Connectivity (15 page)

Oh. My. God. I move over to the table, stunned. I pick up the blue box and stare at William.

“William, this . . . you didn’t have to do this. Don’t you know being with you is enough for me?”

I watch as William’s blue eyes go soft, very soft. He approaches me and cups my face in his hands, and then brushes his lips against my forehead.

“I know you mean that,” William whispers. “So that is even more of a reason why I wanted to give you something.”

I stare back at him.
Oh, William Cumberland, I think this just might be the night I fall in love with you
.

“Please, Mary-Kate, open it,” William encourages.

With a shaking hand I undo the ribbon. I lift up the top of the box and break the silver seal on the crisply folded tissue paper.

And as soon as I see what is inside I gasp.

It is a gorgeous silver and Tiffany blue linked charm bracelet. I hold it in my palm, staring at it in shock.

“Each charm has meaning in regards to our time here,” William explains quietly. “The blue Tiffany bag charm is because this is the first gift I have given you. The double-decker bus is one of the things you did on your tourist day, the London taxi is what you took all over the place because you refused to let me drive you, the Bond Street charm because it is famous, and last, but not least, that is a silver Chinese Zodiac rooster. Closest thing I could find to a chicken. Which we both know has significant meaning from Berkshire.”

I am stunned by this, by the thought William put into this gift, that every single charm represents our time in London together.

I gaze at it, knowing full well this cost him at least $2,000 dollars, but I also know that the money is irrelevant to him. He wanted me to have something significant, something special, something that only we would understand and nobody else. A gift about our private time in London.

William is this beautiful man with such a beautiful heart, and tears escape my eyes.

“I have never received a more thoughtful and meaningful gift in my whole life,” I say, my voice cracking. “This means everything to me, William.”

“So it meets with your approval?” William asks as he gently brushes away my tears with his fingertips.

I nod. And then I can’t help it. I squeal excitedly and throw my arms around him in total joy.

“I love it!” I cry excitedly. “I love it, I love it, I love it!”

I step back, use the lapels on his Burberry blazer to pull him closer, and kiss him while our capsule is at the top of the Eye. I melt into him, and William responds to my lips on his, and he kisses me slowly and sweetly. I taste the champagne on his lips and let my right hand reach up to the nape of his neck, where I play with some of his silky curls as he kisses me.

He breaks the kiss and takes the bracelet from me. William puts it on my left wrist and then extends my arm out to take a look at it.

“Perfect,” he says, looking at it.

“Yes, perfect,” I say, looking at him.

We finish our ride of the Eye and I almost feel teary getting off the ride. Because now I know, with us stepping out of the capsule and back into the city, that my time in London with William is almost over.

William takes me back to the hotel and escorts me back to my room. He steps inside, but I notice he doesn’t take off his coat.

“You can stay,” I say hopefully, not willing to let go of this time, not yet.

William pulls me into his arms and holds me tightly. “Mary-Kate, you have an early flight back to Chicago tomorrow. You need to sleep.”

It is all I can do not to laugh.
Right. Like I am going to be able to sleep after this evening?

William steps back from me. I bite my lip. So I am going back to Chicago and he is on his way to Sydney. I hate this. I don’t want to be away from him now, not when we are starting to build something so amazing together.

“I’ll be back to Chicago before you know it,” William says, reading my mind. He gently cups my face in his hands and gazes into my eyes. “And I’ll text you the minute I get to Australia. We’ll figure out a time to a Video Connect on Connectivity.”

I nod. “Okay.”

“I should leave you now. You are going to have to be there early to get through customs as it is.”

I am really biting down hard on my lip now. “Right.”

William puts his hand on the door. Then he changes his mind. He comes back to me, slides his hands through my hair, and kisses me. We are kissing passionately, embracing, touching each other, not wanting to let each other go.

Finally, William breaks the kiss and we are both out of breath.

“Okay,” William says, raking a hand through his hair. “I am really going now.”

I walk him to the door. He opens it and steps through. William gently touches my face one last time.

“Thank you for this evening, and all the other ones, Mary-Kate,” he says, his eyes intently on mine.

“Thank you, William. For making London the best experience of my life,” I say with all my heart. “And thank you for the bracelet. You have no idea what this means to me.”

William smiles softly. “I do know what it means to you. And I know what it means to me to give it to you.”

We stare at each other for a moment, and it is obvious neither one of us wants to say goodbye.

Finally, William sighs.

“I need to go,” he says reluctantly. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” I say.

Then William turns and walks away.

I shut the door and lean against it. I take off my coat and look down at my beautiful charm bracelet, the one that is now my most treasured possession in the world, and clasp it over my heart.

My heart, which now belongs to William.

And I just pray that somehow his heart can belong to me before he leaves Chicago for good in June.

Chapter 20

“I’ll have the mascarpone and strawberry buttermilk pancakes,” I tell the waitress. Then I close my menu and hand it to her.

