The Unforgettable Ex (Captured by Love Book 5) (Volume 5)

by Miranda P. Charles

“You’re right. So what are you gonna do?”

  “He invited me to some holiday house in the Blue Mountains on the weekend. Maybe I should go just to stop him from bugging me about working too hard. But I’m worried about leaving you alone here all weekend.”

  “I’ll be okay. You should go.”

  He gave her a small smile. “I know this is hard for you too. Is there a guy waiting for you when we finally catch the bastard who’s trying to mess with our lives?”

  “I wish,” she said with a laugh. “No, there’s no guy. I’ve dated guys back in Broome, but nothing serious. I just don’t see how I can allow myself to be in a committed relationship when I can’t tell the person I’m with certain truths—like why I’ve never wanted to go back to Sydney or why I don’t have any communication with my family. I guess that’s the main reason I was prepared to risk coming back here after I saw the news that Biggs has been caught. I’m sick of my lonely existence. I was safe, but I was lonely. Now I’m back and my life is in danger again. Sydney must hate me,” she added teasingly.

  “I’m sorry, Amber,” he murmured with guilt. Biggs’ loathing for him was the only reason Amber was in this situation, and it truly wasn’t fair.

  “Hey, don’t be,” she said, touching his arm. “I don’t blame you at all. I’m blaming Cameron Biggs and his henchmen. Anyway, do you mind if we talk later?” She indicated the TV, where the drama she was addicted to had started showing.

  He chuckled. “Sure. Do you want a drink?” he asked, taking a swig from his beer.

  “No, thanks. I’ll make a hot chocolate later.”

  He nodded and sat back, watching the TV but letting his mind wander.

  He’d started entertaining the possibility that someone was setting up Biggs, hoping to get away with whatever crime they were planning to commit. But even if his instinct told him to follow that train of thought, his brain was telling him it was highly unlikely, given that the new threats carried a specific message—that even though Biggs was now in custody, his vendetta against Gavin was far from over. He wondered if other people that Biggs used to target had also received similar threats. If they had, they certainly hadn’t told the police about it. Perhaps, like him, they wanted to ensure the safety of their loved ones while they waited for new instructions to arrive.

  “Do you think Carter suspects that something’s going on between us because I’m staying with you?” Amber asked, interrupting his thoughts.

  “He does think I’m with you again and that I’m avoiding him because I broke up with his sister. But he doesn’t seem to suspect anything regarding this new threat. I can’t keep fobbing him off, though, or he might start digging deeper. So I think I should join him and the gang in the Blue Mountains this weekend.”

  “Will Natasha be there too?”

  “Yes, but so will her new boyfriend. Apparently, she’s started going out with someone else,” he murmured, letting some of his emotions show.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Amber said with a sympathetic frown. “But you know what? Hard as it is, you breaking up with Natasha is kind of a good thing. You at least have a reason for being cagey with Carter.”

  “I guess.”

  “So are you any closer to figuring out who sent the letters? I’m still scared that they’ll know I’m staying here with you.”

  “There’s little chance of that happening if you don’t leave the apartment until I can have one of my guys accompany you. And of course, wear that disguise every time you do.”

  Amber nodded. “I should have stayed put in Broome. Do you think that you received those threats because they found out I’m still alive?”

  “I’m hoping that their next set of instructions will contain more clues that will help me find them,” he said with a comforting smile.

  “Do you think telling the police about the threats will help find them quicker?”

  “It could, because of the extra resources. But there’s nothing for them to go on. I’ve tried tracing the messages back to the source and I couldn’t, and they’ll only likely reach the same dead end. So there’s no point in telling them at this stage, with the risk much greater than the benefits if they knew.”

  “As long as we’re safe,” Amber said, looking slightly relieved. “But is it okay with you that you’re stuck with me indefinitely? I seriously don’t know of any other place where I would feel safe.”

  “I don’t mind,” he said, knowing how important it was for Amber to feel welcome—so she’d stay to help put Biggs in jail for the rest of his life.

  But he hoped that indefinitely would only be a matter of days. He and Amber both had lives they wanted to live. And for him, it was to be with his Tash—who might already be falling in love with another man.

