football, but he was a Texan, and the genes were in his blood. “Didn’t he get stranded not too long ago?”
“Yeah, with a woman.” Maxim’s eyebrows went up, and the elevator doors opened. “I guess they fell madly in love out on that island.”
Theo chuckled along with Maxim, who was always good for a piece of island gossip. “Maybe I should try that. I’m going to a party with my business partner. Have you seen Ben yet?”
“No, sir.”
Theo nodded, said, “Merry Christmas,” one more time, and got on the elevator alone. He rested his head against the cool metal as the car shot up, wondering if he could survive another twenty years of life by himself.
The weight of the whole hotel seemed to press down on him, and he honestly didn’t think he could. On Fisher’s floor, the holiday music intensified in volume, as did the general excitement in the air.
He entered the penthouse to laughter, and merriment, and glowing Christmas tree lights. Gifts sprouted out from under the tree, and Theo grinned at the evergreen before focusing on his friends. They all wore their formal clothes, as he expected, and stood in groups, chatting. Some had glasses of sparkling sodas, and some sipped water, and others nursed flavored colas—like Lawrence.
Theo felt out of place there, without anyone on his arm, and he wondered what Katie would’ve thought of an upscale party like this. A bolt of sadness struck him, and that seemed to draw every eye to him.
Stacey bent her head together with Esther and Tawny, and then all three of them left their husbands and came toward him.
“Oh, boy,” he said, raising his hands in surrender. “What did I do?”
“Where’s Katie?” Stacey asked.
“Probably at home,” he said. “Look, you guys already know we broke up.”
“But you loved her,” Stacey said, a whine in her voice.
“I mean….” Theo looked away. “When your husbands mess up, what does it take to make things right with you?” He looked at the three women, deciding they were a decent sample group.
“Jewelry,” Tawny said, and Sasha, Jasper’s wife, joined them.
“Oh, I love jewelry,” she said. “Who are we buying for?” She glanced at Theo and gasped. “Katie? Are you asking Katie to marry you?”
“She just got back from Switzerland,” Tawny said.
“I like a romantic date,” Esther said. “Just us. No kids. No talk about pineapples or profits or anything like that.”
“She won’t go out with me,” Theo said as gently as he could.
“But when she does,” Esther said. “Make sure it’s romantic. No kids. No talk about work or websites or anything like that.” She gave him a very pointed look that stabbed him right to the heart.
“I try not to,” he said.
“Yeah, I know,” Esther said. “You men and your businesses.” She lifted her drink to her lips. “Some of us don’t care.”
“You own a business too,” he pointed out.
“Yeah, but only in paper. I don’t drive anymore, and I hired a full-time manager. So it’s not the same as it was.”
Theo wanted that for Katie, and an idea started to take shape in his mind. He imagined a life for her where she still owned Clean Sweep, but only on paper. She didn’t have to scrub any floors and she could have a full-time manager take care of everything. Someone she trusted…someone like Claire.
“He’s got a look in his eye,” Stacey said, drawing his attention back to her.
“Do you like being home with the kids?” he asked them.
“Yeah,” Esther said. “It’s a different kind of work, but I like it.”
“I think Katie liked it too.”
“Oh, and you think you can get her to fall madly in love with you, hire a manager, and stay home with Heather?” Stacey looked like she’d swallowed a mouthful of lemon juice.
“Bad idea?” he asked.
“She should be involved in that decision,” Tawny said. “I don’t have children yet, but when I do, I’d want to be able to talk with Tyler about what we’ll do.”
“Your husband doesn’t work,” Esther pointed out, and Tawny looked at her.
“So? You think that means he wants to be Mister Mom?” She folded her arms.
“Maybe,” Esther said. “He’d be good at it.”
“And I wouldn’t?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.” Esther looked at Stacey. “Help me out.”
“Do you want to quit the beach yoga?” Stacey asked, and Theo felt like an outsider in the conversation.
“No,” Tawny said. “It’s only part-time anyway, and Tyler’s already said he’d love to have the baby while I’m gone.”
A hush fell over the women, and then Stacey squealed, almost deafening Theo. He flinched away from the sound as the four women in front of him started jumping up and down and laughing.
“What’s going on?” Lawrence asked as he joined Theo.
“What did you do?” Jasper asked, also coming over.
“I have no idea,” Theo said.
All the women were talking at once, and Theo couldn’t find one of their voices and follow the thread. Tyler arrived on-scene, and he said, “She told the girls, then?”
“Told them what?” Jasper yelled over the uproar. Theo glanced around and found everyone at the party watching.
Tyler stepped over to Tawny, who was crying, and touched her back. She turned toward him, and the posse broke up. “So, Tawny and I are expecting,” he called out above the Christmas tunes. Tawny wiped her eyes and grinned, and Tyler looked pretty pleased himself.
