Chapter 14

Bob and Sydney stopped for lunch on the way uptown, and he could see the tension slowly easing from her face. The nightmare had taken ten months to resolve, almost a year. She had carried with her the fear of going to prison for all that time.

“I never thought something like that could happen to me,” she said to him over lunch. That and Andrew’s death had taught her irreversibly how life could change in the blink of an eye, without warning. Suddenly everything you knew and counted on could be taken away, and was gone. Your freedom, your health, the people you loved, your money, your peace of mind. It was a frightening thought.

“It’s over now,” he said calmly, “or it will be soon. We’ll figure out things to do when we’re in the apartment,” he teased her, and she laughed.

“It’s going to be strange being trapped like that,” but not as strange as prison, she knew.

They went back to her office after lunch, and she was stunned by the number of buyers there, filling out orders for what they wanted from the collection they’d shown the night before. Ed was beaming as he circulated in the crowd, and Sydney joined him for a while. Bob left to make some calls from his hotel. And she packed up her office, and took all the drawing equipment she’d need at home. Ed promised to have their IT people there on Monday to set up a computer system with a large monitor that would function as a two-way video screen. She needed more than just her iPad and laptop at home now. She was trying to think of everything, and Ed gave her a big hug. He was as relieved as she was that they weren’t sending her away, and she hadn’t had to go through a trial.

“You had me scared for a while,” he admitted. They both remembered the night she had almost committed suicide, although they never talked about it. But it was a memory that still made him shudder. He hoped the bad times were behind her now.

“I’m going to miss seeing you here every day,” he said wistfully, “but I’ll see you on the monitor,” and then he laughed.

“Come and visit me. It’s going to be weird not being able to go out. I’ll get a lot done, stuck at home,” she promised. They had to start working on the next collection soon, and she already had some ideas she wanted to discuss with him.

Bob came back for her at six o’clock, and Sydney left the office regretfully. They stopped at a drugstore on the way home. There were things she wanted to buy before her incarceration, and she wanted to go shopping on Saturday, and take a walk in Central Park. She wanted to drink it all in before she had to be sequestered from the world to pay for a sin she hadn’t been aware of committing. She had acted in good faith and innocence, and had been duped.

“I hope they throw the book at Zeller,” Bob said, as they got back to her apartment. They had picked up some food at the nearby deli. She was too tired to go out. When they walked into the apartment, she let herself collapse on the couch next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder.

“Thank you for being there with me,” she said in a soft voice as he leaned over and kissed her more fervently than he had dared to till then, and she responded just as passionately. They had waited a long time for this, and now she wasn’t worried about leaving him to go to prison. She felt free to follow her heart.

Without saying anything or asking permission, he began to undress her, and a few minutes later they rushed to her bedroom, as they laughed and she pulled him into her bed beside her. They were both naked by then, and the tides could no longer be stopped. Their desire for each other was overwhelming and insatiable, until they finally lay spent in each other’s arms, barely able to catch their breath.

“That was worth waiting for,” he said, stunned by the power of their lovemaking, and she smiled and looked up at him.

“I wanted you so much, but I didn’t think it was fair till we knew what would happen.”

“I love you, Sydney. I’m glad we went through this together. I would have hated your facing it alone.”

“So would I.” It had all been so much more tolerable since he’d been in her life. And this seemed a respectful amount of time since Andrew had died. It had been fourteen months. Her life with him seemed so far away now, and all their familiar landmarks were gone, their home, the apartment in Paris, the art they had bought together, the things they had loved that belonged to his daughters now. She wondered what would happen to all of it when they sold the house. But it didn’t matter now. She didn’t need the material objects of their marriage. She had their memories. And now she had Bob, and she belonged to him.

They lay in bed quietly together for a long time, and they made love again, and then they dozed in each other’s arms for a while. It was nearly midnight when they got up and went to get something to eat in the kitchen.

“I can’t imagine a life without you,” he said with deep feeling in his voice.

“Me either,” she said gently, but the idea frightened her. What if he died, like Andrew? She couldn’t bear losing him too, or anyone again. But if they stayed together and lived to be very old, one of them would go first and leave the other lost and heartbroken. It was inevitable, and more than she could stand to think about.

