Finding Forever (10 page)

L
iam, you can’t
both court a woman and plan to use the law to take away the children she so obviously loves. Not at the same time, dang it. It just won’t work out for you. In fact, it could all blow up in your face.”

Liam gazed out the window as his father spoke to him. The man was right. But saving his brother’s children had been his entire focus from the moment he’d learned about them, and he just didn’t know how to get off that road he was on.

Liam wasn’t good at changing directions, especially not when he felt he was doing the right thing. Hell, wasn’t he always?

“Have you heard a word I’ve said? Are you listening to me at all?” Frederick asked.

“I’m listening, Father. I’m sorry. I’ve just been so …. so, hell,
confused
, I guess, is the right word. I think the children would benefit so much more by living here, but I do see how much Whitney loves them. I didn’t factor that into my plans — not even once,” Liam had to admit.

“Well, you should certainly factor it in now,” Frederick said. “Especially since it’s obvious that you have some sort of feelings for her.”

“I don’t know what I feel for her, Father. I just know that I’m a bit … I don’t know … infatuated with the woman.”

“That’s a start,” Frederick said, and he sounded disgustingly satisfied.

“Don’t get any ideas, father. I think I just like the fact that she’s different from most of the women I date. She’s … spontaneous, loving, nurturing. I don’t know. Those things that my mother never was.”

Liam was almost shocked when those words came from his mouth. He and Frederick didn’t speak of his mother, not ever. She didn’t deserve to be spoken of, not after taking her own life. For so long, he’d blamed his father for her death, but after losing his brother, he’d come to realize how wrong that was.

If she’d hated the marriage so much, she should have divorced his father, not killed herself to escape. And something greater, something more dire must have been going on inside her. Suicide was a drastic act, after all, so maybe she’d been struggling with drug abuse or mental illness. She’d certainly been cold as a mother, and that wasn’t normal, was it? Anyway, she’d still been his mom. He’d still loved her, and he supposed that he still did love her.

“It was your mother’s choice to do what she did, son. I felt completely responsible for a very long time. I wasn’t a good husband and I wasn’t a good father. It’s not surprising that your brother hated me enough to leave, and though you stayed, you’ve been bitter and angry for as long as I remember. Still, I’m seeing changes in you — significant changes — since the children and Whitney have arrived.”

“Perhaps you have,” Liam said. “Okay, yes, I’ve had to examine who I was and who I want to be. I’m not saying I disliked the way I was, but I’m just realizing I wasn’t always the most pleasant company.”

His father was silent for several moments and then shocked his son when he began snorting and guffawing. Liam gave him a withering stare while he waited for his father’s merriment to pass. He was trying to open up here — it’s not as if it was easy for him — and the man was laughing. Where did he get off?

“I’m sorry, son, but I remember feeling and acting just the way you are right now. I was so pompous, so vain. I believed the world revolved around me. That sort of existence can be a very lonely one.”

“I’ve never been lonely. I have companionship whenever I want,” Liam informed him haughtily.

“There’s a difference between having a crowd of greedy strangers around you and being with a few loved ones. I’ll take the latter any day of the week,” Frederick said. “Meeting my beautiful grandchildren finally brought that home to me. I’d never understood that before.”

“I think I see what you’re trying to say.” And amazingly, Liam did see.

“So, what are you going to do about the custody situation? Do you still have your attorneys on it?”

Liam paused. “Yes, the law firm is still working on it, but …” Damnation. His heart just wasn’t in it anymore.

“But?”

“But I don’t think I can go through with it anymore. Maybe I just want her to stay with the children.”

“In what capacity?” Frederick asked.

“Why are you pushing this, Father?”

“Because I’m hoping it will make you really and truly
think
about it,” Frederick told him.

That hadn’t been what Liam was expecting his father to say.

“I honestly don’t know where any of this is going. I shouldn’t tell you all this, but I’ve flirted with the woman, kissed her, felt jealousy because of her, and shared things with her I haven’t shared with any other person, man or woman. But I don’t have a Magic 8 Ball at my disposal. I don’t know what the future holds.”

“Well, maybe you should do something magical for her,” Frederick said. “Then you can see if you want her to be in your life as more than just the aunt of your niece and nephew.”

“That’s an idea, Dad.” Liam didn’t notice that he’d just said “Dad” and not “Father,” but Frederick did.

Even while Liam was walking out of his father’s office, he was forming plans in his head. Why not see whether there was more to what he felt about Whitney than just hormones? Was it time to settle down? Geez. He’d never even considered that before, and he wouldn’t again. Stupid thought. Freaking insane.

And yet why was the thought of letting her go unacceptable? He could tell himself it was about controlling the situation, but he knew that wasn’t the case.

He just wasn’t sure what the case was.

C
an you come
this way, Ms. Steele?”

Whitney looked up as Mr. Smotter stood in the doorway to her bedroom. He was wearing a heavy coat.

