by Donna Every
“None of us deserve it, but God forgives us, so how can I do any less? I’m glad that you’re trying to do things his way now. You’re finally free from the Matrix.” She threw her arms around him in a hug. Pulling away she asked: “Did you mean what you said on The Beacon the other night? That nothing was worth hurting someone you cared about deeply? Did you mean me?”
“Of course I meant you KT. I love you and I want to be with you again.”
“I forgive you, Daniel but I need some time to trust you again. I’m not quite ready to make any commitments just yet.”
“I can live with that. So you’re willing to give me another chance?”
“I am.”
Daniel stood and pulled KT up to stand in front of him. With great restraint he kissed her forehead and then took her hand to walk back to the party. KT felt disappointed that he hadn’t kissed her properly. What was wrong with her? First she told him she needed time and then she was sorry that he was taking his time. She must be bipolar.
“I like your parents,” Daniel said as they walked.
“I’m sure they like you as well. You’re nothing if not charming when you want to be. So I understand that you’re planning to give up the title of Bachelor?” she teased not quite sure how she felt about that. “The single women will probably be coming out of the woodwork now.”
“I’ve only got eyes for one,” he said seriously looking at her. KT smiled and continued walking. It felt so good being with Daniel again.
The day took on new color for Daniel and KT. KT introduced him to her baby sister, Valerie. She was several inches shorter than KT, had her dad’s coloring and wore her hair in a natural curly style. She whispered rather loudly to KT that Daniel was “hot” which made him laugh and give her a hug. Then he met Michaela’s parents and their friends. The buffet put on by the caterers was wonderful but Daniel couldn’t remember what he ate, he was so busy devouring KT with his eyes. Eventually KT’s dad pulled him away for a “talk” he said. Daniel thought he’d wanted to talk about “oneness” and was surprised when he said: “Young man, I can’t help but notice that you can’t take your eyes off my daughter and I was just wondering what your intentions are or if I’ll have to get out my shotgun.”
Daniel laughed and said: “You won’t need a shotgun, Robert, unless it’s to convince KT to marry me. I love her and I’m trying to convince her to spend the rest of her life with me, if we have your blessing.”
“And why would she need convincing of that?”
“It’s a long story and not very pretty. Suffice it to say I betrayed her trust but I’m happy that she’s forgiven me and I won’t let her down again, with God’s help.”
“Well that’s good enough for me.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“What are you two talking about?” asked KT walking up to them.
“Oh, men stuff,” said her father putting his arm around her shoulder and giving her a quick hug. “I like this young man. Don’t keep him in suspense for too long,” he said heading back to the party.
“Now you’ve got my whole family on your side,” complained KT.
“When I’m preparing for a merger, I pull out all the stops. And this is the most important merger of my life. I can’t afford to mess it up.”
“OK Mogul.” Daniel laughed and gave KT a quick hug.
“I think it’s time I was leaving. Are you ready to go? I can drive behind you to make sure you get home safely.”
“Thanks Daniel but I’ll be fine.”
“When can I see you again? Would you like to go to a show this week?”
“I’d love to. Mama Mia has just started and I would love to see that.”
“OK, Mama Mia it is. I’ll get Margaret to book some tickets and I’ll call you and let you know what day.”
“Great! See you then.” Daniel said his goodbyes to everyone and made his way to his car. For the first time since KT walked out of his apartment he felt fully alive.
“Thank you Lord,” he said out loud.
Chapter 30
The first thing Daniel did when he got to his office on Monday morning was deal with the letter from Patterson Morgan. Daniel had worked on the merger between Morgan’s financial services firm and a similar firm which offered specialist services. The merger had gone well and everyone had been happy, Daniel included, especially when he walked away with a big check.
Unfortunately according to Morgan’s letter, cracks were not just beginning to show but they seemed to be threatening the whole structure and he obviously wanted a scapegoat. Daniel supposed the most convenient one was Tennant Consulting.
He thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to test his oneness strategy and smooth things over with Patterson Morgan at the same time. He reached for the phone on his desk.
“Margaret, get me Patterson Morgan at Morgan Stanley please.”
“Sure Daniel.” A minute later his phone rang.
“Hello Patterson. I got your letter last week but I’ve been out of town so I wasn’t able to deal with it. I’m sorry to hear that things are bad over there but I may be able to help. I’ve got a new strategy that I’m offering to help companies with their post merger issues. How would you like to get together this week to discuss it?
After agreeing a date and time, Daniel hung up satisfied with the call. Maybe that letter that had seemed so threatening was really a blessing in disguise.
Daniel lavished attention on KT as he had never done with any other woman. He arrived to pick her up for Mama Mia with a single rose the exact color of the dress she wore on their first date.
“I’ll never forget our first date and the color of the dress you wore,” he said handing her the rose. KT was touched that he remembered her dress after all these months however she preferred not to remember how the date ended.
One weekend he picked her up and let her drive his Porsche down to Long Island where they had a picnic. “You know a man must really be in love when he lets a woman drive his Porsche,” he joked. KT laughed as she felt the power of the engine respond to the slight increase in the pressure of her foot on the gas.
