Текст книги "A black tie affair"
Автор книги: Sherrill Bodine
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Текущая страница: 12 (всего у книги 13 страниц)
CHAPTER
When Drew opened his eyes, Athena lay beside him, her face dreamy in the flickering light. She curled up against him, and he pulled her closer. She felt petal soft and smelled of Jackie O’s perfume and him.
She kissed him in a soft, drunk-on-love sort of way, and he couldn’t resist doing the same. She felt too good.
The hot tension started building up inside him. Christ, he wanted her again. Even though he could hardly keep his eyes open, he fought sleep with everything he had.
He needed to make love to her one more time. Before he left, he’d tell her he’d always loved her but was too stupid, too young, and too afraid to admit it.
The sound of the shower beating against the bathroom tiles woke Athena. She sat up, shivering alone in the bed. Her Bose clock radio blinked five a.m. Obviously, she hadn’t tired him out enough. Too early.
I need more time.
When she opened the glass shower door, Drew was soaping all over, his beautiful hands sliding down his body, like she wanted to do.
She stepped under the torrent of water and took the soap from his hands. Slowly, she rubbed the fragrant sandalwood bar over his shoulders, down his flat stomach, between his thighs. She lingered there, gliding her hand over and over, feeling him swell beneath her fingers.
“Athena, stop it,” he said with a shaky laugh.
“Don’t you like it?” She widened her eyes the way people do when they’re daring someone.
“I like it too much,” he gasped, reaching down to take the soap away from her.
Smiling, she let him remove the bar from her fingers. She slid to her knees and put her mouth where the bar of soap had been. The water flooded over her hair and face as she licked the contours of his body, sucking gently, all the while stroking his hips and thighs with her hands. She loved the feel of him, filling her mouth, her palms.
“Christ!” He pulled her up into his arms, and she wrapped her legs around him. The water felt cool against her hot body as he pushed her against the cream tile and plunged into her until she felt too weak to do anything but cling to his slippery body, loving the feel of him inside her and his mouth open and gasping against her throat.
Afterward he wrapped her in a large, soft green bath sheet, drying every crease and valley of her body. He carried her to the bed and lay down beside her, folding her into his arms.
“Christ, Athena, I’m a mere man. I’m exhausted,” he sighed, kissing her lips.
“I told you I’ve always been a demanding hussy,” she murmured, her head on his shoulder.
“And I love every nanosecond of it. What do you command now?”
“Go to sleep for a little while.” She kissed his shoulder. “It’s early yet.”
“Yeah, but don’t let me nap more than fifteen minutes.” He yawned and closed his eyes. “I love you,” he murmured, already half asleep.
“I love you,” she whispered back.
Ripped in two between fear and love, she drew up her knees, ran her fingers through her damp, tangled hair, and watched him sleep.
When the clock reached the appointed fifteen minutes, she wanted to throw it in the closet or drown it in the bathtub. Stop time.
So much precious time had passed with them apart because, torn between love and fear, she’d betrayed his trust. She could do it again.
He’d been young and vulnerable then. But he wasn’t an impetuous boy now, nor she a naive, terrified young girl.
She touched his shoulder. “Drew, it’s time to go.”
He opened his eyes and blinked. Turning his head, he gazed at her with such open trust, she knew in her soul that she hadn’t made a mistake.
“I hate leaving you.”
“I know. Do you want me to drive you to the airport, since you left your Porsche last night for Connor?”
“No, the driver will pick me up here, stop at Clayworth’s for my luggage, and then go on to the airport.” He gave her one quick kiss and flung back the covers. “The only way I’m getting out of here is to take a cold shower.”
“And I’ll go make you hot coffee.” Trying to be mature when she wanted to launch herself into his arms, she threw on a silk robe instead.
She heard the shower as she padded toward the kitchen. The doorbell ringing stopped her.
The driver had arrived early. No sense in hiding the obvious. Athena opened the door.
Tall, his pure white hair still as thick as a sable pelt, eyes the identical aquamarine of hers and her sisters’, Athena’s father stood staring down at her.
“Dad!” Athena gasped, clutching her robe tighter across her chest.
“I know it’s early, but I landed an hour ago and I wanted to come here first to see for myself that you’re all right.” He lifted one thick eyebrow. “Aren’t you going to let me in?”
“Athena, have you seen my wristwatch?” Drew, his tux shirt hanging open over his trousers, wandered down the hall.
His eyes locked with her father’s, and all the oxygen seemed to be sucked from the room.
Drew recovered first, coming closer, buttoning his shirt. “Hello, Alistair.”
Her father nodded and stared down at her.
She felt totally vulnerable, but she flung back her head and returned his gaze, searching his face for answers.
