Conquest of the Heart (39 page)

Faith forced a smile.

“Go, sweetheart. I’ll tell him where you
are.”

“Thanks, Mara. I’ll call if it starts to get
late.”

“Alright.”

After Faith left, Mara decided to check on
Emile. To her surprise, he was awake.

“What are you doing up? You need your rest,”
Mara said as she walked into his room.

“I’ve got a lot on my mind. I don’t know if
I’ve done the right thing,” Emile said, frowning.

“About what?” Mara walked over and sat in the
chair by the window.

“Faith. I’m not sure I’m as happy as I’ve let
on about her being with Gavin. She’s still my wife. It doesn’t feel
right that someone else is taking care of her the way that I should
be.”

Mara sighed. “Emile, you know Faith still
loves you. Even if you had said nothing to encourage her to meet
someone, the attraction between her and Gavin would still be a
factor. I don’t even believe they understand completely why they
feel the way they do about each other.”

“Faith understands, though she would never
admit it. The only reason she married me was to defy what her
mother told her. She spent years running away from the truth. When
we met, she was all I wanted. I had to have her, no matter what.
Much like Gavin. What I didn’t expect was that I wouldn’t be able
to please her.”

“I grew up with Faith’s mother. I watched
Vivian encounter many of the same difficulties with dating that
Faith encountered. Vivian accepted her fate, and continued to
believe that the right man would eventually come along. Morgan was
a godsend. Faith is probably ten times more sensitive than her
mother. She never fully embraced the idea there was a man out there
just for her. To her, you were enough.”

“Maybe if I wasn’t sick, things would be
different. I could find a way to make her happy.”

“Emile, you have made her happy. I’ve never
seen a man love a woman as much as you love Faith. So much that
you’re willing to let her go, even though it hurts more than the
sickness in your body. Faith and Gavin are together because you
wouldn’t give up on her true happiness.”

“Then why do I feel so guilty for pushing her
into someone else’s arms? Why am I jealous of Gavin? I know that
all I have to do is tell her I don’t want her to see him anymore,
and she wouldn’t. I could take her away from him.”

Mara looked at Emile sympathetically. “You
wouldn’t be human if you didn’t feel this way. You and I both know
that’s not the answer. Say you do take her away. What good would
that do? Would you have her lose both you, and Gavin?”

Emile pondered Mara’s question. He wasn’t
ready to answer it. Instead, he decided to rest, avoiding it for
the time being.

“I’m afraid I’ve grown very tired. Perhaps we
can talk more about this later.”

“Alright. You rest.” Mara stood up and
covered his legs. She knew he wouldn’t bring it up again, so she
said, “We don’t have to talk about this again. You’ll do the right
thing.”

Emile nodded as Mara left his room, closing
the door behind her.

When Faith arrived at Gavin’s, he hadn’t yet
made it home. She let herself in, went into the living room and got
comfortable. It was cold, so she turned on the fireplace to warm
up.

Gavin pulled up in the driveway and parked
next to Faith’s car. He practically ran inside, excited to spend
some quiet time with her. The house was nice and warm when he
walked in. He noticed her sitting comfortably on the floor, and
went to change his clothes.

After changing, he walked into the living
room, sat down next to her and said, “Hi, beautiful.” He wrapped
his arms around her, completely engulfing her. She closed her eyes
and took in his warmth.

“Hi,” she said as she hugged him back,
squeezing him tightly. Gavin sensed her fear.

“Hey, you’re holding on to me like you’re
holding on for life. I told you I wasn’t going anywhere.”

“I know,” she said, burying her face in his
chest. “It just feels good to be in your arms. Why are you here, by
the way?”

“I just wanted to hold you. We had a pretty
busy morning. Are you doing okay? Still pissed?” he smiled and
asked.

“No. Just numb. I wanted to tell you myself.
Why does that woman have to stick her nose in everything?”

“Chandler was hoping this would break us up.
What she doesn’t know is that I love you, and I don’t want to be
without you.”

Faith pulled away slightly from Gavin’s hold,
gazing into his eyes. She touched his face, leaned in and kissed
him passionately. Gavin tugged on her clothes a little.