“I wish I could stay in New York,” he said longingly. But his business was in Hong Kong. She had been thinking of going back with Ed to see Bob. But she’d have to wait. She was going to be a prisoner in her apartment for six long months. “It’ll go quickly,” he reassured her, and she hoped he was right. “I want you to meet my children,” he said, and she looked cautious at that.

“I’m not very popular with other people’s children, judging by my stepdaughters,” she said hesitantly, and he laughed.

“They sound crazy to me. You’d be everybody’s dream stepmother.”

“Apparently not.” She smiled ruefully at the memory of Kellie and Kyra and how hateful they had been. There had been very few good times with them.

“My children didn’t like my second wife,” he admitted, “but they were younger then, and she was a child herself. She wanted all my attention, and was jealous of them. I knew it wouldn’t last, but I was besotted with her. The marriage only lasted for six months. She ended up marrying a Chinese movie star. I have no idea what happened to her. It was a long time ago. The kids have been very good about the ladies in my life ever since. And they’re going to love you.” He seemed sure of it, but she wasn’t. She loved him, of that she was certain, but the twins had scared her off other’s people’s children.

“It must have been hard when you had to bring four of them up yourself,” she said sympathetically.

“We had a lot of fun,” he said, smiling at her. “And now you and I are going to have a lot of fun. There are so many things I want to do with you,” he said dreamily, as they sat at the kitchen counter and ate what they’d bought at the deli. She looked thoughtful then.

“I hope I don’t get fat sitting around the apartment.” She was worried and he laughed.

“Hardly. You could do with a little weight.” She was almost too thin, as was Sabrina. It was their body type, but neither of them ate much. And Sydney had been stressed for months, more than a year now.

They sat and talked in the living room, and then went back to bed at two o’clock. They drifted off to sleep talking, and when they woke up the next morning, the sun was streaming into the room. It was a beautiful day, and Sydney wanted to get out and walk while she could. She was frowning when she made them both coffee, and looked around the room.

“Do you suppose I have room for a treadmill?” He laughed at the thought.

“If you hang it off the ceiling.” There wasn’t an inch of spare floor space in the living room or bedroom.

“I’ll need to get exercise.”

“You’ll have to run in place,” he said practically. But these were small problems to have now, compared to what she would have encountered in prison.

They shared a bath, and left the apartment an hour later, casually dressed for the warm fall weather, and headed for the park. Everything looked beautiful to her now. The world had become a gentler place overnight. It was the culmination of a terrible year, but now it was spring in her heart, and he was as much in love as she was. They wandered over to Madison Avenue afterward and looked in all the shops, and he had an idea when they strolled past a jeweler and insisted they go inside. She didn’t want him to buy her anything, or something foolish and expensive, but he knew exactly what he wanted. He chose a wide band of white gold with pavé diamonds on the front. He could easily afford it, and he asked for it in her size. He slipped it on her finger and it was beautiful.

“Now don’t get nervous,” he teased her. “It’s not an engagement ring, it’s an ‘I love you band.’ If you’re going to wear an ugly anklet for six months, you might as well have something pretty on your finger. And this one won’t confine you. I just want you to remember when I’m not around that I love you.” He had correctly sensed that she was uneasy about getting tied down again. It had proven disastrous after Andrew was gone. She didn’t want to be disappointed later, but Bob had a very nonthreatening way of dealing with her and loving her and said all the right things. She was admiring her new ring as they left the store.

“I love it.” She smiled excitedly at him. They walked a long way, and wandered into Barneys for a few things she needed, and then they walked back to her apartment. They were going to Sabrina’s for dinner that night.

She ordered in sushi, and Steve made pasta and salad for those who wanted it. Sophie came too, but Grayson stayed home. She said he was working on a big assignment, and they all knew that he rarely went out. But the others more than made up for it. Bob had fun with them. He and Steve hit it off, and he loved Sydney’s girls, who were warm and welcoming to him. They were grateful for his being there for their mother, and both girls noticed her new ring as soon as she walked in.

“What’s that?” Sophie whispered when they were in the kitchen. “Is it an engagement ring?” Sydney shook her head, and she realized that she would always remember that he gave it to her after the first time they made love. It really was an “I love you” ring, which made it even more special to her. There had been no luxuries in her life for a while now. She kept looking at it all through the evening and then smiled at him.

They spent Sunday together and went to church. She had a lot to be thankful for. And they went to a movie and ate popcorn and kissed like teenagers, and then they raced home and made love again.

