Conquest of the Heart (32 page)

“Unless it never was,” Carter continued,
looking for an answer.

“I really don’t have to discuss this with
you, nor do I want to.”

“You’re out of character, Gavin. I’ve never
seen you this way before. We may not be friends any longer, but I
know you like the back of my hand. You should have given up on
Faith some time ago, unless your intent has always been to win her
heart.”

“Like I said, it’s not up for discussion and
it’s none of your business,” Gavin said rolling his eyes.

“Fine. You know I’m right, though.”

The two men stared at each other in silence
for a moment before Gavin spoke again.

“Faith doesn’t want to press charges against
you.”

“What? Why not?” Carter asked, puzzled.

“She thinks you need help, which I’m starting
to agree. If you consent to some kind of therapy, she won’t press,
and you get to keep your job.” Gavin shook his head. “I can’t
believe that woman,” he said under his breath.

“And if I don’t agree?”

“She’ll press charges and you’re fired,”
Gavin said as he glared at Carter who looked pathetic sitting there
at the table.

Carter sat thinking for a moment about
everything that Gavin had just said. He buried his face in his
hands and concluded that therapy would be the best option.

“I do need help. I don’t have the best view
of women. I envy you, Gavin. I’m sure you already know what a
special woman you have in Faith. I’m sorry for all of this. For
everything.”

Gavin just looked at him. He wasn’t sure how
to handle the apologies because he was so used to being angry with
Carter. “I’ll let the officers know what you’ve chosen. I’m not
sure what the process is from this point.”

As he turned to leave, Gavin stopped and
continued, “Carter, I forgive you for what happened years ago with
Aubrey. I need to move on from that. However, I don’t share the
same compassion as Faith when it comes to what you did to her. When
you hurt her, you hurt me. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to
forgive you for it. I definitely won’t forget.” He opened the door
and left.

Carter sat in silence, left to reflect on
everything that had occurred over the past few weeks.

When Gavin got home, Faith was in her room
packing her suitcase.

“Honey, I’m home,” he called out, chuckling
to himself. He dropped his keys on the table in the entryway.

“Cute. You’re a comedian, too? You’re just a
jack of all trades,” she said from the room.

“I am multi-talented,” he smiled as he leaned
in the doorway. “Hi, beautiful.”

“Hey,” she chimed. She smiled as she glanced
over at him and said, “How did it go?” continuing to fold clothes
into the suitcase.

“Better than I expected.” Gavin walked in to
help her fold. “Carter told me to tell you that he’s sorry. He
agrees that he needs help. The police will fill out all of the
necessary paperwork from this point. You may have to sign
something, but you can do that when we get back.”

“And you? Are you okay?”

“I am. He apologized for everything that
happened years ago, and said that he had not been a very good
friend. I forgave him. I can finally move on from that part of my
life.”

Faith stopped what she was doing and moved
closer to Gavin, who was sitting on the bed. She leaned into him
and said, “I’m glad. Do you feel better?”

“Yes. It feels like a fifty pound weight has
been lifted away from me. I didn’t, however, forgive him for what
he did to you. I’m just not ready to do that.”

“I understand,” Faith sighed.

“Enough about Carter. I only want to focus on
one thing right now.”

“What’s that?”

“You,” he said as he kissed her cheek.

Faith beamed like a school girl as she stood
up to get more items from a drawer and continued to pack.

“There’s one thing we haven’t discussed,”
said Gavin.

“What’s that?”

“One room or two?” he said, giving her a
sultry look as he sat on the edge of the bed.

Faith stopped what she was doing and walked
over to him. She cupped his face with her hands as she stood over
him, leaning in close. Gavin placed his hands on her waist.

“One,” she whispered, almost kissing him.

Prior to leaving on their trip, Faith called
Adrian to discuss what to do for Gavin’s birthday.

“Hello?” answered Adrian.

“Hi Adrian, it’s Faith.”

“Faith, how are you?” he asked.

“I’m doing good.”

“I mean really, how are you?”

“I’m okay, Adrian. It was good to have the
week off. I’m not calling about me,” she said.

