Patty frowned. “You still want to see me, be with me?”
“I love you. I don’t turn that emotion off like a faucet just because I didn’t get my own way.”
“Then you’re accepting my terms?” Patty said, swiping an errant tear from her cheek.
“I didn’t say that. I said we’re tabling the subject for now.”
Patty sighed. “I don’t know if this is wise. It might be like a dark cloud hanging over us. You’d be hoping that I’ll change my mind and I’d be certain that I wouldn’t. What’s going to make that cloud go away? Nothing.”
“We’re not dealing with that now. We’re going to a fancy restaurant and we’ll make a toast to each other, our love for each other, with very expensive wine. That’s it.”
“Well…”
“Why don’t you get on the phone and see if you can find a babysitter?”
“Okay,” Patty said, smiling. “It’s been so long, months and months, since I got all dressed up and went out to dinner. What time should I say? About seven?”
“Works for me.”
Patty went into the kitchen to consult the list of sitters posted on the refrigerator and to use the telephone.
Man, oh, man, David thought, as Patty disappeared from view, what a complicated mess. He should be on top of the world because the woman he loved returned that love in kind. But that rosy bubble had been burst before he’d really had a chance to enjoy his arrival on cloud nine.
Peter Clark had walked out on Patty, left her for another woman, didn’t even bother to use his visitation rights to see his own children. But that wasn’t his fault? Patty had driven him to desert her because she was such a lousy wife? It was all her fault?
He wasn’t buying that. Not in this lifetime. He was gearing up, getting ready to go to battle. He would make Patty see, believe, know, that she would be everything he’d ever hoped to find in a wife. He would win this war and Patty Clark would become Patty Montgomery, wife of David, mother to Sophia, Tucker and Sarah Ann. And a couple more little Montgomerys.
Yep, he would be the victor.
David dragged both hands down his face.
He had to be, he thought. He just had to be because if he wasn’t, then the future would spread before him in a dark and stark landscape of loneliness.
Patty returned to the living room to announce that Mrs. Williams, a widow who had sat for the children before, was available tomorrow night and the addition of Sarah Ann was fine with her. Patty and David agreed that he would pick up the woman on his way there.
“I’d better go,” David said, getting to his feet. “I’ve already dealt with one tantrum-throwing kid today who was not happy because Tucker wasn’t with her. I think I’ll pass on Tucker repeating the performance because I’m here without Sarah Ann.”
Patty laughed. “You’re a wise man, David Montgomery.”
“I know,” he said, as he opened the front door. “I fell in love with you, didn’t I? Smartest thing I’ve ever done. I’ll see you tomorrow night.” He paused. “By the way, do you think your brother is going to inform the entire MacAllister clan about me believing he was your lover instead of your brother?”
“No doubt about it,” Patty said, smiling. “Ryan won’t be able to resist sharing such a great story.”
“I was afraid of that,” David said, then dropped a quick kiss on Patty’s lips. “Goodbye. I love you. Goodbye. I’ll be looking forward to our date. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye, David,” she said with a burst of laughter.
Patty closed the door behind him, then leaned her back against it, wrapping her hands around her elbows.
The man she loved, she mused, loved her. Unbelievable. And she had just made exquisitely beautiful love with the man she loved who loved her. Fantastic.
But how long would the man she loved settle for less than what he wanted from her?
How long would it be before David walked out of this house for the last time, leaving behind the echo of his goodbye?
Chapter Fourteen
Patty glanced around the lushly furnished restaurant, unable to hide her smile.
“Oh, David,” she said, switching her gaze to meet his. “This is like something out of a fairy tale.”
“If that’s the case,” he said, matching her smile, “then you’re the princess. I have to say it again. You look beautiful tonight.”
“Thank you. You’re rather dashing in that suit yourself. We’ve never seen each other in our all-grown-up clothes before.”
And the dress she was wearing, Patty thought, was about four or five years old. But since she’d hardly worn it in the past it didn’t look faded and it was, thank goodness, one of those outfits that never went out of style. A pale blue camisole top, blousing over a chiffon skirt that fell just below her knees and swirled around her when she moved. She felt so feminine and pretty, and David’s compliments on her appearance were adding to her euphoria.
“That’s a very attractive ring you’re wearing,” David said. “Opal, isn’t it?”
“Yes. It was a gift from my grandfather Robert,” Patty said. “I couldn’t wear it while I was pregnant with Sophia because my fingers were rather puffy.” She splayed her hand in front of her. “See how it changes colors in the candlelight? There are so many facets to it, much more depth than is visible at first glance.”
Just like Patty herself, David thought. Yes, just like Patty.
Their dinners were set in front of them and they ate in silence for several minutes.
“This is so delicious,” Patty said, smiling. “I just hope I don’t forget and start clearing the table when we’re finished.”
David chuckled. “There you go.” He paused. “Did your grandfather give you that ring for a special occasion? I don’t mean to be harping on the ring, but it really is exquisite.”
