Unforgettable (13 page)

Breezy couldn’t think of a single thing to say to him. She just stared open mouthed at his gorgeous face. He looked so big and strong and devastatingly handsome in that costume. God, she hoped it was a costume because her thoughts right now were anything but pure and angelic. Completely captivated by his beautiful, deep chocolate brown eyes, she noticed the small sympathetic smile cross his face.

“Would you two go wash up before you ruin your costumes?” Susan demanded playfully. “Tom and I will clean this up.” Breezy’s reaction had exceeded her expectations and she was beaming inside at the results of her cunning and successful plan.

“I’m so sorry, Susan. I’ve ruined the cookies and probably dented your grandmother’s silver platter. I’m such a klutz!”

“Don’t be silly, Breezy. The tray is fine and we still have dozens of cookies. Besides, it’s more my fault than anyone else’s. Now get cleaned up and find someplace quiet to talk. Patrick, would you mind explaining all this to Breezy for me; you know, how you came to be here tonight and everything?” Susan asked. Patrick nodded he would, his eyes and hands never leaving Breezy.

“I didn’t mean to scare you, Brittany. I just wanted this to be a surprise,” Patrick apologized as they washed the icing from their hands. So caught up in staring at each other, they never noticed the mess of water and black icing they were leaving all over the kitchen sink.

“Oh, you certainly did surprise me. To find you here at all just blew my mind, but to see you standing there dressed like an angel? For a moment, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven, again!” Breezy replied, still somewhat shaken.

“Well, the angel costume was Susan’s idea. She talked me into it last night after dinner. Don’t even ask me how,” Patrick explained as he dried his hands.

“That’s what I thought and I plan to thank her properly later, in private,” Breezy said, giving Susan the stink eye over her shoulder. Patrick laughed at her expression. No doubt Susan was in deep trouble for this, but he didn’t regret it and he doubted Susan did either

“Please don’t be too hard on her,” he implored, handing her a clean towel. “She meant well and besides, weren’t you the one who said angels should have wings?” Patrick asked, flapping his wings the way Susan had shown him.

“It’s a good thing you didn’t do that a minute ago or I probably would have fainted,” Breezy smiled. She was relieved to be able to speak coherently after being nearly catatonic moments earlier. She had to admit though, dressed as an angel or not, his inhumanly good looks would have elicited the same reaction from her. He was absolutely breathtaking. She couldn’t count how many times she had already had to remind herself to breathe.

“Is there somewhere quiet we can go to talk for a while?” Patrick asked. Several people had gathered in the kitchen and he wanted to be alone with her, right now. Breezy lead him into a large walk-in pantry, turned on the light and pulled the door nearly closed.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t find a more suitable place but you may have noticed we have a full house at the moment,” Breezy apologized.

“This is fine. At least we can talk privately in here,” Patrick replied. The room was quiet but it put them in close proximity, which was absolutely fine with Patrick.

“Why did Susan call you Patrick? I thought your name was Sean?” Breezy began questioning.

Patrick explained the whole story, starting with the confusion about his name and ending with his presence at the party. He left out the part about having eavesdropped on her phone conversation with Susan the night before. He figured Susan was in enough trouble as it was.

“Susan told me you assumed I was an angel when you passed out so she thought it would be a nice surprise if I wore this tonight when I met you in person. So, thanks to Susan, here I am, dressed like an angel of all things, finally talking to you,” he finished.

“Yes, well I must remember to thank my dearest friend for her thoughtfulness!” Breezy said, unable to conceal her evil intentions towards Susan. Deeply amused at her kittenish fierceness, Patrick fought to keep a straight face.

“I’m sorry I acted so silly. It was just such a shock,” Breezy said. Her eyes took in the costume and the extremely handsome man wearing it. Patrick had lost most of his summer tan, but the snowy white linen still set off his complexion while the deep burgundy sash accentuated his black hair. Dear God, his hair! How could anyone have such a disheveled mass of hair and still manage to look stunning? It was wildly out of control but she had no desire to tame it - she just wanted to run her fingers through it. Her fuzzy memory of him had not done him justice and seeing him standing here now, so real and larger than life, she knew this was a face she would never forget. His every feature was branded into her mind’s eye forever. Those rich, warm brown eyes would tempt her in her dreams. His long elegant fingers and large, but graceful hands would haunt her waking hours while those pouty lips would surely be her undoing. No, Patrick Day was not a man anyone would ever forget, especially not Breezy.

