For Nick (15 page)

“I don’t have the money.”

“I don’t understand.”

“The money is gone.”

“Excuse me?”

“I can explain.”

“I don’t think you can. Are you telling me the entire one million dollars is gone, spent?”

“Yes.”

Zach appeared completely speechless. He walked away from her and began to pace the office, obviously disturbed by the news.

“Please let me explain. It went to a good cause.”

That made him pause. “Are you saying you donated the money?”

Andie couldn’t look him in the eyes any longer. “It was a personal cause.”

“A personal cause? That’s not exactly donating money.”

“Look Zach, every time I try to explain my life to you, you say you don’t want to know, or don’t let things get too personal. So, which is it? Do you want to know or don’t you? The money is gone. It went to where I needed it to go. I’m perfectly fine taking the bus. I don’t need anything.” She took a deep breath feeling deflated. “Except you, I need you,” she whispered.

“Andie,” he said as he walked back to her and took her in his arms. “I’m sorry. The money was yours to do with as you pleased. I have no right to question you like this. I won’t ask again. You just took me by surprise, that’s all. I could hardly stand the sight of you at the bus stop, sitting on the bench, looking so…forlorn. The sight upset me. I had no idea you took the bus. I feel so blind. I never even thought about it. All this time, you’ve been sitting on nasty public buses to come see me, and I was completely ignorant. I’m mad at myself, not at you. Please forgive me.”

He kissed her softly and they dissolved into each other, kissing gently over and over.

“C’mon, let’s go,” Zach stated abruptly.

“Where?”

“Trust me,” was all he’d say.

They drove down several blocks, until Andie had no idea where they were. In her mind, she was reviewing the bus routes, wondering how she’d get back to Nick. To her surprise, Zach pulled into a car dealership.

“No, Zach. I can’t let you do this.”

“Why not? I’m your husband and quite frankly, I don’t want you riding the bus. Please let me do this for you. We both know this has turned into something more than a business arrangement. I have the money to do this. It will not hurt my finances in any way. I want to do this for you.”

“No, Zach. It just doesn’t seem right.”

“It’s right. It’s just a husband buying a car for his wife. No more, no less. It doesn’t mean anything more than that. It doesn’t obligate you to me in any way. I’m not asking for anything in return. I’m giving you this car as a gift. And just for the record, I would give you this gift even if we weren’t intimate with each other on a daily basis. I want my wife to have a car. If it makes you feel any better, when and
if
we part ways in a year, you can leave the car with me. It’s your choice.”

“If?” She couldn’t get past his slip of the tongue. W
hen and if we part ways
.

“Yeah,
if
. Do you have a problem with that?”

A huge smile broke out on her face and she threw her arms around him. “No, I don’t have a problem with that.”

Zach couldn’t hide his smile either. “C’mon, wife. Let’s get you some wheels.”

Zach ended up buying her a brand new silver metallic Honda CRV. She couldn’t stop smiling, even though she tried to force herself, but nope, her body betrayed her. The huge, silly smile stayed on her face the entire time, even as he waved as she drove the car off the lot, feeling like a kid waving goodbye to her proud parent.

It was time to go see Nick, the love of her life.

Zach arrived home that night with a gift. Andie tore it open to find the most exquisite, silky lingerie she’d ever seen. The nearly transparent material was so soft and delicate, it drifted over her skin like a faint whisper.

“I thought it was time you owned something diaphanous.”

Andie laughed aloud with delight. “Zach, you are a sweetheart.”

“Don’t tell anyone. You’ll ruin my reputation as a hard-nosed businessman.”

“I love it, it’s beautiful.”

“You’ll look stunning in it, Andie. It matches your personality, sweet and soft. That’s how telling your favorite word is.”

Over dinner, Zach announced that he had to go out of town for a few days on a business trip and he wanted her to join him.

“Can you come with me, Andie?” Zach asked with so much hope in his voice that it killed her to deny him.

Her face fell. “I would love to, I really would, but I can’t. I’m sorry.” Guilt weighed down on her. She hated turning him down.

“Can’t you do some checking first? Try to make the arrangements?”

“I’m sorry, Zach, but thank you for asking.”

“All right, I give. I just wanted you to know that I wanted you with me. I rarely need to travel. This won’t happen often.”

“Good, because I’ll be terribly lonely without you.”

Andie had no idea just how much she’d really miss him. Her entire demeanor faded without him. She went through the motions of her life, but ached for him every moment. She began to realize just what he meant to her. It worried her just a little, how attached she was to him. After all, this was supposed to end in a year. But then, even Zach had said
if
. This gave her hope.

Who was she kidding? With the way things were going it was obvious their relationship wasn’t going to end in a year. It was ludicrous to worry about it.

Zach called every night and they spoke for at least an hour. They’d never been separated since their marriage and they’d never missed a night of making love since they’d become intimate with each other. This made their separation all that much harder.

During this time she dedicated every waking moment to Nick. Therefore she was feeling as though she was on the verge of exhaustion on the evening Zach arrived home. He called from the airport to let her know he was on his way.

“I can’t wait to see you, sweetheart,” he said through the static filled connection. Andie wasn’t sure, but she thought she detected a note of anticipation in his voice.

She anxiously awaited his arrival, watching from the upstairs window, feeling ridiculously giddy. When the taxi arrived, it stopped at the entrance of the driveway. The car door opened immediately. Zach exited with his one bag in hand and began to run to the doorstep.

Run!

This was no leisurely stroll to the door after a long and tiring flight, it was an all out ‘excited-to-see-you’ sprint. It took her a moment to realize the reason Zach was running to the door.

To see her.