Reese and Emily give their orders to the waitress and she walks away. We are sitting at a booth at a hip Lincoln Park eatery, having a Saturday catch-up brunch.

Except from the way both of them are sitting across the table staring at me, I feel more like this is going to be a CIA interrogation about my time in London.

Or more specifically, the time I spent with
William
in London.

I pour some cream into my coffee and stir, keeping my eyes down. Then I glance out the big window that overlooks the street. It is cold and windy on this March morning. Rain is pouring down and blowing sideways, pelting the glass. I swallow and watch as people hurry down the block, desperately trying to keep umbrellas from folding inside out against the gusty wind.

I bite my lip, wishing I were elsewhere. Specifically, in Sydney. William and I had talked once already, but, God, I miss him so much. It is still hard to believe just a day ago I was in London. Just a day ago I was with William—

“MK,” Reese says, breaking the silence. “We’re both really worried about you.”

I turn and stare at my friends. “You have no reason to be worried,” I say honestly. “Actually, I have never been better.”

I watch as Reese and Emily share a glance. Now I feel like I have learned something from William, as I am quickly able to deduce that they have practiced this conversation before I came home from London.

“MK, please just hear what we have to say,” Emily says gently. “You have to understand why we are concerned. You go to London. Someplace you’ve
always
wanted to go. Yet you haven’t posted one thing about it on your Connectivity page. Not one picture, not one quote, nothing. And you have barely said anything at all about it since you’ve been back. That’s weird, MK. Really weird.”

“In my defense, I have only been home 24 hours. I spent most of yesterday getting settled, doing laundry, and sleeping. And I was there on business,” I say firmly. “I wasn’t there on vacation.”

But I know that is complete bullshit. Because in reality, I feel like London belongs to me and William and I don’t want to share that experience with anyone but him.

Reese leans across the table. “Did you sleep with Cumberland?” she asks in a low voice.

“No!” I snap, my cheeks burning. “And his name is
William
.”

Emily’s eyes flash with recognition. “You kissed him!”

I don’t say anything.

“You did!” Emily cries.

“MK, what are you
doing?
He’s your boss. He’s the owner of a world-wide global empire!” Reese says. “This . . . this is completely out of character for you!”

I stare at my best friends. I should be able to tell them anything. I should be able to tell them about William but I can’t. I just can’t. Because what I have with William is so private, so undefined . . . and it belongs to us, to me and William. I feel protective of what we have, because it is new and just beginning. I’m not ready to share it with anyone, even Emily and Reese.

“I know William is my boss,” I say slowly. “But trust me when I say I am really happy.”

Suddenly Reese lets out an exasperated sigh. “MK, you aren’t seeing this clearly! I mean, we both know he must have given you that Tiffany bracelet,” she says, gesturing to my left wrist.

I immediately remove my hand from the table and rest it in my lap. I protectively run my fingers over each charm, as if guarding that night from Emily and Reese’s eyes.

“That is not a casual gift,” Reese continues. “That is at least a $2,000 bracelet!”

Okay, I have been patient until now. But now I am starting to get mad.

“William,” I say slowly, trying to keep my voice even, “wanted me to have something special from London.”

“It looks like a mistress gift!” Emily blurts out.

“Excuse me?” I say angrily. “Did you really just call my charm bracelet a
mistress gift
?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Emily says, trying to back-pedal. “But William is whisking you off to London, buying you this crazy expensive gift, and it just seems like he’s . . . keeping you.”

Now I’m furious.

“You know what? This whole conversation is an insult,” I snap angrily. “I would hope you would both know me well enough to know I wouldn’t be with just anybody. I have never wanted
anyone
until I met William. He’s different. William is sophisticated and brilliant and he makes me laugh. He understands me like no one ever has. He makes me feel like I can do anything. He
believes
in me. William thinks I’m smart, he thinks I’m funny, and he thinks I’m beautiful. If anyone is worth taking a risk on, it is William.”

“My God, MK, do you hear yourself?” Reese cries. “This is
not
you. You are willing to risk everything you have worked so hard for your entire life for a romance with your boss? If this were to get out and the people at the Beautiful Homes Network were to find out . . . MK! Think about what you are doing! Your reputation would be crap. You know it would! And your career dreams would blow up in your face!”

“And he’s
leaving
,” Emily adds pointedly. “What are you going to do when he leaves at the end of June? He is
English
. His worldwide headquarters are in
London
. What will you do when he goes back to his life and you aren’t in it?”

“Of course I have thought of all of this! You don’t think those things scare me to death?” I cry. “Well, they do. The idea of him leaving is the worst of all those things you have mentioned, and for me to say that is the worst thing that can happen should tell you
exactly
what William means to me.”

I see the worried look amplify in their eyes.

“And while I appreciate your concern,” I say, my voice shaking, “I will
not
discuss this any further. I know the risks. Believe me, I know them backward and forward. But for the first time in my life, I am willing to gamble. I am willing to gamble everything for this man.”

