Celebration's Family (Celebrations, Inc Series Book 5)

by Nancy Robards Thompson

  But she recovered fast enough, blaming the visceral reaction on the fear that he’d changed his mind after he’d had time to mull over the plan that they had agreed on yesterday.

  Then, as her finger hovered over the button to answer the call, she felt a little ridiculous because she had no reason to believe he’d back out. He’d given his word. He was on board. It was just that she’d become so attached to the idea of having all seven of the hospital’s single doctors participate in the auction. Even though the show would go on without him. It just wouldn’t be the same....

  “Hello?” she said, taking care to steady her voice.

  “Good morning, Kate,” he said. “It’s Liam. I hope I’m not calling too early.”

  “I’m already in the office.”

  “On Saturday? Do you ever take a break?”

  He had the type of masculine voice she loved: deep, rich and smooth...like velvet. She had to admit to herself that she was a little mesmerized by it.

  “The auction is right around the corner, and there’s a lot to get done,” she said. “So no breaks for me until the last bid is cast.”

  “Actually that’s why I’m calling,” he said.

  She held her breath.

  “I need to talk to you about the auction,” he said. “Would it be all right if I dropped by your office this morning?”

  “That depends,” she said. “It’s fine as long as you promise you’re not coming by to tell me you’ve changed your mind. If that’s the case, then I’m completely swamped today. In fact I won’t be available until I see you at the Regency Cypress Plantation on the day of the auction.”

  She was only half joking.

  And she was so relieved when he laughed.

  “No, I’m not calling to back out. I promise. So can I come by? I want to bring you the check. I’ll even bring coffee.”

  * * *

  After Liam dropped off Amanda and Calee at the dance studio, he put the top down on his 1965 Mustang ragtop, programmed the address on Kate’s business card into his GPS and pointed his car in the direction of downtown Dallas.

  It had been ages since he’d driven with the top down. Certainly not since Joy had been gone. But today the sky was robin’s-egg-blue. There wasn’t a cloud in sight, and the air was the perfect temperature. How could he resist? If a person owned a convertible and didn’t put down the top on a day like this, they should be arrested or, at the very least, be forced to surrender the vehicle to someone who knew how to use it.

  When he pulled out onto the highway, he had the wind in his face and the roar of the white noise in his ears. For the first time in what seemed forever he couldn’t even hear the thoughts in his head that usually wouldn’t let him be.

  For a few minutes it was as if he’d stepped outside himself. God, it was freeing. But then, as he neared Dallas, as the green gave way to the concrete of the city, the world began to close in again. Still, that was all right; it had been a good escape. It sort of felt like a breakthrough, as if he’d been paroled from the prison of his mind. Even if it was just for a few glorious moments.

  Now, as he searched for a coffee place, he thought about the pictures in the manila envelope which he’d stuck in the glove compartment. He’d spent the better part of last night digging up possible photos of himself for Kate to use for the auction publicity. Perusing the family albums had been a daunting task but surprisingly not as difficult as he’d imagined. Before he’d forced himself to sit down and do it, he’d thought that looking at pictures of Joy, so happy and full of life—with the girls, with him, unaware that her life would be cut so cruelly short...in the blink of an eye—would’ve been a heartbreaking task. Instead, what he walked away with was a feeling of how short life is, how fleeting. There’s not enough time to waste a second of what lies ahead.

  That’s why, when the flawless morning had greeted him, he had decided to put the top down and enjoy it. He’d wanted to right when the girls had climbed in the car, but they had fussed that they’d spent too much time slicking their hair back into the requisite ballerina buns that were required for class. All that would be undone by the time they drove there.

  He was feeling too light to argue. So the minute they disappeared behind the front doors of the dance studio, he’d put the top down and sped off to enjoy the beautiful morning. And his meeting with Kate.

  He could’ve emailed the photos to her. He could’ve mailed her the check. But he didn’t.

  He contemplated the excuse that if he’d scanned and emailed the pictures last night, she would get them instantaneously and would put them up on the website right away. The longer he held on to the photos, the less time his mug would be up for humiliation on the auction homepage.

  Plus he wanted Kate’s opinion on which picture to use. She was the only person he’d trust with this. Kate understood his trepidations. She seemed to get what he was up against as a single dad raising two teenage daughters.

  He found a coffee shop with a drive-through, placed his order, then drove to Kate’s office. He parked in a garage, then set out walking toward her office with the drink tray balanced in his hands and a large manila envelope tucked underneath his arm containing a check for five thousand dollars, a flash drive of scanned digital photos and printed copies of the pictures.

  Kate’s office was housed in a modern glass-and-chrome skyscraper. As he tugged open the building’s door, it hit him that, despite the building’s cold modernity, Kate seemed to place the same value on family that he did. When she’d spoken of hers, she’d mentioned her brother and his family, but she’d also said it was unlikely she’d get married anytime soon.

  Why hadn’t someone snatched her up? She seemed like a good catch.

  He wished everyone could experience what he’d had with Joy. But some people weren’t that lucky.

  Love was a mysterious and magical thing, and he was darned lucky to have found it with Joy, no matter how short their time together had been.