“You don’t have to apologize, Breezy. I’m the one who should be sorry, and I am sorry. It was never my intention to upset you. I guess seeing me dressed this way is partly to blame. By the way, Susan also told me you’ve been looking for me since that day in the parking lot. I did hear your dedication on the radio, but I was rushing to the airport and there just wasn’t time to call you. Once I had landed, I had several urgent business meetings to attend. So, by the time I arrived for dinner with Tom and Susan last night, it was too late to contact you. That’s when Susan came up with her brilliant plan to surprise you,” Patrick explained.

He wasn’t sure what more to say to her or what he expected her to say back but, as long as he could stand there and look at her, he didn’t care if they talked about the weather or the Easter Bunny. Her voice was as soothing as a lullaby while her dancing blue eyes completely captivated him. He longed to take her in his arms and comfort her, but fought the urge to reach out and touch her. Hadn’t Susan described her as the last of a dying breed - a true lady? Yes, he could well imagine Breezy Spring as a lady of the Old South, before the Civil War. She was kind, genteel, feminine, well-mannered and honorable. But, underneath it all she possessed a quiet strength, fierceness and steadfastness. He’d never known anyone like her.

The women of his world had lost much to become today’s modern business women. He had nothing against women in business, and certainly nothing against equal treatment and equal pay for doing the same job as a man. In his opinion, they worked harder, faster and better than most of the men he knew. But, somewhere along the way, they’d given up all the gracious things that set them apart from men. Well, most of them anyway.

The men were just as bad though, himself included. They had forgotten how to be gentlemen, eschewing such virtues as dignity, honor and chivalry. The world he lived in was riddled with hate, greed and ruthlessness, among other unsavory characteristics.

As he stood listening to Breezy, watching her every move, discovering her every expression, he felt ashamed of just how ruthless and arrogant he’d become over the years. All at once, he finally understood exactly what Liam had been trying to tell him.

“Yes, I had to find you to thank you for saving my life. You did save my life, you know? The doctor said I would have suffered heat stroke and partial paralysis if I hadn’t been brought in sooner. I might actually have died had you not been there. I owe you my life, Mr. Day, and that’s a debt I’ll gladly spend the rest of my life trying to repay. Because of you, my whole future lies before me like the blank pages of a book and all I have to do is fill it with worthwhile memories, words and deeds. So thank you, Sean Patrick Day, for being my guardian angel,” Breezy said, her eyes shimmering with sincerity. Standing on her tip toes, she put her arms around his neck, kissed his cheek and hugged him close. She would have put her arms around his waist but the huge feathered wings prevented it. He was so tall, even with her high-heeled slippers, she had to stretch to reach his cheek.

Patrick was so surprised by her gentle hug, tender kiss and heartfelt words he didn’t quite know what to do. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist as much to steady her as to return the hug. He couldn’t explain it but he felt a closeness, a bond he’d never felt with anyone before. The old Patrick would never have tolerated such a public display of affection.

The entire length of her body was pressed firmly against him and he felt more warm and alive than he had ever been. It was as though he had never lived but only existed until this moment. A welling of emotion spread throughout his entire being. Patrick tightened his arms around her, savoring the warmth and feel of her small frame against his hard body. He could smell her perfume and the clean scent of her shampoo. He didn’t want to let go of her, afraid that when he did, this extraordinary feeling would go away. But even as Breezy pulled away from him, he could still feel it and he knew something had changed. He was different now and always would be, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t and wouldn’t fight it.

Breezy felt the same stirrings all though her body, attested by the trembling of her hands and legs. Before she lost her nerve, and before Patrick could say anything, she went on with the things she still wanted to say to him. But her voice shook at the unexpected reaction to the warmth of his large hands splayed across her back and waist and the strength of his arms as he held her so gently.

