Resilient (2) (31 page)

 
“I think you’ve seen the
Outsiders
one too many times, Maddie. I’ll be fine. If I’m with Xander, he won’t let anyone disrespect me. Trust me, he’s very protective…Look, I’ve got to go. Thanks again for the ride. I’ll text you when I get there and give you updates.”

“I know you’ll win everyone over. I just worry about you.”

“I know, and thanks, sis. See you next week.”

“Okay, love you. Have a safe flight.” They hugged about three more times and waved every ten feet. Katrine went up the short set of stairs and turned to wave one more time. Maddie had her face pressed against the glass of the waiting area. That made her chuckle. She loved her crazy ass.

 
She thought Maddie’s concerns had merit, only because she’d had the same thoughts over the past few days. After greeting the pilot, she made her way to a captain’s chair towards the front and made herself comfortable. She was just about to turn her phone off when a text came in.

Are you here yet?

She laughed.

About to leave. Be there soon…patience.

I can’t. All I can think of is the last time we were on that jet…

 
Oh, that.

On this plane, she’d straddled a very sexy man in her formal wear. It had been one of the most erotic experiences of her life. Not to mention the first time she’d had multiple orgasms. It wasn’t the last, but it was definitely the first. Katrine tingled at the memory and checked to make sure she wasn’t sitting in the same seat. She was good.

Now that’s all I’ll be able to think about. I hope we don’t have separate rooms!

Hell, no. But my race car bed might be a tight fit.
 

Oh yah, I’ve always wanted to get nailed in a race car…

She winced after she hit send. Xander loved talking dirty over texts. But when no response came, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She turned her phone off and shrugged her shoulders.
 

He probably got another call or something. Did I have to be so graphic?

“Ms. MacNamara, we’ll be taking off in five minutes.”

Katrine furrowed her brow.
 

No, it couldn’t be…

The cockpit door opened and yes it was. She jumped out of her seat and flew into his arms.

“What are you doing here?”

His expression was dark. She slid down his chest, but he grabbed her hips and held her to him, fingers digging into her hips. “You’re lucky I was on this plane…Don’t ever send a text like that if I can’t get to you. My balls would have spontaneously combusted.”

She laughed. “Oh, sorry. My text was a little naughty.”

“A little? Holy shit, Katrine. When you talk like that…god! I mean feel, just feel.”

She did and laughed harder. “Wow. I think you might need to see a doctor about that.” She started to walk backwards and he stalked after her. “Do you have any blurred vision or light headedness?” Her legs hit the chair and she yelped when he pushed her into the chair.

“All I need is about 5 foot 3 of gorgeous. So you see, you have just the remedy for my current situation.” He put his mouth next to her ear, “Come on, I want to bury myself in that tight little—”

“Xander!” She was mildly shocked, but not at all offended.
 

A sun dress would have come in handy right now, but her black one piece shorts outfit ended up coming off with little effort. She wasn’t keeping track of her orgasms, but if she
had
kept count, it would have been on par with the other flight in question. And let it be said that in the future, if she wanted to sit on a chair that they hadn’t had sex on…she’d have to sit next to the pilot.

“Are you nervous?” he asked, gently rubbing the tops of her fingers with his right hand as he gripped the black steering wheel with his left. Smashing Pumpkins was playing in the background.

“Yes.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really, insecurities aren’t really sexy.”

“Everything about you is sexy. Talk to me.” He grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles.

“It’s nothing. I’m just a bit nervous about meeting your people.” She shrugged and looked out the window. Lush greens, sparkling coast line, town like a post card. Looked like a very nice place to grow up.
 

“My people? Come on, Katrine. The only “people” you need to worry about is me, and
 
you have me convinced.”

“Convinced of what?” She looked towards him, admiring his profile. Even his ears were hot.

“Convinced that you are the end all, be all of womankind. You, Katrine, are imperfect perfection. You are everything I ever wanted, I just didn’t know it… But now I know, now I’m convinced.”