“What’s on your mind?”

“Are you planning anything for Gavin’s
birthday?”

“Oh, Faith. Gavin doesn’t like to celebrate
his birthday.”

“All the more reason to invite everyone. It
should be a surprise, so let’s pretend it’s a company affair or
something. His birthday falls on a weekend, so we can have the
party on a Saturday afternoon. What do you think?” she asked.

“I think that Gavin will not enjoy this one
bit.”

“I’m not afraid of him. Let’s do it.”

Adrian laughed as he said, “Alright. I’ll
have Agnes and Juliet start planning. We’ll call you to get more
details.”

“Thanks, Adrian.”

“Sure sweetie. Talk to you soon.” Adrian
smiled as he hung up.

The two of them left for Los Angeles the next
morning. As was custom with the other trips, they attended meetings
and conferences for two weeks, exploring the city in the evening
and on weekends. Faith was able to experience Gavin’s protective
side almost immediately, especially in the very busy city of LA. On
occasion, she would stray from his side, stopping to look in
windows or at items in kiosks.

Gavin looked back and swiftly went over to
where she stood, “Don’t do that to me. Please stay next to me.”

“I’m not four. Geez,” she teased.

“I told you I’d be this way. It’ll take me a
couple of weeks to get out of this funk. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she said, taking his hand. He
kissed her knuckles as they continued on together.

Gavin was having a harder time getting
through the assault on Faith than she was. She had declined any
counseling, and had barely spoken about it with him. She appeared
to be fine, and that’s what concerned him the most. The last thing
he wanted was for her to have a flashback of that awful night if he
tried to kiss or touch her sensuously. He was going to wait as long
as he needed to in order for her to heal.

Faith on the other hand, was doing better
than expected. She declined counseling after her initial
consultation based on the recommendations of the therapist. The
therapist saw no reason why Faith would have any problems moving
forward from her incident on her own being that she had the love of
her family, friends, and most importantly, Gavin as support. Most
women have to deal with their encounters alone. The therapist also
recognized how strong Faith was. Her confidence in who she was, and
the fact that she was unwilling to let that part of her be
compromised by this event, would go a long way in her recovery. She
was told to keep her loved ones around her, not to shut them out,
and allow their love to surround her and act as an anchor to help
in the healing process. Faith was advised to attend a session if
she ever felt fearful or depressed. However, she used forgiveness
to her advantage, and was able to see the weakness of the person
who hurt her. Love, support, inner strength and maturity was
helping Faith heal and move forward more quickly than normal.

Faith received a few texts in regards to
Gavin’s party, and she managed to order his gifts while he was
taking a shower one evening. They were scheduled to be delivered to
her home by the time they returned. Sharing a room had its perks,
not to mention, they were saving money. Gavin didn’t have to worry
about knocking on Faith’s door at obscene hours to be with her.
Faith was able to sleep in, this time. While they enjoyed Los
Angeles, it seemed a little more harried than they would have
liked. Both of them were anxious to get back. Faith’s partners in
crime had completed their tasks for Gavin’s surprise and she was
looking forward to seeing his reaction.

The week before the party was quiet and calm.
Faith was getting used to the new colors and carpet in her office,
thankful she didn’t have to relive that awful evening every day.
She hadn’t had many interruptions, so getting caught up on her work
was easy. Just as she was finishing a presentation, Gavin stopped
by.

“Hi, beautiful,” he said, walking in with a
big smile.

“Hi,” she said, continuing to work. “How’s
your day going?”

“Better now that I’m with you. I missed you.
Three weeks with you spoiled me.” He sat down to talk for a
while.

“Any news on Carter?” she asked, glancing
up.

“I haven’t heard. I’ll check with Adrian.
Your office looks nice. Do you like it?” he asked looking around.
Glancing back at her he said, “Are you doing okay? I haven’t really
asked you since we’ve been back.”

“I’m doing fine. Work has kept my mind
focused. I don’t even really think about it. And yes, I like the
new look.” She plinked around on her keyboard and continued, “You
haven’t mentioned the party on Saturday. We are going, right?”

