Gavin (A Redemption Romance #3) (4 page)

“Where are you living now?” I wanted to know, but couldn’t just ask for her address so I could stalk her there until she gave into me, so I slipped in the question, while she was still happy talking about her job.

“Not far from Hope’s house, my place is a lot smaller, but the neighborhood is good. I’m just renting, I’m almost ready to buy.” Damn, she was really animated, I could see the Dawn I’d once known again, in her excitement.

“Hey, about your birthday,” I started, just as the server placed our food. I smiled at her over our steaming plates and watched as she looked at me, studied me for several heartbeats and narrowed her eyes. What the hell was that? Why was she looking at me like that? I didn’t understand, had I done something? She didn’t speak, just shook her head as if to clear it and started to eat.

I stayed quiet, watching her as I enjoyed my own meal, I considered what I could say to bring back the light hearted mood from earlier. Obviously, she didn’t want to talk about our past, but I needed to. I had to explain. Did she still think I hadn’t wanted her? Really?

Dawn

The meal was excellent, as always, but I hardly noticed. I was so nervous, waiting on pins and needles for him to bring up the past, the one thing I’d never discuss.

I thought back to the second phone call I’d received from my mom earlier in the week. Apparently, Mrs. Davies, Gavin’s mom had called and asked about me again. I had a feeling, that the moms were plotting something. Mom seemed overly interested Gavin's reasoning for calling Nicole and asking about me. She had hounded me for almost twenty minutes, I didn’t want to explain my reason for avoiding him with her, or anyone. She’d tried to needle information from me about the time he was home on leave, the last time I’d seen him, but I held out, acting like I didn’t know what she was talking about.

Aurora and Amber had asked about our past too, but thankfully, I’d been able to redirect them as well. There was so much going on with Hope, I didn’t have to work hard to get them onto another topic. I felt guilty for using Hope’s situation to get myself out of an uncomfortable conversation, but I did it anyway. The thing was, I felt foolish on so many fronts. I just couldn’t share that kind of humiliation with anyone, aside from Ty, of course. I was sticking to the plan, act mature, act aloof, act professional. That was it.

Spending time with Gavin again was great, I’d missed our friendship so much, the friendship I’d ruined with girlish fantasies. Thinking back on it, I now understood that the timing couldn’t have been worse.

Gavin had deployed just a couple of weeks after that disastrous night, and then it was one deployment after another until he finally left the Marine Corps.

At eighteen, I couldn’t understand the implications of his military career, hadn’t known how those years would change him. Now, I was actually glad that he hadn’t allowed me to seduce him, sort of.

“I need to get back,” I told Gavin after a few minutes of silence. He then paid the bill and finished his drink.

A frown crossed his lips for a brief moment, then it cleared and he stood, smiled and helped me from my chair. He was quite the gentleman.

The short walk back to Indulgence was quiet, and somehow familiar. I noticed that he stretched his hand out a couple of times, as if he were going to reach for my hand, but he dropped it before making contact. When we’d been young, he’d grabbed my hand or my arm lots of times to drag me along, or hurry me up, it had been normal for us.

Gavin’s behavior now confused me. I had assumed that he’d wanted to establish our friendship once again, but his silence was unsettling. His obvious anxiety had me wondering what his intentions were, I thought he would have acted more friend-like, more jovial as he did when we were younger. Then again, the years had changed him, the war had changed him. Time had molded both of us into new people. Maybe he’d just taken me to lunch for old time’s sake.

“Has Hope said anything about the guy who’s stalking her?” He asked, out of the blue.

Surprised by his question, but now understanding his impromptu visit to the store and even his reason for getting me alone for lunch, he wanted to ask me about Hope, away from the others. It made sense. With our history, I’d be more likely to tell him if I knew anything, though, it didn’t explain why he was so awkward

“No, she doesn’t talk about it. She shares more about Jake and what’s going on between them.” I wanted to be helpful, but I didn’t know anything, Hope and I weren’t very close.

His forehead creased with what I could only assume was concern. I wondered if he had a thing for Hope and wasn’t happy that she was seeing Jake. From what I knew, Jake had basically packed her up and moved her in with him, they’d been a couple ever since, it may be a rocky relationship, but I had a feeling they were solid.

