Unbreakable (Unrestrained 4)

“Me either,” Drake said, and wrapped his own bathrobe around him. He caught my eye in the mirror and he looked as bleary eyed as I did. Then we both brushed our teeth and I slipped on my nightgown and crawled into bed after Drake.

He was naked, of course, and I almost thought about making love before we fell asleep, but not quite. He pulled me into his arms and kissed me and then I rolled over. He spooned against me.

I fell asleep practically the moment my head hit the pillow.

The next week was a blur of recovering at the Park Avenue apartment, my trips to Columbia to register and meet with my advisor, then moving our stuff to Drake’s Chelsea apartment and settling in there. As for Drake, he was just as busy, getting settled back into his office at NYP and then meeting with people at New York University where he was doing his Fellowship in Pediatric Neurosurgery.

I barely had time to think, let alone waste time. On top of it all, I went with my father to a couple of his rehab sessions in Elaine’s place so she could do some personal business, and visit with some friends that she had been kept from because she’d been so busy with my father. I was happy to do it, since she had been so good to my father and had worked with him tirelessly to get him back into shape.

It was late one Friday night in the second week we were back, after a particularly busy day with me on campus doing research and Drake at NYU getting orientation to the program there, that Drake and I finally sat down together after dinner and did absolutely nothing.

“Ms. Bennet, I’m going to rub your feet and vegetate tonight.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I said and sighed when he picked up one of my feet and removed my sock, before rubbing the sole and heel.

“I never did ask you how your practice session went with the band,” I said while he worked away on my foot.

“Great. Like old times. We’ve been playing the same music for so long, even six months away and it’s all still up here,” he said and pointed to his head. “We have a practice gig at O’Riley’s tomorrow night. Mrs. O wants you to come for Sunday dinner and they’ll be sad if you say no.”

“Do you want to go?” I asked lightly, trying not to sound too eager in case Drake wanted to take it slow with the food touching.

“It’s going to happen sooner than later. I’m more worried about you having to face the inquisition. You’ll be the first woman they’ve met so naturally, you’ll be an object of significant interest.” Drake grinned at me while he massaged my foot.

“I’ll be happy to go. The O’Rileys sound like your second family.””

“Good,” he said and patted my other foot, indicating I should offer it up for a massage. “When they see you, they’ll be so incredibly jealous and happy for me that I got such a pretty young thing.”

I smiled and imagined the family fawning over me, smiling and winking at Drake. I must be a curiosity if I was the first woman Drake brought around since his divorce.

If it made Drake happy to take me to Sunday dinner, I wanted to go. Besides, I was damn curious about Ken and the family.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Drake

I woke early and left Kate snuggled up in the blankets, her head almost under the covers and went to the bathroom for a quick shower. When I finished and stood drying off, I watched Kate sleep and wondered how she’d do that night. She’d be under unabashed scrutiny, with the whole family watching her every move, wanting to talk to her, tease her and extract information about me from her.

Kate was an introvert who was a deep thinker and on the serious side. I hoped Ken and his siblings would pick up on that and not give her too hard of a ride. Mrs. O would treat her like a member of the family, hugging her, kissing her and generally welcoming her with open arms. Sarah would welcome her like a sister.

I hoped Ken and Colin went easy on her. If not, I’d step in and straighten them out. I felt incredibly protective of Kate. She was resilient but sensitive. I didn’t want her to feel overwhelmed by the attention but at the same time, I had always looked on the family dinners with envy, secretly longing for the day that I’d be there for dinner with my wife instead of the lone bachelor. Of course, I could have brought women to the O'Riley family dinners, but until Kate, I had never loved any of the women in my life. I’d never wanted to bring anyone there with me.

I wanted to do everything with Kate, take her everywhere. I wanted everyone to know she was mine.

I went to the kitchen and made coffee, then poured myself a bowl of granola and milk. While I stood at the kitchen window and looked out over the street below, I thought about my meeting on Monday with the head of the Pediatric Neurosurgery program at New York University, where I was doing a Fellowship. I was going to check with Fred Parker to get started on the research side of my Fellowship. I was excited about the program, where I’d be overseeing neurosurgery residents, doing surgeries and conducting original research. It would be a great year.

I had decided to meet Dave Mills for an early game of racquetball, and afterwards we'd go over some details regarding the foundation and funding for the Fall over coffee, and so I left Kate in bed. I leaned over her and pushed her hair off her forehead, kissing her gently.

She wriggled down into the blankets and smiled. “Mmm,” she said and cracked open her eyes. “Are you already dressed?”

“Going to meet Dave for a game of racquetball.”

She frowned. “Oh, that’s right. I forgot.” Then she snuggled deeper into the covers. “Have a great time and say hello from me.”

I stuffed my shorts and t-shirt into my gym bag. Kate watched me from the bed.

When I was done, I stopped and frowned, wondering if I should ask Dave about Kurt and Dawn.

“What is it?” Kate asked.