"Sir?" the smarmy waiter questioned as Frank helped Shay into her seat. "What can I get you to drink?"
"Bring us a bottle of Dom Perignon," Frank replied. His eyes never left his wife's and he returned the smile that formed on her face. When the waiter left to get the champagne, he said, "Happy anniversary, baby."
"Happy anniversary, Tiger. I was beginning to think you weren't going to show," she confessed as he seated himself. There were so many things that she had missed – his touch, his eyes, his smile, his beautifully handsome face, but most of all, his presence. It surrounded her and completed her, and she hoped she would never be without it again.
"I'm sorry I was late, Ash. I was held up at airport security," he explained, scooting his chair toward the table.
Shay inched her chair closer to his, noting his playful, sexy smile. He reached under the table and took her hand gently into his, drawing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. "Miss me?" he teased.
"Not in the least, sir," she replied in mock seriousness. When he released her hand to tease the soft flesh just above her knee, she smiled silkily. "Well, there were a few things I missed."
He grinned wickedly as he closed the distance between them and captured her lips in a heated kiss. He felt her hand on his knee, moving slowly upward. The waiter arriving with their champagne broke them apart.
Frank waited patiently while the waiter fussed over them before leaving them to decide on their order. His eyes flashed devilishly as he pulled out what looked like a credit card from his jacket pocket and held it between two fingers. "This is just the start to a wonderful weekend, I'm hoping."
Shay laughed softly seeing the card. A Ritz-Carlton room key. "You're not planning to go home, Agent Donovan?"
Frank lifted a brow and cupped her chin softly with his hand. "I plan on doing all those things you tormented me with over the telephone while I was in Florida," he assured softly.
Shay licked her lips in anticipation. If it would not have appeared rude, she would have snatched that key and dragged him forcibly, if needed, up to that room and had her way with him until he begged for mercy. It had been too long since the last time they had been together, but she was determined to be patient. The anticipation would only make their loving that much more wonderful.
"The kids?" she questioned. She had only asked Cody and Katie to baby-sit for a few hours.
"Dad's got it covered, Ash...it's just you and me. No interruptions. No worries about disturbing anyone," he grinned and winked.
"I pity the guests in the rooms next door," she joked. "But a night alone would be wonderful. A weekend? Heaven!"
"Seems we're in agreement with that," Frank replied mischievously.
--
Rae drummed her fingers impatiently while they waited for the meals they had ordered. The conversation between her and Jules had died off; neither of them could tear their gaze from the table that Nick and his companion sat. Just who was that woman?
The band began to play a slow, romantic piece and the two doctors watched as Nick took the hand of his lady friend and they made their way to the dance floor. "Just another way for him to make body contact in public," Rae muttered.
"Tell me! Did you see them...under the table? They can't keep their hands off each other," Jules agreed. She knew this was tough on Rae, but maybe seeing this other side of Nick would finally get her past this affair she had with the man. "But what happened to Michelle? I can't believe he would bring her along and then ditch her. Why bother having her tag along at all?"
"Who knows? Maybe there's something even more bizarre going on than we're thinking," Rae bit out sarcastically.
--
Frank held Shay's right hand in his left against his chest as she laid her head on his shoulder. Her other hand rested softly on his upper arm, while his spanned the small of her back and pressed her firmly against him as they moved sinuously to the music.
He buried his face into her hair momentarily and breathed deep; she smelled of lavender and sunshine. His Shay would always be the light to his darkness. His sun, his beacon; he could not imagine a life without her and it felt like heaven to hold her within his arms once again.
Shay lifted her head to gaze into his dark eyes. "How're you holding up, Tiger?"
"Let's not talk about anything unpleasant tonight, Ashling. Tonight is for love; tomorrow..." he trailed and kissed her lips softly.
"Tomorrow can wait," she finished when he ended the gentle caress. She brought her hand to his cheek before sliding her fingers into his short hair. "Have I told you how much I love you?" she asked tenderly.
"No," he whispered into her ear. "Tell me." Her touch was almost maddening to him; his need for her growing with intensity as their bodies pressed together while they moved to the music.
Shay smiled lovingly before bringing her lips a mere breath from his. "Mon amour pour vous est un voyage; départ à pour toujours et finissant à jamais."**
Frank's mouth captured hers hungrily upon hearing her declaration of love. Swept up in his love for her, the music forgotten, he reluctantly pulled away when a hearty round of applause sounded in his ears as the music stopped. Before releasing her, he whispered, "I need you, ma vision."
When they reached the table, she quietly excused herself. "Ladies' room," she explained and kissed his cheek lightly before leaving him.
**Mon amour pour vous est un voyage; départ à pour toujours et finissant à jamais = My love for you is a journey...starting at forever, and ending at never (This quote was in a book I found, unfortunately there is no one but "Anonymous" to give the credit to.)
--
Rae and Jules watched in silence as the woman moved past their table. A few spoken words on the dance floor had resulted in one of the most mind-blowing kisses either of them had witnessed.
Rae noted she was headed to the ladies' room. "Have you ever seen anything so..."
"Intense and passionate..."
"Sickening," Rae finished. "Excuse me a minute. I need to make a call." She smiled thinly at Jules and moved from the table and took the path the blonde had just taken.
Upon entering the large outer room, she found the blonde sitting at the vanity touching up her makeup. She was not sure why she had followed her into the ladies' room, but some force compelled her. She felt the need to speak to Nick's latest love interest, felt the need to warn her off.