  He’d had his great love. Since some people never found that kind of love at all, he had to be happy with having experienced it once in his lifetime.

  As the door closed behind him and he stepped inside the massive glass lobby, the golden glow of the midmorning sun gave way to the odd greenish cast caused by light filtering through the building’s glass structure. The shift in atmosphere was nearly palpable; an odd, oppressive reminder that the true-love chapter of his life was closed. The realization weighed on him like something heavy and cruel.

  Maybe a delayed hangover from last night’s trip down memory lane was finally settling over him. Maybe he was being truthful with himself about why he’d driven all this way.

  He was here to see Kate—even if he’d told himself that he’d only come seeking her help with choosing a picture. Since that was the case, there was no reason to feel uncomfortable.

  He glanced around the lobby and looked up. The ceiling seemed to stretch on for miles above his head. The glass and plants created a green-tinged light, the same hue that was found in old-fashioned soda bottles. It poured in from all directions and reflected off the chrome furniture, chrome fixtures and giant chrome fountain that dominated the majority of the building’s first floor. Everything about the space was sleek and cold and slightly damp.

  As he looked around for a directory to help him locate the foundation offices, he was struck by how opposite the place was to Kate’s personality. She was warm and personable. She drew people to her, whereas this place was hard, cold and impersonal. It was as if he’d fallen to the bottom of some great glass aquarium and had no way out.

  “May I help you, sir?”

  Liam looked to his right and spied a receptionist stationed behind a glass-and-chrome desk right in front of a bank of elevators.

  He hesitated a moment, unsure of why he suddenly felt the need to escape. He could just say, “No thanks,” and walk out. But why? After he’d come all this way. And Kate was expecting him.

  “Yes,” he answered as he turned and
walked toward the security desk. “I’m looking for the Macintyre Family Foundation offices.”

  “Do you have an appointment?” The tall, slim, attractive brunette flashed a perfect pearly-white smile. Whoever was in charge of staffing cared about making a good first impression.

  “Yes. Kate Macintyre is expecting me.”

  From the way the receptionist regarded him with that polite-but-guarded smile, it was clear that no one got past the gatekeeper without having a reason to be here.

  “One moment, please.” The brunette picked up the phone, a sleek cordless model. Before she dialed she asked, “Your name, please?”

  “Liam Thayer.”

  As the woman spoke to the person on the other end of the line, Liam looked around. The place was impressive, a monument to the empire Rob Macintyre had built. Liam was glad he’d done the research and knew of the Macintyre family’s humble beginnings. If he didn’t know better, he might believe that he and Kate had come from polar-opposite worlds.

  “You may go right up,” said the brunette. “The foundation’s executive offices are on the twenty-fifth floor.”

  She handed Liam a visitor’s pass and directed him to an elevator that carried him up without stopping. The doors opened into a space where the vaguely green-tinged glow radiated through more floor-to-ceiling windows.

  “Hi, Liam.” Kate was standing in front of him looking gorgeous in a casual red blouse and blue jeans that hugged her curves like a second skin. “It’s so nice to see you.”

  From what he could tell, they were the only two in the office. “It’s nice to see you, too.”

  Liam stood there grasping the edges of the drink tray, his mouth suddenly dry. Why the hell had he come here? He felt like he was being unfaithful. But Joy was gone and the girls... This had nothing to do with the girls.

  He cleared his throat. “I brought you something.” The words came out in one swift, brusque statement. Still balancing the drink tray on one hand, he held out the envelope to her.

  He realized he probably should’ve offered her the coffee first.

  “What’s this?” she asked.

  As she took the envelope from him, their hands brushed, and she looked up at him and smiled, raising her right eyebrow in a way that was both tantalizing and disconcerting as hell. That combination of feelings pushed him way out of his comfort zone—the barrier that being married and having a family had always provided. Now he existed in some strange no-man’s-land: no longer married, but not free of heart, either. Sometimes he felt as if he had no idea what the hell he was doing anymore.

  “They’re pictures,” he said. “For the bachelor auction. I thought you could pick the one you liked best. But first, have some coffee. Fortify yourself. You’ll probably need it.”

  She shook her head and laughed as she accepted the cup he offered her. A dimple he hadn’t noticed before winked at him from her right cheek.

  “Come into my office,” she said, motioning him to follow.

  He did, like a child behind the Pied Piper. Only it was very much on his mind that, by coming here today, he was a consenting adult. He made a conscious effort to keep his gaze on the back of Kate’s head, not allowing it to meander any lower than her shoulders, especially not to the curves outlined by those tight jeans.

  She led him to a large office down a long hallway. When they stepped inside, even though the room had floor-to-ceiling windows similar to the ones in the building’s lobby and the foundation’s reception area, Kate’s office had a warmer feeling, fostered by traditional furniture: a desk, credenza and a couch with two upholstered chairs arranged around a coffee table made out of the same rich-toned wood as the desk. Several paintings created in the Impressionist style hung on the walls, a sharp contrast to the spectacular view of the Dallas skyline outside her windows.

  “This is where I live these days.” She gestured wide with both arms. “Welcome to my humble office.”

