Only Love (The Atonement Series) (31 page)

“It’s very nice to see you again Mr. and Mrs. O’Connell,” I replied warmly as I embraced them, one after the other.

“You too, dear. You’re so beautiful today and that Chanel dress fits you like a glove,” Mrs. O’Connell gushed.

“You are breath taking. We are only too glad to say if Drake had to bring anyone home, he couldn’t have chosen a better candidate than you.”

My smile faltered a bit before I beamed again and replied, “Thank you. That is more than I could have ever expected.”

“Well, why don’t we all get back to the celebration?” Mr. O’Connell suggested. “There is plenty of champagne, wine and something a bit more stronger to fortify those nerves and believe me, I need a drink.”

We walked out of the study together and he leaned over and whispered in my ear. “You see? I told you they would love you.”

“Yes, you did,” I said so softly, only he could hear my response.

“You are indeed a vision in that dress and I hope you realize I have every intention of holding on to you tightly and never letting go.”

I looked into his pale greenish blue eyes and realized he’d inherited them from his father because his mother possessed cerulean blue eyes without a speck of green in them.

“To be honest, I expected you to say that.”

Drake smiled again, held me tight for a moment and relaxed his grip as we joined the rest of the family in a large sitting room where waiters and waitresses circled, holding either hors d’œuvres or glasses of wine, champagne and whiskey.

I grabbed a fluted glass of champagne, sipped and tasted a vintage year of Dom Perignon, while Drake grabbed a whiskey and we met up with Drew and Aubrey again. We sat down together and began to talk because we had so much to catch up on and it felt great to be around family again, including the first love of my life who now was in a serious relationship with my cousin.

Drake’s right hand grabbed my left and squeezed it gently as Drew told us about something that had recently happened in Seattle. We all laughed in a jovial manner and I couldn’t help but feel special as warmth spread through me around a real bond beyond mere attraction and lust that had finally formed between Drake and me. Yes, a part of me was still in love with Colin but he would always represent my dark and depressing past; Drake, and his wonderful family, was most definitely my future.

Colin

Colin sat with Cassie and the rest of his family which consisted of Liam, Caitlyn, his father and Caitlyn’s mother, Jeanette. The situation had become that much more intimate now that his father and Jeanette were officially dating one another.

He had been reluctant but in the end, he had decided to invite Cassie to Thanksgiving dinner in Seattle after all. Her parents were divorced and she had half-siblings on both sides but wasn’t really close to either her mother or her father. In the end, she had been flattered and insisted on buying a couple of dresses so she wouldn’t feel out of place.

Though Colin had taken her for the usual college bimbo, Cassie was actually quite intelligent and could hold her own in conversations regarding the present state of political affairs, entertainment, music and fashion. She was a great listener and after the lackluster beginnings of their sex life, after a lot of instruction, she had become quite good in the sack.

She wasn’t Deirdre but that was all right with him for the time being. He was sick of the bed hopping and would rather have a steady girlfriend than go from woman to woman. Cassie, fortunately, fit the bill perfectly.

Before dinner was served, they walked around the estate his father still owned on Mercer Island. He slid his arm around her waist while she looked around, still in awe.

“It’s beautiful here. Why did you leave?”

“The weather sucks,” Colin replied facetiously before they turned toward one another and laughed.

Cassie’s brown eyes were genuinely bright. “This still feels like a dream. I remember when you unceremoniously dumped me and now, here I am at your father’s estate with your brother and his fiancée for Thanksgiving dinner. You all come from money and have so much power and prestige. Both my parents were lower middle-class kids who dragged their way to the middle-class and made sure I graduated with decent grades and got a good education. Never in a
million
years would I think I belonged in
this
world and here I am…with you.”

Colin laughed out loud before he realized how serious she was and smiled at her in a warm manner. “You act as if you aren’t worthy.”

Her amusement faltered a bit as she stopped walking and turned her body fully toward his. “I’m not Deirdre. I know how she must be and the hold she has over you. There is this joy that comes into your eyes when you talk about her and…I don’t want you to think I will ever be able to fill her shoes because we both know I can’t.”

“Hey,” he began as his hands cupped her face gently, “I don’t expect you to be anyone but you. Yes, Deirdre is very special to me but we both know what ever we had is gone and it’s not coming back. I want you because of who you are and I don’t expect you to act like anyone else. Don’t think you have to fill her shoes. If I didn’t like you…a lot…I wouldn’t have brought you to Thanksgiving dinner.”

