Unbreakable (11 page)

“Good,” she said and sighed, as if it had been weighing on her mind. “I don’t understand why she’d be with him, considering the way she felt about you.”

“Epiphany?”

“More like conversion on the road to Damascus, except on the road to BDSM…”

“Dave will be careful,” I said, hoping I was right. He could be direct at times, but he was smart. I hoped he understood that this was delicate. I didn’t want Kate to be friends with Dawn again, because I didn’t trust Dawn. I thought she was too unstable and judgmental. But I didn’t want Kate to worry, either. I wanted to be there for her, be her shoulder, her sounding board.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exactly as we wanted, lounging on the couch, reading the paper and drinking coffee and talking about our dinner with the O’Rileys. When it came time to get ready for dinner, Kate looked reluctant.

“Don’t worry,” I said, as I brushed my teeth while we stood in the bathroom together . “They’ll love you. They already do because I do.”

Kate adjusted her dress, a pretty black lace sheath with no sleeves. It hugged her curves very nicely, but had a high neck and was just to her knee so it wasn’t too revealing. Still, with her hair up and makeup on, she looked like a million dollars.

“You, Ms. Bennet, are gorgeous,” I said and pulled her into my arms.

“Am I overdressed? Is this appropriate?” she asked when I bent down to kiss her.

“Not at all,” I said, although I was dressed in jeans and a button down shirt. I enjoyed how good she looked and felt proud of her. She was young, beautiful, intelligent, talented… and she was mine.

“What will the other women be wearing?” she asked and squirmed around in my arms so she could check herself out in the mirror once more.

“
Clothes
,” I said, grinning at her.

She caught my eye in the mirror and frowned. “You’re no help. I mean, how dressy do they usually get? Should I put on jeans instead?”

“Not at all,” I said and came up behind her, my arms on her hips, pulling her back against me. “You look perfect the way you are. I’ll look at you all night and feel proud. In fact, I’ll find it hard to wait to get you home so we can fuck.”

She smiled and bent forward to check her eyes. “It’s very sly of you to suggest that. Now I’ll be thinking about it all night.”

“Then my work here is done,” I said and ran my hands down her back to her buttocks, which I squeezed.

She pushed her ass back against me and I smiled.

We drove to O’Riley’s and I parked the car, opened Kate's door and helped her out of the car. In the East Village, O’Riley’s was located in the middle of the block, on the first floor of an old red brick building on 3
^rd
Avenue. It was the perfect Irish Pub, with dark woods, a huge bar that spanned half the length of the building in the back of the pub, while the dining room was in the front.

“I’m nervous,” Kate said as we walked down the block to the pub.

I took her hand, squeezing it to encourage her. “Don’t be,” I said and led her to the back alley so we could use the rear door. “Just be yourself. Have a drink and loosen up. They’re really a very nice family. They talk so much that you’ll probably sit and listen to them argue and debate. At least, that’s what I always did when I went for Sunday dinner.”

I heard her take in a deep breath when we reached the alley entrance.

I stopped her and turned her to face me. “You’ll do fine,” I said and ran my hands over her hair, cupping her face. I bent down and kissed her warmly. “I’ll stay with you the entire time.”

She smiled and we went inside.

I led her through the prep area and popped my head in Mrs. O’Riley’s office, half expecting to find her there, but she must have been in the private dining room. We arrived at the bar and Colin was there, pouring drinks for the last tables. The restaurant was never open for dinner on Sunday, although the pub was open and people could order appetizers and finger food. Mrs. O always believed that you should spend Sunday dinner with your family, not working or with strangers.

The kitchen staff who didn’t have families of their own worked preparing the dinner, which was usually some kind of roast with all the trimmings, then joined the O’Rileys for the meal.

“Hey, Drake,” Colin said as he finished pouring a drink. He turned to Kate. “You must be Kate. Pleased to meet you,” he said and leaned across the bar, extending his hand. “My God, we’ve all been dying to meet the woman who finally captured Drake’s heart.” He grinned widely. They shook hands I could see the color in her cheeks even in the low light of the bar.

He let go of Kate’s hand and then returned to the drinks. “Just doing last call in the bar.”