A strange sadness filled my soul, a cold feeling the encompassed me, so thoroughly, that I shivered in the midst of the mild-sunny day. I didn’t understand it, I’d accepted that Gavin and I would never be, long ago. The few paltry attempts, I’d had at relationships since then had caused me to practically swear off men, altogether.

“Are you cold?” Gavin asked, looking down at me.

“No, I’m good,” I reassured with a quick smile up at him. “Hey, thanks for lunch, it was nice to catch up.” Keeping my tone light, I wanted to keep things easy, and fun, even though I didn’t fully understand the pain now resonating in my heart. It was probably just resurfacing grief from all those years ago.

The furrow was back; he seemed to be trying to figure something out, but I didn’t give it much thought as the door came within reach and I grabbed it and started to walk inside before he could say anything else.

“Thanks again, see you.” I called over my shoulder as I walked inside and away from Gavin. I didn’t allow myself to notice the strange look on his face, longing, mixed with sadness and maybe regret?

“How did it go?” Amber asked, cheerily just as the door closed behind me.

“It was good,” I answered with a bland smile, “what’s going on here?” Quickly averting their attention, I could see Hope on a ladder, Aurora holding it and Amber directing. Apparently, they were hanging a new display, and thankfully that seemed to keep their focus.

As we closed the store at the end of the day, I made my excuses when Aurora asked me to join all of them for dinner. I assumed that Gavin would be there, and I didn’t want to be put in an awkward position. It took some convincing, but finally they gave in and stopped trying to talk me into joining them.

I’d had an excuse, at least, I was going to dinner with my best friend Tyler. We’d been friends since high school and though we’d gone to different colleges, we’d stayed close. He was my life-line, my confidant and I needed to talk to him now.

“Hey, gorgeous, what’s got you down tonight?” Tyler asked when I slid into my chair at the restaurant.

“Let me order a drink and I’ll give you all the details.” I promised, smiling up at him.

Once I’d downed half my glass of wine, I began to talk. I told Tyler about seeing Gavin at Aurora’s house on Sunday and how he’d come into the store today and basically strong-armed me into going to lunch with him. Tyler knew the backstory; he was the only person I’d ever told.

“I don’t know what’s going on with him, Ty, he tried to bring up
that
night today, but I didn’t reply, and it was really awkward after that. Why would he come in and buy a gift for his mom’s birthday when it’s still two months away?”

He thought about it for a few minutes, letting the silence linger between us. Tyler never spoke without thinking through every angle. As a sports writer for the big paper in Dallas, he was articulate, and each word, verbal or written, was chosen with purpose.

“Sounds like he wants to see you again, either he got a look at your hot bod and liked what he saw, or he wants to become friends with you again. What kind of vibe did he put off?”

Following his lead, I thought about it for a minute. “I’m not sure, a couple of times, I thought he might be nervous, but he didn’t flirt or anything. Also, he asked me about Hope, maybe he has a thing for her?”

Tyler remembered Gavin, though they hadn't been friends. Gavin was four years older than us, so they’d never hung out. By the time Tyler and I became close, Gavin was in the military, only coming back on leave once a year or so.

“If Hope is serious about Jake, and vice versa, I don’t think he’d go there, that’s seriously against the guy code.”

He was right, I knew Gavin was a good guy, at least he always had been, I couldn’t imagine him changing that much over the years.

“I think he’s trying to be friends.” I said, trying to sound confident.

“Is that what you want?” His questioning stare unnerved me, Tyler had a way of seeing more than I wanted to show.

“Yes, I mean, I miss his friendship, so it would be good to get that back.”

“You’d better not be trying to replace me.” He joked, sounding affronted.

Laying my hand on his forearm, I leaned closer and said “Ty, you are one of a kind, no way could I ever hope to replace you.” His wide grin was all I needed to feel better.

“You had some pretty strong feelings for him, back in the day, can you handle a friends only relationship?” Damn, the man hit way too close, that was one answer I didn’t have.

“I can’t go there again, Ty, he never saw me that way, I was mortified that night, and coming on to him that way ruined our friendship.”

Tyler knew what I was saying, he understood. He’d been the one to pick up the pieces after Gavin had shot me down, and when I found out he’d been deployed, I was a wreck. Tyler had seen it all.