“You won’t say it, will you?” he asked.
“Because of your husband, you won’t say it.”

“It’s not because I don’t. You know I feel
the same way.”

“I do.” Gavin thought briefly about what
Adrian had told him and asked, “Why can’t you resist my touch?”

Surprised by the question, Faith said, “I’m
not sure I understand where you’re going with this.”

Gavin tipped his head slightly and said, “You
understand completely, Faith Scott. Are you going to explain why
you’re so sensitive to everything I do? You said it yourself. You
can’t resist my touch and my kiss. Want to tell me what that’s all
about?”

“No. Just know that I am. It’s complicated
and I don’t like to talk about it.” She didn’t like that he was
asking, and still wasn’t sure she believed it herself.

Gavin let it go, for now. They cuddled
together for the rest of the day, randomly kissing and caressing
each other. He wanted her to stay the night, but Faith thought it
was best for her to go home.

“Should I come to work tomorrow?” she
asked.

“Stay home another day,” he smiled. “I had to
be fair. It wouldn’t have been right for me to send one home and
not the other, yes?”

Faith nodded.

“We’ll call you for our meeting with Adrian
tomorrow about San Francisco. My guess is we’ll know where our new
offices will be within a few weeks.”

“I really hope it’s Denver,” she smiled.

“Well, even if it’s not, that doesn’t mean we
can’t visit whenever we like.” He gently stroked her cheek.

“You’re right.” Faith enjoyed his gentle
touch, closing her eyes and taking a deep sigh. “I should get
going,” she said as she stood up.

“Are you sure you won’t stay? I really want
you to.”

Faith shook her head. “Not tonight, Gavin.”
She walked to the counter, grabbed her purse, and walked down the
hallway to the door. Gavin followed closely behind her. They
stopped and hugged each other, gently kissing.

“I’m sorry I hit Chandler. I was upset.”

“I know,” whispered Gavin. “Don’t worry about
it. Adrian and I will take care of it, okay?”

Faith nodded and rested her head on his
chest. She pulled away, looked into his eyes and said, “I’ll talk
to you tomorrow.”

“Yes.” He leaned down and kissed her. “Drive
carefully, okay?”

“I will.”

Faith put on her shoes and coat, gave Gavin
another kiss, opened the door, and left.

The next day, Gavin and Adrian discussed how
to handle Chandler’s actions, as well as Faith’s.

“Let them cool off. Have them both stay home
for a week. When they return, we’ll deal with Chandler, and give
her some boundaries if she’s to stay employed here,” said
Adrian.

“I agree with that. I told Faith we’d call
her for the meeting this morning. We can tell her then what we’ve
decided.”

Adrian nodded. “I’ll see you in an hour.”

An hour later, Adrian, Gavin and Faith met to
discuss the trip in San Francisco. They informed Faith she would be
staying home for the week. She was very understanding, and felt
relieved. This would give her some time to spend with Emile. He was
getting weaker, and Mara could take some much needed time off.

When the meeting ended, Gavin sat in silence
for a moment. Adrian could sense something else was bothering
him.

“What’s bothering you?”

“I’m worried about Faith. She won’t talk to
me about anything. We were together last night and she didn’t say
anything about what happened. She hasn’t talked about Carter or
Chandler. She didn’t even mention Emile. It may seem strange, but I
can feel the pain she’s going through, yet she won’t discuss any of
it with me.”

“Faith is a very strong-willed, strong-minded
woman. She’s always dealt with her problems on her own.”

“She doesn’t have to. I’m here to help her
through all of this.”

“When she’s ready to talk about these things,
she will. You have to let her deal with it in her own way. Right
now you’re the most stable part of her life. If things get to be
too much for her, she’ll open up.”

“I hope you’re right. I don’t like her trying
to do this by herself.”

“It’s what she’s used to. You just keep
reassuring her you’ll be there and all will be well.”

“I will. I’ve got some paperwork to complete,
so I should go,” sighed Gavin.

“Okay,” Adrian said. “Have a good day.”

Gavin stood and went back to his office. He
made a few phone calls and worked to get caught up on all the work
that had been piling up while he had been out of town.

