Butler, Vermont Series: Boxed Set, Books 1-3

by Force, Marie

  But he found his thoughts returning to her over and over, thinking and rethinking the dilemma of her living in Vermont while he resided in New York. In truth, it wasn’t much of a dilemma. They were both adults and could do anything they wanted, but he already knew her well enough to know that she’d never go for being dependent upon him financially.

  Unless he married her.

  Maybe then she’d consent to letting him take care of her.

  The thought had him riveted to his chair, every cell in his body on high alert. After he lost Ali, he’d vowed to himself that he would never marry again out of respect to her memory and the love they’d shared. He’d made that vow thirty years ago, before he knew just how lonely he’d be without her.

  A parade of women had marched through his life—and Cameron’s—a fact he wasn’t at all proud of. After meeting Mary and falling in love with her, he realized he’d been stumbling through one meaningless encounter after another, looking for something he couldn’t have described until he found it.

  Her.

  He’d been looking for his sweet, sweet Mary.

  But was he prepared to marry her to have her in his life every day? Yes, absolutely. Awareness of what he’d just acknowledged swept through him like a tsunami, filling every part of him with excitement and anticipation and relief. He was so damned relieved to have her in his life, to feel that connection he’d had only one other time and to know that she felt the same way about him.

  It was far too soon for his skittish Mary for talk of engagements or weddings, so he’d spend the next few months showing her she could count on him, that what they’d found together would last the rest of their lives and that he couldn’t wait to have her with him every day as his wife, his lover, his best friend, his travel companion and as a stepmother to his beloved daughter.

  He hoped that once Cam realized that he truly loved Mary, she would be thrilled to welcome Mary into their family. She adored Mary, and she’d always hoped he’d find someone who could make him happy while calming the restless energy that had driven him to the heights of his profession even if his personal life had been somewhat of a mess.

  As the New York skyline came into view, he decided he’d take it slow and convince Mary one day at a time, one weekend at a time, one minute at a time that they belonged together. And when the time was right, he’d ask her to spend the rest of her life with him. In the meantime, he needed to see about a one-of-a-kind ring for the one-of-a-kind woman who would wear it.

  By the time the chopper touched down on the roof of the PME headquarters building in Midtown Manhattan, Patrick had a plan.

  Chapter 10

  “Choose a job you love, and you

  will never have to work a day in your life.”

  —Confucius

  Days had never dragged along more slowly than they did now that Mary had something to look forward to. By the time Friday afternoon rolled around, she had worn herself out thinking about him, missing him, wondering what their weekend would be like, staying up late talking to him and coming up with excuses for her friends about why she would be out of town again this weekend.

  A ski trip with her college friends was on the docket for this weekend, or so she told people who asked, like Mildred Olsen. “My, my,” Mildred said on Thursday when Mary checked on her. “You have been running all around lately. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you have a boyfriend.” This was said with a mischievous smile and a twinkle in her eye.

  “Maybe I do,” she said before she could take a minute to ponder the implications.

  “Do you?” Mildred asked, scandalized.

  “I’ll never tell,” Mary said with a wink.

  “Well, well, well. Who is he?”

  “It’s new,” Mary said. “I’m not really ready to talk about it yet.”

  “Fair enough,” Mildred said, “but when you are, I’d love to hear about him. Whoever he is, I hope he knows what a lucky man he is to have caught the interest of such a sweet girl.”

  “That’s very nice of you to say.”

  “It’s true,” Mildred said, taking her hand. “I’m so lucky to have you in my life. You’re like the daughter I never had.”

  Mary hugged the elderly lady. “And you make me miss my mom a little less when she and my dad are in Florida for the winter.”

  “I hope you have a wonderful weekend with your college friends,” Mildred said with a wink.

  “You won’t say anything to anyone, will you?”

  “Never. Your secret is safe with me.”

  Remembering the conversation with Mildred made Mary smile as she drove to the designated meeting spot. She was on her way to meet Patrick and his huge chopper, a thought that made her giggle. How had this become her life? Her belly fluttered with nerves about her first flight in a helicopter that would take her to a city she’d never been to with a man who had become the center of her world.

  They’d talked for hours about all the things there were to do and see in New York, and he’d helped her to narrow down the things she most wanted to do—a Broadway show, a trip to the 9/11 memorial, a visit to Bloomingdale’s and a walk down Fifth Avenue to window-shop. If they had time, the Empire State Building and Central Park were also on her wish list.

  Patrick had assured her that there’d be plenty of other opportunities to see the city and they didn’t have to jam it all into two days. “We’ll need some time for napping,” he’d said suggestively last night, letting her know there’d be more to their time together than sightseeing.

  That was fine with her. She couldn’t wait to see him, to hold him and kiss him and make love with him. “You’re obsessed,” she said out loud, grimacing at the reality that she was, absolutely, obsessed, but in the best way possible. If this was what it felt like to be in love, she was in love for the first time in her life.

  She had never felt like this with any of the other men she’d dated, even the one who broke her heart after college. That realization led to another—if Patrick disappointed her the way that man had, she might never recover from it.

