“Well, so much for taking it slow, Mr. Gray. We can discuss that later. Right now, I just want to enjoy the next few hours being with you. We have so much to talk about and so many plans to make. But rest assured I won’t let you drag your feet getting me back to the altar. I am not letting you get away. We have a lot of time to make up for.”
Michael leaned down and kissed Angie. It was the kiss they had both been longing for. And now, at last, the longing was over. The last fifteen years and Angie’s painful secret were behind them. It was time to plan a future. The future they always should have had.
Michael lifted her from the couch and carried her to the bedroom where they spent the next three hours together rediscovering their love for one another. The magic was still there, and with each kiss, each caress, the past slipped further and further away and the two became as one, the future belonging to them once again.
With one last, tender kiss goodnight, Angie quietly went back to her suite to finish her vacation, truly happy for the first time in fifteen years.
Meanwhile, in another suite down the hall, Jon and Marianne were glaring at each other. They had been in the suite for over half an hour and had gotten nowhere.
Finally, Jon spoke again, “I guess I need to start at the beginning. We have got to get it all out in the open. I won’t let you throw us away over something like a colossal misunderstanding such as this.”
“It seems to me that you are the one who did that,” Marianne answered coldly.
“I deserve that. Call it stupidity. A few months ago, this cute, young lab tech started flirting around with me. I ignored her from the start. I’m a busy man and I don’t have time for that sort of thing. You know that. One thing led to another. She was always finding excuses to come by the office or to call me. One night, in the lab, she cornered me and kissed me. I don’t know what I was thinking or why I let it happen, but I did. It happened so quickly, but I immediately drew away from her. I felt guilty, but was flattered at the same time. Let’s face it, I’m no dashing young doctor anymore. She could have had any number of young guys falling all over her, but she wanted me. It made me feel young again. But it never went any further than the one kiss and it never would have. I love my wife.”
“Don’t try to defend yourself. You failed to tell me any of this.”
“I’m not defending myself. I am just trying to tell you what happened. I’m trying to come clean here, to be honest. I guess I should have done that a long time ago.”
“It might have been easier to swallow if I hadn’t heard it from Julie, of all people.”
“We all know Julie is bitter after her failed marriage. She made it sound worse than it was, I’m sure.”
“Go on with your little tale of woe. I want to hear the rest of it, Casanova.”
Jon sighed. “Anyway, that is pretty much all there is to it. She wouldn’t leave me alone. I was annoyed and reported her actions, resulting in a transfer for her. That didn’t stop her and she must have somehow found out I was coming here tonight so that she could show up and cause a scene. That’s when you must have walked into the lobby. If you had stuck around a few minutes longer, you would have seen me escorting her out the door so that security could deal with her.
Marianne winced at his words. I’ve been a damn fool.
Jon went on, “The night Julie saw us at the lab was the night of the kiss. It had to be, since that’s all there ever was. Of all people to walk into the lab at that particular moment, it had to be her. There again, if she had stuck around a few minutes longer, she would have seen me pull away and would have heard me giving Jennifer an earful.”
“I have agonized for months over this. If you had told me what was going on, it would have saved me a lot of sleepless nights, and glasses of wine. I guess I’m at fault too, though. I could have confronted you about it months ago, instead of keeping it all bottled up inside, hoping it would go away.”
“So that’s why I came home so many nights to find you passed out on the sofa with a half-drunk bottle of wine on the table, you wino,” he teased as he pulled her close for a kiss.
Marianne was back where she belonged. In the arms of the husband who loved her. She returned the kiss, relieved to finally know the truth.
When they came up for air, Jon continued, “I suggested to Jennifer tonight that it might be a good idea for her to find a job in another town if she couldn’t stay away from me. Hopefully, she has finally gotten the message. Rest assured, I’ll call the hospital first thing tomorrow morning and report what happened tonight. I have sufficient grounds to do that and she’ll probably lose her job this time. And if that doesn’t stop her, I will also file a restraining order against her. I realized tonight that she’s beginning to become a danger to my happy home in spite of the fact that I want nothing to do with her. She is becoming a stalker and I will take action against that if it doesn’t stop.”