Faith was home working on presentations when
she got a phone call later that morning.

“Hey girl,” Lauren said.

“Girl Scout, how are you?”

“I’m doing fine. How are you doing? I’m sorry
to hear about what happened, though it’s about time someone slapped
the shit out of Chandler. That’s been a long time coming. I wish I
could have seen it.”

Faith chuckled. “Yeah well, I get to spend a
whole week at home for my actions. It’s my first suspension.”

“It’s probably worth it. I’d spend a month at
home for slapping her.” Lauren paused before she asked her next
question. “Why didn’t you tell me you were married?”

“You didn’t ask. No one did.
I was grateful for that. Not because I was trying to be deceptive.
I just didn’t want to hear the questions every day.
‘How are you holding up, Faith?’ ‘How is your
husband doing?’
I would have gotten those
questions every single day. Work was meant to be a distraction from
what was going on here at home.”

“I understand. I wasn’t trying to make you
feel guilty. How are you and Gavin?”

“What about me and Gavin?”

“Faith, I know the two of you are close. You
can’t fool me anymore.”

Lauren heard a sigh through the phone. “Gavin
and I are working through this.”

“If your feelings are the same as his, the
two of you will make it. I can tell he really loves you.”

Just then, there was a knock at the front
door.

“Lauren, can you hold on a moment? Someone’s
at the door,” said Faith.

“Sure.”

Faith sat her phone down and went to answer
the door. A delivery van had just dropped off a dozen red roses in
a beautiful crystal vase. Faith brought the flowers inside, sat
them on her dining room table, then picked up her phone again.

“You still there?” she asked.

“Yes,” said Lauren.

“Gavin sent a dozen roses. He always does
this.”

“What do you mean always? How many times has
he sent you flowers?”

“I don’t know. Quite a bit.”

“What did the card say?” asked Lauren,
curious.

“I haven’t read it yet. I’ll read it later.
Is there anything else you’d like to know, Girl Scout?”

“Do you have to keep calling me that?”
laughed Lauren.

“Yes,” giggled Faith. “It suits you. I like
having a nickname for you. It reminds me of one of the first times
we went out together.”

“Okay, you can keep it. No one else can call
me that, though.”

Faith could hear her smiling through the
phone.

“Faith, there are quite a few people in the
office who are happy for you and Gavin. We’ve waited a long time
for him to find someone special. I’m really glad it was you.”

Faith frowned, “How many people know about
us?”

“There’s a small group of us. No one is
gossiping or anything. You two are good for each other.”

“Thanks, Girl Scout. I’m sorry I didn’t tell
you earlier. We were trying to keep our relationship private.”

“No apologies necessary. I completely
understand. Do you need anything? I can stop by on the way
home?”

“Oh no. We’re fine. Thanks for offering. I’ll
see you next week.”

“Alright, take care. Call if you need me,”
said Lauren.

“I will.”

“Liar,” teased Lauren.

“I promise I will call if I need
something.”

“You’ll call Gavin first.”

“Well, yes, but if he’s not available, you’re
next on the list,” smiled Faith.

“Good enough. Talk to you soon.”

“Bye, Lauren.”

Faith hung up her phone, and went to find the
card that was sent with the roses. She searched in and out and
through the huge bouquet, but couldn’t find the card. Then it hit
her. Gavin told her she would have to start understanding what he
was saying to her without help. As she stood there, her phone
rang.

“I was just about to call you. Thank you for
the roses. They’re beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you,” said Gavin.

“There’s no card - ”

“You know what I’m saying,” Gavin
interrupted. “I love you. I just wanted to call and tell you.”

“Thanks.”

It was quiet for a moment. “Are you still
there?” asked Faith.

“Yes,” Gavin almost whispered, disappointed
that Faith wouldn’t tell him that she loved him, too. “I’m here,
beautiful.”

“How is your day going? I miss you.”

“I miss you, too. I’m just catching up on
things. Are you doing okay?”

“I’m doing fine. I’m getting some work done
myself.”

“Do you want to have dinner with me tonight?
I can make your favorite,” he said smiling.

“Mm, gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches sound
great, but I gave Mara the week off. I need to stay with
Emile.”