Treading Water (15 page)

“
Frannie, I love you. I’ve
always loved you, and I always will. So will you do me the great
honor of being my wife?” From behind his back, he produced a
diamond ring and slipped it on her finger.

She threw her arms around
his neck. “Yes, yes,
yes
!”

Jamie and Frannie’s engagement was the talk
of the town, or so it seemed to Jack. He was thrilled for them and
tried to share in their excitement as they planned a New Year’s Eve
wedding. Jack teased Frannie about “the rock,” but no amount of
teasing could detract from her happiness in finally getting what
she now admitted she’d always wanted.

Jack struggled to hide his inner turmoil and
was determined not to let it affect his girls this time. He’d
respected Andi’s wishes by not calling her since she left, but he
missed everything about her. And while he yearned for her soft skin
and alluring scent, he especially missed their late-night phone
calls.

Somehow he managed to get through the
workweek, not that he accomplished a damned thing. The weekend
stretched out before him desolate and empty after the one he’d
spent with Andi.

A knock on his office door startled him out
of his thoughts. “Come in.”

“
Hello,
darling.”

Surprised to see his mother, Jack got up to
greet her with a hug and kiss. “What’re you doing here?”

Madeline smiled at him. She had white hair
and the same gray eyes as her son. “Does a mother need a reason to
visit her children and grandchildren?”

“
Of course not. The girls
will be thrilled to see you.”

“
Gorgeous day out there.
Got time for a walk on the beach?”

Since the day was a wash anyway, he said,
“Sure.” He told Quinn he was leaving and escorted his mother down
the path to the shore.

They walked along the water’s edge for a
long while in silence.

“
So how about your sister
and Jamie?” Madeline said. “I’m still trying to decide if I saw
this one coming or not.”

Jack laughed. “I’m with
them both all the time, and even
I
didn’t see it coming. But I’m thrilled for them. I
hope you are, too.”

“
Oh, I am, Jack. You know
I’ve always adored Jamie. He’s not exactly tough on the eyes,
either.”

“
Mother!”

“
Well, there may be snow on
the roof—”

“
All right already,” he
said with a grin.

“
So what’s new with
you?”

Suspicious, Jack glanced at her. “What do
you already know?”

“
A mother never reveals her
secrets.”

“
Frannie told you about
Andi.”

“
She said you seemed happy
again for a while, but she’s been worried about you this
week.”

A rush of emotion caught him off guard.
Afraid of the secrets he might be revealing, he looked down at the
wet sand.

His mother squeezed his arm. “Sweetheart?
You want to talk about it?”

“
There’s not much to say.”
His heart ached when he thought of Andi and how hopeless she’d made
their situation seem. “It’s not going to work out.”

“
Why’s that?”

“
We’ve decided it’s too
complicated. She lives a thousand miles away where she has a son, a
job, a life. With the girls in high school and Clare, there’s no
way I can relocate. So what’s the point?”

“
I’m sorry you’ve learned
nothing from all you’ve been through.”

Startled, he stopped to look at her. “What’s
that supposed to mean?”

“
Jack, my darling boy, life
is so short, and when you have a chance to be happy, you have to
take hold of it with both hands and never let go. It doesn’t come
along every day.”

“
She has a great job in
Chicago. Her mother is there, her son’s school. How do I ask her to
give all that up to come here when I can’t promise her a damned
thing? That’s too much to ask of anyone.”

“
It’s more than either of
you has now. The older girls will be in college soon, and Maggie
won’t be far behind them. What’s left for you, then? You’ve got a
lot of years still to live, and I hate the idea of you spending
them alone.”

He held up his left hand where he still wore
Clare’s ring. “What about this?”

“
You have to carve out a
life for yourself without Clare.” Madeline’s eyes filled as she
said the words. “Somehow.”

“
I think I’ve finally
accepted that she’s really gone. For so long, I didn’t believe it,
you know? But now… It’s been such a long time.”

“
I so admire that
despite
everything
you still honor the vows you took with her, but nothing can
change what’s happened.” She took his hand and looked into his
eyes. “
Live
, Jack.
That’s all you can do, my love.”

He remembered Frannie saying almost the same
thing. “I know what I need to do. Thanks, Mom.”

“
Any time, darling. Want to
take your mother sailing this weekend?”

“
I’d love to.” He hugged
her and walked the rest of the way back to the office with his arm
around her shoulders.

Chapter 11

Jack brought Quinn in on his plan, and she
helped with the details. Her contagious excitement helped to dispel
any final doubts he had. With many of the most important people in
his life urging him forward, Jack couldn’t help but be swept
up.

When he got to Chicago, he hoped to meet
with Infinity’s CEO David Johnson to go over the latest set of
plans for the hotel, but not until after he saw Andi. He didn’t
want anyone to spoil his surprise.

Late on Monday afternoon, Jack cut through
their shared bathroom to Jamie’s office. “Are you busy?”

Jamie waved him in. “Not at the moment. Come
in.”

“
Quinn told you I’ll be in
Chicago for a few days?”

“
She did, but I didn’t
think we were due to meet with them again for another month or
two.”

“
I’m going to see Andi, and
you know it.”

Jamie grinned. “So what’s the strategy when
you get there?”

“
I have some tricks up my
sleeve. I’ve learned a few things from watching you in action over
the years.”

“
Oh, to be a fly on the
wall…” Jamie laughed. “You’ve been off the market a long time.
You’re aware a few things have changed, right?”

“
Spare me the details,
killer. Don’t forget you’re engaged to my sister. I don’t want to
hear about your ‘moves.’ I’ll stick to my own plan, thank you very
much.”

“
So what changed? I thought
you guys had decided to cool it.”

“
Would you believe I
listened to my mother? She basically said I’d be a fool to let Andi
go.”

