Terms of Service (24 page)

Gavin nodded.  He could see she was trying to play with him, joke some.  For the first time in days, he felt good.  He felt more confident.  He had no ulterior motive other than the obvious.  He told her outright how he felt, what he wanted.  Now, she had to decide what to do.  He was confident she’d put the girls first, like always.  It might be a little uncomfortable for her, but she’d take his offer for all the right reasons.  Now he had twenty-five days to make her fall in love with the life she could have, the life he wanted to share with her forever.  If he were lucky, she’d fall in love with him too.

***

Hannah didn’t make Gavin wait long for a response.  At breakfast, she announced her decision.  “I have given this a lot of thought.  And I accept.”  She shrugged and turned to finish fixing breakfast. Gavin was so relieved he apparently couldn’t help himself.  He walked over to her, turned her toward him, and hugged her close.  In response, she stiffened and didn’t hug him back.  

“I’ll be home around 6 pm,” Gavin said.  “I have to work longer hours this next week as I turn the business over to Bitty and help with the transition.”

“Of course.  I’ll have dinner ready for 6:30 pm.”  She slowly turned her attention back to the tea, but really she was thinking.  In her angry state, she had completely forgotten how good it felt to be in Gavin’s arms.  Maybe she was going to be working harder for the severance package than she imagined.

***

After deciding what to make for dinner, Hannah realized she had to go to the grocery store and because she knew there had to be other items she needed, she went to the Super Target.  She walked in and started with the produce.  Just as she was about to pick the perfect head of romaine lettuce, a man came up beside her.

“It’s you!  It really is you.”  He thrust out his hand and waited for her to shake.

Hannah paused.  “I’m sorry?”  Her head tilted as she tried to place him.

“It’s Hannah, right?”  He grinned, still excited.  “Remember me? Rick from Creative Loafing.”

Instead of a handshake, Hannah smiled widely and gave him a friendly hug.  “You saved me.  That makes you a friend and I hug my friends.”  She looked at him, waiting to see why he was so excited.  It didn’t take him long.

“Okay, I know I talked to you about this once before, and you weren’t interested, but things have changed.”  He paused to take a breath.  “Whew.  So, anyway, when you wouldn’t let us interview you, it resulted in a discussion at the office.  We realized there are a lot of single moms who are just as desperate as you but simply end up homeless, feel forced to give up their kids, all these horrible scenarios.  And I remembered what you said about just needing a leg up, not a handout.  That really stuck with me, which is why we created a foundation.”

“You did
what
?”  Hannah’s head dropped to the side and she squinted at him.

“We usually take on a charitable project every year and try to give back to the community which has been so generous with us.  This year, we decided to do something long term instead of hit and run.  So we started a foundation.  And it’s all because of you.”

“Wow.” Hannah’s mouth gaped open.

“So can I interview you now?  It’s a happy story.  I can still keep you anonymous.  I just want your story in your words.  You’re really good with them.”  He stood there, watching and waiting for a response.

“A whole foundation?  Because I talked about needing a leg up?”  She was shaking her head in surprise.

“Yup.  Let’s get a coffee and talk.”  He steered her toward the Starbucks just inside the entrance.

“Make mine a hot chocolate and we’re good,” Hannah remarked.

They talked for over an hour like old friends when Hannah suddenly realized she still had to finish shopping and drop off the groceries at home before picking up the girls.  She excused herself and didn’t really give the article another thought.

***

Two days later, Gavin came home from the office with the latest Creative Loafing.  There was an article everyone was talking about.  Some woman advertised for a sugar daddy and now there was a foundation created for single moms…check it out online…leg up dot org.

“What did we say about anonymity?”  He blustered.  At the same time, he was rather impressed.  His Hannah had inspired the creation of a foundation.  That…was incredible.  
She
was incredible.

“I haven’t even seen the article.  Is it not anonymous?”  She barely looked up from her latest jewelry project.  She studied the stones she had wrapped in wire critically.  Then she smiled and laid them on the coffee table in the keeping room where she was working.  “What do you think?  Earrings or necklace?”

Gavin shook his head.  “I don’t know.  Earrings, I guess.”  Then he sulked to the study to read the article.

On Saturday, they had the first of two planned estate sales.  The turnout was impressive.  Before it all began and while they were organizing everything, Hannah asked Gavin a serious question.  “Are you sure about getting rid of everything?”  Everywhere she looked there was a ton of stuff, Swarovski crystal this, Murano that, collections of silver and so much more.  “It must be difficult for you,” she commented.

“You’d think so, right?”  He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the one area of the house she had never been in.  “Look at this.  This is me, how I like to live.”  He stepped aside after throwing open the door and gestured for her to walk through.

The room was so minimalist that it was practically barren.  There were no knick-knacks, no photos, no paintings, no clutter, no dust, and no mess.  “Wow,” she commented.

“Yeah.  Wow.  See why I could be very comfortable in the confines of a sailboat.  I don’t need a lot.  It’s all just stuff.  My favorite pictures are in here.”  He pointed to his head.  “Or I save them on a flash drive.  It’s simple.  Just like the kind of life I want.”

Smiling, Hannah felt as though she understood him just a touch better.  “Okay, let’s go sell your junk.”

The sale was a huge success.  An even bigger success was the change between them.  Hannah had stopped being mad.  She was reasonable.  She could even see how it had happened, the desire for revenge, the intent to punish someone for the hurt, and most especially the falling in love.  Hannah could see it in his eyes every time he looked at her.  Even more, she knew all of this was killing him.

Gavin wanted more than anything for Hannah to suddenly wake up one morning and agree to live his dream with him.  She had come into his life and made him believe that life could be different and better.  And so he wanted her life to be different and better, too.