“You make it sound so scary. I hope she’s not like the stalkers I’ve heard about. Surely she’ll leave you alone after you had security escort her off the premises tonight.” Marianne looked away, embarrassed, before admitting, “I thought you and she came here together to flaunt your affair in my face.”
“That is not the way it happened and I can’t believe you’d think that of me anyway. I should be angry with you for that one. That’s what I was trying to explain to you earlier, but you were so mad, you wouldn’t listen. I haven’t seen you mad like that for a long time. I kind of liked it. It was pretty hot, in fact. Shows me you were jealous and that you really do still care,” he cautiously teased her, as he pulled her closer and planted a kiss on the top of her head.
“I was furious with you. I had been contemplating all week about how I was going to approach you with the fact that I knew what was going on. Of course, I thought there really was something going on. Then, when I saw the two of you in the lobby, I thought the worst.” She leaned up and kissed him, a deep and passionate kiss to reaffirm their commitment.
“Is there any chance that you would be interested in a trip to San Antonio next weekend? I’m not on call and I can’t think of anything more romantic for a couple of Texans than strolling along the Riverwalk in the moonlight. We can go into that Piano Bar you liked so well the last time we were there. It will give us a chance to put this whole stupid misunderstanding behind us. I think my lady could use a weekend of pampering after the last few months of aggravation I unknowingly put you through. What do you say?”
“I say let’s go for it. We haven’t been down there in a while and I think it will be good for both of us. Jackson will be at school and I’m sure Jordan can stay at Dustin’s house. I’ll give Dustin’s mom a call when I get home.”
“I’ll make the reservations, then. All you need to do is get Jordan taken care of, pack, and prepare to be pampered and wooed.” He glanced at his watch. “You probably need to get back to your friends, unless you want to stick around here for a while… We do have this nice big suite to ourselves.”
“Next weekend is for that… This week is for the girls. You need to get some rest, anyway. You look tired,” she teased as she leaned up to kiss her husband goodnight.
“So, we’re good, then?” He kissed her again.
“We are more than good, Dr. Jon. We are very good.”
“It’s a shame to waste the suite I just paid for, so I think I’ll stay here tonight and rest. Jordan is at Dustin’s. I’m off tomorrow, so it’ll be nice to have some quiet time, since you refuse to join me.”
“You will get your turn, Casanova. I only have a few more days with my friends, so let me enjoy them. Oh, that reminds me. You’re invited to have dinner with all of us tomorrow evening at the O’Gradys’s restaurant. You’ll be able to see Rex. He’s flying in, and you’ll be able to meet the O’Grady family. Katy, Lizzie, Rex and Michael are all going to be working with them actually. I think you’ll like them. They’re good people.”
“Sounds like a plan, since I didn’t get to treat you girls t
o dinner tonight as I had hoped.”
“How did you and Michael end up together, by the way? Such a surprise, seeing him here in Dallas, wasn’t it?”
“I decided when I left the suite that I was not going home until I had a chance to talk with you again. I was going to give you some time to cool off, so I went into the bar and ran into Michael. We talked and had dinner and a few drinks. He and Angie are having a rough time of it, too, I hear. I always thought the two of them belonged together.”
“Yes, hopefully, they can get past this and find their way back together. It’s where they belong. We have all thought that for years. Oh, you should also know about Katy and Ryan O’Grady before we go to dinner tomorrow night.” She proceeded to tell Jon the story of Ryan and Katy meeting and all that had happened in the days since.
“Wow, what a coincidence. Who would have ever thought that could happen? I hope it works out for them. Katy deserves to be happy after all this time and this Ryan sounds like a decent guy. Lizzie have any deep, dark secrets that I need to know about before this big dinner?”
“Only that she got the O’Grady account on her own and told Rex afterward. He is flying out to seal the deal. She wants to work in the agency and was hoping this would prove to him that she was capable.”