Theo’s mouth filled with bitterness. Unless he married someone much younger than him, he’d never be a father. It was something he hadn’t thought he wanted—until he was standing there watching the joy on his friend’s faces.
Until he thought about Heather, and how much he’d enjoyed talking to her, and swimming with her, and watching her cook.
He turned to leave, to go to Katie and convince her that he wouldn’t choose work above her. Because without her, his success meant nothing. Without her, his money was meaningless. His entire life was meaningless.
“Hey,” Ben said, blocking his escape. “What’s going on?”
Theo watched all the hand-shaking, congratulating, and hugging, feeling nothing but hollow inside. “Tawny’s pregnant,” he said.
“Oh, that’s great,” Ben said, and of course it was great. Christmas was great. The food was great, and the people he was with were great. Exchanging presents and laughing was great.
But Theo didn’t really feel like he was a part of the greatness. He felt like it was happening around him, passing him by, like so many years of his life already had.
And he wanted to taste the greatness. Experience it. Breathe it in and live it.
To do that, he needed Katie and Heather in his life. He needed to start spending some of his money instead of working, working, working to make more of it.
Tomorrow, he told himself. Tomorrow, he’d figure out how to get Katie back into his life and how to start truly living it.
Nineteen
Katie stared at Heather as she angrily slapped cheese slices on buttered bread. “You can’t talk to me like that.”
“Why not, Mom?”
“Because I’m your mother, and I deserve more respect than that.” Her own anger rose, but she worked to tamp it down. The past couple of weeks had been difficult to say the least, with Heather upset that Katie had broken up with Theo, and then with learning that now that her painting was finished, she’d have to go back outside and do the sports in her after-care club.
She’d already tried to fake a cold, a sprained ankle, and a fake disease where she couldn’t be in the sun. And now she’d just told Katie that her life would be better if they’d stayed in Kansas, because at least then she’d get to see her dad on holidays.
Her Christmas card from her father had not arrived yet, and with only two days until Christmas, time was running out.
“You don’t need to make me a sandwich,” Katie said as she turned away from her daughter’s upset face. “I’m not that hungry.” She walked out of the kitchen, unable to deal with Heather’s outburst right now.
Katie had been having a hard enough time unknotting her own emotions and managing her own grief over the loss of Theo for the second time in her life. But this time, it was doubly hard, because she had Heather to deal with too. She’d had a crying fit about every other night for the past two weeks, and now she’d just turned mean.
Katie had looked up some information on preteens, and Heather was showing all the signs of a normal, regular, almost-teenager, but Katie didn’t have to like it. Or be insulted by her child, a person who didn’t have the experience or wisdom to make life decisions.
She closed her bedroom door behind her and pressed her back into it, breathing in deep through her nose. “Okay,” she said as she exhaled. Her phone had been dreadfully silent lately, with only her maids texting or calling about work. She hadn’t dared change her relationship status on GBS, though she felt lost and in need of some direction in her love life.
Retreating to the recliner beside the window, she sat and looked outside. She’d taken up this position a lot over the past couple of weeks since Theo had gotten in his car, asking her if his apology would ever be enough.
She’d gone through a range of emotions, from guilt over not giving him the benefit of the doubt, to denial that she’d been waiting for him to screw up so she could dump him. She didn’t want that.
Did she?
Katie had gone around and around, through, over, under, and back around her actions and feelings and thoughts. She’d admitted that maybe she’d been selfish, and she knew better than most that a real relationship required sacrifice and selflessness. Maybe she’d over-reacted to the situation with Heather, as she was also mad at Katie for removing Theo from their lives.
“I was trying to protect her,” she whispered to the glass, but she knew she’d been trying to protect herself. And she’d failed.
The doorbell rang, and Katie twisted in her chair, trying to think if she was expecting someone. She wasn’t, not even Claire. Maybe it was one of the neighbors, with another bag of white chocolate popcorn or a plate of cookies. Katie always hated taking the gifts, because she never reciprocated.
When the house stayed silent, she stayed in her chair. Heather knew better than to answer the door without her, so it was especially upsetting to hear voices in the hallway. She sprang to her feet, her heart racing but her body staying stubbornly where it was.
Someone knocked, and then Heather said, “Mom?” through a crack in the door.
Katie tiptoed across the room and asked, “Who is it? Why did you answer the door?”
Heather ducked into the room, an unreadable expression on her face. “You left your phone in the kitchen,” she hissed. “And I saw the texts, so I knew who it was.”
“Well, who is it?”
“Theo.” Heather grinned like she’d just gotten her entire wish list from Santa Claus himself. “Mom, it’s Theo.”
“What in the world?” Katie fluffed her hair, dropping her hand when she realized what she was doing. “I don’t want to see him.”
“Come on, Mom. He says he just wants to talk to us.”
“Us?”
“Yeah, both of us, together.” Heather’s hope faded, getting replaced with the sour look that Katie was becoming used to. “I tried to get him to come eat with me, but he insisted he talk to us both.”