“I…I also wanted to thank you for everything else you’ve done for me, including the work you had done to my car. It wasn’t necessary, the parts were already ordered. The flowers, balloons and water globe were all beautiful. Even the songs were beautiful and they mean a lot to me, even now. However, they were all unnecessary. I’d like to reimburse you for them, if I may.” She hoped he would accept her offer. She owed him so much already.

“You most certainly will not!” Patrick exclaimed indignantly. “I gave you those things to wish you well and because I wanted you to have them. I won’t accept payment for any of it. You wouldn’t pay Susan for giving you a gift, now would you? Of course not! And I won’t allow you to pay me either!”

“I owe you my life, Mr. Day, and while I hope never to have to reciprocate in kind, you must allow me to pay for the work you had done to my car. You shouldn’t have spent so much money on me at all, but the car was my responsibility,” Breezy insisted. He just didn’t understand that letting anyone, especially him, pay her way made her uncomfortable. She could take care of herself. She’d owed people before and because she felt she owed them, they’d taken advantage of her. She had no intention of becoming indebted to anyone ever again. Even if he expected nothing from her, she would always feel indebted to him unless he accepted payment for the repairs to her car.

Patrick thought her offer was the silliest thing he’d ever heard. No one had ever willingly given him money for anything. They were usually asking him for it, or trying to get him to invest in some hair-brained scheme or other. Hell, he was a multimillionaire, practically a billionaire, for God’s sake! Offering to pay the two hundred and fifty dollars he’d spent on her car was like offering him a quarter. It was ridiculous. Didn’t she know who he was? Wait a minute! Maybe she didn’t. Maybe she had absolutely no idea who he was, just as Susan had said. The construction signs weren’t up at the building site yet, so maybe she hadn’t put two and two together. To her, he was just some guy who’d recently moved here to start a small business venture; a stranger who’d saved her life and spent what she thought was a lot of money on her. How wonderfully refreshing! For the first time in his life, he was just a plain old average Joe. This sweet woman was worried he’d spent too much of his hard earned money on her. Still, he’d sent those gifts and repaired her car because…well, because he cared. Yes damn it, he did care! He was downright insulted she wanted to pay him for the first act of kindness he had shown anyone in years!

“No, you will not pay me back. I will not accept your money and I won’t hear another word about it!” he said firmly.

“All right, Mr. Day. If you won’t accept the money I will have to find some other way to repay you,” Breezy told him.

Before Patrick could ask what she meant, the pantry door opened and a 4-year-old girl stepped in dressed as a pink bunny, wisps of light auburn hair peeking out from under the furry hood of her costume.

“Bweezy!” she said, in a tiny voice. The little girl tugged on Breezy’s gingham skirt with her furry little fist and looked up at her. Breezy bent down to the child’s eye level and smiled.

“What is it, Sarah?” Breezy asked gently. Sarah took a careful step closer and peered sideways up at Patrick, fascination and a little fear evident on her sweet face. She turned her attention back to Breezy, warily keeping an eye on Patrick.

“Is him a weal angel?” she whispered, loud enough that Patrick couldn’t help but hear her. He covered his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing and waited anxiously for Breezy’s reply. Breezy looked up at him with warm, glowing eyes.

“Well, no Sarah, but I like to pretend he is. He’ll always be an angel to me,” Breezy told her, a little embarrassed at Patrick’s intent gaze.

“Is him gunna fwy away?” the child asked in that same loud whisper. Patrick found the child’s lisp adorable. Before Breezy could answer, Patrick made his wings flap slowly. Sarah squeaked and half hid behind Breezy’s skirt, now more fascinated than frightened.

“No, honey, I don’t think so. We’ll just have to find a way to convince him to stay, won’t we,” Breezy replied, looking at Patrick as she answered the child’s question. “Was there something else you needed, Sarah?”

“Susan said ta tum fine you. It’s time ta pway games! Ever body is here. Tum on!” she insisted, grabbing Breezy’s hand and tugging her towards the pantry door. Breezy looked over her shoulder at Patrick, giving him a helpless, apologetic smile as the child began to pull on her arm.

“You’ll have to excuse me, Mr. Day. I’m co-hosting this party and duty calls. Can we continue our talk later?” she asked, allowing the child to pull her slowly away from him.