THE FALL

by Marie Force

  "Dr. Duffy?"

  Ted turned to him and shook his hand. "Hi, Mr. Hamilton."

  "I missed you when you came by on rounds, and I wanted to talk to you about Jonathan having trouble eating since his last round of chemo. I was wondering…

  I can't believe Mom talked to Caroline that way. I've never seen her so outraged. I expected her and Dad to be surprised and maybe a little bit shocked, but I never imagined she'd act like that. I know it's because she loves Smitty—and not just because he's my friend. She loves him for him. Hell, I do, too. Grandy understood the way I feel about Caroline. Why can't Mom? Grandy. I need to check on her. I hope she's all right.

  "Dr. Duffy! Are you listening to me?"

  "I'm sorry," Ted said, startled. "What did you say?"

  Pete Hamilton stared at him, incredulous. "Am I bothering you with my concerns about my son?"

  "No, of course not," Ted said, horrified that he had zoned out on a parent. "I apologize." He put his hand on Pete's shoulder. "Let's go talk to Jon and see what we can do about his appetite."

  * * *

  Parker wore a dark navy pinstripe suit but no tie. He had stressed out about that because he wanted her to think he had come right from work. She didn't need to know he had wasted the whole day killing time until seven o'clock. So he had decided the tie would be too formal. But as he pulled up in front of her two-story brick colonial in the Boston suburb of Stoughton, he wondered if he should have gone with the tie.

  You're being an idiot, he thought, as he stepped out of the Porsche and walked up the sidewalk to the front door. Before he rang the doorbell he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Showtime.

  The door opened and all his logic flew out the window. Oh, boy, there she is, and my memories of her haven't done her justice. Not at all.

  "Hi, Parker," she said with a smile, gesturing him inside.

  "You look…" He shook his head when words failed him. "Amazing." It took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to reach out and twirl one of her long curls around his finger. She wore a dress that clung to all her curves, and he had to remind himself not to stare. "Your hair got long."

  She reached up to touch it in a self-conscious gesture that tugged at his heart. "I needed a change."

  "I like it." He was pleased to see the aura of sadness that used to be so much a part of her had lifted, leaving her eyes bright with what might have been excitement and maybe even anticipation.

  "It's good to see you, Parker."

  "Is it?" He hated that he sounded so needy.

  She nodded. "I missed seeing you this year, too," she said, referring to the card he had sent with the flowers.

  "I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that." Easy, he thought, as the urge to touch her became almost painful. Go easy.

  "Would you like to come in?" She linked and unlinked her index fingers in a gesture that told him she was nervous, too.

  "I'd love to." He followed her into the living room where his flowers were on the mantle. That they had been put where visitors were sure to see them pleased him. The room was cozy, but the baseball cards spread out on the coffee table and the light sabers propped in the corner were evidence that two young boys lived here.

  "Thank you again for the roses."

  "You're welcome." He pointed to framed photos on an end table. "Are those the boys?"

  She nodded. "That's Anthony." She pointed to a dark-haired boy with no front teeth. "He's six."

  The hint of mischief in the boy's brown eyes amused Parker.

  "And that's Dom. He's nine."

  The older boy was more serious. "He looks just like you." Neither of them appeared to be two-headed monsters.

  "He loves hearing that."

  Parker chuckled. "They're handsome boys."

  "They've been through a lot, but it doesn't seem to have changed who they are. I'm thankful for that much."

  "It's a testament to you and your devotion to them."

  "That's a nice thing to say."

  "I remember how hard you fought for them during the…" He didn't want to use the word divorce. "Proceedings."

  "What else do you remember?"

  "Everything." The word slipped out before he could remind himself he was trying to be cool.

  She studied him for an endless moment. "My friends said I was bad cliché."

  "Why's that?" he asked, intrigued.

  "Because I had a terrible crush on my divorce attorney."

  Parker's heart literally stopped for an instant. "You did?"

  She bit her lip and nodded. "They said I should forget about you because everyone falls for their divorce attorney."

  "And did you? Forget about me?"

  "No."

  "I don't know how many women fall for their divorce attorneys, but I can tell you I've only ever fallen for one client." He took a step toward her. The nerves were gone, the waiting was over, and standing before him was the woman he loved. "I fell for her about five minutes after she walked into my office, and I've been holding a torch for her ever since."

  Her eyes filled. "That was two years ago," she whispered.

  "Believe me. I know." He closed the remaining space between them and reached out to caress her face.

  "Parker," she whispered, turning her face into the palm of his hand. "I can't believe you're really here."

  "Neither can I."

  "And I can't believe you gave me a year."

  Filled with love for her, he brushed his lips lightly over hers. "You needed the time to heal. I'm just glad you didn't find someone else. I spent a lot of time worrying about that."

  She was tentative when she rested her hands on his chest.

  He kissed her cheek. "You can touch me, Gina. In fact, I really wish you would."

  Empowered, she wrapped her arms around his waist under his suit coat and leaned her head against his chest.

  Parker buried his face in her curls and fought through the riot of emotions that came with finally holding her. "I've dreamed about having you right here."