“I’m with Drew, Dad,” she said simply.
“I see that. I’ve interrupted. We’ll talk later.”
“No, Dad, wait!” She reached out to stop him, but he didn’t turn, his back ramrod straight.
The door swung shut, and she stared at it, dazed with disbelief.
She swayed back, and Drew caught her in his arms, holding her. She turned, burying her face in his chest, and soaked his tux shirt with her tears.
“I can’t believe Dad found out this way,” she shuddered, trying to breathe between her sobs.
“I’ll talk to your dad. Make him understand.”
His voice sounded so full of warmth and love, she believed he could make anything happen.
“Yes.” She looked up at him through her tears. “We’ll fix whatever’s wrong between you and my dad. Together, we’ll make this right. All of it.”
He cupped her wet cheeks in his palms and stared into her eyes. His were so brilliant, and open like she’d never seen, even when they were making love.
“I love you, Athena. I want a life with you. A life based on truth and trust. You hurt me for what you believed to be the right reasons, and it separated us for years while we grew up. I don’t want something I did for what I believe to be the right reason to tear us apart.”
His fingers tightened around her face. “We can’t fix what happened with your dad and Clayworth’s. He’s guilty of going outside the boundaries of his fiduciary responsibilities. Then he went further to make up his losses. Took bigger financial risks than he should have, and it put the store in jeopardy. Mine was the deciding vote to reprimand him and demand his resignation.”
The warm air in the hall became frigid. Drew had said she wasn’t a statue. Now she might have turned to stone.
“But he can’t be guilty of doing that. You know what kind of man my father is. The years he devoted his life to Clayworth’s. How could you have voted against him if you weren’t absolutely sure?”
“I am sure, Athena. The only other people who could have signed off on the transactions are my family. I know none of them would have done this.”
The truth slammed into her.
Clayworths closing ranks. Standing shoulder to shoulder.
I can’t fix this.
“Oh, yes. The famous Clayworth family loyalty.” Her voice cold, her body shivering, she pulled away from him. “So to protect them, you made my father the scapegoat. When were you planning to tell me? Why didn’t you tell me when I asked you on the boat?”
“I was afraid it would tear us apart before we had this second chance.”
She knew the truth was doing exactly what he’d feared.
All the joy she’d felt withered into a hard, cold stone in her chest.
“You’re right. It has—I don’t know how to fix this. You’re a Clayworth. You’ll never turn against your family. And neither will I.”
“Christ, Athena, you know we can work this out somehow. Not let it come between us. We’ve come too far to let this happen.” He reached for her, but she flinched back, drawing her robe tighter around her like a shield.
The doorbell rang again. This time she knew it must be the driver.
“You need to go.” She turned her back on him.
“Come with me!” He pulled her around to face him. “I want you there. I need you there. We’ll work this out.”
She closed her mind and heart to the anguish in his eyes, his voice, too filled with her own. “How, Drew? I know Clayworths always stand together no matter what. So do Smiths. I’ll never believe my father did anything wrong, and you always will. How can we be together with that between us?”
His fingers bit into her arms. “I’m not leaving. I’m staying here. To hell with the Fastnet. To hell with everything except you.”
For one beat of her heart she believed the Fates had brought her to this moment to save him again. But she was wiser now and knew she had a choice. She needed to let him go, find his own way, like she needed to find hers.
“You need to go, Drew. I want you to go. Now,” she said softly, pulling away from him.
His gaze bore into her. “Promise me that you’ll be here when I get back?”
“I can’t. I’m not sure of anything except that I will never again make you a promise I can’t keep.”
CHAPTER
At Clayworth’s, Connor sat in the office that had once belonged to his dad. He cast one long look at Drew’s tux trousers and open shirt and smiled.
“I see you had your own party with Athena while you threw me to the lions.”
“I need the G-V to get to London. I missed my flight, and I need to get to Cowles. I’m not going on a business trip. I’m racing in the Fastnet.” Drew blurted out the truth.
Connor shot him another long, narrow look and picked up the phone.
Full of pain, Drew paced to the window and back. He caught a few words of Connor’s conversation with Bridget and then obviously with the pilot, before Drew paced back to the window. Despite his life falling apart, he had to go. Athena was right. His decision about the Fastnet, his belief that he’d never escape the guilt of not being with his parents, had to be put to rest.
Now coldness made him stop and stare blindly down at the famous Clayworth Clock below. Clayworth tradition. Clayworths standing shoulder to shoulder. Did anything matter now that he’d lost Athena again?
A commotion at the door turned him around. Bridget rushed in. “What are you boys up to this time!”