“And here I thought you just didn’t want to show up alone.”

“No, that isn’t it. I think we could really be something special and I hope you agree because I would love for us to be together. I’m not talking short term here…I mean the long run, the end game—what ever you want to call it.”

They both laughed together before she kissed his lips softly. “Yes.”

“Is that yes to being with me long term?” he questioned knowingly.

Cassie began to walk again before she turned back slightly and said over her shoulder, “I am still thinking about it.”

He caught up and slid her left hand into his right as they began to make their way back to the main estate.

She was right when she said she wasn’t Deirdre but he didn’t need a replacement for her when the real woman, alive and in the flesh, still existed. They might not be able to build a relationship with one another now but he would never give up.

Somewhere in the back of Colin’s mind, he knew one day his beautiful and gorgeous love would belong to him once again and the thought made him smile with genuine satisfaction.

Dinner ended shortly before eight in the evening and not too long after that, the children were chased upstairs to get ready for bed with their accompanying nannies while the adults continued to talk, this time in the smoking room.

Although no one was actually smoking except for a few men puffing on expensive, illegal cigars from Havana and Drake’s mother who smoked a cigarillo with ease, I sat along with Drake’s brother and sister, their spouses, Drew and Aubrey. We all talked about life in general and tried to avoid politics at all costs because there was enough talk going on around us about the very subject without us divulging into the whole “business as usual in Washington” spiel.

Drake got up and poured me another glass of champagne before he grabbed one for himself.

I could say without a doubt I wasn’t sober at all. I’d had more than my fair share of Dom Perignon but I had also eaten one of the best prepared Thanksgiving meals in my whole entire life.

I held the fluted glass in my right hand and was about to sip when Drake stopped me. He used a slender metal stir stick and clinked it against his glass a few times.

“Ladies and gentlemen, can I have everyone’s attention?”

The room suddenly hushed and every pair of eyes in the room was on him.

“Thanks,” he began. “Everyone knows I am the prodigal son and I won’t get into the reason why but I am so very grateful to be here with my family again. It is indeed a joy to see my brother and my sister, my parents, aunts, uncles and cousins.”

Drake paused and continued, “One of the best happy accidents I’ve ever been involved in my adult life happened to me when my mind was so preoccupied about my everyday problems, I forgot to buy Sugar in the Raw from my local Whole Foods. It meant I had to knock on the door of a fabulous and wonderful woman who happened to be my neighbor. At the time, I was taken aback by her exquisite looks and pleasant disposition but I know her heart is even more beautiful than what you see on the outside.”

He got down on one knee and presented a black leather box with the Cartier insignia on top. “That is why I want to get her off the market so I don’t have to beat anyone down to stay away from her. Deirdre Bardot, will you marry me?”

I smiled but my heart was beating a million miles per minute with anxiety. I knew the answer before it left my mouth, “Yes, Drake O’Connell, I will.”

Everyone began to clap and cheer as he opened the box to display a princess cut diamond surrounded by Colombian emeralds the same color as his eyes and set within a platinum ring. He took it out of the box and slipped it on my left ring finger before he kissed me on the lips.

There was a quick slip of tongue but we made sure to stay decent in front of his older relatives.

Afterwards, congratulations abounded and the first thing all the women wanted to know was whether we had set a date yet. The evening wore on and I couldn’t stop smiling, not even when Drake and I were alone.

That night, we made love to one another and afterwards, he spooned me and it was a beautiful experience.

“This is only the beginning,” Drake whispered in my ear.

I smiled again though my cheeks hurt. “I know. I can’t wait to see where this all leads because it is going to be an adventure if nothing else.”

We kissed one another again and I waited until he had fallen asleep before I closed my eyes and settled in closer to the man I loved. This was just the beginning of the rest of our lives and what happened was anyone’s guess.

I didn’t believe in fate and together, Drake and I would make our own luck and agree to be as true to one another as two people could be. No one was perfect and neither was love but if we really wanted the relationship to work, I knew we would not only endure but in the end, we would become closer than ever and our togetherness would flourish.

The future was ours and this time, I was determined to grab it with both hands and never let go.