“What’s going on? I thought dinner was at seven,” she said.

“There’s been a change of plans. If you could follow me, your ride is waiting,” he said. He held out a jacket for her to wear, and it made her seriously suspicious.

She’d been in the home for long enough now to know he wasn’t going to tell her anything he wasn’t supposed to, so she could fight it or go along with him. She decided to go along with it, partly because she liked Mr. Smotter and partly because she had to be curious.

They stepped out the back door, where a golf cart decorated in twinkling lights and roses was waiting. She eyed it with suspicion, but she admitted to herself that it looked charming in a Disney sort of way.

“I don’t understand this,” she told Mr. Smotter.

“Just enjoy the moment, Ms. Steele,” he told her with a secret smile.

“Where in the world would we be going on a golf cart? It’s freezing outside.”

“It’s not far, I promise you.”

With a strange sense of excitement, she climbed onto the golf cart. Mr. Smotter got in after her and began driving down a plowed trail. It wasn’t long before a large black helicopter came into view.

Mr. Smotter pulled up to a lighted path leading to a large open door on the helicopter. Liam stood waiting there. He was wearing a beautiful charcoal suit with a red handkerchief in the pocket and a matching tie, and a smile adorning his lips. To top that off, he held a long-stemmed rose. Was this an episode of
The Bachelor
?

He strode up to her and held out the flower. “For you, my lady,” he said in an exaggerated voice.

“What are we doing here, Liam?”

“I’m taking you out, showing you the sights of New York,” he said as she accepted the rose, and then his hand as she emerged from the golf cart and began walking with him. “Unless you think
Sam
was sufficient for the task …”

She ignored that remark. “What? We’re going up in that thing?” she asked, drawing back as they reached the helicopter’s doors. “Who’s flying it?” Yes, that was fear in her voice.

Liam laughed as he gave her a little nudge inside. “Don’t worry. I have a very responsible pilot. I want to be in the backseat with my hands all over you,” he said with an elaborate wink.

Where had this playful Liam come from? Was this a new tactic? If it was, she sort of liked it, though she didn’t think it a good idea to admit that out loud.

“Liam,” she warned, but somehow she found herself sitting in the chopper with the doors shutting, and then the seat belt was being strapped around her, and a headset was placed over her ears.

“Can you hear me?” he asked, his voice right in her ears.

“Yes, but I have to confess that I’m a bit scared. I’ve never ridden in a helicopter before. I’ve heard they’re dangerous.”

The blades began to whirl deafeningly, and her stomach dropped as the copter began lifting in the air. Somehow she found her hand clasped in his, resting against his hard thigh.

“Ah, then I’m glad I’m with you as you take your virgin voyage,” he said with a gargantuan grin. ”We’re taking a circuitous route.”

She rolled her eyes at him, but their conversation ceased as they began flying over the beautiful lighted skyline along the harbor.

Her fear vanished as they soared over the Empire State building, and then the Brooklyn Bridge, the cars crawling across it, and then Ellis Island with the Statue of Liberty holding her flame high right next to it.

“This is incredible, Liam.”

“I’m so glad you’re enjoying yourself,” he said, tugging her against him. In her happiness, she allowed him to do it.

“Is that Central Park?” she asked as they looped back.

“Yes. It’s beautiful, isn’t it, especially at this time of year? All the Christmas lights make it so much more festive. Hold on now; we’re going to be landing soon.”

They began their descent a few moments later and Whitney was clutching Liam even more tightly as the copter touched down. They were far too close to another helicopter for her liking.

“Do they always land this close to each other?” she asked, taking her first deep breath of the whole ride when the rotor blades stopped turning.

“At this helipad, they do,” he told her. “But it’s a great place to land for where I want to take you for dinner.”

Then the door was opening and Liam was jumping out and then reaching up for her, his hands wrapping around her waist as he helped her from the chopper. Whitney lost her breath again when he pulled her against him.

“I need one kiss before we go any farther.”

She didn’t even try to fight it as Liam’s mouth connected with hers. She expected heat, passion, an ardent assault, but instead, he caressed her mouth softly before nipping her bottom lip and soothing it with his tongue.

This man could kiss — really kiss. He managed to make her knees grow weak and her core tighten all at once. He made her want the impossible.

Just when she was ready to grab ahold of him, he pulled back, heat in his eyes but a gentle smile on his lips. “Mmm,” he said, “that will satisfy me … for a little while.”

But not her!

Somehow she managed to avoid saying that out loud. Instead, she accepted the arm he was offering her and proceeded about twenty feet down a walkway to where a black stretch limo awaited them.

“You know, a regular car would do,” she told him. “I really don’t want to get used to all this fancy stuff. It will make going back to the real world a bit depressing.”

He ushered her into the warmth and the fine leather seats, and waited for the door to be shut before he responded.

“You deserve to be pampered. Every woman does. But if you’d rather I get a moped next time, I can accommodate you,” he said with a laugh.

