Chapter 29
Twenty-Nine
Mitzi stared at them, her face rigid with shock.
Caroline tried to pull away from him, but Ted kept his arm firmly around her.
Mitzi looked from her son to Caroline and back to Ted. “I don’t understand.”
Ted released Caroline and went to draw his mother into the room, closing the door behind her. He kissed Mitzi’s cheek. “What are you doing here, Mom? I thought you were on Block Island.”
Her eyes lingering on Caroline, Mitzi said, “Grandy wasn’t feeling well last night, so Dad wanted to bring her over to see her cardiologist. As long as Dad and Grandpa were with her, I decided to come to the auxiliary meeting here.”
“Is she all right?” Ted asked.
“Dad just called to tell me they’re admitting her to Mass General to run some tests.” She glanced at Caroline again as if to confirm that her eyes were not deceiving her. “That’s what I came to tell you.”
“Cardiac tests?”
She tore her eyes off Caroline and nodded. “Dad said they’re just being cautious, and she doesn’t want everyone rushing over there. She said, and I quote, ‘Tell Ted he can call me tonight, but there’s no need for him to come over here.’”
“You’re telling me the whole story, right?”
“Yes. They’re probably only admitting her because it’s summer and we’re living on the island where there’s no hospital. We’ll be in town for at least a week until we know for sure that she’s okay to go back.”
Ted let out a deep breath. “I’ll respect her wishes for exactly one day, and then I’m going to see her.”
“I’ll let her know.” Mitzi cast frosty blue eyes at Caroline. “Are you two going to tell me what’s going on here?”
Ted put his arm around Caroline again. “We’re together now.”
“What do you mean together? She’s Smitty’s girlfriend.”
“Not anymore. She’s my fiancée.”
Mitzi gasped. “What in the world are you talking about? She was with him just last weekend. I saw that with my own eyes.”
“Mrs. Duffy,” Caroline said. “Mitzi . . . I know how this looks, or I can only imagine how it looks, but I love Ted.”
“What about Smitty?” Mitzi sat down hard in the chair by the door. “Oh, God! This is why he left for Australia so suddenly! He knows! How could you do this to him, Ted? You know he has no one of his own. How could you do this?”
“Mom, listen, you don’t understand—”
“You’re right. I don’t understand.”
“Mrs. Duffy . . .”
“Please don’t speak to me, Caroline. What kind of woman are you that you’d come between two men who’ve been closer than brothers?”
“Be careful, Mother. You’re talking to my future wife, and you’ll watch your tone with her.”
Mitzi didn’t try to hide her disgust. “Are you serious? What the hell’s gotten into you, Ted Duffy? You’re going to marry her? You don’t even know her. And if she’ll cheat on your friend, what’ll stop her from cheating on you, too?”
Caroline gasped and took a step back.
Ted reached out to her. “That’s enough!” he said to his mother. “I think you should go now. If you can’t be civil to Caroline then we don’t have anything to say to each other.”
Mitzi stood up. “You’ve lost your mind.”
“No, Mother, I’ve lost my heart.”
“When were you planning on telling us?”
“When I was good and ready to. I’ve waited a long time for this, and I want you to be a part of it. I know it comes as a shock to you, but I’m asking you to be civil to the woman I love.”
Mitzi’s eyes held his in a fierce battle of wills.
“Do not force me to choose, Mom. Do you understand what I’m saying to you?”
“Yes, I believe I do.” She grabbed her purse. “You’ve never done anything but make me proud. Until now.” With that, she turned and walked out.
When Caroline’s legs would have collapsed under her, Ted caught her against him and held her as she dissolved into tears.
“Shhh,” he whispered. “It’s okay. She’ll come around.”
Caroline was inconsolable.
Ted’s pager went off, and he reached for it. “Crap. My residents are waiting for me upstairs to do rounds. Did you get to eat?”
“With the kids.” Caroline was once again glassy eyed, but this time due to shock. “Go ahead and go.”
“How can I leave you here like this?” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “I’m so sorry, honey. I can’t believe the way she treated you. She was totally out of line.”
