Perfecting For Love - A Standalone Novel (A Doctors Romance Love Story) (Burbank Brothers, Book #3)

by Naomi Niles

  Chapter 15

  “May I come in?” I hesitated a few seconds, not because I didn’t want him to come in, but because I was in a bit of a shock.

  “Of course,” I said, stepping backward to let him in.

  “You look in worse shape than I am. Why are you dressed like that? More to the point, why do you smell like that?”

  “I know, I look awful. Come with me upstairs. I need to grab a quick shower and some fresh clothes. Then we can talk.”

  He nodded and we trudged upstairs with the weight of the world on our shoulders. When we got inside, I pointed to the refrigerator. “Help yourself; you look hungry.” With that, I headed off to my bedroom and then into the shower. I didn’t even wait to dry my hair or apply makeup. I just came into the living room as soon as I was dressed. I went to the refrigerator myself, pulling out a couple of baked chicken legs I had made earlier in the day. Plodding over to the couch, I sat down beside him and turned to face him.

  “Okay, before we get started, you have to promise to keep your mouth shut. I’ve been on assignment, at a homeless shelter.”

  “You what? Are you out of your mind? Do you know what can happen in those places?” His face was aghast at my actions.

  “Yes, that’s exactly why I didn’t spend the night. That, and the fact that there was nothing more to be accomplished. I’m a journalist, Sean. You have to remember that. It’s my job to keep the public informed, in the same way that it’s your job to go into a dangerous building and put out a fire. It’s just what we do.”

  “You don’t have to stay in a shelter to write about it.” He was trying to rationalize my arguments, as well as my actions. It wasn’t going to work. He needed to know that about me; I’d thought he already did. I had defied my father more than once.

  “You are missing the point. Yes, I do have to stay in a one in order to get a perspective from the people who have no choice but to stay in the shelter. I’ve been thrown out of the fire department, so here I am. I want to bring some human-interest stories into the public consciousness, and perhaps I can make a difference. Perhaps I can make these people’s lives be just a little bit better. What is so very wrong with that?”

  “We can’t be responsible for the entire world,” Sean pointed out. “I’m here because of one person, and that is Damien. You, on the other hand, are trying to fix the problems of tens of thousands of people. What will you do when you run out of people in shelters? Will you move on to Calcutta?”

  “Your sarcasm is not appreciated, Sean. Whether I am able to help one person or one million, the motives are still the same. The outcome will be improved by one. That’s good enough for me.”

  He knew I was arguing with him on the basis of my belief that I was right, more than on the basis of whether the overall concept was right. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “Look, I know things between us have grown very cold. I want you to know that it took every ounce of my integrity to stay away from you. I wanted to be with you, to look after you, and may be more than all of that, I wanted to feel your lips against mine. The same fate that brought us together is keeping us apart. It’s been damned miserable.”

  Every word he said rang a little bell in my heart. I wanted to believe him so badly. I had been miserable, too, and the idea that maybe I wasn’t alone in that made a huge difference to me. “I know. It’s been miserable.”

  “Gwyne, I’ve come to say goodbye.” His face held a tortured look and I could see his eyes glistened with emotion.

  “Goodbye? Where are you going, and why?” I sucked in my breath, trying to store enough in my lungs to keep breathing. Everything in me wanted to collapse, to fall over him and hold on forever.

  “Well, you know when I came to New York City. You also know that I didn’t have anything in the bank when I got here. As long as I was working, things were passable. You helped me out in the beginning and then my paychecks began to come in. Unfortunately, I am on leave until I’m physically better. I’ve got some burns that aren’t healing properly and I can’t be around a fire scene due to the smoke or chemicals that I might inhale. My lungs are still pretty raw. The bacteria that I could pick up from a fire scene could trigger a serious infection. In short, I’m not fit to work. I didn’t have any savings to fall back on and now I can’t make my rent. So, I’m where I was when I got the city. Essentially I’m unemployed, and I have nowhere to stay.”