“The boat is going to be moved on Monday.  We’ll be leaving following the boat.  I have a driver bringing us to Charleston.  We’ll head out from the Cooper River Marina.  I want to make sure everything is settled by then.”  He was getting more and more excited.

The house was on the market.  He had saved nothing but personal items.  He had sold everything he hadn’t found a use for on the boat.  Still, he had Hannah pack some things in boxes.  He loaded the boxes into the Edge.  “I hope you don’t mind.  I have to borrow your vehicle.”

“It’s not mine yet,” Hannah said with a laugh.  “Have at it.”

“I am going to stick a few things in storage I may need later.  I’ve been thinking I may want to have a small cottage on an island, you know, kind of like I had here.”  He took the keys she passed him and headed to the storage unit.

After he left, Hannah shook her head.  “A cottage like here.”  She looked around at his big empty house.  At least it gave the girls an excuse for spending more and more time outside.  The next few nights were going to be spent on the boat.  The house was empty, for all practical purposes.  There were no beds.  Their clothes were either on the boat or packed away.  Gavin had rented Hannah a storage unit next to his own for her personal items.  It was a one-month rental because it was the shortest time offered.  Over the past week, she had been encouraged to pick her apartment.  Yet instead of an apartment, he had actually found her a condo to rent.  It was a two bedroom and overlooked the lake.  There was a sandy beach area and a pool.  There were walking paths and a playground.  Hannah knew they would be very happy there.

“Now, I want you to know you don’t have to buy beds.  I put the girls’ beds and your bed in storage.”  He was ever practical, ever generous.

Hannah was touched.  “Thank you, Gavin.  Thank you for making the rest of our time together so pleasant.  Thank you for making sure we’re taken care of.”  She was about to go order dinner.  On the way past him, she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Gavin smiled.  His eyes twinkled.  Despite his mistake, she knew him well enough to understand his thinking.  In his mind, there was still time for her to decide they could be happier together.  He was probably hoping the time in the Caribbean would be as magical as it was the last time.  If Hannah was being honest, she rather hoped it would be too.

Her phone rang, interrupting her reverie.  It was Rick.  “Hey, I didn’t expect to hear from you again.”

“Are you sitting?” He sounded positively giddy.

“No,” Hannah said honestly as she glanced about the empty house.  “There’s no place to sit.”  Then she laughed.

“Well, find some place to lean.  I mean it.”  He took a breath.

“What’s going on?”  Her interest was piqued.

“I have a job offer for you.  I have the
perfect
job for you.”  He chuckled.

“Oh really.  And what’s that?”  Hannah was afraid to get too excited without some details.

“We need you to run the foundation.”  He seemed to be waiting for it all to sink in.

Hannah walked outside with the phone.  There was more room to pace as they talked and Gavin would be well out of earshot.  As Rick described the responsibilities of the position, she was absolutely in shock at the job offer.  Still, she was excited, too.  Finally she had a job offer she was not only qualified for, but would also allow her to support her children as well.  This was everything she’d been waiting for.  This could be her future.

“How long do I have to think about it?”  Hannah tapped her chin as she spoke, considering everything they had discussed.  “When would you need someone to start?”

“Well, obviously, you’re our first choice.  We could give you two weeks to think about it.  We want someone running things full time within a month.  Ever since the story ran, the foundation has been receiving serious donations every day.  It’s huge!  All because of you.”

“Okay.”  She sighed.  “I’ll let you know.  I’ll give you an answer in two weeks.”

The timing was good.  She would be back from the Caribbean by then.  Hannah stopped pacing for a moment.  She stared out at the lake, at the sailboat.  It tugged at her heart.  Then she turned and saw Gavin watching her out of the window. Inside, she simply ached as she pondered her future.

Why had she even said she needed time to think about it?  She wrapped her arms around her middle.  Part of her hadn’t ruled out Gavin.  Part of her still wanted to be with him.  She had to make a choice.  Part of her was going to be very disappointed.

***

They spent their last night at Gavin’s on the boat.  They really had no other options.  It was that, or they’d have to sleep on a floor.  The boat was cozy.  In the past, sharing the space had been glorious. Of course, last time was different, full of excitement and anticipation.  Now, the sense of dread and discomfort was palpable. 

For the first time since he broke her heart, Hannah and Gavin were forced to share a berth and a bed.  Somehow, they’d already anticipated the tension.  It was one thing to stay on deck as long as possible to enjoy the night sky, the gentle breeze, the quiet time.  It was entirely another to remain above because they wanted to avoid being thrown together in close quarters.  Suddenly it felt less cozy and more stifling.  So they stayed topside for as long as possible.  

In an effort to break the tension, Gavin returned from below deck carrying a wine key to go along with a special bottle of wine he’d packed for them to share.  

“You know, a little something to take the edge off might not be such a bad idea,” she mumbled.  “So what do we have here?”  She reached for the bottle to read the label.

“This bottle of wine was a housewarming gift,” Gavin said as he passed it to her.  “The plan was to open it on the one year anniversary of living here.  Of course, India and I were already having issues.  By the second anniversary, we were truly struggling.  Before we could reach the third, well, we weren’t living together anymore.”  He reached over and reclaimed the wine so he could open it.  He completed the task without thought.  He’d done it so many times it felt natural.  For a moment there was an uncomfortable silence and he worried he’d said too much. 

“I’m sorry you went through that, Gavin.”  She reached over and grabbed his free hand for just a moment.

He sighed as he looked down at her hand on his.  “It’s okay.  I’m celebrating the move with the right person.”  He poured the wine, passed her a goblet, and lifted his glass.  “Let’s toast to new adventures.”