Kate nodded imperceptibly, blinking back tears.
Jenny reached out, squeezing her daughter’s hand. This was the first time she and Kate had connected in a very long time. “So. Why are you moving out from the cabin?”
Kate cleared her throat, meeting her mother’s steady gaze. “I—I’ve finally decided to rebuild.” Wryly, she smiled. “And I’m using Murphy’s plans.”
Jenny had tears in her eyes when she smiled. “Oh, Kate.” Pulling Kate into her arms, she whispered, “That’s wonderful.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
It’d been three months, now, since he’d actually done it. After five long years of dating, Murphy had finally asked Amanda to marry him. Once he’d been promoted to partner, it was expected of him, after all. But Murphy just couldn’t help thinking he was being manipulated by Amanda and her father.
Shifting restlessly in his seat, he turned his eyes downward, studying the plans spread out across his drafting table. He’d yet again been commissioned to design another condo. No new ideas, no added features – just the same old, same old – stipulations he was required to draft into his plans.
Sure, he could try incorporating unique and original concepts into his designs once again. But why bother? Mark Ryland would only axe the innovations.
Murphy sighed, sketching in the standard number of kitchen cabinets into each set of plans.
And then, the next step – he’d choose from a boring selection of cabinets, limited to various shades of oak. Occasionally, he was allowed to suggest maple. He had three types of granite to select from, because Ryland’s had a huge discount provided from the company selling them materials. Working his way through each design, Murphy added his usual recommendations for porcelain tiles laid out in a pattern from neutral taupe on the backsplash and in the bathrooms.
Suddenly, he stood up from his drafting table and threw his pencil. Ryland’s didn’t need to hire an architect to draw up these types of plans. Any intern could draw them up. After all, every single condo plan was just like the other – with an occasional switch in the location of a master suite or kitchen. Occasionally, Murphy was offered a challenge with the positioning of a staircase.
He was so frickin’ bored with his life. He needed to get out of here. He wouldn’t have a problem finishing up with these plans by his deadline on Friday, anyway. He was supposed to eat dinner at his parent’s house tonight. Why not just go early and spend the night? Amanda was already irritated with him, anyway, for deciding not to accompany her to some big fundraising event tonight.
If he didn’t go home, he’d be able to avoid her guilt trip.
Systematically snapping off the lights in his office, he stepped through the door and paused at his secretary’s desk immediately outside. “Marcie?”
She looked up from her computer.
“I’m leaving early. Feel free to take off too, if you’d like.”
“That’s okay, Murph. I’ve got a lot of work to catch up on – since I’m taking off early on Friday.”
“That’s right. I forgot. Are you and Darnell heading up to your cabin with the kids?”
“Yeah. We sure do enjoy our family weekends. Thanks a lot for giving me the time off, by the way.”
“Never a problem, Marc. We’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
Already typing rapidly on her keyboard, Marcie nodded distractedly. “See ya, Murph.”
He checked his watch. Two o’clock. Maybe he’d drop by his mom’s shop before heading out to the house. She’d probably be there for at least a few more hours, anyway. He might as well take a walk – it was a lovely day today.
Walking definitely hadn’t helped to ease his restlessness, he realized, as he strolled into his mother’s shop fifteen minutes later.
Looking up at him from her desk, Meg Murphy blinked. “Michael! I was just thinking about you. What are you doing here at this time of the day?”
He shrugged. “Oh, I just needed to get out of the office for a while.”
Her eyes filled with concern. “Is everything okay?”
He sighed. “Eh. Same old, same old.”
His mother continued to watch him and he shifted his eyes uncomfortably. Surveying his surroundings, Murphy searched for a reason to change the subject. His mother still had a unique way of reading him like no one else could.
His gaze locked onto an accent table that his mother had apparently just unpacked. Antique ironwork served as the base of the table, while an intricate pattern of mosaics shaped an exquisitely detailed tabletop, inset with a colorful dragonfly.