“Robert MacAllister gave each of his grandchildren a gift that he very carefully selected just for them,” Patty said. “My father and Ryan MacAllister were partners on the police force for years and Sharpes have always been considered members of the MacAllister family. To Robert, my brother and I were two more of his granddchildren. None of us knew what we were getting, or when it would be our turn. Most of the presents were actually a message to the recipient.”
“A message?”
Patty nodded. “I know the message of some of the gifts, but not everyone chose to share it.”
“Fascinating. Can you give me an example?”
“Well, I don’t think Ryan would mind if I told you this. He had struggled for many years to find his place because of his mixed heritage. My grandfather gave him a beautiful antique globe that made Ryan realize that he didn’t have to choose one of his cultures over the other, that he could embrace both of his worlds. It was a major turning point in my brother’s life.”
“Your grandfather sounds like a wise and wonderful man,” David said. “So, what’s the message you received from that ring?”
“Oh, there isn’t one,” Patty said.
“Are you certain of that?”
Patty glanced at the ring again. “Well, yes. I can remember staring and staring at it, then coming to the conclusion that it was simply a gorgeous piece of jewelry that was selected just for me because my grandfather knew I would cherish it. There’s no message, though.”
David leaned toward her slightly. “Patty, you just told me what the message is.”
“What?”
“You said that the ring changes colors, has much more depth and facets than are visible at first glance. You could have been talking about you, not the ring.”
Patty laughed. “You’re contradicting yourself, David. You’re the one who finally realized that I’m exactly what I present myself to be. Nothing hidden, nothing beyond what you see is what you get.”
“No, I’m not contradicting myself. Yes, you’re honest and real and who you present yourself to be. But a person needs time, which I have had, to discover and appreciate all the facets of you, the depth
of who you are. Just like the ring.”
“Why, David Montgomery,” Patty said, smiling at him warmly, “you are a romantic. You want there to be a special message connected to this ring, just as there was something Ryan needed to know that he found out when he received the globe. But the ring? No. No hidden meaning. You’re blowing your image of being an I-always-deal-in-clear-cut-facts attorney, sir.”
“And you’re flunking being a whimsical princess,” David said, chuckling.
“That’s because princesses don’t change diapers and wipe sticky jelly from little fingers.”
“You’ve got a point there,” David said, nodding. “But then again…”
“Enough,” she said. “I’m going to clean my plate like a good little girl so I can have one of those sinful desserts I saw going by on the cart the waiter is pushing. And to prove that I can be whimsical, I hereby declare there are no calories in any of those yummy creations. The cheesecake with the dark cherries on top is calling my name.”
“Then it shall be yours, Princess Patty. Your wish is my command.”
Then I wish that this night would never end, Patty thought dreamily. It was so perfect and she was having such carefree fun while in the company of a magnificent man who loved her. Oh, yes, this night was creating memories to keep forever.
Several hours later Patty lay in bed, smiling into the darkness as she relived each moment of the evening with David.
They had lingered over coffee and the coveted cheesecake, then finally left the restaurant to stroll through a pretty garden behind it. When they returned to the house, the sitter had a glowing report about the children, then David had paid the woman and driven her home.
When he came back to the house they had made love, soared to their special and private place, then lay close together to savor the sensations still rippling throughout them.
David had left the bed with grumbling reluctance, dressed, then carried a sleeping Sarah Ann out the front door. Patty had smiled and waved as they drove away. She had continued to smile as she washed her face and brushed her teeth, donned her nightshirt and crawled back into the bed.
And she was still smiling as she indulged in a minute-by-minute reflection of the past hours.
“Oh, my,” she said, wiggling into a comfortable position. “Heavenly.”
But how long would David be satisfied with this arrangement? she thought in the next instant, her smile fading. Getting dressed and going home to that big house was not what he wanted. He envisioned a family under that roof, all of them together, with her as his wife. And that wasn’t going to happen.
Don’t go there, Patty told herself. Not tonight. She didn’t want to do one thing to diminish the pleasure of the time spent with David.
She rolled onto her side and slid one hand under the pillow, the other beneath her cheek, then frowned as she felt a prick on her soft skin.
The ring, she thought, sitting up and snapping on the lamp. She’d forgotten to take off the opal ring.
She slipped it from her finger and started to place it on the nightstand, only to hesitate and hold it before her with the fingertips of both hands. She tilted it this way, then that, seeing the changing colors in the glow of the lamp.
David was convinced, she mused, that there was a message connected to the ring. He was certain that her grandfather was attempting to show her that she had many facets and a greater depth of self than she perceived she had.
Could that possibly be true? Had she somehow sold herself short? Had she, when Peter left her, automatically assumed the guilt of his leaving, labeled herself a failure as a wife because he had gone to another woman to fulfill his needs? Had she then focused on her role of mother because it was safe there, the evidence of her expertise in that arena evident each day in her children?
Patty moved the ring back and forth again.
Many facets, she thought. Depths not visible at first glimpse. She had allowed herself to reach for one of those depths when she separated the mother from the woman when she was alone with David. Yes, she had done that and it felt right, the way it should be.