“I guess I had it coming.” Caroline wiped tears from her face. “Let’s face it, I did cheat on him.”
Ted put his arms around her. “Don’t do that to yourself, Caroline.
We both know the truth about how this happened.
Nothing happened between us until it was over between the two of you.
That’s what matters.” He wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince her or himself.
“We have to stay focused on what we know to be true.”
She rested her head against his chest. “How is it that you’re thinking so clearly? I’ll bet your mother has never spoken to you quite like that before.”
“I can think clearly because I’m totally committed to you and to us, and nothing’s going to come between us. Not my mother, not my friends, not my job. Nothing.”
His pager sounded again. “Well, my job’s going to come between us for a couple of hours,” he said with a wry smile as he clipped the pager back onto his belt. “You aren’t going to run away on me while I’m gone, are you?”
“No. I’d be too afraid I might see your mother if I left this room.”
Ted smiled and ran his thumbs over her jaw to tilt her face up to his. “I love you, Caroline. That’s all that matters here, okay?”
She nodded, but he could tell she wasn’t ready to move past the humiliating scene with his mother just yet.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“I’ll be here.”
“I’m counting on it.”
With one last quick kiss he was gone.
Caroline sank down into his chair and put her head back.
Closing her eyes, she shuddered when she recalled Mitzi’s cold disdain.
“My future mother-in-law,” she said with a sigh, “basically called me a whore. I’m coming between him and everyone in his life.
How long will it take him to hate me for that?
” A sob lodged in her throat, and she buried her face in her hands.
Ted had completed his rounds and was typing orders into a computer terminal at the nurses’ station when the father of one of his patients approached him.
“Dr. Duffy?”
Ted turned to him and shook his hand. “Hi, Mr. Hamilton.”
“I missed you when you came by on rounds, and I wanted to talk to you about Jonathan having trouble eating since his last round of chemo. I was wondering . . .
I can’t believe Mom talked to Caroline that way.
I’ve never seen her so outraged. I expected her and Dad to be surprised and maybe a little bit shocked, but I never imagined she’d act like that.
I know it’s because she loves Smitty—and not just because he’s my friend.
She loves him for him. Hell, I do, too. Grandy understood the way I feel about Caroline.
Why can’t Mom? Grandy. I need to check on her. I hope she’s all right.
“Dr. Duffy! Are you listening to me?”
“I’m sorry,” Ted said, startled. “What did you say?”
Pete Hamilton stared at him, incredulous. “Am I bothering you with my concerns about my son?”
“No, of course not,” Ted said, horrified that he had zoned out on a parent. “I apologize.” He put his hand on Pete’s shoulder. “Let’s go talk to Jon and see what we can do about his appetite.”
Parker wore a dark navy pinstripe suit but no tie.
He had stressed out about that because he wanted her to think he had come right from work.
She didn’t need to know he had wasted the whole day killing time until seven o’clock.
So he had decided the tie would be too formal.
But as he pulled up in front of her two-story brick colonial in the Boston suburb of Stoughton, he wondered if he should have gone with the tie.
You’re being an idiot, he thought, as he stepped out of the Porsche and walked up the sidewalk to the front door. Before he rang the doorbell he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Showtime.
The door opened and all his logic flew out the window. Oh, boy, there she is, and my memories of her haven’t done her justice. Not at all.
“Hi, Parker,” she said with a smile, gesturing him inside.
“You look . . .” He shook his head when words failed him. “Amazing.” It took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to reach out and twirl one of her long curls around his finger. She wore a dress that clung to all her curves, and he had to remind himself not to stare. “Your hair got long.”
She reached up to touch it in a self-conscious gesture that tugged at his heart. “I needed a change.”
“I like it.” He was pleased to see the aura of sadness that used to be so much a part of her had lifted, leaving her eyes bright with what might have been excitement and maybe even anticipation.
“It’s good to see you, Parker.”
“Is it?” He hated that he sounded so needy.