Murphy was in awe. “Wow.”
Meg turned her attention to the table. “She just keeps getting better and better, Michael. Doesn’t she?”
He met his mother’s steady gaze. “How much, Mom?”
“Oh, I’m sorry Michael...but it’s already spoken for.”
He continued to hold her gaze determinedly.
“Oh, you.” She rolled her eyes, shaking her head with pretended annoyance. “Just take it, Michael. I’ll make an excuse. I’m sure the woman who consigned it will be willing to wait a little longer. I haven’t even called her to tell her it’s arrived, yet. I’ll see if I can get Kate to put a rush on another one. Knowing how efficient Kate is, she’s probably already designed something similar, anyway.”
“Thanks, Mom.” But he purposely cut her off, when she appeared ready to ask him an uncomfortable question. “I left my car parked at the office. I’ll come back to collect it over the weekend. I’m gonna look around a little bit. I wish I could get Amanda to come in here and pick out a few things that I like. Everything in our apartment apparently has to be perfect.” He grimaced, shivering with revulsion. “But then she always comes home with some incredibly ugly and expensive antique that her decorator has recommended.” Stepping away from his mother’s desk, he began strolling through the shop.
He could feel his mother’s troubled gaze following him as he moved throughout the store. Frankly, he couldn’t blame her for being worried about him – especially since he was feeling a little worried himself. He’d never been as restless as he was right now.
* * *
Just like Murphy, Kyle and Ethan had both moved away from home once they’d gone off to college. The house seemed way too quiet without his brothers, Murphy couldn’t help thinking. He was the only son living close to home, now. But his parents were obviously enjoying their time alone together.
“Great dinner, Mom.” Easing back in his seat, Murphy patted his stomach in satisfaction.
Meg smiled. “It’s not so difficult cooking steaks on the grill outside, Michael.” Standing up, she began collecting the dinner dishes.
He couldn’t resist a joke. “If it’s really that easy, why doesn’t Dad get to do the cooking, anymore?”
Sean Murphy laughed. “Do I always have to be reminded of my one single lapse in attentiveness?”
“One?” Meg stood with her hands on her hips. “I learned, long ago, never to trust you alone with the grill, Sean Murphy – especially when there’s a baseball game on TV. I still get mad when I think about the cost of those steaks that you burnt. You just don’t have the capability to concentrate on more than one thing at a time.”
Sean pretended to glare at his wife. “Now, if that was the case, then I’d never win in court.” Sean Murphy was an assistant DA for the city of Chicago. Sean sighed. “Speaking of which – I’d better take a look through the newspaper.”
Meg grinned. Reaching to the buffet for the paper and unopened mail, she handed everything over to Sean before turning back to look at her son.
Uh, oh. Murphy understood that look.
“I set aside that table that you wanted, before I left the shop today.”
Murphy squirmed uncomfortably. “Okay. I’ll be sure to pick it up on Saturday.”
Meg nodded. “Speaking of Kate Callahan...”
Looking up from his paper, Sean eyed his wife strangely. “Were we?” He raised his bro
w. “Speaking of Kate, that is?”
Meg nodded. “Michael fell in love with one of the latest tables that she’d designed.” She appeared to be slightly uncomfortable for a moment, before she cleared her throat and continued, “I forgot to mention to Michael – Kate’s getting married – to her boyfriend, Dylan.”
Suddenly feeling his heart drop down with a long, hard thud, Murphy kept staring at his mother in disbelief.
He failed to notice his father was frowning at her.
“Don’t forget, Sean – the wedding is at two o’clock on Saturday, at the Dragonfly Pointe Inn.”
“Ohh...kay.” Sean cleared his throat as he lifted a brow. “Uh...mm. But we’re still leaving on Friday night to avoid the traffic from construction– aren’t we, dear?”
“Yes. About seven o’clock?”
Sean nodded, rolling his eyes. Following the direction of Meg’s gaze, he peeked over at his son.