She kissed his cheek and nuzzled his neck. “Wow. For a jaded womanizer, you sure have the “man of my dreams” thing down to an art. Did you just come up with that? I’m impressed.” She was teasing him, but she really wanted to climb over onto his lap.

 
She got serious.“Thank you for that.”

“You don’t have to thank me. It might be sentimental, but it’s not an exaggeration…I’m crazy about you. So no more nerves about this weekend, okay? You’re with me… mine. No one would dare disrespect you. Well, I can’t vouch for my father. He dares all of the time.”

“Okay. I won’t worry. Thank you for the reassurance. So you just have to make sure to be with me every second I’m here.”

“I planned on it, because once my friends get a look at you, I’ll be fighting everyone off with a stick. Maybe even my grandfather. He’s a horny old bastard, so if I have to dry hump you in public to stake my claim, just go with it.” She laughed and shook her head.
 

“So tonight we’re meeting up with your college buddies, right?”

“Yes, we all grew up together, went to prep school together, then college. Well, Scott, he never went to college and just lives off his trust fund. I apologize for him in advance. William went to Yale with me and Gabe went to Princeton. We never let him live that down. ”

“Why? Princeton’s an elite Ivy League school.”

“The fact that you even have to ask…”

“See, case in point, Xander. I don’t know anyone who went to an Ivy League school.”

“Katrine,
 
I was just teasing. It’s a great school, of course, just the brunt of our jokes.” He kissed her head that again rested on his shoulder. “It’s just a rivalry, like Duke and UNC.” She went to Duke, so she knew exactly what he meant. All of her friends went to different schools in Texas and they all made fun of the other.
 

“So what? You tease each other about SAT scores? Because you all suck at sports.”

“Hey, hey, hey! Our rowing team is top notch…And you’re one to talk about SAT scores, smartypants.” He laughed and pulled into a lightly pebbled driveway. The grass was so bright green it was Oz worthy. Large trees shaded the car from the sun. Manicured bushes of every shape and size surrounded the lawn and house itself. And the house at the end of the drive was gray stone, varying in hue. The windows were framed in bright ecru wood, including the ones on the third floor. There were five wide steps made of stone leading up to a covered porch. It wasn’t what she was expecting. It was beautiful, but not overwhelming. It looked like a home. Albeit a multi-million dollar, extremely large home, but a home nonetheless.

“Oh my gosh, it’s lovely.”
 

He drove just past the front door and put the car in park.

“Home sweet, home.”
 

“Oh come on, it can’t be that bad,” Katrine insisted. She waited for him to get out of the car, but he stayed put, both hands on the wheel, staring in front of him. There were ghosts in this house, some long passed, and some walking in the flesh.

He seemed to come to and turned toward Katrine. “Come on, gorgeous. I’ll give you a tour.” Smiling, he kissed her cheek and came around to help her out of the car.

“What, no butler to carry our bags?” she joked, but half expected a butler.
 

“No butler, smart ass.”

“What? Drivers, private jet. The next part of the insanely rich trifecta is a butler.”

“Katrine, I’m not insanely rich.” The statement was lost on her as he clicked the electric locks on the sleek Mercedes CL65 AMG.

She gave him a look and made her way up the stairs.

“I told you, my grandfather has all of the real money. The rest is in stocks and holdings. The jets belong to the company. I make an above average salary, but I, me personally, am not as rich as you think.”

“Xander, it’s okay. You work hard and you earn the money you have, whatever that amount. And I love you for that.”
 

She kissed him, pressing her hips forward. Pulling
 
her mouth free, she said, “So when are we going to take that race car bed for a spin?”

Chapter 31

Katrine made a face when she saw a normal queen size bed filling Xander’s room.

“Hey! I wanted a race car bed.”
 

“Sorry, must be in the shop. But, don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you. Many, many, times. Trust me, a lot of cock-pit action.” He wiggled his brows.