“Some things never change, do they?” he laughed. “The ‘Fab Four’ strikes again.”
“Ryan told me to invite you. I wasn’t going to tell you, but now that we’ve talked, I think it would be wonderful if you join us, especially with Rex and Michael there. It’ll be just like old times.”
“I look forward to it then. Sounds like a fun time. I hope Michael and Angie worked things out though.”
“So do I.”
“Go back to your friends now, Honey, I’ll use the time for some much-needed rest and relaxation. It has been a killer week in the OR, not to mention the strain of tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow. Call me with the details about dinner. Babe?” he asked.
“Yes, Jon?”
“Thank you for listening to my side of the story. I do love you.”
“I love you too. I’ll call you tomorrow. Get some sleep.”
Marianne let herself out of the suite and slowly walked to the elevator. All was right with her world again. She could not wait to tell her friends, especially Katy.
CHAPTER 20
When Marianne entered the suite, the lights were out and it appeared that everyone had gone to bed. She put down her purse and went into the small kitchenette to get a drink of water.
As she entered the bedroom she shared with Angie, she saw that the other three were in their pajamas, seated on the bed and apparently having a good old-fashioned ‘Fab Four’ gab fest, or ‘fab fest’ as the guys liked to call it.
“May I join in?” she asked.
“Of course, get into your PJ’s and start talking, girl. You seem in better spirits than you were earlier. Is everything okay now?” Lizzie asked.
Marianne answered her friend as she pulled on a nightshirt and jumped onto the bed.
“Things are better. I have chosen to believe him that nothing happened other than one kiss. He realizes he should have told me about it from the start. It would have saved a lot of heartache and misunderstanding, not to mention bottles of wine. I would say things are good. He may have to take legal action against Jennifer though if she doesn’t stop harassing him. Oh, and the best part is, Jon is taking me to San Antonio next weekend. We are going to relax, stroll the Riverwalk, and get romantic…”
“Honey, it’s so good to see you smiling again. But you have to trust Jon from now on. You know that, don’t you?” Angie asked.
“Yes, I know. By the way, speaking of trust, how did your talk with Michael go?”
Angie was grinning from ear to ear. “We are going to work it out. It was very intense. We spent some heart-wrenching hours talking and crying together, but it’s all out in the open now. I may be inviting you all to a wedding one of these days. We’re planning to remarry, but haven’t decided yet if it will be a private ceremony or not. By the way, he said you and Lizzie paid him a visit. Now why does that not surprise me, the old matchmaking game?”
“You aren’t angry with us, are you?” Marianne asked.
“Of course not, silly. Maybe what you said to him helped. I’m grateful to anyone who’s helped us through this horrible time. He said Jon also gave him advice. He even called my mom. Katy, I’m surprised you didn’t get in on this.”
“I guess I was too tangled up in my own problems this time. I hope I didn’t let you down, Angie,” Katy replied.
“Of course not, you can’t be the one who solves everyone’s problems all the time, you crazy kid.” She and Katy exchanged a look of understanding.
Marianne spoke up, “I invited Jon to have dinner with us tomorrow night. He had wanted to spend some time with all of you while you were in town, so I hope you don’t mind that I asked him. His reason for being here tonight in the first place was to treat us all to dinner. And we all know how that turned out.”
“As long as it’s comfortable for you, we would love to see him again. I really am looking forward to tomorrow night’s dinner now that we all have our problems behind us,” Angie answered her friend cheerily.
Katy thought to herself, Not all of us have their problems worked out, but she kept quiet. She really did not want to think about it tonight.
“And wasn’t that weird, Jon and Michael meeting up in the bar and getting together to drown their sorrows?” Lizzie mentioned.
“Yes, I asked Jon about that. It was strange. Did you get a chance to call Rex back, by the way?”
“Yes, I did. I’m just a little bit nervous about showing him my work tomorrow. I think he’s still in shock that I landed this account without him. He’s probably scared to death to see what I came up with.”
