Unbreakable (Unrestrained 4)

“You look delicious as well, and I can see why they call you Doctor Delish,” I said and eyed him up and down.

He laughed out loud at that. “Here at Morgan Enterprises, we aim to please,” he said with a grin. Then he held out his hand to me. “Let’s go.”

The rehearsal went off without a hitch and since our ceremony was so simple, and involved no church or priest, it was pretty much a walk through the process and then we were done. It was good to meet our officiant, Steve McLean, a justice of the peace who worked in my father’s offices back when he was on the Supreme Court of New York. Elaine had already arranged the furniture so that there were two rows of chairs for those who were taking part in the wedding. Heath and his family, Dave Mills, the O’Rileys, and members of Mersey and their families. All told about eighteen people.

I had said to Elaine that I didn’t want anything too elaborate or for her to go to too much trouble, but she insisted on chairs covered in fabric with big bows on them, lots of fresh flowers, and Heath’s son Ian was going to be our ring bearer.

Everyone who was going to be taking part was scheduled to arrive for dinner and drinks, so once the rehearsal was over and we all went through our paces, we had a meal together. Drake sat beside me and kept my hand in his most of the time, except when we had to actually eat our food. When we had to separate our hands, he shimmied his chair closer so that our knees and thighs touched and it put a smile on my face that he wanted to keep in contact.

When we were finished, and after having tea and coffee in the living room, we said goodbye to everyone and went back to the apartment. Before we could leave, my father stopped me at the door.

“You’re not staying here tonight?” He sat in his wheelchair in the front entrance and turned to Drake, winking.

“No, daddy,” I said and smiled. “Drake insisted that I stay at the apartment with him.”

“I said I never wanted to be separated from Kate again,” Drake said defensively, “and I meant it.”

“Good man,” my father said and nodded. “It’s a wise goal to have even though it’s sometimes hard to keep. You never know when someone might be taken from you. Cherish each other.”

“We will,” Drake said and shook my father’s good hand. “Good night, sir.”

“Please, Drake, call me dad, or father. Whatever feels right to you. I feel like I’ve been kind of a second father to you since your own died. I’d consider it a privilege to have you call me father.”

“I’ll try,” Drake said and smiled. “But I can’t promise I won’t lapse into Judge now and then.”

Then I kissed my father on the cheek and Elaine as well, and we left.

In the car on the way home, Drake took my hand and kissed my knuckles.

“I feel like I finally have a real family,” he said.

“Poor Drake.” I thought of him growing up without a mother and an absent father, a succession of nannies to look after him instead of real family. “You really do want a family and all its trappings.”

“All of them,” he said with a nod. “Every single one. Father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, nephews and nieces, Christmas dinner around a huge table, holidays spent together… I want our children to have your life, not mine. I won’t be my father, Kate. I promise that.” I nodded, looking in his eyes when we were stopped at a traffic light. He kissed my knuckles once more and then we drove off through the busy Manhattan streets on a Friday night, back to our apartment

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CHAPTER ELEVEN

Drake

Once we arrived at the apartment, I stopped Kate and made her wait outside the door.

“I’ll be right back. Don’t come in yet.”

I slipped in and went to my bedroom closet to remove the blindfold I’d used many times with Kate during our scenes. Tonight, I’d use it to allay her superstitious fears that if we saw each other before the wedding, we’d have bad luck.

I returned and stood outside with her, the black blindfold in my hand.

“I’m doing this for you,” I said. “For your peace of mind, but I’m doing it under protest that it’s all a bunch of malarkey.”

Then I tied the blindfold around Kate’s eyes.

“Malarkey?” she said, smiling, touching the blindfold to make sure it had proper coverage. “It’s been a tradition for hundreds of years. There must be something behind it.”

“I already voiced my opinion about the purpose of the whole business,” I said and led her into the apartment. “I’ll tell you what’s behind it. It has nothing to do with luck and everything to do with arranged marriages where the groom and bride never laid eyes on each other. We’ve laid more than eyes on each other, so it really doesn’t apply. But seeing you like that,” I said and held her at arm’s length, looking her over from head to toe, “I am getting all kinds of ideas…”

She grinned. “You always have great ideas.”