“I’m wondering why we’re having a company
party all of a sudden. The timing seems rather odd to me,” Gavin
said suspiciously.

“What do you mean?”
‘Uh oh,’
Faith
thought.

“We normally only have two parties a year.
With the holidays coming, I really didn’t expect anything in
between.”

“You know how much your mother loves to see
everyone. Maybe it’s like an end of summer party or something. Ask
Adrian what it’s all about. I’m not sure I understand what the big
deal is.”

“I just thought we could spend a quiet
weekend alone together,” he mused.

“We just spent three weeks together. It’ll do
us some good to be around other people. I’m sorry, what is it
you’re concerned about again?” she squinted.

“It’s nothing. We’ll go.” Gavin, clearly
agitated, stood up and walked around her desk to give her a kiss on
the cheek. “I’ll see you later.”

Faith nodded her head,
watching as he walked out.
‘Phew,’
she thought.

Saturday came extremely fast. Faith had been
preparing for the party all day. Gavin was going to be picking her
up in about an hour. She had just finished wrapping his gift and
carefully placed it in a brown paper bag so her plan would not be
discovered. After tidying up a few things, she sat comfortably on
her couch as she waited.

Gavin rang Faith’s doorbell, and was holding
a bouquet of roses. He hid behind them as he waited for her to
answer. When she did, he just smiled and handed them to her.

“Hello, beautiful.”

“Hi,” she said, taking them. They were
coral.

“I’m no longer going to tell you what I’m
saying with these. You’re going to have to start figuring it out,”
he smirked.

“Good. I’d rather do that. I’ll be right out.
Let me put these in some water.”

Faith took the flowers inside and placed them
in a vase with some water. She walked back to out of the house with
the gift, locked her door and got in the car with Gavin.

He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Are you
ready to see what this is all about?”

“It’s just a company party, right?”

“So it’s been said,” Gavin winked. “We’ll
see.” He drove off towards his parents’ house.

“Why would you think it’s anything else? I
don’t understand.” Faith tried to look as innocent as she
could.

“I’m not sure. Something doesn’t feel
right.”

“You’re being paranoid. That’s not like
you.”

“If you knew why, you’d understand. I’m sure
it’ll be okay, though.”

It took a half an hour to get to the party.
Others had already arrived. Faith’s plan was that Gavin would not
know right away why they were there. Music was already playing and
everyone stayed calm as if they knew nothing.

Gavin did as he usually does as soon as he
arrives at his parents’.

“Mom,” he said hugging her.

“How are you, dear?” Juliet was in the
kitchen.

“I’m well. Faith talked me into coming,” he
said, looking over at Faith.

“Faith honey, it’s so good to see you. You
really need to come see me more,” Juliet said as she walked over to
give her a hug.

“I know. The trips have kept me busy,” she
smiled.

“And so has my son,” Juliet winked and
grinned.

Faith started to turn pink. “Umm - ”

“It’s alright, dear. I’m quite happy he’s
finally found someone he can be serious about.”

“Mom, do you have to do that? Seriously?”
Gavin was somewhat embarrassed, but expected his mother to say
something. She couldn’t resist.

“She’s a great choice, Gavin. I’m proud of
you. It’s about time,” Juliet said, smiling and walking around
without flinching.

Gavin had given his mother some flowers as
was customary for him. She was putting them in a vase. Gavin
grabbed Faith’s hand and pulled her to his side.

“Thanks, Mom. I’m glad you approve. Can we go
now? Where’s Dad?”

“I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to
hear you call him that again. He’s outside by the ocean. You know
how he gets at the start of a party.”

Gavin went to walk outside, but Faith pulled
back. “I’m going to stay and talk with Juliet for a while,” she
nodded.

“Okay, but beware,” he chuckled. “Mom, try
not to get too personal, huh?” Gavin kissed Faith on the cheek and
walked out of the kitchen.

“Does he suspect anything?” asked Juliet.

Faith grinned deviously, “No. Not a thing.
Here’s my gift for him. Are there others?”