Then Sarah came over and stood beside us. She put a hand over her mouth. “Oh my God, mom said you might come. Are you Kate?”

Kate nodded and smiled.

“Oh, my
God
, you’re Kate,” she said and waved to Colin. “Hey, Colin – she’s here. It’s Kate!”

Colin laughed. “We’ve already met,” he said and waved us over. “Come and sit at the bar.”

 “I’m Sarah,” she said. “Colin and Ken are my brothers. We’ve heard so much about you. I’ll go get mom. She’ll want to meet you.”

 Sarah left us and we turned to Colin, who was busy mopping up the bar with a cloth. “Can I get you guys something?”

I turned to Kate. “How about a toast of some Anisovaya? Colin keeps a bottle in the refrigerator for me.”

 Kate nodded, but said nothing, so I squeezed her hand.

“Two shots of Anisovaya,” I said and Colin nodded, reaching behind the bar for a couple of shot glasses, which he placed on the bar in front of us. Then he bent down to the bar fridge and took out the bottle of chilled Anisovaya.

“Here you go.” He poured two shots and then nodded. “Bottoms up.”

“Relax,” I said quietly to Kate, and we pulled up a stool and sat at the bar. We each took a glass and clinked them together, then shot them back. The chilled Anisovaya had a nice bite to it, and I smacked my lips when I was finished. Kate made a small face but smiled at me.

“One more for good measure,” I said to Colin and he complied. We shot another glass down and Kate wiped her mouth and forced a smile. She still wasn’t quite used to the bite but I knew it would loosen her up, relax her. Not too much, but enough so that she could enjoy herself without feeling so self-conscious. I put my arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer then kissed her, my tongue finding hers and sucking briefly.

I smiled at her and she finally smiled back, the smile reaching her eyes for the first time.

“Don’t worry,” I said and squeezed her shoulder. “They already love you because I do.”

“You gotta know that we’re all really happy to meet you,” Colin said while he mopped the bar top.

“Thanks,” Kate said. “Nice to meet everyone. Drake thinks of all of you like his second family.”

“We are. Drake's kept you hidden but Ken finally convinced him to bring you, since Ken’s going to stand up for Drake. He wanted to at least meet you before the wedding.”

Kate nodded. “I’ve been hoping to meet everyone,” she said and settled in on her stool beside me.

 “What’s on the menu?” I asked while Colin finished wiping down the bar.

“Robin did something with pork tenderloin,” he said and shook his head. “Don’t ask me what. It’ll taste good, no matter what he does.”

I turned to Kate. “Robin is the chef. He’s really good.”

Kate nodded. “Mrs. O’Riley doesn’t cook?”

“Mom supervises,” Colin replied. “It’s still her kitchen even if Robin makes the dishes.”

While Colin finished closing the bar, we chatted for a while. We both drank some soda water with lime instead of anything alcoholic. Mrs. O always had a good choice of wine for the meal and I wanted to be able to have at least one glass to please her. I wasn’t a heavy drinker, preferring to remain sober so I could drive, but over the course of the evening, I could have a drink or two.

Sarah returned with Mrs. O, who had her half-eye reading glasses on a chain around her neck and looked every inch the head of the family. An older woman with grey hair, she was matronly, with a thick middle and a cream cashmere sweater over a brightly colored sundress.

“There you two are,” she said and came over, her arms open. She hugged me first and then turned to Kate. “Kate McDermott,” she said, her arms extended. “Come give me a hug and kiss.”

“You must be Mrs. O’Riley,” Kate said and stood up, opening her arms to return the embrace.

“I am,” she said and hugged Kate tightly and then pulled back, her hands on Kate’s arms as she gave Kate the once over. “You’re a sight for sore eyes. As soon as Drake said he met someone, and when I saw the way he smiled when he talked about you, I knew you were special. I’ve been bugging Drake to bring you to Sunday dinner for a while now, so I hope this means you’ll come on a regular basis.”

Kate smiled back. “I’d be very happy to come as often as you’ll have us.”

“Good,” she said and made Kate turn around in a circle. “Aren’t you a pretty little thing? Drake was right when he said you were beautiful.”

Then, Ken came out of the door to the kitchen. “Kate,” he said and extended his hand. “Ken O’Riley. So nice to meet you.”