Because I love him
.
I will gamble everything because I am madly in love with William.

“MK, please,” Emily pleads, her eyes shining with sincerity. “We are saying this because we
love
you. And we don’t want to see you get hurt or ruin something you have wanted your whole life for a man you barely know.”

“I know him,” I say evenly, trying not to explode. “I know him better than anyone.”

“How can you?” Reese cries. “Because you spent two weeks in a foreign country with him? Everything can seem romantic and perfect when you aren’t fighting over what restaurant you want to eat at or if he forgets to put the cap back on the toothpaste. And what has he promised you, MK? Other than trips and gifts?”

I can’t take it anymore. I slap my hand down on the table so hard that a spoon flies off and hits the floor, and all the water glasses vibrate, and people next to us are staring at me like I am a lunatic.

“This conversation is over. Or I am leaving. Take your pick, but I will not sit here and listen to both of you insult my intelligence. And I will be
damned
if I sit here and listen to you question William’s motives when you do not know a single fucking thing about him.”

I keep my eyes steady in a William-esque way. Emily and Reese fall silent, and now the catch-up brunch has become the most awkward brunch in the history of Chicago.

Just then our waitress walks up and cheerfully begins putting down our plates in front of us. Nobody is talking now, and I stare at my pancakes, my appetite completely gone.

I pick up my fork and listlessly begin to pick at the pancakes when my cell goes off, notifying me of a text message.

I put down my fork and fish my phone out of my bag. And my heart is overjoyed to see it is from William.

It is 2 a.m. on Sunday. Can’t sleep.

Negotiations begin on Monday. But I can’t stop thinking. WC

I bite my lip. I know that is how William is. His brain is going three thousand miles per hour in all different places on how to get this deal done. I know he must be exhausted from traveling around the globe, thinking about this major acquisition, and completely stressed, too.

Write down your thoughts on the negotiations, all of them. Then put your notes aside and we’ll sort through them tomorrow if you want. You have to get some sleep. You must be exhausted. Worried about you. MKG

I take a sip of my coffee and William sends his response.

Who says I am thinking about negotiations? WC

Ooooooooh! I feel my pulse skip. Then he sends another text before I can respond.

I am thinking about you, Mary-Kate. And that you are too far away from me right now. God, how I miss you. WC

Oh my God! He misses me! My heart is absolutely elated, and the anger I had a few minutes ago has completely dissolved. This is what matters. Not what other people think, even my closest friends. I have to listen to my heart.

And my heart tells me William is everything I need.

I quickly text him back.

William, I miss you, too. So much. Can we Video Connect soon? I need to see you. MKG

I eagerly await his response. I hear Emily and Reese talking now, about some sale at Nordstrom, but I only want to talk to William at this moment.

I’ll make time for it. I have to see you, too. 5 p.m. in Chicago is 8 p.m. Sunday in Sydney. Let me sleep for a few hours and we’ll Video Connect then. BTW, I am here. WC

And then he sends me a picture of the view from his bed at the Four Seasons Presidential suite. I see contracts and papers and his iPad on the edge of the bed and the Sydney harbor twinkling through the windows of the luxuriously appointed suite. I laugh softly, as ‘I am here’ is now one of our running text jokes to each other.

I smile wickedly and type back:

Time is arranged. I’ll be wearing a headband. MKG

God, I love flirting with my man.

He replies.

You are very much the seductress, aren’t you? WC

I laugh and type back.

Indeed. Oh, by the way, I am here. Eating pancakes. MKG

And then I take a picture of my pancakes and attach it to my text. I glance up at Reese and Emily, who are staring at me like they have never seen me before.

“Just chatting with William,” I say, because in my life, this is normal.
The new normal.
“I thought he’d like to see what I am eating.”

Beep!

American pancakes are not like British pancakes. Ours are more like a crepe. Your pancakes are ridiculously big. WC

I type back.

I shall make you some upon your return. I think I am going to be able to convince you the American ones are much better. MKG

Beep!

You are convincing me several things are better in America, Mary-Kate. WC

My heart jumps. I know he is talking about me.

Go to sleep, William. I’ll see you in a few hours. MKG

He instantly responds:

Wish I could see you now. Will settle for the morning. WC

I stare at his message, my heart filled with joy. Then I put the phone down.

And despite this awful start to the day, I am now in a fabulous mood. I pick up my fork, as my craving for pancakes has returned, and take a bite. It is cold and raining outside, but a perfect day to stay in my room with my iPad, cup of coffee on my nightstand, and work on some blog articles.

It is going to be, as William would say, a “bloody brilliant” day.

So despite the fact that my closest friends do not believe this romance can work, that I’m making a horrible mistake, that this will come back to haunt me, that William will just leave me, I know, I just
know
that can’t be true. Not with William.

I know without a doubt he is holding my heart in his hands.

And I trust him not to break it come June.