KT dragged Daniel to the cinema, something he hadn’t done for years, to watch a romantic comedy.
“Admit it, you enjoyed it,” she teased afterwards.
“Well the guy got the girl in the end so that gives me hope. But I still prefer Matrix.”
“Typical male!”
He never made any attempt to do more than kiss her cheek or forehead and while it was almost killing him he felt it was the best way to regain her trust. KT enjoyed being with Daniel but she was also frustrated with the restraint he was showing. He would only hold her hand and kiss it or just brush his lips to her forehead when he left her at her door while she longed for him to kiss her with the passion that he had on their first date. In fact it seemed to her that he avoided lingering when he dropped her off. She began to wonder what his hurry was and if perhaps he was seeing someone else. Maybe someone who was giving him what she wouldn’t.
Daniel drove off after seeing KT to her door. He didn’t dare stay any longer because it was becoming nearly impossible to keep his hands off her and give her those chaste kisses when he really longed to hold her close and indulge himself in the taste and feel of her as he did before. But that was just too much given his enforced celibacy. He said a quick prayer for strength. He needed to marry her soon.
It was KT’s birthday, a warm night in August, when Daniel picked her up to take her to dinner.
“Happy Birthday,” he greeted her at her door with a bouquet of colorful flowers and a beautifully wrapped gift.
“Thank you Daniel, these are beautiful. I’ll just get a vase for them. And thank you for the gift; I’ll open it in the car.” KT was back in a couple of minutes. She found Daniel looking uncharacteristically restless and asked if he was OK.
“Yes, I’m fine. I’ve got a special evening planned and I hope you’ll enjoy it.”
“I’m sure
I will. Where are we going? Tell me, don’t make me wait!”
“I see that your patience hasn’t improved,” he laughed. “Well we’re going to The Parisienne for dinner and then I’ve arranged for a carriage ride in Central Park.”
“Oh, how romantic! I heard that the Parisienne is one of the most romantic restaurants in Manhattan and I’ve never been for a carriage ride in Central Park. And just to prove that I’m patient I won’t open my gift until I get home.”
Their dinner was wonderful. KT and Daniel reminisced about their first date which now seemed so long ago. She reminded him about the photo in the tabloids the next day and they laughed about it.
“I never did see that,” Daniel said.
“Just as well. Paul called me up furious and read it to me. It said something like ‘The Merger Mogul is back on the town and was seen at The Black Pearl with a mysterious Vanessa Williams lookalike…’ That was rather flattering, I must admit.”
“You’re just as beautiful as Vanessa Williams and I’ll never forget how stunning you looked that night. I totally lost my head.”
“OK let’s change the subject before I die of embarrassment.”
They had dessert and then headed out to Central Park for their ride.
“Your carriage awaits, my lady,” said Daniel helping her up into the carriage. The driver took off with a shake of the reigns.
“This is so beautiful,” exclaimed KT as she admired the beauty and serenity of the park in the midst of all the high rises around it.
“You are so beautiful,” murmured Daniel taking her hand. “KT, when I met you, your values seemed old-fashioned to me but, like this carriage ride, they are a refreshing reminder of the way things used to be. Thank you for coming into my life and introducing me to the real world.”
“It was totally God, Daniel. But I’m glad he used me to reach you.”
He reached into the pocket of his jacket which was next to him on the cushioned seat and took out a small black box. Flipping open the lid he revealed a princess cut diamond solitaire ring. KT put her hand over her mouth in awe. “You’re like this diamond, rare and precious. Will you marry me and enter into a lifelong merger with me?”
“Yes, Daniel! I’ll marry you.” She threw her arms around him and he hugged her tightly, feeling as if he’d come home at last.
“This is so beautiful,” she said in awe as he slipped the ring on her finger.
“When do you want to get married? I can’t wait more than a couple of months. I feel as if I’ve been waiting for you forever.”
“Let’s get married in November. That will make a year that we first met. Can we get married in Barbados?”
“Are you sure you want to do that?”
“Absolutely! I love that island and I don’t want the memory of it to be tainted by what happened there. I want our marriage and honeymoon to totally replace all the negative feelings with love and joy.”
“Then Barbados it is. Let’s go celebrate our engagement. I have a bottle of champagne at home in the fridge.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” asked KT. ‘Don’t go,’ said a voice. ‘You can trust him,’ said another one. ‘He’s been the perfect gentleman.’
“You can trust me,” Daniel said. “I know the boundaries.”
“OK. In that case I’d love to have a glass of champagne to celebrate.” She felt a tingle of excitement go through her body.
A similar excitement raced through Daniel and he wondered if he was tempting fate by inviting KT to his apartment. He knew the boundaries all right, but could he stay within them?
“I didn’t really get to see your apartment last time I was here,” KT reminded Daniel. He preferred to forget the outcome of that visit. “It’s beautiful,” she continued “but it’s not terribly homey. It looks like a bachelor pad.”
