Twelve

Paige hadn’t spoken to Reed since they’d seen his grandmother off earlier today. He had taken his things with him when he’d left her apartment. She’d hoped he would call, but inside, she’d known he wouldn’t. She could still hear Grandma Lewis’s words in her ears.

“It’s your turn,” she’d said, and then she’d rushed to the gate to board the plane.

Paige had wanted to ask her what she’d meant, but she hadn’t had time. Reed had escorted her out of the airport and driven her back to her apartment. They hadn’t talked much. In fact, he’d said only a few words.

He’d dropped her outside her apartment and driven off, with not so much as an “I’ll call you later.”

She began to wonder if all the things he’d said had been part of his plan for Grandma Lewis, but she quickly discarded that thought. No, Reed had explicitly said that his feelings for her were real. By God, he’d said that he was in love with her. Was she in love with him?

She heard her father enter the room. He looked suitably contrite about the fiasco with Dexter this morning. He’d tried to make up for it by being especially nice to Grandma Lewis before she’d left. That helped, but it didn’t make things right between them.

“Would you like to go out for dinner, Princess?” he asked. 

Princess . . . he’d called her that for as long as she could remember. To him, she was still a little girl. “Not tonight, Daddy. You should be getting back for Mom’s party.”

Her father sat down next to her. “I don’t think she wants me there.”

Paige was surprised by the moist brightness in her father’s eyes. “That’s silly. Why would you think something like that?”

Her father dropped his gaze to his hands. “I told her what happened over breakfast this morning. She thinks I was wrong.”

This was a first. Her mother always supported her father. That was the one thing she could count on growing up. They’d always presented a united front. She was glad her mother had chosen to break rank this time. “What do you think?”

He looked up at her and the unshed tears in his eyes almost made her forgive him. Almost. She forced herself to wait for his answer.

“I love you, Paige,” he began. “I want you to be happy.”

She knew this was hard for him, and it touched her heart that he was making the effort for her. “Reed makes me happy. I love him, Daddy.” The words came out unplanned. But they were true. It was what she felt in her heart. She loved Reed.

Her father laughed before wiping the lone tear that fell from his eyes. “I was afraid you’d say that.”

She dropped down on her knees in front of him and pulled his hands into hers. “Why do you dislike him so much, Daddy? Reed’s a good man. He’ll make me happy, and I’ll make him happy. Why can’t you see that?”

Her father rubbed her hands with his. “I remember the first time I met him.” He chuckled. “I didn’t like him then.” 

“What did he do, Daddy?”

“Princess, it wasn’t what he did. It was who he was.” 

Paige didn’t understand. “Who he was?”

Her father dropped her hands and stood. “It’s a man thing. I knew from the minute I met him that he played by his own rules, that he wasn’t a man to follow the dictates of others. Reed makes his own rules.”

Paige’s heart beat faster. “But that’s a good thing, Daddy. Aren’t you like that?”

He laughed a real laugh then, “That was the problem. We were too much alike. With him in your life, you wouldn’t need me. I didn’t want to lose you.”

Paige sat back on her heels. “You won’t lose me. You didn’t think you were losing me when I was marrying Dexter. Why do you think it with Reed?”

Her father placed his hands in his pockets. “I’m ashamed to admit this, but Dexter’s not a very strong man. He’d do what I wanted him to. He’d make you happy, or by God, I’d make him make you happy. Reed is more of an unknown.”

Paige smiled, finally believing that this whole mess would have a happy ending. “What you see in Reed is passion, Daddy. Dexter doesn’t have that. And I need it.”

Her father turned his back to her. “Am I going to lose you, Princess?”

She walked up behind him and rested her head on his back. “You’re not going to lose me,” she repeated. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m just getting married. At least, I hope I am.”

“Oh, he’ll marry you, all right. The man won’t give up.”

Paige hoped that was true, but if it was, why wasn’t Reed by her side now?

~ ~ ~

It was almost midnight. In less than ten minutes the new year would ring in. Everybody was celebrating . . . everybody but him. What was he doing? He was sitting alone in his apartment, wondering if the woman he loved was thinking about him as she rang in the New Year with her ex-fiancé.

He hoped she wasn’t with Fine, but where else would she be? He’d thought about getting dressed, getting a date, and showing up at the party to spite her, but that seemed such a juvenile thing to do. He was beyond that. He wanted a serious relationship with Paige. He’d laid his cards on the table. The next play was hers.

Reed got up and turned on the television. If he wasn’t going to be a part of the action, he could at least be a spectator. He flopped down on his well-worn brown plaid sofa and stared at the screen. All he saw was Paige’s face.

When the doorbell rang, he debated opening it. Who would be visiting on New Year’s Eve? Probably some partygoer looking for an address.

Paige was standing in the doorway when he opened it. She was dressed in her trenchcoat and house shoes. A part of his brain registered the shoes, but that thought was overcome by the fact that she was at his door and not out with Dexter. He stared at her.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” she asked. Did he detect uncertainty in her voice?

He stood back and she sauntered into the room, taking a seat on the sofa. “What are you watching?” she asked.

He couldn’t remember. All his thoughts were of her and what her presence meant. Did he dare hope it meant what he wanted it to?

When he didn’t answer, she looked up at him and he saw the question in her eyes. “Is this a bad time?”

Hell, no, he thought. “No,” he said. “What are you doing here, Paige?” He was tired of games. He needed to know how she felt. He needed to know what she wanted from him.

“You promised to spend New Year’s Eve with me, remember?”

He remembered. He also remembered that it was supposed to be a double date. “Where’s Fine?”

She fixed her eyes on him. “Dexter’s history.”

He wanted to pull her into his arms, but he forced himself to wait. “I don’t have a date, either. So I guess that means a double date is out, then.”

She smiled. “Like you said, three’s a crowd. I guess it’s just you and me.”

Reed pointed to the television screen. “And Times Square.”

“They don’t count. It’s just you and me, Reed. Nobody else counts,”

He understood she was telling him that her father was no longer a factor in the equation. “Are you sure?” he asked, fearful to let hope fill his heart, only to have it dashed at some later time.

Paige stood and wrapped her arms around his waist. The bulkiness of her coat was a barrier he wanted removed. “I love you, Reed Lewis,” she said into his eyes.

His heart felt as though it would explode. “You do?”

“I do.”

Reed pulled at the sash of her coat. “Then why don’t you take this coat off so we can ring in the new year the right way?”

Paige grinned at him and he felt all his insecurities fade away. “I’ll take it off at midnight,” she said.

“I can’t wait that long.”

She moved a step back from him. “Look at the television, Reed. Ten—nine—eight—”

Reed watched as she undid button after button with her countdown. When she reached one, the coat dropped from her shoulders to the floor.

Hot damn! he thought. She was wearing the granny gown.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~