But Murphy had completely missed his parents’ awkward interaction. Kate? Getting married on Saturday? He stood up, abandoning his dessert. He suddenly wasn’t hungry anymore.
* * *
Hours later, Murphy was still tossing and turning, attempting to fall back to sleep. He’d had lots of trouble falling asleep in the first place. For some reason, his parents had stayed up later than usual, having a long, and unusually loud, discussion in the family room downstairs.
Murphy stared at the clock. Three a.m. Allowing himself time to drive back into the city for work, he’d set his alarm for five.
Abandoning the blanket, he sat up in bed and propped the pillows behind his back. Reaching behind him, he switched on the lamp over his bed. Pulling open the drawer of his nightstand, he reached for the small picture album, hidden behind the drawer.
Funny, how much of his personal stuff he’d left here at home. Amanda didn’t seem to be very obliging when it came to making room for his possessions. As a matter of fact, he didn’t even know where he’d be able to put Kate’s table. You’d think that he was asking Amanda to rip off a limb, with the way she fussed about any of his suggestions, when it came to adding décor to what was supposed to be, their home.
Thumbing through his pictures, he finally found it. It’s been almost seven years now, since Dan Callahan had sent this picture to Murphy. It showed Kate holding her hand over his forehead as Murphy laid passed out on her guest room bed. There was something in her face, something in her eyes, that’d left Murphy hoping that they might have a future together. He’d carried this picture in his wallet up until he’d begun dating Amanda.
And, yes, there was no mistaking it – he still saw that something in Kate’s eyes.
* * *
Murphy’s mood didn’t lighten up for the remainder of the week. Restless and moody, he found no enjoyment at all in his work.
How could he continue on like this?
It didn’t help that he kept thinking about Kate and her upcoming marriage.
Maybe if he got of town for the weekend with Amanda? She probably had some social event or another lined up for them to attend over the weekend.
But he’d convince her to go away with him. They needed to have some time alone, anyway. They’d had plenty of romantic weekends together when they’d first begun dating. Why was it so different now?
Rolling up the finished plans for the condo, Murphy slipped them into a cardboard tube, before snatching up his cost projections sheet and heading off to Mark Ryland’s office.
“Hey, Peggy.”
Mark’s secretary distractedly gazed up at him from her desk. “Hi, Murph.”
“Is he in?”
“Nah. Mark left for lunch at noon. He just called back in to say that he’d decided to make a day of it. Are those the Anderson Condo plans, by any chance?”
“Yeah. Ready by the end of the day – just as promised.” Murphy handed over the plans and projection sheets.
“Great, Murph. Mark’s coming in for a few hours tomorrow to look over your proposal.”
It was the same standard line from Peggy, week in, week out. Although Murphy had just been promoted to partner, even after working for Ryland’s for almost six years, Mark still treated him like an intern. How many partners at other firms had their work continuously picked over by their boss?
Murphy was getting pretty sick of it.
“I guess Marcie’s on her way to her cabin with her family – lucky girl. You and Amanda have plans for the weekend?”
“I hope so, Peggy. I’m gonna try to convince her to go off with me – for a spur of the moment trip.”
“Good for you. You must be sick of attending all those boring social events that she always seems to be suckering you into.”
Murphy chuckled. “You got that right. A romantic weekend away is just what we need.”
“I’d better get these plans into Mark’s office before I get too wrapped up with my other work.” Peggy stood up from her desk with Murphy’s plans and projections in her hands. “You enjoy yourself over the weekend Murph. See you on Monday.”
Already heading back towards his own office, Murphy answered from the hallway. “Be sure to have a great weekend yourself, Peggy.”
After quickly packing up his office, within ten minutes, he was in his car and on his way to his apartment.
The apartment manager gave Murphy a disgruntled look when he appeared in the lobby.
“Hey, Mac. What’s up?”
“Oh, nothing. Your girlfriend, Amanda, just came home about forty-five minutes ago and went up to the apartment with someone. I thought it was you.”