“I think I’m addicted to you,” he said afterward.

“Good. I want you to miss me,” she said, and traced her tongue along his neck until he shuddered with delight, and they made love again. He was leaving for Hong Kong in the morning, and she wanted him to remember their last night since they didn’t know when he’d be back again. He had moved his things from the hotel to her apartment that morning, so he could go directly to the airport the next day.

She got up with him at six o’clock and made him breakfast while he showered, and before he left the apartment, he held her naked in his arms and looked into her eyes and told her he loved her.

“I’ll be back soon,” he promised, and she knew he would.

She was waving from the window when he got in the car and drove away. She looked at her ring after that, and he called her five minutes later.

“I already miss you.”

“So do I,” she said, feeling tender toward him.

He called her again before the plane took off, and after that she went downtown to meet Steve at the courthouse again to get her anklet and have them put it on. She was relieved when he told her that Sabrina’s apartment was no longer in jeopardy, since the case was resolved. Sydney still owed her $5,000 for bail and $25,000 for what she had paid Steve in the beginning. She also owed him the cost of the detectives he’d paid for, which he hadn’t billed Sydney for yet. And she owed him another $25,000 for his time and accomplishing the plea bargain. In all, she owed him about $35,000, including the detective fees, and she owed Sabrina $30,000, and she was anxious to pay it back, but she couldn’t yet. She still needed to sell the apartment in Paris. No one had bought it so far, but the rent she was getting for it was helpful every month. And she was getting a generous salary from Ed to pay her day-to-day expenses. Her finances were less dire than they had been, although she still had to pay for the court case, which had cost her a lot.

They put the electronic bracelet around her ankle and locked it into place in court. It was a waterproof band with a small box attached, which worked on the same principle as a GPS, and would track her whereabouts at all times. She was to call the monitoring service when she got home and they would activate it. And from then on, they would know exactly where she was, and an alarm would go off if she left the apartment. She would be monitored twenty-four hours a day. It was ugly and cumbersome, but they told her she’d get used to it. And since it was her Don’t Go to Jail card, she didn’t complain.

The IT people Ed sent over arrived as soon as she got home, and they had her fully set up by five o’clock, and she laughed when she saw Ed on the giant screen, and he said he could see her perfectly.

She reorganized everything in the living room that night, and turned it into a workspace and design studio. Ed had sent over a big tabletop for her to work on, and she turned her dining table into a desk. It would take some rearranging if she had people in for dinner, but she had everything she needed now to work, and she could eat at the counter, or even on the coffee table when she was alone. She was lonely without Bob in the apartment. It had been wonderful having him there with her for a week.

And that night, Sophie told her about a ballet teacher she could work with by Skype. Sydney called her and set that up too. She was going to take class three times a week, right from her apartment. She had decided to turn the next six months into work and health time. She was going to eat healthy meals since she couldn’t get out and walk, do ballet on Skype, and use the months ahead as a positive project, not incarceration. And she’d have more time to work since she wasn’t going out.

The most exciting news was that Ed told her the orders from their collection were fantastic, and they had many more appointments with buyers set up for the next two weeks. Their new business was very much up and running, and his family was pleased too. He said he missed her in the office, and he teased her about being a virtual partner now since he could only see her on the screen. But he was planning to come over in a day or two and start working on new designs with her.

She had missed Sabrina’s and Sophie’s shows, but she saw them on Vogue.com. There was almost nothing she couldn’t do from the apartment except go out and get fresh air. She even had a list of grocery services that would deliver food, and restaurants that sent meals.

Steve called her after a few days to see how it was going, and she said she was busy working, which didn’t surprise him. She had a good attitude about life. It was only late at night, after she’d been cooped up all day, that she would look out the window at times and wish she could go out. She knew that if she broke the rules, she’d spend the remaining time in jail.

Steve told her that a federal agent would be coming to see her, to take her statement about Paul Zeller. He brought a court stenographer with him when he showed up, and Sydney dictated the facts as it had all happened and told him all she knew, and she heard nothing after that. A week later, Steve said he didn’t think Paul had been arrested yet, which seemed odd to her, with the evidence they had gathered. But Steve explained to her that the findings of the grand jury were kept secret, and they wouldn’t know anything about the process until an arrest was made. Sydney hoped it would be soon. He deserved it, and whatever they did to him, he had coming. Of that she was sure.