From Now Until Infinity (2) (22 page)

I pause for a moment. I do this because I really want to drive home my final point. I lean forward and look Mark in his beady, little, eyes. My elbows are on the desk where my behind was so recently. It gives me strength knowing how much Colin enjoyed me coming home that day from work. “I am not the devil or a hired gun sent by your ex-wives. I’m a girl, who happens to be a doctor, who’s in love with a boy, who happens to throw a football and have been blessed by the gods in the looks department. If that makes your job more difficult, then I apologize.”

Mark sits stone faced for a moment. I know that he’s contemplating how to handle me. He was expecting the twenty-year-old girl who stood quietly along Colin’s side trying to support him by keeping my mouth shut. Instead, he found me, Doctor Caroline Jane Collins, Harvard trained doctor, who (after years of therapy) is intimidated by no one.

Finally, Mark says with a slight smile on his face, “Doctor Collins, I’m glad that we had this talk. I underestimated you. Let’s call a truce. Let’s agree that we both want what’s best for Colin.”

His comment makes the hair on my arms stand at attention. “No Mark. I will not agree to that. I want what’s best for Colin and myself,” I reply stoically.

Mark decides to play to my tender side. His voice drops to a near pleading level. “Charlie, he can’t take another broken heart. Do you see how he looks at you? Do you know how he talks about you? He breaths because he knows that you’re standing by his side. You’re the man’s oxygen. I’ve watched him spend years going through the motions of life. Since, you stepped on that elevator, he started caring again. I could tell by our phone conversations that he had fallen hard for you again, but I didn’t realize just how much until I saw him last night working us like dogs to fix the mess that he feels like he’s made for you. As Colin’s friend, I’m asking you to be gentle with him.”

It’s one thing to hear Colin declare his love. It’s another to hear someone who doesn’t particularly like me tell me how much Colin cares about me. Actions speak louder than words, and right now, my man’s actions are screaming his love for me.

“Mark, I can assure you that I feel the same way about Colin. I don’t wish to discuss our relationship any further without Colin being present. Are we finished with this talk? I know that Colin’s anxious,” I reply giving nothing way. I want Mark to leave so I can crawl in Colin’s lap and plant tender kisses all over him. The thought of him with a broken heart makes my own heart ache. I want to hold him and reassure him that everything will be okay, but I know that I can’t do that yet. Not with the meeting with my practice’s attorneys hanging over my head.

Mark and I exit Colin’s makeshift office and head upstairs. Colin’s sitting at my kitchen island listening to music on his phone. When he sees me, his face lights up. “Everything okay, beautiful?” he asks as he removes his headphones. I can hear the band that we listened to play in New Orleans still singing on Colin’s iPhone.

I hug him, and he pulls me to his side. “Everything’s great. I think Mark and I are on the same page,” I say shooting Mark a look imploring him to reassure Colin.

Mark chuckles and says, “I’ll see you both in a couple of hours. I’m going to start fighting my way through the vultures on your front lawn.”

As Mark’s about to open the front door he turns. “Doctor Collins, it was a pleasure getting to know you better.”

I think, “I bet.” But, I just smile and say some sort of nicety back.

When my front door is opened, I hear the questions and comments being hurled at him. I’m secretly happy that he’s being harassed also. We might as well all share in the fun of this exercise in ridiculousness.

As soon as the door closes, Colin grabs my hand and leads me to my linen sofa. He asks me what Mark wanted to discuss that was so private that he couldn’t hear.

I’m not going to lie to Colin, but I also don’t want to upset him. “Mark’s concerned about you.” I take Colin’s gorgeous face in my hands so I can look into his green eyes. “He’s concerned that you’ve fallen too hard, too fast for me again. He’s looking out for your best interests and doesn’t want a repeat of Rebound Chick.”

Colin looks away from me in disgust. “You make one fucking mistake when you’re in your early twenties and nobody will let you move on. Shit!”

“I simply reassured him that I feel as strongly about you as you do about me. He brought up the article that Sasha did and the impact of our relationship being made public has had on our careers.” Then, I gently move Colin’s face so he’s looking into my lavender eyes again. I raise my eyebrow. “He also mentioned you attempting to exit out of your endorsement deals. I’ve got too much on my plate today, but that’s a discussion that we need have sooner as opposed to later.”