Murphy sighed. Great. Amanda must’ve invited one of her friends over for dinner. Well, there’d be enough time to enjoy their weekend alone together if they left in the morning.
Slipping the key into the lock of the apartment door, Murphy twisted the knob and entered.
Strange, Murphy thought, glancing into the living room – where were they? Quietly, he peeked into the kitchen and made his way through into the small sitting room that was attached.
And then he heard the murmuring of voices coming from the master bedroom.
Murphy stilled, realization beginning to seep through his brain.
Taking in a deep, unsteady breath, he stealthily approached the bedroom door. Reaching out, he quietly turned the doorknob. Peeking inside the bedroom, he noticed the clothing scattered haphazardly across the floor.
He didn’t even bother looking toward the bed.
Suddenly, he was furious. How could she sleep with another man in their bed? For some reason, this was the last thing Murphy had expected. For Christ’s sake – they’d just become engaged!
But was he really so surprised? No, actually not. From the moment they’d met, Amanda had always struck him as flighty. Apparently, he hadn’t been imagining it. That’s why, despite how lovely she was, it’d taken Murphy several months to ask her out.
Slamming shut the bedroom door, Murphy began to rap on it sharply. He could barely control his anger.
For a moment, all became quiet in the bedroom.
And then, finally, Amanda spoke, “Murphy? What are you doing home at this time of the day?”
Ah. So this was the way she wanted to play it? No guilt? And no apologies?
His voice was calm, cool, and emotionless when he finally answered firmly, “Amanda. I think we need to talk.”
A few moments later, Amanda slipped through the doorway wearing a flimsy silk robe. “Murphy. I can explain...”
He held up his hand. “I don’t even want to hear it, Amanda. The weird thing is, I’m really not surprised. I’ve been wondering what you’ve been doing with yourself during the day.” He laughed dryly. “And now I know.” With resignation, he sighed wearily.
“But Murphy! What about our wedding?”
Murphy shook his head in disbelief. “Obviously, we’re over, Amanda. I’d appreciate it if you’d move your stuff out as soon as possible. You can let me know when. I’d like for you to be gone when I come back home in
a couple of hours.”
“You’re calling off the wedding?” she shrieked.
He gaped at her incredulously. She really expected him to still go through with their wedding? Whatever had made him think he could be happy with a woman like this? Why hadn’t it registered – her selfishness – her spitefulness. She didn’t give a damn about anyone but herself.”
“I’m leaving now.” Not trusting himself around her any longer, he spun on his heels to escape. “Don’t be here when I get back.” He slammed the door forcefully behind him as he exited the apartment.
* * *
“You alright, Murph?”
Snapping out of his reverie, Murphy glanced over at his friend and former football teammate, Jimmy Rollins. “Yeah. I’m fine Rolly.” Sitting up straighter on his stool, Murphy finished off the last of his beer. He motioned for the bartender to bring him another. He really was fine, he realized. In fact, he was relieved. What would’ve happened if he’d actually married Amanda? In all likelihood, it would’ve ended up being a miserable marriage. “Amanda and I just broke up.”
Raising his brow, Rolly appeared to be apologetic for a second, but then he grinned. “I can’t say that I’m surprised to hear that Murphy. I’ve actually been kind of worried for you.” He squirmed uncomfortably on his stool. “Let’s just say that, even though she was pretty hot, no one really thought she was the right woman for you.”
Completely taken aback, Murphy stared at Rolly. In appearance, he was a big bulky hulk of a man, but he was one of the most softhearted guys Murphy had ever known. “So, why do I have a feeling that there’s something you’re not telling me about, Rolly?” Murphy sighed heavily. “Come on – out with it. Believe it or not, I’m probably not gonna be surprised by whatever you have to say.”
Rolly heaved a sigh of his own. “Remember that party that you had about four months ago – when you and Amanda got engaged?”
That Unforgettable Kiss Page 16