  “You can stay here!”

  “I knew you were going to say that. It’s no good, Gwyne. I can’t live off you and your kindness. And even if I did stay with you, your dad will put a stop to it, and to my career when he finds out. There’s no way he’s not going to find out. It’s obvious to him I can’t live on what little I’ve got coming in from disability. I haven’t been here long enough to work up the pay scale.”

  “How is Dad going to find out?” I didn’t want to let him go so easily.

  “What if he stops by? What if he pulls up and sees me coming or going? There’s a dozen different ways.”

  I decided to put my cards on the table. “Look, Sean, there’s no better way to say this. I don’t want you to leave. You’re not well yet and you don’t have the money to travel. Please, stay with me for a while. I’ll bring in anything we need and you can putter around, building the rooms downstairs. I’ll look after you and you look after me. Just like we planned before. Dad won’t see us together at the firehouse. He thinks I’ve forgotten all about you.”

  “I don’t know, Gwyne. There’s a lot at stake here. You have a reputation to think about and I don’t want to be a guy who lives off of his girl.”

  I couldn’t help but catch his reference to my being his girl. It put flutters in my stomach, I won’t lie. I was desperately raking my mind, trying to come up with a rationalization that would make him stay. That’s when it hit me. “I have an idea.”

  “Oh boy, that sounds like trouble.”

  “No, not at all. Don’t forget, I’ve known my dad all my life. I know how he thinks and I know how to get my way.”

  “I don’t know, Gwyne. That feels pretty underhanded. It’s not really who I am.”

  I tried to withhold my disappointment. “I guess you’re right. But I’m not really sure how you can judge that when you haven’t even heard my plan yet.”

  He grinned at me and settled back against the sofa cushion. Opening his arms, he laughed, “Okay, hit me with your plan.”

  “I thought you would never ask. Well, the best way to make Dad believe that I have no interest in you any longer, is if I show an interest in someone else. If he thinks I’m interested elsewhere, he won’t question anything having to do with you. Besides, he never comes over here. He saw it once when I bought it and I think it made him feel like I was destroying a shrine. So, while he never makes a big deal about it, he tends to stay away. I guess I don’t blame him.”

  “That sounds just about right for your dad. I have to admit, I sort of felt the same way the first time I came in here. But then I saw that in one sense, you are preserving a piece of history and honoring it at the same time. That’s why agreed to be a part of it.”

  “So why can’t you agree to be a part of it now?”

  “The risks. I can’t have you shouldering all the risks on my behalf. Anyway, who would possibly agree to date you, but not to date you?”

  “Well, I do have friends outside the firefighting world, you know.”

  “And you mean to tell me you have a friend who would be willing to play along? Someone that your dad doesn’t already know?”

  I put my plate down on the coffee table and dabbed my mouth with a napkin. “Of course. I grew up around here. Do you think this would be the first time I ever had to hide a little something from my dad? I can think of at least two guys offhand who would be happy to play along. In fact, one of them tried to date me in high school and Dad ran him off. Now that I’m an adult, it might just even the score for him if he could make Dad think I was dating him when I really wasn�
��t.”

  “I’m beginning to see a bit of a pattern here, Gwyne. You seem to be motivated to do things based on how much it will aggravate your father. Why is that?” He winced as he shifted position and I knew his burns were causing him discomfort.

  “Can I get you something? Aspirin? A drink?”

  “No, I’m already on pain pills, thank you. But don’t try to avoid my question.”

  “Which is…?”

  “Why do you try to aggravate your father?”

  I was watching that cleft in his chin and was preoccupied when he’d asked the first time. “Oh, I don’t suppose it’s deliberate exactly. Dad has always had a very strong personality. My mother gave in to him and did whatever he wanted her to. I saw that and decided it wasn’t for me. I wanted to have input on my own life. You can’t do that sort of thing overnight without alienating, so I’ve spent a lifetime running my life at a ninety-degree angle to what he wanted. Seemed to make a lot of sense to me.”