  Damn it. Could he really sit back and let it happen?

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Natasha’s face lit up with delight as she walked into the century-old mansion that was to be their home for two days. “This is beautiful,” she said, checking out the crackling fireplace and the elegant country-style decor.

  “I know,” Cassie gushed. “Did you see the paintings in the hallway? Wow!”

  “Good thing we’re the first to arrive,” Carter said. “The master bedroom is ours.”

  “Hey, I stepped foot inside first,” Natasha teased.

  “Oh?” Carter said, raising an eyebrow at her. “You want to impress Jarryd by grabbing the master for yourselves?”

  She widened her eyes at her brother while Cassie snorted. “Did you think I was going to share with Jarryd?”

  “Aren’t you?”

  She turned to Cassie in panic. “You didn’t count me and Jarryd as sharing a bedroom, did you?”

  “Of course not.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief, glaring at Carter. “Very funny.”

  “I wasn’t joking,” Carter said, forehead creased in confusion. “I thought you and Jarryd had started dating, and that was why you invited him this weekend.”

  She chuckled. “Sometimes your detective instincts fail you, my dear brother. He’s just a friend.”

  “I see,” Carter said, pursing his lips. “Does that mean that if Gavin turns up, there’s no room for him?” he asked Cassie.

  Natasha’s breath left her. What?

  “You didn’t tell me he was coming,” Cassie said with a frown.

  “He wasn’t sure if he could. He said he won’t know until today, depending on how his work pans out. And I thought we still had one room available for him because I assumed Tash and Jarryd were sharing.”

  “No. I even had to turn down Tristan and Simon. Anyway, the two bedrooms upstairs both have two single beds pushed together to make a king-size. We can ask the caretaker to reconfigure them to two single beds again, I guess. Problem is, everyone’s expecting that each single person or couple would get their own room.”

  Natasha cleared her throat, gulping involuntarily and feeling the heat creep up her face. “Would, um, Gavin be taking Amber with him?”

  Carter stared at her, and she tried not to squirm. “He didn’t say we when I spoke with him. He said I.”

  “Well,” Cassie said, “if he does come, the only person he could share with is Jarryd, since Jarryd is the only other single guy. But I sincerely doubt Gavin would want that.”

  “I’m happy to share with Marilyn. I’m sure she won’t mind,” Natasha said, annoyed at herself for being accommodating to her ex, but unable to help looking forward to seeing him at the same time—as long as Amber wasn’t with him.

  “Oh, good. That fixes it, then,” Carter said.

  “Or,” Cassie said to her fiancé, “if Marilyn prefers her own room because that’s what she’s expecting, I could share with Tash and you can share with Gavin.”

  Carter scowled. “Are you kidding me?”

  “Well, it’s your fault that you didn’t tell me about Gavin possibly joining us. As for Tash and me, we’ve been roommates before, so we don’t mind sharing a room again for the next two nig
hts. Right, Tash?”

  “Right,” she answered, grinning and enjoying Carter’s grimace.

  “I’m telling Gavin not to come at all, then,” Carter said, scowling at Cassie and pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Because I’m sleeping with you, and not with anyone else.”

  “Not even your best friend?” Cassie asked with a giggle.

  Carter stepped towards Cassie. “Only you, babe,” he said softly, before giving his soon-to-be wife a lingering kiss on the lips.

  Natasha sighed loudly. “Maybe it’s time for the two of you to check out the master bedroom.”

  “See, babe?” Carter said with a grin. “Tash is giving us the master bedroom. That means she’s sharing with Marilyn and not you.”

  Natasha rolled her eyes. “As if Cassie was being serious. Anyway, Gavin might not come at all.” She hoped.

  Carter’s phone buzzed. “Speak of the devil,” he murmured before answering the phone.

  Her heart pounded in her chest. Did she really want to spend a whole weekend with Gavin in a romantic setting like this, even with other people?

  “Okay, hang on a minute,” Carter was saying to Gavin. Then he tapped something on his phone and faced her. “Is it really okay with you if Gavin comes?”