She raised an eyebrow. “You’d better.” She looked around the room and noticed there was nothing of
 
his. It could have been any of the five guest rooms they’d passed on the way up to the third floor. That made her sad. If his mom had been alive, she was sure his room would be a shrine to his younger years. The room was navy and white, lovely and nautical looking. But no Xander…

“This was your room?”

“Yes, if you wondering where the nostalgic knick knacks are displayed, they are most likely in boxes in one of the closets or up in the attic. Most of my favorite possessions are in Manhattan.” He was quiet for a few moments and put their bags in the corner. “If your parents still lived in your childhood home, would your rooms look the same?” He gave her a expectant look, although she wasn’t sure what he wanted her to say.
 

She thought about it for a minute and answered honestly, “You know, probably not. I think all parents move on when their kids leave the nest. Sure, they’d have some pictures or memorabilia, they still do, in fact. When I take you to meet them, you’ll see. On second thought, I don’t want you seeing my junior high pictures. Can you say awkward phase? Braces and a bad perm are not a good combination.”

He laughed.

“You want me to meet your parents?” He seemed surprised.

“Of course. Teddy first, though.”
 

His smile eased her mind. When she got glimpses of that sad little boy inside of him, it broke her heart. The impression she got was that Xander’s father treated him more like a business associate than a son. She would just have to make up for all of the love he should have received from his father. She was up to the task. Xander was easy to love. Why didn’t his father see that? He may not have been able to show affection. Sometimes a heart can break so bad that the ability to love breaks right along with it.

“Can we see the rest of the house? And Millie—I have to meet her—is she here?”

He grabbed her hand. “Of course. It’s Friday, so she’ll either be in the kitchen or doing laps in the pool.”

“Laps? Isn’t she like, 80?”

“Just wait until you meet her.”

“Is your dad here?” It came out more distressed than she’d intended.

“He won’t be up until late tonight or tomorrow. He’s still at the office. He and grandfather will come in together.”

“Your grandfather still goes to the office? Isn’t he like, 90?”
 

“91 on Sunday, to be exact. And yes, he does on occasion. But he spends most of his time playing golf and chess.”

“He still plays golf?
 
Isn’t he…okay, I’ll stop.” Her grandparents had all passed when she was young, so she wasn’t sure how the elderly rolled, pretty well in this house, apparently. She hoped she was as active at that age.

The rest of the house was like a spread in
Architectural Digest
. The furniture, the rugs, the lamps, the window treatments, the fixtures, everything was elegant, tasteful, and harmoniously placed. Xander had mentioned once that his mother loved to decorate, if she had any part of this, she was very talented.

“Did your mom decorate this house?”

“Decorated, designed it, you name it, my mom had a hand in it. Some things have been updated and changed out over the years, but my father keeps it as true to her vision as he can. I think it makes him feel like she’s still here in a way.”

 
And she was…Katrine stopped in front of the fireplace. Above the mantle was a very large oil painting of his wife, looking out over the house she’d decorated. It was no wonder his father couldn’t move on. She thought it must be a thin line between preserving someone’s memory and not letting go. They both stood side by side, momentarily transfixed by his mother’s green eyed appraisal.

“And how does it make you feel?”

“The same, it’s comforting.”
 

“And they met when your dad was at Yale?”

“Yes, Mom was attending a small liberal arts college in the area. She worked at a cafe near his campus. He went in for a coffee every day. He doesn’t even like coffee.” He smiled. “The rest, as they say, is history.”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the great room. “Come on. Wait until you see the kitchen. I know you’ll love it.”

He was right. Her jaw was on the floor. Not only was it about 2000 square feet, it was open, bright, and in a word, impressive. The floor was like a checker board in black and white marble. There was a black accent wall, but with the white cabinets and the huge bay window, it didn’t darken the room by any means. The enormous island was white marble with light gray swirling. Above that was a huge stainless steel pot rack. The large triangular steel vent cover jutted out above a six burner stove. Katrine was salivating. The kitchen was always her favorite part of the house and this one was spectacular.

“Oh my, the hanging lights are gorgeous. Oh my god, four ovens! I could do some serious cooking in this place.”