“I’m going with Drew to the Fastnet,” Connor said. “Aunt Bridget, you can run this place better than the both of us.” Connor shook his head. “Drew, you didn’t believe I’d let you do this alone, did you?”
An hour later they were in the G-V, the pilots ready to take off, the second crew required by the FAA for a trip from Chicago to England seated in the crew rest area.
As always, Connor strolled to the forward cabin and immediately started working, and Drew prowled to the galley, poured himself a neat scotch, and tossed it down his throat before he strapped himself in for the flight.
The second or third scotch didn’t kill the ache in his gut. This was a different pain than he’d felt that Christmas night on the terrace when he’d left Athena. He’d been too young to understand the loss and loneliness of what he’d decided should be their future. Now he did.
He stared out the window, seeing Athena’s face when he’d left her this time and her voice saying, We can’t fix this. Shutting the door on their future.
Athena cried herself to sleep.
Only Drusilla Junior licking her face roused her out of bed. She glanced at the clock in disbelief. She’d slept the day and most of the night away, exhausted by grief and hours and hours in Drew’s arms making love.
No, I won’t think about it.
Raw with pain, Athena forced herself to go through her daily ritual. But the bathwater scalded her skin, and then her clothes felt too heavy on her body. Every part of her ached.
She conjured up every lesson on life, on courage, her parents had ever taught her. Her oldest-sister role, stiff upper lip, leader of the pack, had gotten her through most tough times in her life. Doing it about Drew might be the proverbial straw, but she needed to try. Even if they didn’t have a future, she couldn’t let go of her fear for Drew and what the past might cost his future.
The doorbell rang at an hour barely civil. For one insane instant she thought it might be Drew.
Torn between so many conflicting emotions that she felt sick, she stood and stared at the door. She couldn’t fake anything at the moment.
As it rang again, she peeked through the lace curtains to see who wouldn’t give up.
She flung the door open for her father.
“Your phones have been off for twenty-four hours. I’ve come to apologize.”
“Dad, I’m the one who was wrong,” she sobbed, throwing herself into his waiting arms.
How could she have any more tears left? Obviously a renewable resource, they poured down her face as her father led her into the living room, sat beside her on the blue velvet settee, and encouraged her to cry on his shoulder.
“I’ve been a fool trusting Drew again. Believing I can fix everything. I’ll never forgive him for believing you guilty of… of… of wrongdoing. And not telling me about it.”
“I didn’t do anything wrong, Athena. I’ve apologized to your sisters for running away to lick my wounds instead of talking this through with all of you. I thought I was sparing you, but obviously I was wrong.”
Her dad’s calm voice shocked her into sitting up to stare into his face. “If you aren’t guilty of anything, why didn’t you stand and fight like you taught me to do?”
His smile gentle, he took out a white handkerchief like he’d always kept in his trouser pocket since they were kids and wiped her wet eyes and nose. “I chose to accept early retirement because I considered Drew’s grandfather an old lion whom I greatly respected. To fight would have compounded the problem. There is trouble brewing at Clayworth’s, but not of my making, even though the evidence speaks to the contrary.”
Justice for her father burned away a small sliver of her grief. “We’ll fight it, then. Clear your name with Drew and the others.”
“Time will do that for me, Athena. For too long I’ve let this blight my life. I don’t want it to blight yours any longer. I don’t want to be the cause of any more unhappiness for you.”
“How can I be with Drew when he believes you capable of larceny?”
“Athena, the evidence certainly supported the possibility. I’d consider it myself if I didn’t know better.”
“He didn’t confide in me. Share it with me so we could somehow work it out. Although I don’t think that is possible.” She couldn’t keep the pain out of her voice.
“Why didn’t he share his feelings about me with you?”
Burning with embarrassment, regret, she shook her head. “He said he was afraid if I knew how he’d voted I wouldn’t give our relationship a chance.”
“Would you have?”
“Of course not. I’ll never betray you, Dad.”
Her father nodded and wiped a fresh tear off her cheek. “Do you love Drew?”
She’d had enough of hiding the truth. “Yes. I’ve loved him since I was seventeen. But how can I be with him and support you?”
“Drew did what he believed to be right. There are troubles ahead for Clayworth’s. Drew will need a woman like you at his side.”
Drew’s words, I need you there, rang in her ears.
“I know you believe in me. You being with Drew won’t change that. Make the wise decision, Athena. Choose happiness. Follow your heart with Drew. It doesn’t diminish your love and trust in me,” her father said softly, love in his eyes.
What would I do if I were still under the influence of Bertha’s toxic stays, being given another dose of truthfulness?
Athena knew exactly where the Clayworth executive offices were located on the ninth floor.