  She swallowed, words catching in her throat.

  “It’s on mute,” Carter said, holding his phone up for her to see. “If you’re not comfortable I’ll tell him there’s no room.”

  “It’s okay. We need to get used to being around each other again anyway.”

  “Positive?”

  “Yes.”

  Carter took his phone off mute. “Dude? Yeah, cool, there’s room for you.”

  “Oh,” Cassie interrupted. “Tell him that tonight we’re dressing up for dinner.”

  “Cassie said to tell you we’re dressing up for dinner tonight,” Carter said. “The girls are cooking MasterChef-style dishes... Great. See you tonight, bro.”

  Carter hung up and Natasha let out the breath she didn’t realise she’d been holding.

  Gavin wasn’t arriving until tonight. At least she had a few hours to prepare herself for being friends with him again—and nothing more.

  *****

  “So why is she being aloof?”

  Natasha frowned questioningly at Jarryd, pausing from her task of setting the dining table with pretty floral-patterned dinnerware. “Aloof?”

  “Yeah. I don’t think she likes me very much,” he whispered, placing the glazed duck he’d cooked in the middle of the table next to Cassie, Jade and Marilyn’s mouth-watering dishes.

  She sighed. Frankly, she didn’t know either why Marilyn was being standoffish towards Jarryd. “Hey, maybe it’s because she hardly knows you. Be a little patient.”

  “Did you tell her I’m interested in her? Maybe the feeling’s not mutual and she’s giving me signs.”

  “No, I haven’t told her. Marilyn hates—hates—being set up with guys because she’s had enough of it. Everyone from her mother to her neighbour has tried to introduce her to some eligible bachelor, and she doesn’t like the pressure. So she won’t get any pressure from me this weekend in relation to you. I don’t even know what possessed me to agree to your idea to invite you here.”

  “Oh, really? I thought I’d worn you out with my begging,” Jarryd teased. “Anyway, what if she thinks that you and I are together? Maybe that’s why she’s trying to avoid me.”

  “Then stop coming up to me and whispering in my ear so no one will think that,” she said with a laugh.

  Jarryd let out a heavy breath. “I’m not a very patient person. Maybe I should just ask her what she’s got against me.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I doubt she has anything against you, Jarryd. She hardly knows you, and I think that’s the long and short of it. The best advice I can give you is to just get to know each other as friends until she starts warming up to you.”

  “Fine. I—”

  “Hey, guys, where’s Gavin?” Carter interrupted.

  Her heart skipped. “Gavin? Is he here already?”

  “Yeah. I thought he was coming in here to say hello to you. But maybe he went straight to his room to get changed. Mm. Is that your duck, Jarryd?” Carter walked to the table to check out the dish.

  “It certainly is.”

  “Looks yum. I wish I could cook like that.”

  “You could if you learned how to,” Natasha said with a pointed look. “Anyway, since we’re ready to eat, I’ll get the others.”

  “We’re here,” Jade said, walking into the room with Lucas, Erin and Brad. “The others are still getting changed.”

  “Oh my gosh,” Erin said, eyeing the table. “Tash, Lexie and I have our work cut out for breakfast tomorrow morning.”

  “So you guys won’t be cooking at all, I take it?” Jarryd said to Carter and Lucas.

  “No,” Lucas answered. “The rest of us guys will be in charge of a barbecue lunch tomorrow before we head back home.”

  “Hey, peeps.”

  Natasha whirled to the sound of that achingly familiar voice, and her mouth dropped open. Gavin was wearing—

  “Nice tie, Gav,” said Brad.

  “Haven’t seen you in anything pink before, bro,” Carter said. “Where did you get that tie from?”

  Gavin ran his fingers on the silk cloth. “Tash gave it to me,” he said, smiling at her.

  All eyes turned to her.

  She shrugged. “It was kind of a joke. Gavin doesn’t usually wear girly colours, so I’d wondered if he’d wear it.”

  “I see,” Gavin said, the corners of his eyes losing their crinkle. “So what’s for dinner?” he asked, his cheer sounding fake.

