Chapter Thirty-Three
I ring the doorbell of the elegant Upper East Side town house in front of me, wishing the owner would hurry up and answer. When the owner isn’t forthcoming, I knock on the door urgently. I had an epiphany and would like to act on it, please and thank you. I hear barking on the other side, making me pause in the frantic knocking.
I didn’t think Gavin had a dog. But this is the address he gave me to pick him up at before Harrison’s party. Did he give me the wrong address initially?
“Calm down, you little brat,” Gavin says from behind the door as he starts the unlocking process. Thank god. But also who is he talking to?
“Gavin,” I say to the man in front of me when hefinallyopens the door. “Oh, hello to you too,” I say to the adorable white-and-brown bulldog puppy in Gavin’s arms, distracting me from why I’m here.
I move forward to scratch the puppy under the chin, and it puts its tiny perfect paws on my hands and chews on my fingers with sharp baby teeth.
Is this heaven? This feels like heaven.
Until the puppy launches himself into my arms and I extend my arms to take him from Gavin, hugging the slight weight to me as he tries to eat my hair.Thisis heaven.
“Gavin, look. He likes my hair.”
“I can see that.”
I finally lift my head from the bundle in my arms, only to be shocked at the sight that awaits me. Gavin’s hair is unusually mussed and he’s got bags under his eyes. His shirt has suspicious stains on it, and his right sock has a hole in it. A puppy-teeth-size hole.
This is good. This makes him more approachable. So much so that I can get through what I came for, helped by the comforting weight in my arms.
“Gavin Carlyle,” I say without any other preamble, needing to get it out fast before I can get too nervous. “I like you and I miss you and I’m sorry I snapped at you back in Long Island.” I pause for a half second before continuing. “Nope, actually I just lied when I said I like you, because I love you but I didn’t want to put it out there if you had changed your mind. Because that gives you something on me. But I’m trying to be more honest with my feelings regardless of how vulnerable that makes me. And to trust you.” I bury my head in the puppy’s neck, inhaling puppy smell so I can avoid his reaction to my admission.
“Wow.”
“Is that a good wow or a bad wow?” My voice is muffled by the wiggling puppy I’m using as a shield, and by the sound of my own heartbeat in my ears.
“It’s a come-in wow.” Gavin steps back from his front door.
“Okay, but can you tell me if you want me, too, before I come in? I’d rather just leave if you don’t want to give this a try anymore.”
“Come in, Riya.”
That’s not an answer, but I did just say I was trying to trust Gavin more, so I come in. He leads me through his impeccably decorated temple to excess and expensive interior design. Dark wood paneling competes with damask wallpaper and antique furniture. Paintings and sculptures complete the look. It’s nice, and I hope this isn’t the last time I get to see it, because I could spend some time here studying his furniture. And being with the man who owns it.
Gavin leads me to a living room, but this building is so historic it was probably originally called a drawing room. I sit down on one of his couches and focus on petting the puppy in my arms, since Gavin still hasn’t said anything in response to my declaration.
“Priya Gupta. I miss you too. I’m sorry I wasn’t more supportive back at Harrison’s. I get now why it was wrong of me to have put my feelings first when you were going through so much, and why you reacted like you did. I love you and I want to give us a try, too.” Gavin smiles softly at me as he mimics what I just said to him.
“Well, that’s good then,” I say, not sure how to be relaxed with Gavin just yet.
He doesn’t have that problem, because he sits down next to me and kisses me. I melt into the couch, so relieved to have his lips when I thought I’d never feel them again that I could kiss him forever.
Or I would have if a little puppy wasn’t trying his hardest to get involved in this kiss. And his puppy kisses are getting a little too close to our human one.
I break away from Gavin, laughing. “Who is this? And how long have you had a puppy?” It can’t be that long; he’s so tiny.
“He’s not mine. I was going to deliver him to you tomorrow. Since neither of us really won the bet, I thought it only fair that I live up to half of my part of the bet and provide you with a puppy. Riya, meet Leo. Short for Leonardo Dog Vinci because I know you love puns. But you can rename him if you think that’s stupid. Leo, this is your new momma, and she isn’t going to like you chewing on her art.”
I laugh in delight at the puppy and the name. “Hi, Leo. Do you love art like me?”
“He’s already tried to eat about four expensive paintings and pee on one statue.”
“I hope you didn’t eat any priceless art, Leonardo Dog Vinci.” I raise him up to look him in the eyes as I give the stern warning. The puppy tilts his face at me and I don’t care anymore. Maybe he can chew on some art that I don’t like as much.
“I stopped him in time,” Gavin says.