I’m expecting Colin to jump up and get angry that Mark discussed Colin’s business deals with me. Instead he says in a very calm voice, “You’re right. We’ll save that talk for another day.”

Chapter Thirteen

“WHAT’RE YOU wearing?” Colin asks me as I’m sitting in my walk-in closet staring at the racks of clothes in front of me.

“I have no clue,” I reply as I look at my dresses.

“Should I wear a suit?” He asks.

“Sorry Colin. You’re asking the wrong person. I’m not sure what the proper dress is for a lynching. This’s my first time to attend such an event,” I reply as smartly as possible.

He saunters into my closet completely naked. The sight of him should make me horny as hell. Instead, I just gasp at his beautifulness and turn back to my racks of clothes.

I’m scared to death of this meeting. It’s almost funny how my career, my future, and everything that I’ve worked for hang in the balance while I debate whether I should wear the navy sheath dress with high heels or the red business suit with black heels. In the end, does it really matter if you’re losing everything that you’ve worked your whole life for?

“I’ve got something for you,” Colin says as he joins me on my closet floor.

“What?” I ask as I pry my eyes off of my dress choices.

He shows me a diamond ring that barely fits on the first knuckle of his pinkie finger. “This is the engagement ring that I bought you while you were still in college.”

I gasp at the sight of it.
God, please don’t let him be proposing. I don’t think that I can mentally deal with it right now
.

It’s a beautiful princess cut diamond mounted on a Tiffany setting. The band is made up of small diamonds. I have no clue how big the diamond is, but it’s pretty and simple. It looks like something that I would’ve loved back then. “It’s magnificent.” I reply evenly.

“I bought it hoping that one of the days that I asked you to marry me that you’d say yes instead of not today,” he gently laughs. Before I can interject, he continues. “When we broke up, I thought about selling the ring. I didn’t because I didn’t need the money, and it also reminded me in a painful way of you. I swore that if we ever got back together that I’d give it to you. I wouldn’t wait for you to say yes.”

“Colin, I,” I stammer. He can’t seriously be asking me to marry him while we’re both naked sitting in my walk in closet about to go through the most stressful meeting of my life.

“Let me finish, Charlie,” He says cutting me off. “When I proposed to her, it never occurred to me to give her this ring. It’s your ring. It always has been and always will be. However, since we’ve gotten back together, I’ve decided that this ring’s tainted. It’s not good enough for you. It was bought by someone who didn’t know what it was like to really love you.”

He pauses for a second and swallows hard. Then he continues. “I thought that I loved you, and I’m sure that I did. But it took you leaving me, and seeing what my life is like without you in it, to realize that love’s not the right word for how I feel about you. You bring meaning to my life, and make me see a future that’s so much more than just football.”

“So with that being said, I’m going to have the diamond taken out of the mounting and made into a pair of earrings. You deserve something more than this as a symbol of my love.”

I’m floored. I try to assemble an answer to his statement but come up woefully short. “The ring is beautiful, but I love your words even more.” I pause for a second, “but, don’t you think that it’s a little premature to be talking about… ummm… earrings?”

Okay! I know that it’s a pathetic thing to say, but I just can’t say the word marriage yet.

Colin laughs at me. He actually laughs. “You’re so cute when you’re nervous,” he says as he picks up my left hand and gives my ring finger a kiss. “I’m not proposing to you. I know that I’d scare you away. I’m just showing you this ring that I’ve had for over eight years, and still have, as proof that I never stopped thinking about you, loving you, or hoping that we’d find our way back together. You don’t have to wear the ring on your finger. I really don’t want you to. Maybe you can just slip it on a chain for this meeting so it will be close to your heart. That and your infinity necklace can remind you that no matter what sort of shit your dad’s accountants and attorneys hurl at you today, my love will protect your heart.”

I’m overwhelmed. What a beautiful sentiment. I quickly grab the ring and slide it on my infinity necklace chain. My infinity necklace and old engagement ring are now together. I know exactly what I’m going to wear to my meeting with my dad - something high necked that’ll shield the world from Colin’s statements of his feelings for me. They’re for my eyes only. The media may have taken my job, reputation, and private life away from me, but they won’t take Colin from me.