  She bit her lip, wanting to throttle him. Did he expect her to just smile and pretend he hadn’t broken her heart in pieces? She wasn’t ready to play friends-again yet, damn it! And how dare he use her second first-month anniversary present to soften her up? That was the height of insensitivity.

  Cassie urged everyone to sit down, directing Gavin to a chair on the other side of the long dining table and giving her a concerned look.

  She smiled at her friend reassuringly. Geez, she had to rein in her emotions. She’d hate to ruin the weekend for everyone else.

  Fortunately, dinner was an enjoyable affair. There were plenty of things to talk about other than pink ties and who gave what to whom.

  When they all pitched in to clear up after dinner, she made sure she was out of Gavin’s way. And when they congregated in the living room for after-dinner drinks, she squeezed herself next to Lexie and Marilyn to ensure she wasn’t sitting close to him.

  Soon, it was past midnight, and the couples had started making noises about going to sleep. Yeah, right. Sleep. She could only hope they’d mind their volume when in the throes of passion. Hearing four crazy-for-each-other couples having sex at the same time would be too much for her lonely heart. Fortunately, the room she was sharing with Marilyn was upstairs, with the room next to theirs being Jarryd’s. Moans and groans shouldn’t reach them up there—hopefully.

  Her gaze flickered to Gavin. He was staring at his glass, deep in thought. Was he missing—

  Shut up, Natasha.

  “I think I’m going to bed too,” Marilyn said, hiding a yawn.

  “Me too,” she said, not keen on being left down here with Gavin.

  “Well, it looks like we’re all going to bed,” Jarryd said. “It’s been a great dinner. Thanks, everyone. And thanks for having me here this weekend.”

  Lucas snickered. “I don’t think we could have stopped you from coming even if we wanted to.”

  Jarryd laughed self-consciously.

  Natasha gave Jarryd a meaningful look. So it wasn’t just her who knew about Jarryd’s reason for being here. The guy had developed an infatuation with Marilyn after meeting her at Jade’s birthday party. Unfortunately, Marilyn didn’t appear to want to know. Tash would have to see if she could pry the reason why out of her friend.

  Her
breathing shallowed when Gavin approached her. “Goodnight, Tash.”

  “Goodnight,” she said with a small smile.

  “Where are you sleeping?”

  “Upstairs.” What an inappropriate question to ask an ex-girlfriend. Hrmph.

  “Tash... I—”

  “See you in the morning, everyone,” Jarryd called out as he climbed up the staircase.

  Gavin inhaled deeply, glaring at Jarryd. Then he turned around without a word, leaving her with her mouth open.

  Hah! He thought she was sharing a room with Jarryd!

  But why would he get upset about that? Shouldn’t he be relieved?

  *****

  Natasha sat up in bed, glancing with envy at Marilyn’s slumbering form.

  Silently, she got up, put on her robe and padded down the stairs. Maybe reading something while having a hot drink would help her catch some elusive sleep. Tossing and turning, breathing exercises and counting sheep certainly hadn’t.

  A soft light was coming from the living room. Was someone else still awake at three o’clock in the morning or had they all forgotten to turn off the lamp? She walked there and found no one.

  “Tash.”

  She jumped at the sound of Gavin’s voice behind her, her hand going to her chest. “Hey, you scared me.”

  “Sorry,” he said, his lips curving into a semblance of a smile. “I just came from the kitchen. What are you doing down here?”

  “I can’t sleep,” she answered, noticing his attire. He was still in his long-sleeved shirt—and still wearing the pink tie. Her gaze went to the tie pin that she hadn’t paid attention to earlier, and her heart pounded harder. It was the other gift she’d given him for their first first-month anniversary. Why had he worn both of them tonight?

  “I can’t sleep either,” Gavin said, sauntering to the couch and sitting down.

  She frowned, his demeanour tugging at her heart. She’d never seen him so... despondent. “Is everything okay?” she asked softly.

  He smiled sadly, his head bowing. “I’m just tired.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  Gavin looked at her, his expression a blending of yearning and hopelessness. It clutched at her heart. No matter how much pain she’d been going through because of him, she couldn’t stand seeing him like this. She sat next to him on the couch.