“I think you just took him off guard when you secured that account all on your own. You know how men are.”
“I hope he likes my ideas.”
“Well, the O’Gradys liked them, so surely Rex will go along with it.”
“Speaking of the O’Gradys, Katy, are you ready for your talk with Ryan?”
Well, I guess I am going to have to talk about it anyway. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose. I just need to get it over with and see where we go from there. He may not want to have anything to do with me for a while, if ever. I will just have to accept that and hope he changes his mind.”
“I think it’s time for lights out. We all need to spend tomorrow making ourselves beautiful for tomorrow night. I say we all go for a massage, facial, manicure, pedicure, the whole bit.”
“I think we deserve that.”
“Sounds like heaven to me.”
“I agree.”
And with that thought, they called it a night and Lizzie and Katie went back to their bedroom. Three of them feeling just a little more relieved that their problems might be starting to be behind them and Katy still facing hers.
Tomorrow is another day, as Scarlett O’Hara would say, Katy thought as she drifted off to dreamland.
CHAPTER 21
Thursday morning arrived and the four girls woke to another sunshiny, autumn Texas day. They were out the door early for their day at the spa. They needed to be finished in time for Lizzie to get to the airport and pick up Rex.
It’ll be nice to see Rex again, Katy thought. Funny, how the guys seemed to always end up being a part of their reunions. And this year, Katy would have a guy too, at least for a little while. She wondered how that situation would turn out. All she could do now was hope for the best.
“This is just what I needed,” Marianne remarked to Lizzie, who lay on the massage table next to hers.
“I know just what you mean. This is the life, isn’t it?” Lizzie replied.
After their massages, they headed into another area for their facials and then on to the nail techs for their pedicures and manicures. They were enjoying their time together immensely and hated to see
it come to an end. It was such a shame they had all settled in different states after college and marriages took place. Jobs have moved us, but luckily we’ve always been able to remain close, Katy mused as she lay on the massage table. They all knew it would be coming to an end in a few days, as each of them returned to their lives in different cities. Of course, Katy would be getting together soon with Angie to work on the designs for the hotel, and Lizzie would be working on the O’Grady account so she would be coming back to Dallas and would get together with Marianne while there. So will I, Katy hoped.
The foursome stopped in a small cafe after the spa visit for a quick lunch before Lizzie left for the airport.
“You know, we really need to plan to get together again soon. We shouldn’t wait so long next time,” Marianne mentioned as she thought about the week coming to an end. The girls had ordered salads again, even Lizzie.
“I agree. Maybe we should include the guys, since they seem to want to be a part of our reunions.” Angie laughed. “And since we have guys to include,” she added with a giggle.
“Maybe…” Katy answered.
“I’m sorry. I’m so happy that I forgot that you still have unresolved issues with your guy. Please forgive me.”
“It’s quite all right, Angie. If it’s meant for Ryan and me to work out our problems, then we will. If not, then it was fun for the short time I’ve gotten to know him.”
“Glad to hear you are being so realistic about this, Katy. I have been a bit worried about this whole Ryan thing,” Lizzie admitted.
“Now, Lizzie, stop playing the mama role with me. Save that for Cara and her love life. I’m a big girl and I can handle whatever happens. I’m not quite as fragile as you all think I am. You all think that when it comes to my own issues, I’m a marshmallow,” Katy good-naturedly admonished her friend.
They all laughed at the mere thought of Katy as a marshmallow and finished the rest of the meal with pleasant conversation. They headed back to the room to decide what they were going to wear to dinner. Soon it was time for Lizzie to leave. She was still a little nervous about facing Rex for the first time since she had pulled the O’Grady incident. Over the phone, he had been fine, but he may be saving up for when he saw her in person. She would find out soon enough. It was almost time for his plane to land at Love Field. He would be arriving at a different airport than the girl’s flight since he had not been able to get a flight into DFW at the time he needed.
Crossroad To Love (Fab Five Series) Page 15