  “Nice place.”

  “Thank you.” She took a seat on the far end of the couch, leaving him the choice to join her or park himself in one of the chairs. He figured since they would be looking at photos, it made more sense to sit next to her.

  He settled himself on the couch, propping his left ankle on his right knee, leaving the middle cushion free between them.

  She sipped her coffee.

  “Here,” he said, gesturing to the drink holder he’d placed on the coffee table right next to where she’d placed the envelope of pictures. “There’s cream and sugar, if you’d like some. I forgot to ask how you took your coffee. So I asked for a little bit of everything.”

  It struck him how personal and intimate it was, knowing what a person put in their coffee. Not privately personal, but it was an individual’s taste, one of the many parts that added up to the whole. One small piece of the puzzle of daily life that made the person tick, and a tidbit that so many people took for granted.

  “I’d love a little cream, thank you.” Kate leaned in and set her cup on a stone coaster—which featured line drawings of Paris-scapes—and removed the lid. She poured half-and-half into the hot liquid. Liam watched it lighten as she stirred.

  Kate took her coffee with cream. As she curled her legs under her on her end of the couch, Liam filed the fact away for future reference.

  “Thank you for bringing this.” She raised her cup to him.

  “You bet.”

  He touched the edge of his cup to hers. The cold feeling of trepidation he’d had when he had entered the building’s lobby melted away in the warmth of her smile.

  “I have to confess,” she said. “When I asked you to lunch yesterday to tell you about my plan, I was so nervous. I thought for sure you were going to shoot it down.”

  “Well, you looked very brave, then. I had no idea you were nervous.”

  He made her nervous? That was surprising and a little bit endearing.

  “Anyone would be nervous if they thought their grand plan would be rejected.”

  “I wouldn’t reject you, Kate.”

  He’d said the words before he realized how they sounded, before he realized that he meant them.

  “Are you sure about that?” she asked.

  And a light of understanding seemed to pass between them.

  It was crazy. It made no sense at all. He’d known this woman for three days, and here he was...here they were. One moment he was compelled to drive to Dallas to see her; the next moment he was reminding himself not to be greedy—that he’d had the love of his life in Joy. That chapter—the chapter of falling in love and being head-over-heels crazy for someone—was finished.

  Yet every time he saw Kate, his life felt like he’d been handed a fresh, clean blank page ready for a new story.

  “You obviously need to give yourself more credit,” he said. “It was a great plan.”

  She bit her bottom lip and glanced up at him, her blue, blue eyes searching through dark thick lashes.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “It was a surprise when I talked to my daughters and found out they weren’t at all bothered by the idea of their old man being auctioned off. I guess sometimes I form conclusions too fast. Or maybe I’m just a little too overprotective.”

  “Don’t apologize for being a good parent,” Kate said. “I told you how I love my nephew like he was my own. My brother is the same way, fiercely protective. It’s definitely better to be overly cautious than to wish you would’ve been.”

  For nearly two years Liam had been overly cautious, protecting his girls, guarding his heart. He’d vowed not to get involved with anyone until the girls were off at school...if even then. Since he’d walked into that staff meeting, it felt as if life were making a point: Liam didn’t get to schedule when he would meet a person he was interested in.

  Was that what was happening to him now?

  He was glad when she picked up the envelope off the coffee table and removed its contents.

  “Thank you for this,” she said, holding up the
check.

  “It’s the least I can do,” he said.

  She shuffled through the photos, pausing when she got to the black-and-white 5x7 professional headshot that the hospital kept on hand for publicity purposes.

  She held it up and pulled a disapproving look. “Really, Liam? You need to get a better picture taken.”

  He shrugged. “I thought it might suffice in a pinch. It’s the one the hospital uses for publicity. Technically this event is hospital publicity. So that shot should work perfectly.”

  “Only if you want to drive people away.”

  “It’s not that bad.”

  She leaned in and held it next to his face. As she did, he could smell her shampoo, something clean and fresh and slightly floral. Mixed with her perfume, she smelled quite tantalizing. He inhaled deeply, and awareness flooded through him with an almost painful intensity.

  He reached up and took the photo from her, and, as he had hoped, she settled back onto her side of the couch. He was relieved to have reclaimed his personal space.

  “So this one’s out, huh? And none of the other shots work?”

  She picked up the stack of snapshots. “I don’t know. Let me look again.”

  “You certainly didn’t seem very bowled over by them the first time through. You know, not everyone is photogenic. Have mercy on me.”

  She shot him a sidelong glance. “You could be very photogenic.” She held up the picture of him and Joy on a trip to the Bahamas about three years ago. “You look great here.”

  They both studied the picture silently. It was as if neither of them wanted to be the first to suggest that Joy should be cropped out. He was suddenly sorry he’d brought pictures of him with her. But he didn’t really have any without her. He should’ve done the cropping after he had scanned in the shots. The reality had hulked in the back of his mind; however, he couldn’t pull the thought to the forefront and face it.

  “She was really beautiful, Liam,” Kate said. “You know, I met her once. I didn’t put the pieces together until after I’d left the meeting. I’m sorry.”