“The thing is, you know his assistant has planned out every step of this trip, and he’s just not telling you because he wants to see or hear your reaction, like when you walked into his condo and it was covered in flowers. He lives for surprises. Meanwhile, we’re sharpening our knives over here so we can threaten his life.”
She giggled. “But you know what, I love that about him.”
“Me too.”
She turned quiet, her face becoming serious. “Em ...”
“Yeah?”
“I’m ready for it to be your turn. For you to find a Jordan.”
I found one.
And . . . I loved him.
I rubbed my lips together, filling my lungs, the guilt suddenly coming on thick and strong. So much so, that I downed half my wineglass.
I needed to tell her. I needed to just say the words.
But Gavin hadn’t told his brother. In fact, we hadn’t discussed telling Jordan or Maya in a while.
Rather than dwell on something I didn’t have an answer to, I shook my head, clearing those thoughts away, and whispered, “Girl, you and me both.”
Gavin was upstairs putting Ben to sleep, something he did whenever I was here during this hour. An undiscussed boundary I’d set so Gavin was the last person Ben saw before he closed his eyes. But what that also meant was, depending on how long it took Ben to fall asleep, I often dozed off while I was waiting for Gavin to come back downstairs. Like tonight, after a full day at the rehab center that had been more taxing than I was prepared for, I woke to the feel of Gavin’s soft lips on my forehead.
“You look so fucking gorgeous when you sleep.”
I was hugging one of the decorative pillows, tucked into the corner of the couch, a blanket over me. I sat up to hopefully shake the tiredness out. “How many stories did it take?”
“Three. Dinosaurs, dogs, and now he’s on an otter kick.” He set my legs over his lap and rubbed the outside of my thigh. “I swear, the kid is going to end up being a vet. He can’t get enough of animals.”
“Except when it comes to taking one outside.” I winked.
He laughed. “Jenny told me Ben met a dog in the lobby this morning, I guess one of the residents got a new puppy. Ben didn’t want to say goodbye to it. He told me all about it during the dog book we just read.”
“Oh yeah, you’re going to have a Fenway before you know it.”
His hand stilled on my leg. “Hungry?”
I loved that we ate a small snack while Ben devoured his early dinner, and had ours after he went to bed.
“Starving.”
“Wine?”
I nodded. “Please.”
He got up from the couch, and while he stood at the bar, he poured two glasses of red from an already open bottle and brought them over, taking a seat again. He held my gaze, a unique smile coming across his face. “I want to surprise you, but your situation makes that a little difficult.”
“Surprise me?” My head tilted. “And what situation are we talking about?”
He massaged my knee. “How much notice would you have to give work if I wanted to take you away for a long weekend?”
My eyes narrowed as I held the glass near my lips, staring into his eyes. “Where are you taking me?”
He chuckled. “You have to answer my question first.”
“Probably about two weeks. That would give me enough time to get my shifts covered for both jobs.”