  No. Don’t think about that. He’s as invested in this as you are, and he’s not going to disappoint you. Just stop.

  She pulled onto the dirt road and parked her car next to the field where he’d be landing in fifteen minutes. Those last fifteen minutes felt like a week as she waited for the chopper to come into view. And then there it was, a tiny spot in the sky that got larger as it got closer.

  Patrick had told her to stay in the car until they landed so she wouldn’t be hit by the dust and dirt the blades kicked up on the descent. She fairly bounced in her seat waiting for the helicopter to touch down and for the doors to open. He’d told her that as soon as the door opened, she was good to go.

  The door opened, and Patrick stepped down into the field. Wearing jeans and a black sweater, he looked like a regular guy. Only the huge helicopter with his company’s initials emblazoned on the side gave him away as anything but a regular guy.

  Mary got out of her car, grabbed her weekend bag and locked the car before walking toward him.

  They met halfway, and he put his arms around her, lifting her right off her feet into a tight hug. “Longest week ever,” he said against her ear so she could hear him over the roar of the engine.

  Mary let him relieve her of the bag and took the hand he offered. “It was only three days,” she yelled so he could hear her.

  “It felt like three weeks.” He released her hand, put his arm around her and drew her in close to him, dropping a kiss on her forehead.

  The closer they got to the helicopter, the more nervous she felt.

  Patrick propped his hands on her waist and effortlessly lifted her as if she were weightless. A crew member received her, helped her get settled in one of the seats and handed her a headset.

  “You’ll need this to be able to communicate with Mr. Murphy during the flight.”

  “Thank you,” she said as “Mr. Murphy” took the seat next to her and do
nned a matching headset.

  “Testing one-two-three,” he said, grinning at her. “Can you hear me?”

  She nodded while watching with trepidation as the crewmember closed the door to the outside world.

  “Deep breaths, Sweet Mary,” Patrick said, taking hold of her hand and giving it a squeeze. “I promise you’re totally safe. I’d never do anything to endanger you.”

  She clung to his hand and his assurances as the helicopter lifted off in a great roar of noise and movement and lunging that had her gasping.

  “Everything is fine,” Patrick said. “Look at the scenery. It’ll take your mind off where you are.”

  “I don’t think that’s going to make me forget I’m hurtling through the air in a hunk of metal.”

  “Then why don’t you kiss me and I’ll see if I can make you forget where you are.”

  Following his lead, she raised the microphone on her headset and leaned in to meet him halfway. The instant his lips connected with hers, she felt calmer in some ways and more agitated in others. His hand came up to cup her cheek, his thumb stroking her skin as he kissed her.

  “Missed you.” He moved one of the headphones and spoke close to her ear so she could hear him. “Every day felt like a week.”

  Mary smiled at him and reached up to straighten his hair, which had gotten mussed by the wind kicked up by the helicopter’s blades.

  He held her gaze for the longest time, making her feel breathless from the rush of emotion that came with sitting next to him, holding his hand and sharing this adventure with him.

  Along the way, he pointed out landmarks, including the Berkshire mountains, the Hudson River and the Manhattan skyline in the distance.

  “How in the world can they find where they’re going in that jungle of buildings?” Mary asked as the city came into view.

  “GPS,” Patrick replied.

  “Seriously?”

  “Yep. It directs them right where to go.”

  “Where do we land?”

  “On the helipad at the top of my building.”

  “You have your own building,” she said with a sigh.

  “You knew that.”

  “I don’t know if I did.” Thinking about the sheer scope of his life when compared to hers had her gnawing on her bottom lip.

  “Don’t hurt that poor lip. I quite like it.”

  Realizing what she was doing, Mary released her lip.

  “Will you do something for me?” he asked.

  “Um, sure.”

  “Will you not freak out when you see my building, my office, my apartment? That’s just stuff. It doesn’t define me.”

  “Doesn’t it?”

  “No, it doesn’t. I’ve been worried for days about you seeing my life and running screaming back to yours. I don’t want you to be put off me because of what I have. I want you to remember that I grew up in a six-room house with one bathroom that was shared by five people.”

  “You’ve never told me that before.”

  “Sure, I have.”

  Mary shook her head. “Nope.”

  “You promise you won’t run away?”

  “I promise.” Mary said what he needed to hear, but butterflies stormed around in her belly at the thought of what she would see and learn about him this weekend.

  The helicopter touched down at the top of a Manhattan skyscraper in a part of town full of other buildings the same size or smaller. Patrick took her bag and helped her out of the chopper the same way he’d helped her in, took hold of her hand and escorted her to a door that led to a long, dark corridor with an elevator at the end of it. He pushed the Down button, which was the only one.

  “Welcome to the Big Apple,” he said with the charming smile that made her heart flutter.

  “It sure is big.”

  “It’s the center of the universe.”

  “If you say so.” She followed him into the elevator and watched him insert a card into a slot before he pushed a number. “What’s that about?” she asked of the card.

  “It gives me special access to the sixtieth floor, where my offices are. I thought I’d show you where I work before we head home.”