Andie jumped to her feet, wanting to greet him. She ran through the house, stomping her bare feet on the hardwood floors of the hallway, trying to get to him as fast as she could, taking corners with no finesse whatsoever. When she made it to the top of the stairs, Zach stood at the bottom, still in the foyer. He stood very still, a little out of breath, looking up at her. She froze also, wondering if she’d been mistaken in thinking he was running to see her. She was embarrassed to realize he must have heard her stomping through the house, scrambling about in a hurry. She tried to recover and look calm and casual. For several moments they were frozen, staring at each other, both feeling unsure of the other. She was breathing hard in her efforts to get to him and she suddenly felt like a silly little girl. If she could just breathe normally, it wouldn’t be quite so obvious that she’d been running to greet him. Maybe he was embarrassed at this show of affection from her. Maybe his feelings didn’t run as deep as hers did. Maybe he hadn’t missed her as much as she’d missed him.

Then a slow smile broke out on Zach’s face.

That was all it took. To heck with it, she was excited as anything to see him, she couldn’t hide it. Andie smiled right back at him and flew down the stairs into his outstretched arms. He picked her up and she straddled him as he held her in his arms, supporting her fully. They kissed wildly, crazily, all at once unable to get enough of each other.

Mrs. Barnes said from the doorway, “Welcome home, Mr. Drake.”

Zach hardly responded. In between kisses he mumbled, “Thanks.” Then he took Andie into his office, kicked the door shut, and made love to her right there on the floor of his office.

Later he said, “I’m sorry, my adorable Andie, for not taking you upstairs to a proper bed, but the office was the closest available space and I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly.”

“What must Mrs. Barnes think of us?”

They both burst into laughter. “I guess she knows we’re typical newlyweds.”

Through their laughter, Andie whispered, “I missed you so much.”

“Really? I never would have guessed it after the way you greeted me.”

She groaned. “I’m never going to live that down.”

Zach was suddenly intense, holding her face in his hands. “No one has ever greeted me like that in my life. Ever. I loved it. I absolutely loved it, Andie.”

Andie wanted to tell him she loved him, but he held back, so she did too.

There’d be time enough for that later. Like the rest of their lives. As far as she was concerned, she’d met the man she wanted to grow old with. Every day with him only got better.

And to think, if it hadn’t been for Nick, she never would’ve taken a chance on Zach.

-13-

Zach buttered his roll and took a big bite as Andie watched him, trying not to stare. On occasion, she glanced down at her own plate, just to break eye contact, when in reality, she wanted to gaze upon him for hours. This was silly. Zach was her husband and she could ogle him if she felt like it. But staring intently into each other’s eyes made her feel as though he could read her thoughts and perceive her deepest emotions. And she didn’t want to admit how out of control her feelings were for him. Could he glance at her and know she was crazy about him? Did her actions completely give her away?

“Thank you for dinner, Andie. That was delicious.”

Andie had informed Mrs. Barnes that she wanted to cook for Zach tonight. The roast had simmered in the slow cooker all day making the finishing touches quick and easy.

“You’re very welcome.”

Life was good. She and Zach had a passion for one another that she’d never experienced in her entire life. They were completely compatible. Not only that, they were fast friends too. He brought contentment and comfort into her life, something that had been sadly lacking before she’d met him.

The car he’d purchased for her made it possible for her to spend longer amounts of time with Nick, as she didn’t have to worry about catching a bus at a given hour. The ‘business arrangement’ was turning out to be one of the best things she’d ever done. He seemed to be equally as pleased with the circumstances. And even though she was living a double life—and keeping those two lives as separate as possible—she was as happy as she could be. It didn’t get better for her. This was as good as it gets and it was all due to Zach.

They’d been married now for about two months. It was early September and they were firmly entrenched in a solid routine, which they both enjoyed.

“By the way, we’ve been invited to a social event this Friday. It’s black tie. How is your account looking? Do you have enough to get a knockout dress?”

“I have plenty, Zach.” Shortly after he bought her the car, he came across her sitting at the bus stop again. He was mystified at her behavior. Andie remembered his perplexed air as he’d asked, “What are you doing? Why aren’t you driving your car?”

“I don’t have any money for gas,” she’d said quietly.

“Oh,” he’d answered, bemused. “Why didn’t you just ask me?”

Obviously, he was so used to having money, it never occurred to him to give it another thought. “You’ve been more than generous. I didn’t want to ask for more. I’m sorry.”

He gave her a credit card and a bank account with five-thousand dollars in it. He said they were for incidentals and gas money. She had balked at his generosity, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. She’d used the money in the account for gas and food and nothing else. She felt guilty taking advantage of him. She hadn’t used the credit card at all.

“Good. Get yourself a gorgeous dress, spare no expense, do you hear me? Use the credit card and I’ll take care of it.”

Andie nodded, even though she didn’t intend to spend a fortune on a dress. It seemed like such a waste of hard earned money. Zach may be wealthy, but he worked extremely hard. Too hard, if you asked her.

“So, what exactly is expected of me at this social? Do I hang on your every word and bat my eyelashes at you? Do I hold onto you all evening as if I can hardly stop touching you? Do I never stop singing your praises, kiss you suggestively, and laugh loudly at your jokes?”

Zach laughed aloud at her whimsical portrait of gauche behavior. “None of the above. Just be yourself. I simply want to show off my beautiful wife and I’ll love every moment of having you at my side.”

“So…give the impression that we’re the perfect, happily married couple.”

“Aren’t we?”

Andie smiled at him radiantly, again wondering if her feelings were obvious in every feature of her expression. “Yes, as a matter of fact we are.”