  “I don’t know, Gwyne. It still bothers me.”

  “Look, Sean. Let’s make a deal. First of all, you earn your own way. I’ll provide the building materials and room and board, and in return, you’ll do the building at a pace that doesn’t interfere with your healing. So, again, it’s like you’re working for me. No funny stuff. Just business. If I don’t hire you, I’ll have to hire someone else. Who would you rather see locked up with me privately in this building? Some sleazebag, or you? You know you can trust yourself.”

  “I’m not so sure about that, but I see your point. Okay, you have yourself a deal. I’ll go back to living downstairs and tend strictly to business this time. I’ll exchange my time and labor for a bed downstairs, two meals a day, and the pleasure of your company to watch TV, or something equally harmless. Will that work?”

  “That will work.”

  “So, who’s the lucky guy who gets to pretend he’s dating you?”

  “Not entirely sure yet. The first guy who comes to mind is Bob. Dad knows who Bob is. He met him when we went to college together and didn’t particularly care for Bob. He’s your more studious, sensible type. Dad is all about men who earn a living with their backs. He has always said that a man who knows how to use his hands will never be without a job. That’s just how Dad grew up and the standards that he’s used to. I don’t agree with Dad entirely, although I will say that a pair of knowledgeable hands do come in handy from time to time,” I smiled and patted the back of his hand.

  He winced and I looked more closely; there were burn scars on the back of each hand. Obviously they were exposed as he carried Juan. “What you did was awfully brave, you know. You don’t deserve to be set aside like this. They should be giving you a pension fit for royalty. Let’s just say that part of our deal is maybe that I’m doing the right thing when someone else isn’t.”

  “You are truly unique, my dear Gwyne.”

  Chapter 16

  I found Bob’s old email from college and hoped that he was still monitoring it.

  Hey, Bob; it’s Gwyne. Remember me? In writing to ask a little favor. If you remember me, but I’m pretty sure you remember my dad. He’s a rather no-nonsense fellow and at the moment I’m sort of interested in someone who works for him. Naturally, he put the kibosh on that and so that brings me to the favor. I need to throw dad off the scent, so I was wondering if you would mind pretending to be my boyfriend? It really doesn’t take very much, just let me use your name and if he should call you, vouch for me. The most you have to do is maybe meet me for lunch somewhere we he could see us together. I’m hoping you’re still single so this wouldn’t cause a problem for you. I remember that you weren’t a big dater, but more career-oriented, so if I’m lucky, you’ll still be single. How about it?

  I was just about to shut the laptop off when reply came from Bob.

  Well, well, well… if it isn’t little Gwyne O’Reilly. Truthfully never thought I’d hear from you again, but really glad that I am. Fairly sure I’d be happy to accommodate you, but it will cost you a lunch up front. I’d like to do some catching up and get a few more details about this masquerade. Do you know Billy Bob’s Barbecue on 23rd St.? How about meeting me there on Friday at 1 o’clock? If I don’t hear back from you, I’ll assume we have a date. Whoever he is, he’s a lucky guy. Yours, Bob

  I read Bob’s response to Sean whose eyebrows raised. “This guy doesn’t sound too bookish to me,” he said with suspicion in his tone.

  “Who? Bob? Oh, you just don’t know him. I’m not even sure he’s into girls, if you know what I mean. He’s fine. If you want, you can go as long as you sit at another table and keep an eye on me.”

  Sean shook his head. “No, I trust you. I just don’t want you to get into any trouble on my account.”

  “I won’t. He’s cool. Dad doesn’t like him because he’s a bookworm, but he’s an all right guy. I’ll go have lunch with him, catch up on a few old stories, and we’ll be good to go. I’ll tell Dad about him, like maybe that I ran into him at the library. Dad will get a kick out of that and figure that I’ll lose interest quickly and move on, but at least he’ll know I’m over you.”

  Sean shrugged. “If you say so.”