I emerge from my bathroom in a dark purple mock turtleneck dress, black hose, and knee high boots. It’s my armor against the media waiting to take pictures of Colin and me together. I feel like Joan of Arc and I can take whatever’s thrown at me.

“You look beautiful, sweetheart,” Colin greets me as I hit the second floor landing. The man is in a black suit with a blue and silver tie. Even in my anxious state, I take in his beauty. Delectable is the best way to describe him. Maybe yummy will also work.

“Al has the car waiting. Are you ready?” He grins at me knowing that I just drank his appearance in.

“As I’ll ever be,” I respond.

I grab my purse, keys, and phone and we begin our trek through the hordes of media that I swear have multiplied. When they see the two of us emerging from my house together, they’re like sharks with a taste of blood in the water. Colin puts an arm on each side of me and acts as if he’s my human shield. I duck my head and walk as quickly as the reporters and photographers will allow me. Colin presses his huge body against my back as he whispers sweet words to me like, “I love you” and “You’re so brave.”

The key questions that the media scream at us for this outing are, “Colin, don’t you care about Sasha’s feelings?” and “Will you confirm that you’re indeed a couple?”

Once we are safely situated in the back of the SUV, Colin pulls me to him and kisses the top of my hair. “I love you, baby. I’m trying to step out of the spotlight so we can be more normal. I promise.”

I know that he’s referring to cutting back his endorsement contracts. I should compel him to make as much money as he can while his star’s burning red hot, but I can’t bring myself do it. Once, when I was kid, my sisters and I visited the zoo. A baby giraffe was making its debut. The mother stood in front of her baby as if she was protecting him from all the people who were staring at him. That’s how I feel about Colin. I want to stand in front of him, and not allow anyone else to look at him. I selfishly want him for myself. I want to be the only person to see my Colin in his underwear. I don’t want to share him with the world any more than I have to because of his talent.

I take off my seatbelt and crawl into his lap. I whisper into his ear. “I love you. You’re my statement. This’s part of the package. I’ll take all the media bullshit if it means that I get you in the end,” I reassure him as I hug him around his finely sculpted chest.

We ride like this the few short blocks to the attorneys’ office. We could have walked if we wouldn’t have been hounded by reporters who have nothing better to do with their time than bother us.

Al drops us off at the building’s circle drive. We’re met by Mark and his people. I’m introduced to the lady who runs the public relations division of his management agency. Her name is Kenzie Matthews. She must have formerly been employed in the entertainment industry because she looks like reporter. She grabs my hand and shakes it. She gives me a little wink and says, “You’re one lucky lady,” as she nods toward Colin.

I think, “I’m lucky because he’s as beautiful on the inside as he is on the outside.”

Next, I see Aiden. The boy that I knew in college has grown into a man. He hasn’t aged much, but he’s filled out. I immediately think what a stunning couple Rachael and Aiden would make again. I make a mental note to talk to Colin about it. The two had broken up on good terms, and I notice that Aiden doesn’t have a ring on his finger.

Aiden takes two big steps towards me and embraces me in a huge hug. “It’s great to see you again. I wish it was under better circumstances.”

I smile at him reassuringly and reply, “You look great. After all this is over, let’s go have a beer and get caught up.”

He genuinely smiles back at me. “I’d like that, but I’ve got a feeling that McKinney isn’t letting you out of his sight.”

Colin walks up to me and flashes Aiden the half smile. “Hey, quit hitting on my girlfriend, ass wipe.”

Boys! Here Aiden has his MBA and is an attorney and Colin is a professional quarterback and businessman, and they still call each other sophomoric names. It makes me love them both even more.

Colin addresses his team before we go inside. “A huge thank you to everyone for dropping what you were doing and getting on a plane last night to help Caroline and me out. We appreciate it more than we can say, but I’m sure that your Christmas gifts this year will give you an idea.” Everyone chuckles. “In all seriousness, Mark, Aiden, and Kenzie we sincerely thank you so let’s go do this.”