Katie turned away from Heather. “I know you like him, bug. But I honestly don’t think it’s going to work between us, no matter what he says.”
“But why, Mom?”
“If you think I work a lot, you have no idea.” Katie faced her daughter and lifted her chin. “You know how he only comes over on Sundays? That’s because he works at all hours every other day of the week. Is that what you want?” She edged forward, feeling a spark in her that had been absent since the break-up. “You already have a dad who’s not around. You want another one?”
Heather looked like she’d been slapped, and Katie regretted the strength in her words. “I’m sorry, bug,” she said, deflating as quickly as she’d gotten fired up. “But that’s the truth, and I’m trying to protect you from another situation like the Christmas festival.” She gathered her daughter into a hug, surprised when Heather let her.
Her arms were surprisingly strong for a girl who didn’t like PE or any kind of sports. Then she stepped back and said, “Well, I’m going to talk to him.” She moved around Katie and opened the door before Katie could do anything.
“She doesn’t want to see you,” Heather said, truthfully, and the statement made Katie cringe. The door closed just as she lunged for it. Her knuckles hit the wood and she flinched away before scrambling to twist the knob.
“Heather,” she said, and both Heather and Theo turned to face her.
Katie’s heart boomed in her chest with loud beats. The sight of Theo’s handsome face, the anxiety in his expression, the way he watched her with those intoxicating eyes.
“I just want to talk for a few minutes,” he finally said, breaking the tense silence between them. “Maybe on the back deck?” He put his arm around Heather and said, “As I was saying, I saw your painting and it was beautiful. So great.” They moved down the hall together, and Katie hated seeing them walk away from her.
So she got herself moving after them. She felt like a newborn, like she’d never taken two steps together before. But she did get down the hallway and through the kitchen and onto the back deck with her daughter and the man she suspected she couldn’t truly live without.
“I just want to say I’m sorry for missing it a couple of weeks ago,” he said. “Sometimes things happen that keep me from doing what I really want to do.” His gaze flickered to Katie’s, but then he focused back on Heather. “Sometimes that happens, you know?”
“I know,” she said. “My teacher said once that we could have a movie on Friday, but then there was a fire drill and we didn’t have time.”
Theo smiled, and it was filled with soft love. “Yeah, kind of like that.” He sobered and folded his arms. “I was wondering if you wanted to go to breakfast with me tomorrow. Then we can go shopping.”
Heather looked at Katie, but Theo said, “Oh, just you and me, Heather. Your mom’s actually not invited.”
“Not invited?” Katie’s voice pitched up. “It’s Christmas Eve.”
“I’ll have her back by noon,” Theo said coolly, his expression turning a smidge harder when he looked fully at her. “I just want to spend some time with her alone.” He took a step toward Katie and then fell back to his position by the swing again. “You too, if you’d like. Maybe we could go to dinner tomorrow night.”
Katie wanted to blurt yes, she’d love to, but she still wasn’t sure which angle Theo was playing.
“Can I, Mom?” Heather asked, and Katie found she couldn’t deny her.
“Sure, sweetheart.”
“Great,” Theo said. “I’ll pick you up about eight, okay?”
Heather beamed at him, then Katie, and she said, “Okay. I’m going to go check on the cats.” And she skipped off, le
aving Katie to face Theo alone.
“What are you doing?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
“Apologizing,” he said. “To her. To you.” He did take that step toward her this time, his gaze tracking Heather for a few seconds. “I want to take her Christmas shopping.”
“Claire—”
“I know,” he said, lifting his hand as if to quiet her. “I’ve already spoken to Claire. She told me she takes Heather Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve, and I begged her to let me do it this year.”
He took another step toward her, and Katie could practically feel the warmth from his hand as it curved down the side of her face, though he was still a few strides away from her. “I want to take you out. Just the two of us. No kids. No talk about business. Just something romantic, so you’ll know I’m dying without you.” He stepped again. “A slow, painful death that seems to go on and on no matter what I do.”
One more step. “And I can’t keep doing it. I love you. I want you back in my life. I’ve hired more people, so I’ll have more time. I mean, I can’t control certain things, like if someone files a complaint about my app that needs immediate attention. But I don’t have to build every website and every app.”
He took another step and now he stood right in front of her. His voice had muted at some point after he’d said the words, “I love you.”
Those three words echoed endlessly in her head, and she startled when he put his hand in hers and then slid his fingers up her arm. “So what do you think?” he asked. “Dinner tomorrow? We can start again?”
Katie’s eyes drifted closed as his hand moved into her hair. “I don’t know.”
“What else can I say? What can I do?”
Katie looked up at him, everything inside her softening. The seconds stretched, and the forgiveness she needed surged through her. “I love you too.”
He blinked, obviously surprised.
“Is this crazy?” she asked, genuinely wanting to know.
The Belated Billionaire Page 14