  “Yes, I say so. Now, let me get you some bedding for the bed downstairs. Tomorrow I’ll fill the fridge and cupboards and I’ll hide a key to my door in the fire alarm box on the wall. That way you can come in anytime and make yourself something to eat, even when I’m not here.”

  “Didn’t your dad ever teach you what the fire alarm box was for?”

  He seemed a bit stupefied at my hiding place. Anything that had to do with keeping people safe was sacred when it came to firemen. They followed the rules; their lives depended upon it.

  “The alarm isn’t connected to anything. It was disabled when they shut down the firehouse. But a burglar won’t know that, so that’s where I keep my extra key.”

  Sean shook his head and then took the bundle of sheets, blankets, and a pillow that I handed him from my hall closet. “Here you go. This should keep you warm enough for the night,” I told him, and when he opened his mouth to make the smart remark that I knew was coming, I cocked my head in disapproval and he never said the words. I knew he was going to suggest that I might keep him warmer, but we had our deal. It seemed that I had made a deal with the devil at last.

  Sean left my apartment and went down into the bay and I could hear him moving around downstairs. Once again it was comforting and I felt very safe knowing he was nearby. I rummaged around in the freezer and pulled out a beef roast for the next day’s dinner, putting it into the refrigerator to thaw. I did a quick inventory of the refrigerator and cupboards and decided that an all-out shopping spree was in store. I felt sort of proprietary and wife-ish at the moment, and it really didn’t feel too bad.

  * * *

  I found the restaurant where I agreed to meet Bob and was happy to see that I was right on time. I stood inside the doorway and looked around for a man who was wearing black, horn-rimmed glasses—those had been Bob’s trademark. I saw an arm waving from a booth at the back and walked toward it, but it wasn’t Bob. It was a man with blond hair who wore no glasses and was extremely stylishly dressed.

  “Gwyne! Gwyne! Back here!” I found the voice and it appeared to be coming from the blond man in the back, corner booth. I was puzzled.

  “Gwyne, it’s me, Bob.” The blond man’s mouth was moving and I searched his face. He smiled and he had Bob’s smile, but nothing else from Bob.

  “Bob?” I questioned him. “Is that you?”

  “Sure is. You didn’t recognize me, did you?”

  “Actually, no, I didn’t. Not at all. You look entirely different. Did I miss something?”

  “No, this all happened after graduation. As a matter of fact, I fell in love with a girl. She was Parisian and had come to New York City to become a dress designer. Let’s just say that she needed a place to stay, and I happened to have plenty of room. We tried to make it work for a while, she really didn’t
have the money for an apartment on her own and I did feel sorry for her. She was a nice girl, but we were just too different. The one thing she left behind was the wardrobe she had picked out for me. In fact, she gave me an entire makeover. So, I guess you could say that I’m the new Bob.”

  “Well, you certainly are, Bob. I would never have recognized you. Please don’t be offended, but I will say that she had excellent taste. You look great.”

  “Thank you. You look great, too, Gwyne.”

  The waiter had approached the table and true to the theme of the restaurant, Bob ordered us each a mug of cold beer. My eyebrows went up a bit at the idea of drinking beer at one in the afternoon, but I had to admit even on that cold, winter day, it quenched my thirst and was pretty good, especially after the waiter brought a platter of barbecued ribs. Bob and I chatted at length about people, reviewing common acquaintances and what had come of them. We reminisced about a few parties, a few classes, and the general life of an impoverished college student. When we had finished eating, Bob brought up the subject we had come to discuss.

  “So, who is this guy you have a thing for?”

  “No one you would know. He’s from out of state. He happens to work for my dad and we happen to have hit it off. You know my dad; this made him nuts. He forbade seeing Sean—oh, that’s right, Sean is his name. Anyway, Dad didn’t have any better reason other than he didn’t think it was a good idea. Of course, Dad is an old fogey and has no idea who I really am. I make my own decisions now.”