Waiting for You (13 page)

Instead of dinner on the veranda, Kate told them it would be a jeans and pizza-in–the-living-room kind of night. Karise was grateful for the change; the past few days had left her both exhilarated and exhausted. Comfort food was a good thing.

She had a few hours to kill before dinner and the house project was
in a lull, so Karise used the time to call Devon. She’d resigned herself to leaving a voicemail just as he picked up the phone. The tone of his
hello was enough to tell her all was not well in his world. She set aside
her plans to ask about McAlister’s history in Napa and instead listened
to the latest update on their adoption attempts. Another lead had
gotten Jane’s hopes up only to have them dashed yet again. It seemed
abysmally unfair. If ever two people should have children, it was
Devon and Jane. He sounded comforted when she told him as much.
It was odd to Karise, realizing the great and mighty Devon McAlister
could be unsure of something. She ended the call by wishing them
luck as they prepared for a trip to Guyana – the next stop on their
adoption journey.

The cottage seemed especially quiet after Karise hung up the phone.
Karise got out her sketchpad and began doodling random ideas for Aidan’s
house, allowing each stroke of the pencil to calm the chaos within.

Her heart broke for Devon and Jane. At the same time, she felt
guilty about all the years she’d shut them out. They were good people;
she’d just never given them a chance. In an odd way, she had Aidan
to thank for her newfound relationship with them. If he hadn’t set her
world on its head, she might never have accepted Devon’s outstretched
hand of friendship.

Karise had to wonder why Devon kept trying all those years. Alex
had understandably given up after the first “thanks but no thanks”
from Karise. Not Devon, though. He’d been dogged in his attempts to
connect. Whatever his reasons for persisting with Karise, he’d shown a tenacity that made her confident he’d overcome the hurdles facing their adoption. He wouldn’t give up until they had the family he and Jane were longing for. Karise admired that about him.

Thoughts of her brother’s strength led to Aidan’s strength, and how
similar he was to her own father. Yes, Pablo would approve heartily of
Aidan. If for only a moment, she admitted to herself that she wished the two could meet.

The afternoon slipped by, Karise’s mind wandering down one lazy
trail after another. As if acting of its own accord, a sketch unfolded on
what had started as a blank piece of paper. By the time she was finished,
she’d surprised herself with what she’d created. Now intentional, Karise
rounded out an edge here, added a window there, and even put in a
little garden off the porch. When she was finished, she studied the
drawing, unsure if she’d drawn what Aidan was looking for or her own dream house.

With a frustrated sigh, she closed the book and went to dress for
the evening. It was still a little early by the time she was ready, but she
was tired of her own company, so she decided to amble that direction.

Even with the slow pace, Karise was the first to arrive. Kate greeted
her with an enthusiastic hug, wasting no time before demanding, “Spill
it. I want to know everything.”

Karise couldn’t help laughing at her friend’s enthusiasm, but she
did concede, “It’s possible you were right. There is
something
there
between me and Aidan.”

“Of course
there
is. Now tell me what happened. I know he brought
you home late and picked you up early.”

“Were you watching out the window?”

“Maybe.” Kate was momentarily sheepish.

“You’re terrible.” Karise wasn’t really angry; a part of her appreciated
having a friend who cared this much about her life.

“It’s been almost five years since Aidan’s wife left him, and he
hasn’t looked at one woman in that time, not even an appreciative
second glance. Meeting you has flipped that boy completely on his
head. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s like he was waiting that whole
time for you.”

Karise was taken aback by Kate’s choice of words. Maybe it was coincidence, but they rang very close to the theme of late.

“Come on. Help me get the pizzas in the oven and we’ll talk while
it’s just us girls. Gavin is giving Jonathan his bath, and Joan and Mason
are at a party.”

Karise hadn’t cooked in a very long while. Her life with William
had been mostly takeout. College days had consisted of ramen noodles
and delivered pizza. Still, she was game to give it a try so she rolled up her sleeves and awaited instruction.

Kate put her to work spreading sauce with another demand to
start talking. Karise complied with a small smile. Once she started, the
words just tumbled out. It was shockingly easy to admit to Kate that
it was getting difficult to remember what was holding Karise back. The
more she learned about Aidan, the harder he was to resist.

“So stop resisting,” was Kate’s advice. Her tone implied, “Duh.”

“But two months ago, I was engaged to another man. Doesn’t that
make me fickle?”

“Have we really only known each other two months?” Kate mused.
“It feels like longer than that.”

“Has it even been two months?” Karise began to wonder what the
date was. She’d lost track. “And you didn’t answer my question.”

“That in and of itself doesn’t make you fickle. If you drop Aidan
for some other guy in a couple of months, then yes, we’ll put fickle on
the table.”

“What’s the date?” It was really starting to bother Karise that she couldn’t remember.

Kate checked her phone. “April 26.”

Karise felt like she’d had the wind knocked out of her.

“What?” Kate stopped what she was doing and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Today’s my wedding day. It would have been, anyway.”

“Oh.”

“I attacked Aidan on the day I was supposed to marry William. I’m a horrible person.”

Kate put a hand on Karise’s, looking her in the eye. “You seriously
need to stop looking at yourself in the worst possible light. You kissed
a man you really like – who adores you – on the day that would have
been your wedding to one who treated you like a possession, not a
person. It might not be typical, but it doesn’t make you horrible. When
I was in college, a boy named Peter asked me to marry him. Even
though I was pregnant, I couldn’t bring myself to say yes. I wanted to
be sure that, if we got married, it was for the right reasons. He left me
after I lost the baby. Every time I think about him, I’m thankful I didn’t
jump to the altar.”