They appeared deserted. “Hello,” she called, a little edge of panic in her voice.
Bridget strolled out of her office. “Athena, what’s wrong? You’re as pale as a ghost.”
“Where is Drew? I must see him.” Fear that she’d be too late made her catch her breath so she wouldn’t burst again into loud, sloppy tears.
“Connor e-mailed that they landed in Stansted and drove to Cowes. That blasted Fastnet begins tomorrow. Damn foolishness, if you ask me. Drew always was the most stubborn of the lot.”
Athena gripped Bridget’s cool fingers. “Please help me to get to him before the race.”
Without any questions, Bridget picked up the phone, and in a few minutes Athena had a first-class ticket on the next flight out.
Hanging up the phone, Bridget winked. “Sometimes it’s all right to throw around the Clayworth weight.”
As the fleet of boats sailed from Cowes, dawn broke high in the sky. One moment a faint flush on the highest peaks of the clouds, the next, light. The Fastnet had begun. The moment he’d waited for had finally come.
Over the years he’d learned how the sea had many voices. Today he listened to the wind and waves. The hollow booming and heavy roars. The great watery tumbling, long hisses, and sharp reports, splashes, whispers that might be half-heard voices of people at sea.
In the early hours of the race he heard his dad’s voice, over and over again. “No, Drew, you can’t come with us.”
He’d come for closure because he hadn’t been there, standing shoulder to shoulder with his dad like Clayworths always did. Now he would finish the race for him and his mother.
He heard Athena’s young voice. “Drew, you’re not alone. I’ll always, always be here for you. I love you. I’ve always loved you. We’ll always be together. You’ll never be alone again.”
In the darkest part of the night he heard her woman’s voice. “We can’t fix this.”
They rounded the Fastnet Rock off the west coast of Ireland and back to England. The winds were good, strong and cold on his face, calling to him like they always had. Now they were taking him back to England, the finish line of the Fastnet.
His debt paid. A sense of peace about his parents; their choices and his own washed over him. At last he closed the door on the past.
He’d never close the door on Athena. He needed her, loved her, and nothing, not Clayworth loyalty or Smith loyalty, would keep him away from her.
Athena knew the instant she saw the deserted docks at Cowles that she’d missed Drew. The Fastnet fleet had sailed.
Fear drove her to ask everyone she could find for news, a way to reach him, tell him she’d come.
Late in the day she felt adrift, weighed down by fear and regret, but she refused to give in to it. Every few minutes all day she’d watched the sky, willing clouds, rain, anything but fair winds away.
Finally she headed back to the hotel Bridget had booked for her to find someone, anyone, who could help her.
Connor stood waiting for her in the small lobby.
“I couldn’t believe it when Aunt Bridget told me you were here. Why the hell have you come?” Connor’s eyes blazed at her.
Hers blazed right back. “Because I love Drew, and I want to be with him whether you like it or not. If you aren’t here to help me, get out of my way so I can find someone who will.”
She shoved past him.
“Wait, Athena.” Connor touched her shoulder.
Her chin jutting to the low oak ceiling, she turned back to him.
“They’ve already rounded the Fastnet Rock and are heading to Plymouth.”
Tears sprang up in her eyes, making Connor look blurry. “Thank God, it’s almost over. How can I get there?”
“There’s a chartered jet taking a few of us to the finish line, but it’s booked solid.” He ran his fingers through his hair and studied her with his lawyer look. He reached into his pocket and thrust a white form at her. “Here, take my pass. I know Drew would rather see you at the finish line.”
In Plymouth, Athena waited with the crowd, cheering as each yacht sailed into the harbor. She raced to the dock, fighting past other women greeting their men home from the sea.
She twirled around, not sure which way to look, where to go. She swung back to the pier, and there at the end, she saw him.
Like Daniel Day-Lewis in Last of the Mohicans, she raced toward her love, except without causing any bodily harm.
Only in the case of the two unfortunate men—one carrying fish, the other cleaning them—that she accidentally knocked over so they both lost their footing and most of their catch ended up back in the sea.
The commotion got Drew’s attention. She couldn’t see his eyes, but she didn’t miss the powerful movements of his body as he raced toward her.
Among flopping fish, their slimy parts, and men cursing in at least two languages, Drew pulled her into his arms, kissing her with a passion that honestly made her light-headed.
“You’re here.”
She smiled through her tears. “I love you. Despite everything.”
He held her tighter. “I’m never letting you go. To hell with family loyalty. Yours and mine. If it takes another fifteen years, I’ll convince you we can fix anything together. Believe it.” His eyes told her he meant every word.
She clung to him, smelling of dead fish, and laughed when he swept her up in his arms. “I do.”
