Drew rested a hand on the boy’s shoulder and grinned. “No one will bother the stuff you left in your room. It’s yours and no one else’s.”
“Good.”
After a tearful good-bye at the airport, Drew told the driver to take him to Charles’ office. Since the Irish press would pick up the story, he and Erin would have to coordinate how much to say and prepare Patrick for the resultant attention. They’d lived such a quiet, private life that it wouldn’t be easy for them to become a media target, even for a short time. The tabloid press had the attention span of a gnat, but initially their appetite for what they perceived as “dirt” would be voracious.
Charles grabbed two beers from his office’s refrigerator and handed one to Drew who sat slumped in a cushy leather chair. “If you want to deflect attention away from Patrick, you could announce your engagement and do a ‘by the way…’ about your son,” Charles suggested.
Drew frowned and shook his head back and forth. “No matter how I do this, the media will turn Patrick into the child I deserted or my ‘love child’ or call him my ‘secret shame’ or invent some other label.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “What I don’t get is why the hell anyone still cares about anything I do. I’m a retired athlete who models sometimes and does commentary for competitions, mostly in Europe.”
“Have you looked in a mirror lately or flipped through a glossy magazine? You’re easy on the eyes and the products you’re associated with have a high profile. Plus, until you met Kate, your dating and party habits were the stuff of legend. That makes people curious to know more about you.”
“You’re right. I brought this on myself. Other Olympic athletes go back to the small towns they came from or retreat to a training facility to prepare for the next challenge. I signed contracts to represent big brands, which made me incredibly rich and now I’m paying the price for it. I didn’t mind losing my privacy when it was just me. I could always get on my bike and disappear. Now Kate and Patrick and even Erin are involved. They didn’t ask for this.” He slumped forward and chewed on his thumbnail. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. I’ll set up an exclusive with one of the weekly magazines and maybe a late night talk show. Ask Erin if it’s all right to share one of the many pictures you took with Patrick so no photographer has to bother them. Maybe Kate will agree to do the interview with you. When do you think you’ll pop the question?”
“I’ve been so focused on Patrick that I haven’t even thought about it.” He raised the beer to his lips and drained it. “I have the ring and I want to marry her. She loves me so she might even say yes. There’s no reason to wait, I guess. Are you and Liz free tomorrow night? We’ll all go out for dinner and if it feels right, I’ll ask her.”
“Wait. You’re not going to arrange some super romantic, top of the Eiffel Tower-type proposal?”
Drew looked startled. “No, should I? Those things always seem so staged and the only witnesses I want are our two best friends.”
“Then count me and Liz in. I’ll reserve a table at Mike’s place in the village. He’ll make sure that no one bothers us.”
Mike led them to his personal table at the back of the restaurant, the same one he’d given to Liz and Kate the night they’d stopped by for a drink. It was somewhat secluded and no one bothered them until the women headed to the ladies’ room.
Drew recognized a familiar perfume just before a voice purred in his ear, “So, you’re still with the cute editor.”
He rolled his eyes and mouthed, “shit” to Charles who scowled at their visitor. The last thing Drew needed on the night he would ask Kate to marry him was this particular reminder of his past. “Yes, Lara, we’re together.”
“You’ve never lasted this long with anyone, even me.”
“There’s a reason for that. I’ve never been in love before,” Drew replied matter-of-factly. “And now that you’ve satisfied your curiosity, you can rejoin your friends”.
“When we broke up, you said we could be friends,” she pouted. “I miss that thing that you do with your…”
She stopped speaking when she noticed Kate on one side of her and Liz on the other. The women looked as if they wanted to pick up the stick-thin, blond model and carry her away. “When you interrupted our meal the last time, I was polite,” Kate began. “This time you’re trying to spoil an evening with my boyfriend. Go away. He doesn’t want you here and neither do I.” Kate turned her back on the stunned woman and Drew put his arm around her when she sat.
“No one talks to me that way,” Lara hissed, hands resting on her narrow hips.
“She just did,” Drew growled. “You’re starting to look ridiculous. Like Kate said, go away, Lara.”
Her eyes darted from Drew to Kate, then she shrugged her shoulders as if to say whatever, smiled, and made her way back to her table. Mission accomplished, she knew someone would call or text one of the gossip sites, and, if there was anything she loved more than attention, it was causing trouble for a man who’d rejected her.
Drew reached the same conclusion. “You know how this is going to play out, right? Someone will speculate that two women are competing for me.” He stood and pulled out Kate’s chair. “Sorry to cut the night short.” He directed the apology to Charles and Liz. “Kate and I have someplace we need to be. Can we meet you both for brunch tomorrow? Balthazar at eleven?
He took Kate’s hand and led her to the door. She’d become used to riding around the city on his motorcycle when the weather cooperated and that was how they’d come to the restaurant that evening. She expertly pulled on her helmet and slung a jeans-clad leg over the bike after Drew climbed on, but before he started the engine she leaned forward to ask, “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise. You’ll see.”
“All right,” she said and wrapped her arms around his waist. She trusted him. It was a shock to realize that was true, since she’d wondered if she’d ever be secure enough to cope with his fame and the less desirable parts of it. Parts like that bitch, Lara. But he proved his love for her over and over until she was finally able to lose her doubts.
She didn’t care about where Drew was taking her, content to simply snuggle against his back and feel the heat of his body through the leather he wore as he confidently steered them through New York traffic. They hadn’t gone very far when he pulled to the curb. She removed her helmet and saw that they were beside St. Patrick’s Cathedral. “What are we doing here? I haven’t been back since…”
He finished the sentence for her. “Since that day you fell into my arms.” The lips that met hers were gentle and undemanding. “I wanted to be alone with you and what better place than a church at night, right?”
They found an unlocked side door and were immediately surrounded by the scent of candle wax and incense. “Let’s sit,” he whispered since talking in a normal voice would disturb the few people who were there to pray. He led her to an empty pew and, holding hands, they sat quietly for a few minutes until Drew turned toward her.
“This is where it all began. You stumbled into my life and all I had to do was be smart enough to catch you, but I let you get away. And then a miracle happened — we found each other again. I suspect Gran had something to do with it, since I’d come here that day to arrange a Mass in her memory. All she ever wanted was for me to be happy, so she sent me an angel. I love you, Kate. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, if you’ll have me.”
Kate gasped when he slid to his knees. “Are you saying…” she began, but was too overwhelmed by the moment to get another word out. Tears ran down her face as she watched him pull a small, red leather box from his pocket. “Marry me, Kate,” he said, then held his breath, suddenly uncertain as her gaze shifted from his eyes to the sparkling ring and then back again until he gently repeated, “Marry me,” and brought her out of her stupor.
She threw her arms around him and said, “Yes” over and over and over again. He pressed his lips
to her palm and slid the glittering ring on her finger.
Drew felt a hand lightly brush his cheek, but when he looked down both of Kate’s hands were still in his. He shook his head, disbelieving, yet hoping that what he’d felt wasn’t his imagination. “Thank you, Gran,” he murmured, and held the woman he loved as if he’d never let her go.
THE END
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LEGACY OF THE HIGHLANDS http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0062LPAO2
A LEGACY OF REVENGE http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BSD9UFY
LEGACY OF LOVE http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NKRYUPQ
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