“I’m so sorry.” Karise would have never guessed Kate’s story in a
million years. She and Gavin seemed so perfect, as if they’d been made
for each other. She couldn’t imagine either ever being with anyone else.

Kate waved off her friend’s concern. “Thank you, but it’s okay. It hurt then, but that was a million years ago. My point is that most of us make wrong turns in life. I was so afraid to let Gavin in because of
my wrong turns that I almost missed him. Don’t make the same mistake.
Don’t be so busy looking the wrong way down the road that you miss
the right turn coming up.”

Karise nodded, letting Kate’s words sink in.

“And you can stop spreading sauce on that pizza anytime now.”
Kate nodded to the pie Karise had now slathered. “It’s pretty well
covered.”

“Oh crap. Sorry.”

Kate giggled, moving in to save their dinner. “Why don’t you just
pour us a glass of wine and I’ll finish the pizza?”

“I guess I should have mentioned that I don’t cook much.”

“You were just distracted. It’s nothing we can’t fix.”

“Good. Thanks. Which wine do you want?”

“There’s actually an old-vine zinfandel down in the cellar that goes
pretty well with pizza. Could you see if you can find it?”

“Sure,” Karise agreed, albeit warily. She wouldn’t put it past Kate
to be using this errand as an excuse to get Karise out of the room so she could call Aidan. Of course, she could also be getting Karise out
of the room before she destroyed their dinner. Even so, she did as
asked and emerged victorious a few minutes later.

Gavin and Jonathan had joined them in the kitchen, along with their boisterous dog. Ty sat at Gavin’s feet, practically vibrating with
anticipation as Jonathan played with his snack. She greeted both people
warmly and settled in at the table, a safe distance from any cooking
going on. The rumble of Aidan’s truck signaled his arrival, and Karise
couldn’t help sitting up a little straighter and glancing toward the door.
Ty gave the table one last longing look before running to go bark out the front window.

“Speaking as a guy who’s been in Aidan’s shoes, it wouldn’t seem
too eager to go see if he needs help carrying anything in. He’d probably
appreciate a little encouragement right about now.” Gavin didn’t even
look up from handing his son Cheerios.

Karise opened her mouth to chastise Gavin, but she actually
appreciated the insight, so she went with, “Thanks” instead. When she
reached the door, it wasn’t Aidan or even Zoe who greeted her first but
Clyde. He gave her a doggie kiss on her hand with his massive tongue,
his tail wagging with such powerful swings it created a breeze.

“Well hello there.” She knelt down to hug him, receiving a kiss on her cheek for her trouble.

“The silly beast was pining for you after you left,” Aidan offered by way of explanation. “He’s usually pretty aloof with strangers, but I think he’s in love.”

Seeing Aidan again, especially now that she realized what day it
was, gave Karise a sudden burst of shyness. “Love does make you do
crazy things, doesn’t it?” she murmured.

Ty had joined her outside, and the two dogs set about the business
of smelling each other in hello. Karise wasn’t paying attention to them,
though; she was caught in Aidan’s pull.

“Hi, Karise!” Zoe zipped in between the couple. “We brought
Clyde.
Daddy says he’s another victim of your siren song.”

“My siren song?” Karise raised her eyes to meet Aidan’s.

He laughed uncomfortably. “You’re rather hard to resist. I can’t say I blame poor Clyde.”

“I wasn’t supposed to tell her that – was I, Daddy?” Zoe’s giggle said she wasn’t exactly contrite over the error.

“Hey, Zoe, why don’t you take Clyde and Ty inside for me?” Aidan
didn’t answer the question.

“Are you going to kiss?”

“Zoe!”

Karise bit back her amusement.

Aidan waited until they were alone to speak. “Kate told me what today would have been.”

“I knew that’s why she sent me all the way to the cellar for wine.”

“I, uh, I just wanted to let you know,” he paused, rubbing the back
of his neck as he put together his next words. “Well, I guess what I
want to say is that, for what it’s worth, I’m pretty damn thankful we met before April 26.”

Warmth spread through Karise at his words. She thought about it
and realized he was right. “Me, too.”

He studied her for a minute then nodded. “Good.” A heartbeat
later, he stepped forward, cupping her head in his hands as he kissed
her. Her arms instinctively wrapped around him, pulling him closer.
Need shot through her. In that moment, getting closer to him was
more important to her than getting air. When he ended the kiss, she wanted to scream in frustration.

He probably sensed as much, because his next words were an
explanation. “If I don’t stop now, we’re going to do more than kiss in Kate and Gavin’s driveway and I’m not sure they’d be thrilled with us for that one.”

Karise wanted to reassure him that Kate would forgive them. “How do you always do this? How do you always make me forget all common sense?”

He rested his forehead on hers. “I’ve wondered the same about you
on many occasions.”

“I guess we should go in before Zoe tells everyone we’re out here kissing.”

“Oh, she did that the instant she got inside.”

“That’s mortifying.”

“Kate will be thrilled. Gavin, on the other hand, will have a field
day with it,” Aidan predicted. He took Karise’s hand in his own. “Come
on, we’ll face them together.”

Just as Aidan had said, Kate floated through the evening with a happy, knowing glow about her. Gavin didn’t miss a chance to goad
his friend, although he seemed just as happy as his wife to see the pair
together.

Karise was relieved to see Kate had been able to salvage the pizzas
she’d nearly destroyed. The food was good; it didn’t take long for the
table to be cleared. Afterwards, Zoe was more than happy to play with
Jonathan in the living room while the adults chose a board game.

While setting out the pieces, a random giggle escaped Kate and she shook her head.

“What?” Gavin eyed her warily.

“When I first met you two bad boys, I never would have guessed that one day we’d be sitting around a living room playing Cranium while our kids played together.”