  Mary felt like she’d landed in a foreign country that had its own set of rules.

  The elevator doors opened to an elegant lobby with frosted glass doors with the same PME logo that adorned the side of the helicopter. Patrick used the same card to gain access to the office, holding the door for her. “After you, my love.” With a hand on the small of her back, he ushered her into the office, where a receptionist talked on a headset while she typed on a computer. She nodded to Patrick, who smiled at her as they went past.

  He led Mary down a long hallway full of offices with people hard at work, stopping at a desk outside of a closed door. “Mary, you remember my assistant, Maggie, from Cam’s wedding, right?”

  “Yes, of course. Nice to see you again.”

  “Likewise. Welcome to New York.”

  “Thank you.”

  “What do you think so far?”

  “It’s big.”

  Maggie laughed. “That it is. I hope you enjoy your visit.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Patrick, I put everything you asked for on your desk.”

  “Thanks, Mags. You’re the best.” To Mary, he said, “Come on in and see where it all happens.” He held the door to his office for her and closed it behind them.

  Mary took in the huge space with two full walls of windows that looked out over the city, the biggest desk she’d ever seen, a conference table and a sitting area with sofas and chairs. “Wow.”

  “Check out the view.” He took her hand and walked over to the windows.

  “That’s close enough,” Mary said, stopping him several feet from the glass.

  “You won’t fall out. I promise.” His arms encircled her waist, and he rested his chin on her shoulder. “That’s the Hudson River there and the East River on that side. Over there is the financial district, Wall Street, Lower Manhattan.”

  “What’s over there?” she asked of the land on the other side of the Hudson.

  “Jersey. That’s the Empire State Building, and the one farther down is the new World Trade Center building. Look down.”

  “Do I have to?”

  “Come on, you can do it.”

  She lowered her eyes to the canyons between buildings, where tiny yellow cabs were everywhere she could see.

  “The roads that run north to south are avenues, and the ones that run east to west are streets. Everything is numbered in a way that makes it easy to get around.”

  “I’ll have to take your word for that.” She couldn’t conceive of it being “easy” to get around a city of this size.

  “By the end of the weekend, you’ll totally understand the grid that makes up Manhattan.” He nudged her hair out of the way and kissed her neck. “What do you think so far?”

  “It’s overwhelming, but I’m looking forward to seeing more.”

  “Maggie was able to score us tickets to Hamilton tomorrow night.”

  “Oh my God, really? I thought you said it was sold out into the next millennium.”

  “It is, but Maggie pulled some strings. She’s good at that.”

  “I’m sure that all she had to do was tell them Patrick Murphy wanted to see their show.”

  “I told her to tell them Sweet Mary Larkin from Vermont wanted to see it. I think that did the trick.”

  Mary laughed. “Sure, it did.”

  He turned her to face him and brought his hands up to frame her face. “I need to kiss you before I die from wanting to.”

  “We can’t have you dying when you went to so much trouble to bring me here.” She curled her hands around his neck and looked up to find him gazing at her in that intense way of his. “What’s wrong?”

  “Absolutely nothing. I’m so damned glad you’re here.” He captured her lips in a deep kiss that had her clinging to him as he wrapped his arms tight around her.

 
Mary had no idea how much time passed while they were wrapped up in each other, the kiss going from sensual to desperate. It could’ve been five minutes or an hour for all she knew or cared.

  He had her so close to him she couldn’t miss the obvious sign of his arousal, which she pressed against shamelessly.

  Patrick broke the kiss and buried his face in her hair. “I told myself I wouldn’t be all over you the minute you arrived.”

  “If you’re all over me, then I’m all over you, too.”

  “Mmm, I love having you all over me.”

  “I love it just as much.”

  “How about we move this party to my place, where we can be all over each other in complete privacy?”

  “I’d be all for that.”

  Smiling at her choice of words, he stole another quick kiss before releasing her to retrieve some things from his desk. “Let’s get out of here.”

  In the outer office, Maggie said, “You guys have a nice weekend.”

  “We will,” Patrick replied with a wink for Mary. “I’m not available for any reason. I’ll check my email once a day, so if there’s a crisis, tell them to email me.”

  “Will do. I’ve already let the department heads know you’re off the grid for the weekend.”

  “You see why I love my Maggie?” he asked Mary.

  “Absolutely. It was nice to see you again, Maggie.”

  “You, too, Mary. I hope you love New York.”

  Patrick kept his hand on her back as they walked back to reception, past offices that were mostly dark. “Quitting time on a Friday,” he said.

  “I love Fridays. My favorite day of the week.”

  They rode the elevator to the lobby. “Better than Saturday or Sunday?”

  “Uh-huh. I love looking forward to the weekend, even though I enjoy my job and the people I work with. It’s never a burden to be there.”

  “That reminds me of one of my favorite sayings. Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

  “I like that, and it’s very true. Do you still love what you do?”

  “Most of the time, except when it takes me away from certain people for days or weeks at a time. I don’t love it then.” He carried her bag on his shoulder and held her hand as they walked through the lobby to the street, where a black Mercedes sedan awaited him at the curb.