“It might be a bit cold for a moped, Liam, but a nice sedan would do just fine.”

“But I wouldn’t get to sit behind this nice privacy glass, where all sorts of crazy things could be done.” He slid his hand up her thigh as he said that.

“Cocky, aren’t you?” she said, pushing his hand down.

“Always,” he told her, resting his fingers on her knee. She liked the touch enough to let it stay there. “Some people might say that I pack a lot of heat.”

Whitney wasn’t about to touch that remark with a ten-foot pole.

“Where are we off to now?” she asked, deciding to get off this track of conversation.

“We’re going to have a nice glass of wine as we drive to one of my favorite restaurants. I hope you’ll find the evening very romantic.”

Her last night on the town in New York had been nice enough, but far from romantic. No smoke, no fire. And as they drove along through the city, she was already making comparisons. And this night was markedly better. Dang it.

“And do you think this will get you a happy ending?” she asked boldly, going right back to where they’d been before she’d changed the subject.

“I don’t expect anything,” he said before grinning. “
However
, I wouldn’t say no if you decided to ravish me.”

Whitney could have gotten irritated with the man, but instead found herself laughing. If one thing could be said about him, it was most certainly that he was persistent. She couldn’t remember any man ever chasing her this hard.

They pulled up in front of Il Buco, which Liam informed her was known as one of the most charming restaurants in New York. “It began as a rustic antique store,” he said, “and the place still attempts to give off that ‘vibe.’ Check out the furnishings.”

They passed American Primitive country tables and other antiques. Candles and kerosene lanterns lit the room with the help of artisanal chandeliers.

But Liam wanted to kick the romance up another notch, it seemed, because they were led to a flight of stairs. They descended into the cellar, where more candles burned, and the room was basically empty except for one table set up in the center and a waiter standing at the ready.

“This is perfect,” she almost gasped.

“I thought you might enjoy it,” Liam replied.

He pulled out her chair and waited for her to sit before moving across the table to his own seat. The waiter immediately showed Liam the wine menu. Liam chose one without delay, and he approved it in the classic fashion before a glass was poured for Whitney.

The night drifted away as they tasted cuisine inspired by Italy and the Iberian Peninsula, including bread and Umbrian olive oil, cast-iron-roasted Spanish octopus, mint crudo, and pan-roasted filet of Florida black bass.

The meal was as delicious as the company.

“Did you know that, according to legend, Edgar Allan Poe was a regular visitor to this area?” Liam told Whitney, “And some say that this very wine cellar was where he was inspired to write
The Cask of Amontillado
.”

“Are you making that up?” She was a major fan of Poe’s work, and to just be eating in the same place he’d once been in was a serious treat. Knowing that such a story might have been inspired in this very spot had her almost giddy.

“That’s what the legend says. No one knows for sure.”

“Oh, I’m going to think it true, then. I can’t wait to tell … ” But she couldn’t finish her sentence. Who did she really have to tell? That was an incredibly depressing thought, one that she didn’t want to have right now, not when her night had been so magical so far.

As if he knew what her thoughts were, he rose from his seat and moved over to the chair next to her, took her hand and lifted it to his lips.

“I’m ecstatic that we both love that great American writer, troubled though he was.”

“Yeah, you either love or hate Poe. I don’t think there’s an in-between,” she said with a laugh. But the laugh turned into a sigh as he caressed her wrist with his thumb. But as she thought about that classic story, her eyes turned into slits.

“What’s the look for?” he asked.

“You do remember the plot of Poe’s story’s, right?”

“Well, yes.”

“Explain it, then,” she said.

He seemed to think about it a moment before deciding it couldn’t get him in any trouble to reply. He took a sip of wine before speaking, though, as if to let her know he was doing it on his own timeline.

“The short version is that it’s about a man taking revenge on a friend he believes insulted him,” he said. “But you know that.”

“Fatal revenge,” she reminded him. “Where the so-called friend is buried alive.”

“And don’t forget the story is being told from the murderer’s perspective,” he added.

“So are you telling me something by bringing me here? Am I your enemy?” She was only partially kidding when she lobbed that question at him.

“You are far from my enemy, Whitney,” he told her. “I would never bury you … though I might bury myself in you.”

“You think you’re amusing now, don’t you?” she said.

“I’m so many things — including amusing,” he told her.

“Fine. So what are your plans for me?”

“Here’s one — let’s leave. The night is still young.” Anticipation was evident in his voice.

“Yes, Liam.”

And she was saying yes to more than a ride. Maybe it was foolish, and maybe her heart would get broken — hell, that was more than just a
maybe
— but this night had been magical. Soon she would leave this world behind, and she wanted to take
some
memories with her.

He seemed to realize what she was telling him. He paid the bill, stood up, and escorted her from the restaurant. And she went along willingly. She refused to let doubts creep in on the journey home.

Her mind was made up.