  "I have to be honest. I'm a little frightened by this, Parker."

  He tipped her chin up so he could look into her eyes. "We'll take it slow—as slow as you want. You'll set the pace, okay?"

  She nodded.

  "But I'm going to tell you right now—you have nothing to be afraid of. Not from me anyway. I'll never hurt you. Never."

  "I'm going to try very hard to believe you."

  He kissed her and forced himself to keep it light. "Let me take you to dinner."

  "In a minute," she whispered against his lips as her hand curved around the back of his neck.

  Parker felt like he'd been struck by lightning when her tongue glided across his bottom lip. He wove a hand into her hair and plundered. Her tongue met his in a burst of pent-up passion that sent him spinning. "Whoa, sweetheart, wait," he said when he couldn't take any more. He leaned his forehead against hers in an effort to slow his racing heart. Wrapping his fingers around hers, he said, "Let's go before I forget I was planning to take you out."

  Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I didn't mean to be so forward."

  Parker threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, honey, please be forward. Take full advantage of me. I'm all yours."

  "You really like me that much?" she asked, the wonder of it written all over her face.

  "Yeah." He kissed her hand. "I really do."

  Chapter 30

  "The boys would love this car," Gina said as Parker held the door for her.

  "I'll take them for a ride any time they want." He closed the door and walked around to the driver's side.

  "You wouldn't want them in here. They leave a mess wherever they go."

  "That wouldn't bother me."

  "You say that now, but when you're digging a peanut butter sandwich out of your stereo we'll see what you think then."

  "That has not happened." He still wanted to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't imagining this. Gina was really in his car and not jus
t in his dreams. "You're making that up."

  She turned to him. "You know they come with the package, don't you, Parker?"

  "Of course I do." He reached for her hand. "I know that."

  "Will you forgive me if you don't actually see them for a while?"

  He glanced over at her. "Don't you want me to meet them?"

  "I do, but I'm not bringing anyone new into their lives until I know it's going to stick. They've been through enough without getting attached to someone who's not going to be around in a couple of months."

  He wanted to protest. He wanted to tell her that wasn't going to happen. But what he said was, "I understand."

  "Do you?"

  "I'm trying to."

  "It'll be complicated."

  "It's already complicated—for me at least."

  "I thought I remembered how handsome you were." She trailed a finger over his jaw. "But my memory failed me."

  He captured her hand in his so he wouldn't drive off the road. "That's funny, because I thought the same thing about you when you answered the door." He glanced at her and then back at the road. "Do you know who my father is?"

  "Yes, I do."

  "Is that going to be a problem for you?"

  "I can't see why it would be."

  "You'd be surprised at the many ways it can be a problem for me."

  She squeezed his hand. "I don't want you for what you have. You certainly know better than most people that I don't need it. You saw to that."

  "Has he been honoring the agreement?"

  "To the letter. The check arrives on the first without fail, and he sees the boys exactly two nights a month—and not for one minute longer than he has to."

  "That must be hard for you. You never get a break."

  "I'm lucky to have my family and a lot of good friends who help me. It's much easier now that the boys are older."

  "I'm looking forward to meeting them—that is, after I prove to you that I'm going to stick."

  Amused, she asked, "And how do you plan to do that?"

  "You'll see."

  * * *

  Ted kept an arm around Caroline as they walked to his car. "I'm sorry it's so late. I'm trying to pinpoint the exact moment when this day spun out of control."

  "It's no problem. I knew you were busy."

  "All I wanted was to get back to you. I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing. In fact, I even got taken to task by a parent, which doesn't happen very often."

  "I'm sorry," she sighed. "I'm causing you all kinds of trouble. I hate that."

  He leaned her against his car and hugged her. "You're causing me all kinds of happiness. That far outweighs the rest."

  "If you say so."

  "Honey, come on. Let's put this behind us and go have a nice dinner somewhere. What do you say?"

  "I don't know if I could eat."

  "You have to try. Besides, I'm starving. I never did get to have lunch."

  "All right," she said as he held the door for her. "Did you get a chance to check on your grandmother?"

  Ted nodded. "She's as feisty as ever and annoyed by the whole thing, which was a relief."

  "That's good. Since she's the only one pulling for us, we need to keep her healthy."

  He laughed. "That's true." He took her to one of his favorite restaurants in Boston where he managed to convince her to at least have a salad while he wolfed down a steak. By the time they had finished eating, Caroline was starting to come around. Her eyes, which had been dull and flat with shock after his mother's outburst, had brightened a little, and she'd even managed to smile a few times over dinner. He poured her another glass of wine and reached for her hand across the table. "Are you all right, baby?"

  "I will be. How are you?"

  "As long as you're here with me, I'm great."

  "What are you going to do about your mother?"

  "I'm sure I'll see her tomorrow when I visit my grandmother in the hospital. I'll talk to her then."

  Caroline fiddled absently with his fingers.

  "It's all going to be fine, hon. She just needs some time to absorb it. There's no way she'll let a rift form between us, not after what she went through with my sister."

  "What happened to your sister?"

  Ted told her about Tish's years of drug abuse and the terrible strain it had put on their entire family.