“
I’ve always loved
Madeline’s voice of reason. You seem a little better
lately.”

“
Maybe,” Jack said with a
shrug, “but I wouldn’t want anyone to think I’ve forgotten Clare or
left her behind or anything.”

Jamie got up and came around the desk to
lean against it. “No one who knows what you’ve been through would
ever think that, Jack.”

Jack nodded, overwhelmed by Jamie’s
unwavering support. “Do you know what I wonder about
sometimes?”

“
What’s that?”

“
This thing with Andi
happened so fast, you know? It was like being hit by lightning or
something. I wonder what I would’ve felt for her if Clare had never
gotten hurt. I still would’ve met Andi…”

“
You were the most solidly
married person I ever knew. You might’ve had a few thoughts about
Andi, but you
never
would’ve acted on them.”

“
That’s what I hoped you’d
say,” Jack said, relieved. “You know what I think about a lot? That
putt. Remember?”

Jamie chuckled. “Yeah.”

Standing, Jack said, “The last moment of
normal life.”

“
Before you go, there’s a
favor I need to ask of you.”

“
Sure,
anything.”

“
Will you be my best
man?”

“
Of course I will.” Jack
stood to hug Jamie. “I’d love to.”

“
I know it’s got to be kind
of weird for you—me marrying your sister after all these
years.”

“
It’s terrific, and Clare
would’ve loved it, too.”

“
Especially after all her
failed matchmaking efforts on my behalf—and Frannie’s.” Jamie
smiled. “I’m sorry she won’t be able to share it with
us.”

“
So am I. Have you told
your parents yet?”

“
I asked them to come up
this week without telling them why. I wanted to give them the news
in person, and I can’t get away right now.”

“
I’m sure they’ll be
thrilled. Make sure they see the girls, will you?”

“
As if my mother would be
here and not see them.” He checked his watch. “I need to get out of
here and meet Frannie. Have a good trip. I hope you get whatever it
is you want.”

“
Thanks. I guess I’ve gotta
get busy planning a bachelor party.” Jack stroked his chin,
feigning deep thought. “I wonder if that stripper you had at mine
is still in the business.”

Jamie blanched. “Don’t
you
dare
!”

Hired sight unseen, the woman had been old
enough back then to be their mother. With a shudder and a laugh,
Jack went to his office to clear off his desk.

Jack flew to Chicago early the next morning,
unsure of how he would be received but prepared to do battle—if
that’s what it took—to keep Andi in his life. On his way into the
city in the limo Quinn had hired for him, all he could think about
was seeing Andi again.

He checked into a suite at the Infinity
flagship property. In the lavish lobby as well as the suite, he got
an impressive first glimpse at Andi’s work. The hotel was gorgeous,
among the nicest he’d ever seen, and he knew the Newport property
would be equally amazing.

His fifteenth floor suite overlooked Lake
Michigan, and he took a few minutes to appreciate the view and calm
his nerves before he rode the elevator to the top-floor executive
suite. He wore tan dress pants, a navy blue cashmere blazer with a
light blue silk shirt, and Italian wingtips. When he got to the top
floor, he asked for Andi at reception. They sent him down a long
hallway to a large corner office.

Andi’s assistant, Jen Brooks, looked up from
her desk to greet him. Quinn had let her know he was coming.

He asked if Andi was in, but when Jen
reached for her phone, he held up a hand to stop her. Gesturing
toward the closed door, he asked, “May I?”

“
Of course.” With an
intrigued look on her face, she waved him in.

Andi’s large office had a marvelous view of
Lake Michigan as well as Chicago’s famous Lake Shore Drive.

She sat with her back to the door, looking
out at the lake. “What is it, Jen?”

“
It’s not Jen.”

She swiveled around, her face slack with
shock. “What’re you doing here?”

“
I couldn’t stay
away.”

She stood up and circled the desk. “I
thought we agreed…”

Jack took in her cranberry-colored suit and
heels so high she almost met him eye to eye.

“
Wow, look at you,” she
sighed, her gaze skipping over him.

“
Look at
you
.” It was all he could
to resist the urge to haul her into his arms and show her just how
much he’d missed her.

“
What’re you doing here,
Jack?”

“
Let me quote someone near
and dear to me: life is short. When you have the chance to be
happy, you have to go for it.”

“
But nothing’s changed.
We’re setting ourselves up for so much pain. I can’t,” she
whispered, shaking her head. “I just
can’t
.”

Unable to wait another
second to touch her, he closed the distance between them and took
her in his arms. “And I can’t let you go. I can’t forget about you
and what we have together. Somehow we’ll figure it out. I love you,
Andi.” He kissed her. “I
love
you.”

Her resolve seemed to melt away as she put
her arms around him.

When he felt her surrender, he kissed her
again, weak with relief that part one of his plan had succeeded
brilliantly.

Andi got home two hours
before Jack was due to pick her up. He hadn’t said where they were
going, just that she needed to get dressed up.
What’ll I wear?

Her mother, Betty, wiped her hands on a
dishtowel as she came out to greet Andi. “Hi, honey.”

Andi rushed by with a quick kiss to her
mother’s cheek. “Hi, Mom. Would you mind watching Eric tonight? A
friend of mine is in town unexpectedly, and he’s invited me to
dinner.”

“
Must be a pretty good
friend.”

Andi stopped short. “Why do you say
that?”

Betty nodded to the front hall table.
“Look.”

Andi turned to find a huge box from Sak’s
Fifth Avenue sitting on the table. She gasped, and her hand shot up
to cover her mouth. “What is it?”

“
I don’t know, honey. It
didn’t have my name on it.” Betty laughed when Andi approached the
box as if it might be filled with explosives.