Rae moved further into the room. Nick was carrying on another affair. Was he insane? Did he just have a thing for the unattainable? Or was it that he enjoyed the chase and the game of breaking down another's marriage? And what of Michelle? She had traveled with him, how could he do this right under her nose?
"Oh, hello," Shay greeted, seeing a woman enter the room. She sensed the woman watching her very intently.
"Stay away from him," Rae threatened with unexpected force.
Shay blinked and gaped at the woman. "Excuse me?" she demanded, turning in her seat toward the brunette. Her odd feeling that this woman had been studying her was not misplaced. However, her startling warning made no sense. Stay away from whom? Frank?
Rae squared her shoulders determinedly. "That man you were dancing with...the one who can't keep his hands to himself. Stay away from him."
Shay shot her an incredulous look. "What are you talking about?" The sudden thought to call 911 and have a padded car sent for this woman popped into her mind.
"Hey! I'm only trying to warn you...he has a thing for married women. Best you steer clear of him before he breaks your heart," Rae cautioned.
Shay grew perplexed by what this stranger was saying; she shook her head trying to clear the confusion. "And you know this about my husband, how?"
"Your...your...hus-husband?" Rae gasped in disbelief. So he was not having an affair with this woman. He was married, unbeknownst to her, and had cheated on his wife, just as she had cheated on her husband. Was still cheating on her with Michelle.
"Last time I checked," Shay snapped. "What the hell is going on here? Who the hell are you?" A million thoughts danced through her head, not the least being that someone had put this demented woman up to this. Daphne Charles, perhaps? No, Frank had warned her off. She would never mess with him again.**
"He...he never told me he was married! All those times we met, he never once said..." she trailed off, her disbelief showed plainly on her face.
Shay shook her head and recapped the lipstick she held in her hand. "Listen, whoever you are, today is my wedding anniversary. You are throwing out some serious accusations and I really don't appreciate it." Tossing the tube of lipstick into her purse, she pushed the chair away from the vanity and stood. "The man you are tossing out these lies about happens to be a fiercely loyal man. You are making one helluva mistake. Think twice before you set out to hurt others. It's not a very attractive quality."
"There's no need to get rude. I'm staying here in the hotel. My name is Dr. Rae Brennan and I work with Nick at the medical center in San Francisco. If you'd like to discuss this, you know where to find me." Rae turned on her heel and left the room.
**See Bed of Lies http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1062681
--
"I was starting to think I needed to send a rescue party," Frank teased when Shay returned to the table. He immediately sensed something was amiss. The sparkle had left her eyes and there was redness to her cheeks not caused by her blush.
Shay shrugged irritably as Frank assisted her into her chair. "I just met the strangest woman and you would not believe what she said to me." After taking a calming, cleansing breath, Shay described the scene that had unfolded in the ladies' room.
"I've been having an affair with whom?" he asked, clearly angered at the accusation. He turned in his seat to check out the woman who was accusing him of cheating on his wife. The woman was a complete stranger to him. "I've never seen her before."
Shay shrugged. They had been through enough tough times in their relationship. She was not ready for another. For some unexplainable reason, she instinctively knew that the accusations against Frank were false and she felt absolutely no threat toward her marriage. "She said she worked with Nick at a Medical Center in San Francisco. Dr. Rae Brennan, she said her name was."
Frank chuckled softly and was not surprised to see Shay gaping at him as if he was from another planet. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a message that was forwarded to him at the hotel he had been staying at in Florida. He handed it to Shay who unfolded it and read it aloud.
"I'm heading to Chicago for a medical conference this weekend. Would love to see you again and finally meet your lovely wife. Nick." Shay glanced up at Frank who could not hide his grin. "What?! Who is this Nick?"
"Nick is a distant cousin," Frank explained. "I haven't seen him in years...he lived in Athens and just recently moved to the states. So much has been going on in our lives, it completely slipped my mind until I received this note."
"I'm looking forward to meeting him," she assured him, smiling brightly. "However, I think this Rae woman is in for the shock of her life when she gets a load of you two together. I'm going on assumption here, but if she thinks you are Nick...the two of you must be identical."
Frank grinned and trailed a finger across her cheek. "In the meantime, mon cadeau, we have plans," he whispered and pulled out the hotel room key. He chuckled when Shay wriggled her eyebrows. She was such a trooper. Even after that odd scene in the ladies' room, she kept her sense of humor. It did not escape him that she never once doubted his loyalty to her. His wife was one of a kind and he was a lucky man to have found her. Although he had planned to wait until they were alone to give her the anniversary gift he had gotten for her, he reached into his pocket and fished out a small box. Flipping it open, he removed the two-carat Marquis cut diamond ring. He heard Shay's surprised gasp when he presented the ring. Taking her left hand in his, he slipped the ring onto her ring finger until it rested against her wedding band.
"Frank," she gasped, delighted. "It's beautiful. Thank you." She leaned toward him until their lips met in a passionate kiss.
Still close enough that their lips were almost touching, he explained, "I never gave you an engagement ring. Something I've always wanted to remedy."
"Oh, darling...you are a very special man and these four years with you have been the best of my life," Shay proclaimed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "I love you...so very much."
"Love you, too, mon cadeau," he assured her as he kissed the sensitive skin beneath her ear. "Will you marry me...again?"
"Any time. Any place." Her eyes locked with his and both knew if they did not leave the table at that moment, the occupants of the restaurant were going to be a party to a shocking floorshow.
***
To be continued...