  Caroline was amazed. "I'm trying to picture Tish as an addict. She seemed so together and so happy with Steven."

  "She is now, but you should've seen her ten years ago. It was a total nightmare."

  "I'm sorry. That must've been awful for you."

  "It was." Ted almost choked on his wine as Parker walked past their table, hand-in-hand with a woman as they followed the maitre d'.

  When Parker noticed Ted his face lit up with a smile, and he said something to the maitre d'.

  Caroline gasped as Parker came toward them.

  Parker stopped short when he saw who was holding Ted's hand.

  For a long awkward moment no one said anything. Then Parker seemed to recover enough to remember his manners. "Gina, this is Ted and Caroline."

  Ted stood and shook hands with Gina. "Pleased to meet you."

  "You, too," Gina said.

  Ted glanced at Parker, who made a concerted effort to avoid eye contact with him. "Parker…"

  "We've got to go," Parker said. "They're holding our table."

  "Let me explain," Ted said.

  "Not now." Parker put his arm around Gina and led her away.

  "Son of a bitch," Ted muttered as he sat back down to find Caroline's face once again devoid of color.

  He signaled for the check.

  * * *

  "Parker? What the matter?" Gina asked after they were seated.

  Parker tried desperately to absorb what he had just seen. "He's one of my best friends."

  Her expression was skeptical. "It didn't seem like that to me."

  "I'm sure it didn't. I'm in a total state of shock right now."

  She reached for his hand. "What's wrong? I don't understand."

  Parker took a long sip of his water. "The woman he was with?"

  Gina nodded.

  "She was our friend Smitty's girlfriend until this past Sunday."

  "Oh."

  "Yeah." Everything suddenly made sense to Parker—finding Caroline on the stairs Friday night when she was alone in the house with Ted, his preoccupation with something—which he had blamed on work—and Smitty's abrupt departure for Australia. Oh, Jesus. Smitty knows. That's why he left the way he did. Parker's mind raced. Ted lied to my face when I asked him about what happened Friday night. They both did. They were together, and I caught them when I came home early. Oh my God.

  "Parker? Are you all right?"

  He forced himself to focus on Gina. "I'm so sorry, honey," he said, taking a deep breath and trying to shake off the shock.

  "You don't have to be sorry. Why don't you tell me about it?"

  "I don't want to bore you."

  "Parker, you're obviously very upset. Talk to me."

  Overwhelmed by the need to share it with her, he took another rattling deep breath and told her the whole story.

  * * *

  After dinner Parker drove Gina past his house on Beacon Hill. "Now that you know where I live, you'll have to come visit me."

  "I don't get into the city very often, but now that I have a good excuse…"

  As he pulled up to her house just after eleven, he was amazed once again at how she had managed to salvage their evening by helping him through his shock at running into Ted with Caroline. "You can come over any time you want to. Or you can come by my office, or call me in the middle of the night, or call me in the middle of the day. Whatever you want."

  She turned to him and smiled. "Thank you for dinner."

  "Thank you for saying yes." Her face hovered inches from his in the tiny car, but he refrained from moving closer to her, reminding himself that she was setting the pace.
/>   She put him out of his misery when she reached for him. With her hands on his face she pressed her lips to his. The kiss was sweet and gentle at first—until she sighed with pleasure, his heart skipped a beat, and he tipped his head to delve deeper. Her hand fell to his leg, and she tugged him closer as the kiss went on and on.

  He finally pulled back and stared at her, amazed by the desire she stirred in him.

  "Do you want to come in?"

  "I don't think I should."

  "I think you should."

  "Gina…" he said with a grimace. "I'm trying to show some restraint here."

  "Don't."

  "I have to."

  "Why?" She trailed her finger from his face to his throat and down to his chest.

  He closed his eyes for a moment to absorb the overwhelming storm of emotions. "If I go in with you, I'll make love with you. And if that happens, I'll never be able to let you go, because I'm already desperately in love with you."

  Tears sparkled in her eyes. "Come in with me."

  "What about the boys?"

  "They're staying at my mother's tonight and going to my sister's house to swim in her pool tomorrow."

  He looked at her for a long time to make sure she knew what she was asking of him before he finally got out of the car and walked around to help her out.

  Inside, she turned to him. "Do you want something to drink?"

  "No, thanks."

  She pushed his suit coat off his shoulders and hung it on the banister. Taking his hand, she led him upstairs to her room.

  Unable to believe how the day he'd so looked forward to had unfolded, he held her close to him for a long time.

  "I want you to know I never slept with him in this bed, Parker. After he left, I got rid of everything in here. I've never slept with anyone in this bed."

  "I haven't slept with anyone since I met you."

  Her fingers, which had been busy unbuttoning his shirt, fell still. "You aren't serious."

  "I'm dead serious." He unzipped her dress and nudged it down. "How am I doing with proving to you that I'm going to stick?"

  "Good," she stammered as he caressed her breasts through her lacy bra. "Really, really good."

  He replaced his hands with his lips and urged her down to the bed. "Yes, it's going to be."

  Chapter 31