Drew had a capable office manager handling things in his absence since he planned to spend his time between Phoenix, New York, and Paris. Eden looked forward to her time off when she could ride shotgun in his rig again. He had called his family in Charlotte to share the good news, and she had called Mark, Sophie, and Amélie. Her agent had had mixed feelings about giving Drew her address and was glad things had worked out so well for them. They had surprised Renard with the news when he called later. Only, he hadn’t been surprised. He said it hadn’t been hard to see that Drew had been a man on a mission when he’d arrived on her doorstep.
“Are you happy, sweetheart?” he asked his fiancée.
“Enormously. Are you?” she asked.
He grinned broadly. “I’ve never been happier. Thank you for giving me another chance.”
She reached up and cupped his chin. “Thank you for wanting to take that chance with me, Drew. Sophie told me that Dad tried to destroy your company, but a friend of your family came to your rescue.”
“Yes, they did. Valerie and Ivory Axlewood.”
“How do you know them?” she asked.
Remembering what Valerie had told him —that she and Ivory had no secrets —he decided to be honest with Eden. She knew about his womanizing past, so she might as well hear about all of it. It was the best way to start their life together. “I knew Valerie before I knew Ivory.”
He then told her everything, how he and Valerie had met, their cougar/cub relationship for a year and a half, and how they ended things when she met Ivory. He told her how happy Valerie and Ivory were, along with their twin sons. He mentioned the phone call he had received from Valerie and what she and Ivory had decided to do to help him.
“I’m so sorry about my dad, Drew. I’m glad you have such good friends.”
“I am, too, baby.” He was quiet for a moment, relishing the feel of her in his arms and appreciating that they were back together again. “For the first time in my life, I understand my father’s need to be there for Mom. It was all about love. He understood her when nobody else did. Not even her son. I am glad Mom had such a strong, loving, and caring man like Dad.”
“I am glad she had him, too,” Eden said. “And I believe he passed all those qualities on to you, Drew. You are the type of man I will need, and when we have our kids, you will be the father they need, too.”
Her words touched him. “Thank you.” He kissed her cheek when he said, Your birthday is Saturday.”
She smiled. “Yes. I’ll be the big twenty-two.”
“Have you made any plans to celebrate?”
“Renard and I are going out to dinner.”
“May I join the two of you?”
Her smile widened. “Of course. In fact, knowing Renard, he will likely bail out and let the two of us go alone. Although he hasn’t admitted anything, I think he has met someone.”
“I’m happy for him,” Drew said.
“Me, too, Drew.”
“You’re still wearing the necklace,” he said, fingering it around her neck.
“I figured that regardless of how things had ended with us, and how much it reminded me of our time together at the lodge, I wasn’t ready to stop wearing it.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. I see it as a symbol of our bond, one that will last forever.” And then he kissed her. He needed to make love to her again. Because now, this woman was his. His one and only.
INTERLUDE
“Ahhh… That was such a beautiful story. I think it’s special how Drew and Eden worked things out, got married, and have remained together for forty years,” Kylie said.
“I’m not surprised my dad was the one who called Drew out about falling in love. Dad, Drew, and Uncle Lester were very close,” Vanessa added.
A smile appeared on Brittany’s face. “That’s right. Your dad was Harold Steele. I had forgotten about that.”
“Yes,” Vanessa said sadly. “Dad never gave up cigarettes, although we all begged him to. He tried a few times but just couldn’t do it. He eventually died of lung cancer. Harold Jeremiah Steele was the best dad my sisters and I could ever have.”
“How old were you when he passed away?” Brittany asked.
“I was twenty-two. I’d just finished college and was working for the Steele Corporation. That was a hard time for all of the Steeles, but especially for Mom, my sisters, and me. Like I said, Dad was the best.”
