As usual, Lee ignored his remarks. “Let’s see it, show-off.”
So Gavin got into the zone, but instead of keeping the world out and himself centered inside a warm golden cocoon of safety, he imagined Zoe’s smile building a wall around the pair of them.
* * *
Gavin saw Zoe’s text and smiled. He’d wondered when she’d push for a no-sex date. No doubt the stubborn woman thought she’d have to force him into spending time with her that didn’t end with some part of his anatomy buried in hers.
But the truth was, he wanted to spend time with her any way he could. After his session with Lee yesterday, he’d thought long and hard about Zoe’s impact on his life and his psyche. No way could he see her having a negative impact on him. Even if she were to dump him and break his heart into a million pieces tomorrow, he wouldn’t regret a second with her, and he wouldn’t turn violent, become a meth head, or start shooting at people from a rooftop.
She’d done nothing but enhance his life. If he’d learned anything from dealing with loss and from Lee, it was to appreciate what he had in the now. Not look for possible problems tomorrow.
While working at the gym, he ignored Mac’s insistence that he wear the double-XL gym shirt that had come in. He put in a solid eight hours, including a harrowing training session with Max Grenly, an eighty-nine-year-old athlete who wheezed through his exercises. Gavin kept waiting for the guy to have a heart attack, prepared to give CPR. But the old man only cracked jokes about the women in his assisted living center and did his bicep curls like a pro.
Now cleaned up and ready to impress, Gavin waited for Zoe outside the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit in Seattle Center. Ava and Hope had mentioned it once or twice, but he’d rather have his teeth pulled than walk around a place decorated with glass. Personally, he didn’t care for museums. Unless someone mentioned the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And he still wanted to head to Lambeau Field in Green Bay to check out the statue of legendary coach Vince Lombardi in all his glory. But yeah, Zoe had chosen glass, which was basically melted-down sand. Whoop-dee-do.
He saw her coming and pasted a smile on his face. “Hey, baby.”
“Sweetums. How are you, Smoky?”
“Just dandy. I can’t wait to look at all this pretty glass.”
She snickered. “Come on. This is real art. Let’s go look around.” They bought their tickets and continued inside.
Sure, he could readily admit that whoever had made the amazing, colorful glass fixed to the ceilings and hanging in spikes had mastered his or her craft. But for seventeen bucks a ticket, he could have had two beers and fries while watching a Mariners game. And all while seated on his ass in a cozy little bar.
Zoe oohed and aahed over everything, and he slowly found himself oohing with her. Enjoying her pleasure in the sights. She reached for his hand, and he gave it gladly, walking with her like they were a real couple.
Maybe this art place wasn’t such a bad deal after all. The sun had begun to set, but even shadowed, the sculptures outside glowed with alien, fluidlike life. Blue spikes, tentacle-like spires, and round, meditation balls dotted the greenery like an alien landscape. Gavin and Zoe moved back inside, where the primary colors of glass molds and forms in the ceiling were cast down at them, providing a muted glow.
“This is just amazing,” Zoe said, her voice hushed.
“You can talk louder. It’s not church, you know,” he teased.
“Shh. Come on.” She tugged his hand, and they moved through the museum, stopping, staring, and commenting. Her childlike joy made him see it all through her eyes. And he loved every second of it.
By the time they finished two hours later, he couldn’t believe how much time had passed. They’d meandered through one and a half acres of exhibits.
“All right. This was fun,” he admitted. “I can’t believe you’ve never been here before.”
“It was Aubrey’s favorite place to go,” Zoe said quietly. “I used to tell her we’d go later. When I could get the time. I preferred hiking or going to the mountains.” She shrugged, but he could see Zoe wished she’d taken the time to go with her sister.
“Didn’t you tell me your sister was an artist?”
“A photographer.” She nodded. “She had some amazing pictures of this place. What was your favorite part?” she asked, her voice deliberately cheery.
He had to hand it to her. Zoe didn’t try to avoid her pain. Not like he did. She met it head on. He squeezed her hand, amazed they had only separated from each other a few times in all the time they’d been there. “This place is amazing. I likedMille Fiori. It means a thousand flowers, right? I mean, come on. The glasshouse was like forty feet tall.”
She nodded. “I read that it’s 4,500 square feet in size. And that centerpiece sculpture is one hundred feet long.”
“That’s a lot of glass.”
“Yes. Oh, and one other thing.”
“Yeah?”
She gave him a quick peck on the lips, and the tingle shot all the way to his feet. “I told you so. Ha.”
“You had to rub that in.”