Kate shook his hand and he leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Nice to meet you, too.”

 “Isn’t she just the prettiest thing?” Mrs. O said. “Drake, she’s so beautiful. What a cute figure.”

Kate blushed profusely and smiled. “Thank you,” she said. “I was so looking forward to tonight.”

“I’m sure you were regretting you ever agreed but don’t worry, dear. We’ll be on our best behavior.” She winked at Kate and then me and waved us to follow her.

I took Kate’s hand and led her into the private dining room at the back of the restaurant. Separated from the main dining room by a wall with a large entry, the room had a private feel to it. A long table that seated thirty filled the room. Landscapes from the Irish countryside, pastoral scenes of rural life and posters from Dublin lined the walls.

Ken was busy talking to a couple of waiters who would serve the meal, but he nodded to me when he saw us. We found our chairs and took our seats while Mrs. O went over to speak with the chef, who was dressed in a black tunic and chef’s cap, and was fussing over some chafing dishes on a huge wooden sideboard. She lifted a cover off a chafing dish and leaned in to check the food. Then she patted the chef on the back and smiled.

Sarah and her family entered the room. As soon as she saw us, she brought her husband and two children over to introduce us, and then they took their places at the table. Ken’s wife and two sons also arrived and Ken led them over to say hello to us as well. Finally, everyone was seated around the table and the room was very noisy as everyone chatted with everyone else, catching up on the week. Servers poured everyone water and then wine.

Mrs. O stood up and turned to us, her glass of wine in her hand.

“To our guests, Drake and Kate. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. You’ll be starting your own family, but please, welcome to our family. There will always be two chairs for you at our table. And when it’s necessary, a high chair or three.” She winked at us.

“Hear, hear,” the others said and they all raised their glasses to us. Kate turned to me and we toasted each other and then took a sip.

While servers placed a bowl of soup on our plates, Ken regaled us with news of his son making the football team. With the focus turned to everyone else, Kate seemed to relax beside me and ate her soup, listening to everyone talking about family news.

In the end, the meal was delicious, the conversation loud as usual. Mrs. O sat beside Kate and kept her busy talking about the upcoming wedding plans, while Ken sat beside me and we talked about the pediatric neurosurgery fellowship and how Liam was doing since his stem cell transplant. Kate seemed to enjoy herself and she and Mrs. O were busy talking. I listened in and heard them talk from time to time, to make sure Kate didn’t need me to step in, but there was no need. Mrs. O was adept at conversation with strangers, and asked Kate about her father’s illness and recovery, her plans for her MA and of course, her wedding dress.

I kept her hand in mine as much as I could, squeezing it from time to time to let her know I was thinking about her.

After dessert and coffee, we said our goodbyes and promised to return every Sunday that we had open, and then we left, the evening having gone as well as I could have hoped.

I took Kate’s hand and we walked down the street to the car.

“I thought that went well,” I said, as we reached the parking garage.

“It did,” Kate replied, smiling. “Mrs. O kept me talking almost the entire time. She’s so glad you finally met someone.”

“I know,” I said and laughed. “She was always trying to match me up with various cocktail waitresses she knew. I told her I wasn’t going to get married again and she always said ‘
Never say never’
. She was right, of course.” I kissed her knuckles.

“Ken said he was afraid you’d never meet anyone who could mend your broken heart,” Kate said softly.

“He said that?” I was surprised that Ken got so personal with Kate. “When?”

“When you went to the washroom. He leaned over and told me how glad he was that you met me and that we were getting married. He said you never got over Maureen leaving until you met me.” She raised her eyebrows at that, a coy smile on her face. “That I must be pretty damn special.”

“You are,” I said. “
Very
special.”

We drove on in silence, and when I glanced over at Kate, she was smiling to herself.

“So, do you think you’d like to go back every now and then?”

She turned to me. “Of course,” she said. “We have a standing invitation at my dad’s place on Sunday, but we can switch whenever we want.”

I nodded and finally we arrived back at our building. After I parked in the parking garage, I took her hand and we went up to the apartment. As soon as I got her into the entryway of our place, I pushed her against the closed door.

“And now, Ms. Bennet, future Mrs. Morgan, I’m going to ravish you.”