She nodded. “I missed seeing you this year, too,” she said, referring to the card he had sent with the flowers.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear that.” Easy, he thought, as the urge to touch her became almost painful. Go easy.
“Would you like to come in?” She linked and unlinked her index fingers in a gesture that told him she was nervous, too.
“I’d love to.” He followed her into the living room where his flowers were on the mantle.
That they had been put where visitors were sure to see them pleased him.
The room was cozy, but the baseball cards spread out on the coffee table and the light sabers propped in the corner were evidence that two young boys lived here.
“Thank you again for the roses.”
“You’re welcome.” He pointed to framed photos on an end table. “Are those the boys?”
She nodded. “That’s Anthony.” She pointed to a dark-haired boy with no front teeth. “He’s six.”
The hint of mischief in the boy’s brown eyes amused Parker.
“And that’s Dom. He’s nine.”
The older boy was more serious. “He looks just like you.” Neither of them appeared to be two-headed monsters.
“He loves hearing that.”
Parker chuckled. “They’re handsome boys.”
“They’ve been through a lot, but it doesn’t seem to have changed who they are. I’m thankful for that much.”
“It’s a testament to you and your devotion to them.”
“That’s a nice thing to say.”
“I remember how hard you fought for them during the . . .” He didn’t want to use the word divorce. “Proceedings.”
“What else do you remember?”
“Everything.” The word slipped out before he could remind himself he was trying to be cool.
She studied him for an endless moment. “My friends said I was bad cliché.”
“Why’s that?” he asked, intrigued.
“Because I had a terrible crush on my divorce attorney.”
Parker’s heart literally stopped for an instant. “You did?”
She bit her lip and nodded. “They said I should forget about you because everyone falls for their divorce attorney.”
“And did you? Forget about me?”
“No.”
“I don’t know how many women fall for their divorce attorneys, but I can tell you I’ve only ever fallen for one client.
” He took a step toward her. The nerves were gone, the waiting was over, and standing before him was the woman he loved.
“I fell for her about five minutes after she walked into my office, and I’ve been holding a torch for her ever since. ”
Her eyes filled. “That was two years ago,” she whispered.
“Believe me. I know.” He closed the remaining space between them and reached out to caress her face.
“Parker,” she whispered, turning her face into the palm of his hand. “I can’t believe you’re really here.”
“Neither can I.”
“And I can’t believe you gave me a year.”
Filled with love for her, he brushed his lips lightly over hers. “You needed the time to heal. I’m just glad you didn’t find someone else. I spent a lot of time worrying about that.”
She was tentative when she rested her hands on his chest.
He kissed her cheek. “You can touch me, Gina. In fact, I really wish you would.”
Empowered, she wrapped her arms around his waist under his suit coat and leaned her head against his chest.
Parker buried his face in her curls and fought through the riot of emotions that came with finally holding her. “I’ve dreamed about having you right here.”
“I have to be honest. I’m a little frightened by this, Parker.”
He tipped her chin up so he could look into her eyes. “We’ll take it slow—as slow as you want. You’ll set the pace, okay?”
She nodded.
“But I’m going to tell you right now—you have nothing to be afraid of. Not from me anyway. I’ll never hurt you. Never.”
“I’m going to try very hard to believe you.”
He kissed her and forced himself to keep it light. “Let me take you to dinner.”
“In a minute,” she whispered against his lips as her hand curved around the back of his neck.
Parker felt like he’d been struck by lightening when her tongue glided across his bottom lip.
He wove a hand into her hair and plundered.
Her tongue met his in a burst of pent-up passion that sent him spinning.
“Whoa, sweetheart, wait,” he said when he couldn’t take any more.
He leaned his forehead against hers in an effort to slow his racing heart.
Wrapping his fingers around hers, he said, “Let’s go before I forget I was planning to take you out. ”
Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to be so forward.”
Parker threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, honey, please be forward. Take full advantage of me. I’m all yours.”
“You really like me that much?” she asked, the wonder of it written all over her face.
“Yeah.” He kissed her hand. “I really do.”