The following week passed by in a blur. I couldn’t get Gavin out of my mind, but he hadn’t reached out to me again. He didn’t have my phone number, at least not that I knew of, but he hadn’t come by the store either. I convinced myself that it was for the best.

“Hey, Mom.” I said, after answering her call the next Friday morning. It was my day off, and I had grand plans, to clean my house and do laundry. I was hoping to stay in pajamas all day.

“Good morning, how are you?”

“I’m good. What are you up to today?” I asked, praying she wouldn’t ask me to do hang out with her. I didn’t have the mental space to deal with the third-degree today. She was famous for getting in my business.

“I need a favor, can you run me up to Nicole’s? I need to be there about eleven-thirty.”

“Sure, what’s wrong with your car?”

“I took it to the shop yesterday, it needs a tune up and the starter or something, anyway, I won’t get it back until tomorrow and Nicole and I have had these plans for weeks, I hate to cancel on her now. She said that she or Peter can run me home later.”

“Okay, let me get ready, I’ll pick you up at eleven, will that work?”

She agreed, thanked me and we disconnected the call. I did not want to take her up there, though I loved Nicole, I didn’t want to see Gavin’s mom, not today, not now. I could only imagine the things my mom would say, would ask about me seeing Gavin again.

Pulling up to the beautiful house, I parked and waited for my mom to exit the car. I had no intention of going inside. She hadn’t said a word about Gavin, which I counted as a miracle, but the sly smile she had on her face now worried me.

“Come on, don’t be rude. You need to at least say hello to Nicole and Peter.”

I grumbled a bit, but didn’t verbalize my hesitation. Joining her on the sidewalk, we approached the front door, just as it swung open. Nicole Davies stood there, a wide smile on her sweet face. Gavin’s mom was such a sweet woman, her presence immediately eased my trepidation.

“Dawn, so good to see you!” She sang out excitedly.

“It’s wonderful to see you too.”

“Come in, come in.” She said, after she hugged both of us warmly.

Entering the spacious, beautifully decorated home, I took in the clean lines and minimalist décor. Nicole was nothing, if not a consummate hostess. She offered us both drinks, but I declined, explaining that I needed to head out.

“Stay, just for a few minutes, I’d love to catch up with you.”

Nodding, I took the seat she offered, and we all began to chat. I listened to the women for a few minutes, and answered the questions Nicole asked me. All were easy, thankfully, she never mentioned Gavin.

My cell began to ring from my pocket, pulling it out, I saw that it was Aurora. It was odd that she’d be calling me today, since I had the day off, so I excused myself and stepped onto the deck to take the call.

Aurora explained that she was concerned about Hope, apparently, Jake was about to be entrenched with work, so it would be up to all of us to watch out for her and to keep her company. Aurora wanted to plan a couple of girls’ nights, dinners and the like to keep Hope’s mind off of all that was swirling around her.

After talking for a few minutes, we hung up. I stood there, on the deck and looked out at the vast and beautifully landscaped backyard. Nicole had an amazing green-thumb. It was a serene area, somewhere I could easily get lost for hours, simply enjoying the beauty all around.

I was so lost in my own thoughts, I didn’t notice the person come up from behind me, until I was pressed against the railing with two strong arms holding me captive. The position jogged something in the far recesses of my mind, I didn’t like it, I’d been in this position before, and it hadn’t been pleasant.

Gavin, I thought, but I knew it wasn’t him. Gavin wouldn’t act like this. In all the years I’d known him, he’d never crowded me or moved me into a corner. When I turned my head, hoping to see Gavin’s handsome face, it was Zach’s face that I saw. Taking in a sharp breath, I felt the fear begin to rise in my belly. There was something about Zach, something off, I didn’t trust him.

Zach was older than Gavin by four years, but looking at him now, I couldn’t see much similarity. I hadn’t seen Zach in eight years, looking at him now, he didn’t seem to be any more laid back, he was nothing like his brother. His hard face, and menacing expression sent a chill through me. I didn’t fear him, I wouldn’t. Okay, I totally did, but I wasn’t going to show it! I’d known Zack as long as I’d known Gavin, he wouldn’t hurt me – would he?

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Sweet Dawn.” Zach purred, pressing his body into mine. I hated that he’d used Gavin’s nickname for me, but I didn’t say a word. My pelvis was pushed firmly into the deck railing, causing a sharp bite of pain.