“It is a bachelor pad,” laughed Daniel, “but you can make it as homey as you like when we get married. That is if you want to live here.”
“I may have to exorcise the ghosts of girlfriends past,” teased KT. Daniel wisely refrained from commenting and instead went to get the champagne.
“Here’s to the most important merger of my life,” he toasted and they touched their glasses together.
“And here’s to the best merger specialist in Manhattan,” she returned “who now not only brings the companies together but is committed to keeping them together.” They drank their champagne and KT laughed in sheer happiness as the bubbles tickled her nose.
“I love you KT. Do you know that the first time I met you, I said to myself ‘Kathryn Tennant sounds even better than Kathryn Taylor and you wouldn’t even have to change your initials.’?”
“You did not!”
“Yes I did. Maybe I had some kind of prophetic insight that we’d end up together.”
“That’s amazing. I never would have guessed. I thought you were pretty disgusting though.”
“And I thought that you were from the Victorian era. I figured that you were prudish and a bit uptight but now I know that you just live by your principles and you’re actually very warm and passionate.”
“How would you know? You haven’t really kissed me in ages. I was beginning to think that you were seeing someone else.”
“Seeing someone else? Are you crazy? I’ve been losing sleep trying to figure out ways to keep my hands off you.”
“Oh. I’m so glad! Not that you’ve lost sleep but…” KT didn’t finish her sentenced because Daniel pulled her onto his lap and began to kiss her with all the passion and love that he had stored up over the past months. She felt that she was being washed away by a torrent and all she could do was hold onto him for dear life.
Daniel’s mouth left hers and trailed down her neck, tasting the skin as he went. KT threw back her head to give him better access and buried her fingers in his thick hair. He slid the zip of her dress down a few inches and bared her shoulder, continuing to nibble on her soft skin until she shuddered with pleasure. Daniel wanted nothing more than to lower the dress all the way and sample what she was willingly offering. She really didn’t know what she was doing to him. She trusted him that he could stop before things went too far. She didn’t know how wrong she was!
‘Help me Lord, help me Lord,’ he sent up a silent prayer. ‘Give me the strength to stop. I don’t want to fail you.’ It was as if heaven was just waiting for him to ask for help because immediately he felt the power come over him to slide KT’s zip up and pull away. He gathered her to him in a hug that was now free of passion but full of love. He slid her off his lap and leaned his forehead against hers, taking a ragged breath.
“Oh Daniel, I’m sorry! Sorry I led you on like that.”
Daniel put his finger on her lips and said: “Don’t apologize. I was with you all the way. But thankfully God was with us as well and gave me the strength to stop. I want our wedding night to be perfect, KT. No regrets. So let’s do this God’s way. OK?” KT nodded.
“I love you Daniel. Thank you for loving me enough to wait.”
Chapter 31
Daniel and KT flew down to Barbados in November with their closest friends and family to get married on the beach at Sandy Lane. KT’s parents, Robert and Barbara were there, as well as Paul, Michaela and Val. Daniel arranged for Margaret, Bob and Des to fly in as well as Claire and Bryan from the firm. Bryan was Daniel’s best man and Des was KT’s maid of honor. As Daniel looked at their friends and family, he felt a pang of sorrow that his parents weren’t alive to share this moment with them.
Claire came up to Daniel and said with a very serious expression: “Daniel do you have a prenupt?” Daniel looked at her in disbelief for a second before the pin dropped and he threw back his head and laughed as he remembered the day at the retreat when Claire had told him one day he would fall hard and be running to the altar to create his own merger without having a prenuptial agreement.
“OK, I admit it. I’ve lost it,” he replied giving her a hug, “but it’s great!” Claire l
aughed and said: “I told you so.”
The beautiful ceremony was performed by a local minister against the backdrop of the most amazing sunset and afterwards the guests were treated to a sumptuous dinner and then dancing to the music of a Barbadian band. They finally said goodnight to their guests and were driven by limousine to Daniel’s condo.
“That was the most perfect wedding,” she declared settling back in the limo.
“That’s because you were the most perfect bride.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” promised KT.
“And I can’t wait,” murmured Daniel kissing her at last with all the passion he had restrained over the last months.
“Are you sure you didn’t want to stay at Sandy Lane tonight?” he asked opening the door to the condo. He picked her up and carried her over the threshold.
“Absolutely not! Do you know how many times I wished you didn’t have to sleep on the couch when I was here? Now we can actually share your bed.”
“KT, I’m glad that we did this God’s way and waited until we got married. You are giving me a precious gift that very few women have to give their husbands and I will treasure it.”
“Thank you Daniel. I’ll go and get ready for you.”
Daniel showered in the guest bathroom and was lying in his bed in his robe when KT walked out of the dressing room draped in a sheer white nightgown. Her hair was loose down her back and she wore no make-up; to him she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and she was all his. He rose from the bed and walked over to her.
“You can’t imagine how I’ve longed for this time. I’ll try to make it perfect for you because you deserve nothing less.”
“I don’t care about perfection. I just want you.”
“And I want you, desperately.”