“I was overwhelmed.” He swallowed. “I wasn’t prepared for the way I felt when I saw him, proud and so happy—it was like I was his father.”
“So explain it,” she said abruptly. She wasn’t ready to forgive him for lying to her—or at least, lying by omission—but she couldn’t deny that his story was very convincing.
He shook his head. “I can’t. There’s a theory dealing with cellular memory that comes the closest. Very simply, it’s believed that certain life experiences are actually imprinted in our cells. But even so, nothing as…detailed as what I’ve experienced has ever been recorded. Some transplantees report a craving for a certain kind of food that they never liked before, and it turns out to have been the favorite of the donor. Things like that are documented. But specific memories of prior events from the donor’s life being transferred?” He shook his head. “I tried to talk about it once, but my doctors didn’t seem to understand exactly how detailed my memories were. I was afraid they would think I’m crazy.”
She nodded. “I bet.” Then a new thought occurred to her. “Have you told Patsy any of this?”
He looked horrified. “Of course not.” His expression eased as warmth seeped into his eyes. “She’s just happy to know that part of Mike is still living, in a sense, and especially pleased that she’s been given the chance to get to know me.”
She felt her whole body sag in relief. “Thank heavens.”
He took a deep breath. “Mike must have loved you with every fiber of his being, because otherwise, why would I ever have known—”
“Exactly.” She felt deflated, afraid to let herself accept what he offered. “We wouldn’t even have met if it hadn’t been for this cellular memory, or whatever it is, that led you here.”
“You don’t know that. Even without it, I might have been curious enough to try to locate my donor family, just to see you.” He smiled crookedly, his eyes tender as they roamed her features. “And I guarantee you that even without Mike’s cells urging me on, I’d have been attracted to you.”
She hesitated. “What if your feelings for me are simply a product of receiving Mike’s feelings with his heart?” She saw his eyes change as she spoke, and she realized that until that second he hadn’t been sure she would ever forgive him. Neither had she, she acknowledged. Then she realized that much of her anger had dissipated during the previous revelations.
He didn’t speak for a moment, and she felt ridiculously glad that he hadn’t dismissed her concern. “No,” he finally said. “If I were only experiencing Mike’s memories, I would hate the idea of you working outside the home. But that doesn’t bother me in the least.”
“So…you’re not feeling everything Mike did.”
He shook his head. “I worried about that, too, at first. But now…I love you, Catherine. Me, Gray. You’re just going to have to take it on faith, because I’ll never be able to prove it to you. I’m going to need this heart for the rest of my life.”
She swallowed. She wanted to throw herself into his arms, but…his words brought on a fresh fear. “How long…what kind of life span does a transplantee have?” She’d loved Mike and he died, but she knew that if she opened herself to what Gray was offering and then lost him as well, her heart would never recover.
“I have every hope of growing old with you, if you’ll share your life with me,” he said, his gaze warm and intense. “Transplantees are routinely living normal, productive lives now. There’s a man in England still going strong after twenty-two years. You have to remember that many people who need transplants are either much older than I, or they have other significant medical conditions that complicate their life span prospects.” He smiled again. “I guess I’m a little bit of a guinea pig for my doctors. I was a normal, healthy young adult male, and I received a normal, healthy young adult heart that we all expect to keep working for a normal, healthy life span.”
“But what about rejection? Don’t you risk getting sick?”
“I’ll always have to take antirejection drugs and go to the hospital once or twice a year for checkups.” His voice was patient, as if he’d been prepared for all her questions and concerns. “But I’m on a very light dose of meds. I monitor myself carefully for signs of illness, try to eat well and avoid alcohol. I stay out of the sun because there’s an increased risk of skin cancer, and I’m religious about my exercise program. Other than a few things I’ve incorporated into my lifestyle, Catherine, I am no different from any other man you’ve met.”
“Every other man doesn’t have my husband’s heart and memories,” she pointed out, but she was smiling.
He straightened from the bench, coming forward and drawing her to her feet. “I love you, Catherine. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away who I was. I want to marry you and be a father to Michael, maybe give him some brothers and sisters one of these days. Will you consider it? You don’t have to answer me now. I know this has been a lot to absorb—”
“Yes.” She put a hand over his mouth. “Do you realize you babble when you’re nervous?”
He nodded behind her hand, and then she felt his tongue whisk across her palm in a stealthy caress. “I love you,” he mumbled. “Did that ‘yes’ mean yes, you’ll consider it or—”
She removed her hand, smiling up at him. “I’ll marry you.”
“Whenever you like. I know how you feel about making this public too soon, and I’m sorry I reacted the way I did—”
“That reminds me,” she said. “Patsy’s big charity dance, the Iris Affair, is next Saturday night. Would you like to escort me?”
Gray’s eyes closed for a second, and when they opened, they were glistening with moisture. It was clear that he recognized her olive branch. “I’d love to,” he said. Then his hands slid down her back and drew her closer. As he dropped his head and sought her lips, he said, “So what are your plans for the rest of the afternoon?”
She slid her fingers up into his hair, slanting him a teasing smile. “Well…I’m a bit tired. Perhaps I could rest at your place for a little while. Then maybe later we could take Michael out for ice cream. What do you think?”
His fingers were already teasing open the buttons of her suit blouse. “Sounds like a plan.”
The Iris Affair was probably the most beautiful event she’d ever attended, Catherine thought. Patsy was proud of her committee’s efforts with good reason.
Crystal chandeliers sparkled overhead; on each table, irises in extraordinarily lovely hues floated in crystal bowls on each table. A large ice sculpture of an iris’s delicate blossoms dominated a central table. Large arrangements of irises with other complementary flowers and greens decorated the buffet and the musicians’ stage, and each female guest had received a single perfect iris which was pinned into her hair.
“I bet those people over there are talking about us.” Gray’s teasing tones floated down from above her head as they danced. “I think I heard the woman in the purple dress saying something about a hussy.”
Catherine made a face as she thudded a fist against his solid arm. “You rat. I was terrified people would think I was after your money,” she said.
Gray’s chest heaved beneath her cheek and she felt him chuckle. “No one but us knows about your finances,” he pointed out. “As far as the world knows, you’re a wealthy young widow. Maybe they think I’m after your money.”
“Fat chance,” she said. “There are a few people who know the truth: my stockbroker, lawyer, and accountant.”
“They’re in no position to mention it to anyone,” he reminded her. “Who would ever want to hire a professional who couldn’t keep confidential information, confidential?”
“Speaking of confidential information,” she said, “I had a doctor’s appointment today and he says I should go off the Pill right away if we want to conceive within the next year.”
Gray’s eyebrows rose and he smiled cautiously. “Is that what you want?”
She smiled up at him. “You’re a part of this family in
more ways than most people could ever imagine; I can’t wait to have a baby that shares your genes.”
His blue eyes shone, and he dropped a kiss on her temple as he pulled her into a close embrace that, if people weren’t already talking, would surely set them to doing so. “I love you,” he said in a deep, husky voice. “I will always be grateful to Mike for the gift of his heart and I promise you that as long as it beats in me, I will treasure you and Michael and any children we have together.”
Catherine closed her eyes and rested her cheek against his shoulder, savoring the sweet words as they began to dance again. Her hand was caught close in his, resting right over the heart that had given both him and her a new chance at life.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-8631-7
BILLIONAIRE BACHELORS: GRAY
Copyright © 2003 by Anne Marie Rodgers
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