But the next layer? The wife? No, there was nothing further to discover about being a wife. If she hadn’t failed in that role Peter wouldn’t have left her. Nothing was going to change the truth of that.
But…
Maybe, just maybe, she could gain some inner peace about it if she knew how she had failed him. He had never told her what her shortcomings had been. He’d simply announced that he was in love with another woman and was ending his marriage to Patty. He had been so completely unhappy in their union that he didn’t even visit the children they had created together.
Knowing what she had done wrong would not change things between her and David, she thought. Hearing the stark list of her inadequacies didn’t mean she had the capability to do things differently with someone else. No, she would still hold fast to her vow never to marry again.
But if she could say to herself “I was a failure as a wife because…” it might be easier to deal with, give her a better understanding of who she was, be a growing experience that would be beneficial to the woman she’d allowed to surface.
Patty nodded, then placed the ring on the nightstand. She turned off the light, then settled again, shifting her mind back to the memories of the evening spent with David.
David threw back the blankets on the bed and got to his feet.
Damn it, he thought as he left the bedroom. He couldn’t sleep, and tossing and turning was even difficult because of the cast on his leg. Orange juice. He’d have a glass of the ever-famous orange juice, then try again to relax in bed.
His bed. His empty, lonely bed that he should be sharing with Patty Clark but wasn’t, and the way things stood, never would.
In the kitchen David sank onto a chair at the table with the drink he really didn’t want and glowered at the far wall.
The evening he’d just spent with Patty had been great, really super, so nice. She had looked like the beautiful princess he’d declared her to be and her eyes had sparkled each time she smiled and… Oh, yes, those had been very special, memory-making hours.
And then?
David drained the glass and slammed it onto the table.
And then reality check, Montgomery. He’d hauled himself out of Patty’s warm embrace and the comfort of her bed, collected his sleeping daughter, and left the house like a thief in the night.
The memory of that portion of the evening was rapidly diminishing the glow—for lack of a better word—of the time spent at the restaurant, then the lovemaking shared.
“Hell,” David said, his shoulders slumping.
The thought of evenings with Patty far into the future ending as this one had was depressing beyond belief. She was offering him a mere crumb of the cake representing his existence. Crumb of the cake? How corny was that? Geez. But he knew what he meant and he also knew it wasn’t going to be enough.
He wanted it all, greedy so-and-so that he was. A wife for him. A mother for Sarah Ann. This big empty house filled to the brim with love and laughter and so many kids they’d have to wear name tags to keep them all straight.
He wanted Patty next to him when he fell asleep at night and there when he woke in the morning. He’d walk in the door at the end of a workday and smell the aroma of dinner cooking. Then he’d open his arms to children who were so glad to see their daddy arrive home, and smile at Patty over their heads, sending and receiving the message of love.
Message. Patty’s opal ring. If he could figure out the message of the ring that Robert MacAllister intended Patty to discover, then Patty sure as hell could because it was her grandfather and her ring.
She’d convinced herself there was no message because she was too frightened to embrace it. It was easier to label herself a failure as a wife and vow never to marry again than to listen to the ring whisper to her that she was hiding behind Peter’s betrayal rather than run the risk of once again being a wife.
Patty
refused to budge on the subject of how far their relationship could and would go, had set down the rules, offered him the crumb, and that was that.
And it wasn’t enough.
It was too empty, too chilling, too lonely.
Oh, yeah, he’d been determined to fight the battle, win the war, declare himself the victor, then marry Patty Clark.
But that wasn’t going to happen. He knew that now. Tonight had been the blueprint for how things were going to be and he hated it.
“Ah, Patty,” David said, his voice ringing with emotion. “We could have had it all, don’t you see, because we love each other and…” An achy sensation in his throat choked off David’s words and he shook his head. “But the crumb just isn’t enough. Not enough. I can’t do this.” He drew a shuddering breath. “It’s over.”
The next morning an exhausted-from-lack-of-sleep David telephoned Patty and asked if she would meet him at the park near her house at three-thirty, which would allow for the completion of nap time. By providing somewhere for Sarah Ann and Tucker to play, he and Patty could have a private conversation.
“About what?” Patty said, a chilling sense of foreboding sweeping through her.
“I’ll tell you when I see you.”
“Well, yes, okay,” she said, her hold on the receiver tightening. “Are you all right, David? You sound…strange.”
“I’m just tired. I didn’t sleep well last night. Three-thirty. Goodbye, Patty.”
“’Bye,” she said, then replaced the receiver slowly, while having the irrational thought that she wished she had not answered the ringing phone.
The dread that had settled over Patty after talking to David did not diminish as the hours until their rendezvous dragged slowly by.
At three-thirty she parked next to David’s SUV in the lot at the park, then helped Tucker from the car. She settled Sophia in the stroller and the trio started down the cobblestone path leading to the playground area.
“There’s Sarah Ann,” Tucker yelled. “See her, Mommy? She’s in the sandbox waiting for me. Can I run, run, run?”
Accidental Family (The Baby Bet: MacAllisters Gifts #14) Page 18
