And I’ll be in my room on the opposite side of the house. Alone.
She’d carried their overnight bags inside, since he had his hands full carrying Erin. Leah dropped them on the floor near the door. “Goodnight, Erin. Gavin, I’ll be in the kitchen.” She didn’t stick around for a response from either of them.
She filled the teakettle with water and set it on the stove before selecting a canister of loose leaf tea from the cupboard. She didn’t feel like tea, but brewing a pot the proper way, which according to her cousin was the only way to make it, gave her something more productive to do than chew her fingernails while she waited for Gavin. And he would come. Gavin didn’t leave conversations unfinished, no matter the topic.
By the time he finally joined her, the tea leaves were steeping in the china teapot Sara had given her as a gift one year ago.
“Sorry. She wanted me to stay with her until she fell asleep.” He didn’t try to touch her. Instead he pulled out a chair at the table opposite her and sat. “What you heard isn’t true,” he began before she could ask any other questions.
“Then Harry didn’t get involved with me because your father wanted him to? Because it sure sounded like it to me.”
“No, not in the beginning. But he stayed with you because Dad wanted him to,” Gavin admitted. “I didn’t know that until the day you found him with Amy.”
He sounded sincere. She’d give him that much.
“And when your dad found out I asked you to Newport, he asked you to take over since Harry blew it with me?”
“Only Vivian knew you invited me along on the Fourth.”
That she wasn’t buying. “You saw him the morning you came to pick me up.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t tell him we had plans. Before today, he didn’t know you and I were together. I don’t discuss any of my relationships with him.”
Gavin and his dad worked together. They talked on the phone. How could his father not know? Maybe if they’d only gone on a single date, she could accept his claim. She didn’t share the names of every man she dated with her parents. But they’d been together for over a month. Not only that, but lately she’d been spending more nights at his condo than her house. While she hadn’t shared those details with her parents—talking about her sex life wasn’t something she felt comfortable doing even with Mom—her family knew the relationship was serious between them.
He reached across the table and took her hand. “I’m telling you the truth. I’m with you because I love you, not for any other reason. When Dad saw you with me today, he was as surprised as Harry.”
She wanted his words to be true and his feelings to be real. But wanting something to be real didn’t make it so. If it did, unicorns would be real because as a little girl she’d always wanted one for a pet.
Tugging her hand free, Leah poured her tea. She didn’t offer Gavin a cup. Instead she walked away to get some milk and sugar. If he wanted any, he didn’t mention it.
“The day you dumped Harry, I was mad at him for treating you like that. But I was also happy because I wanted to be with you,” he continued, putting extra emphasis on the word I. “If you hadn’t been with someone the first time we met, I would’ve asked you out then. When you showed up at my condo with Harry, I was pissed because if I’d known you weren’t with anyone, I would’ve tried to contact you before your cousin introduced you to him.”
Leah sipped her tea and considered his words. She’d never heard anyone sound more sincere. But sincerity didn’t equate with truth.
“Leah?” His voice cracked with emotion.
Her heart urged her to accept Gavin’s words and forget everything she’d heard Harry say this afternoon.
Her brain cautioned her against it. Twice men had betrayed her. She didn’t want to add a third to her track record.
“I need some time.”
Time to think and sort through everything they’d shared up until today as well as their conversation tonight. Leah couldn’t even attempt to do that with him sitting across from her.
He steepled his hands together near his face and closed his eyes. She waited for him to further argue his case or press her for a different answer.
He didn’t. Instead he lowered his hands and opened his eyes. They shone with the same sadness gripping her heart. Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell if it was real or not.
“Okay. Take whatever time you need.” Standing, Gavin came around to the other side of the table. He didn’t try to hug her or pull her in close. He simply took her hand and raised it to his lips. “I love you, and time won’t change that.” His lips brushed across her knuckles before he released her hand. “Goodnight. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Leah swallowed, trying to dislodge the softball stuck in her throat. “Goodnight.” She watched him leave the room and reached for her teacup. Getting any sleep tonight was unlikely. She might as well drink her tea and try to sort out the thousand and one emotions crashing over her.
Chapter Sixteen
Until about a month ago, unless she had a family member visiting or she was with friends, she spent her weekends at home alone. The solitude never bothered her.
This morning the house was a little too quiet and a little too big.
After a quick breakfast, Gavin and Erin had left as planned for Providence. She expected him to press her for an answer regarding where they stood before he left, but he didn’t mention their late-night conversation or the one she’d overheard between him and Harry. Erin did ask why she wasn’t coming along when it was time to leave. As far as she knew, Gavin and Leah were going to Maine after they dropped her off today.
Thankfully, a simple “Leah has something she needs to do” from Gavin satisfied Erin, and she let the matter go. Or at least she didn’t ask again before they left. What happened once Gavin and Erin got underway was anyone’s guess, and not her problem today.
She had enough of her own to sort out.
Last night Gavin had promised her all the time she wanted, but she didn’t want this lingering between them. Either she accepted that he was telling the truth and they moved on, or she told him to take a hike and got on with her life.
Option B was certainly the easiest and perhaps safest. If she put an end to their relationship now, she didn’t run the risk of getting burned down the road.
But cutting him from her life was the last thing she wanted. Even after the conversation she’d overheard, she loved him. Maybe that made her an idiot, but she couldn’t turn her emotions on and off like a table lamp. Not only did she still love him, but she wanted to believe her feelings were reciprocated.
Unfortunately, even after their conversation, doubt remained, urging her to think long and hard before she got in any deeper. And that was why at almost noon on a picture-perfect Sunday afternoon, she sat alone by the pool sipping iced tea and running through every moment she spent with Gavin since April.
True, he’d called to check on her after the incident at the condo, but he hadn’t asked to see her. She’d been the one to reach out a few days later and ask him to lunch. Their friendship had taken off after that afternoon. Not once had she felt as if he was pursuing her or trying to set himself up for something more.
Maybe his dad hadn’t asked him to pick up where Harry failed yet. She hated to think like that, but it was certainly a possibility.
Gavin insisted his dad never knew about her invitation to Newport. Maybe that was true. It was also possible he’d found out the morning Gavin picked her up and made his request then. After all, they kissed for the first time on the Fourth. Before then she’d never suspected Gavin’s feelings ran any deeper than friendship.
If they had, wouldn’t she have seen some signs? A flash of jealousy maybe when they were out and other men spoke to her, or a casual touch when they were golfing or talking? She’d certainly suffered her fair share of jealousy when they’d been together and a woman showed any interest in him.
“Maybe he’s good at hiding his emotions.”
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Some people were. Her eldest brother, Brett, could be falling apart inside and no one would ever know. He could control and mask his emotions better than anyone she knew. Even Curt did a decent job of only letting people see what he wanted them to.
“He’s certainly great at keeping secrets,” she muttered into her drink before taking a sip. Although they’d spent time together for months, he’d never mentioned Erin. If that wasn’t being able to keep one hell of a secret, she didn’t know what was.
Last night she hadn’t dwelled on the fact he’d only told her about Erin when he absolutely had to. With everything else, it was another strike against him.
Leah rested her forehead against her bent knees. I’m getting nowhere.
She was having the same arguments with herself now that she had last night in bed. Maybe a long walk would help clear her head. If not, at least she’d get a change of scenery.
Finishing the last of her iced tea, she stood. At the same moment her cell phone rang.
“Are you up for company? I’m about five minutes from your house,” Curt asked after she answered.
Some company might be the perfect distraction this afternoon. “Definitely.”
She expected both Curt and Taylor, perhaps even Reese, to be on the other side of the door when she opened it, but only her bother stood on the step.
“How’s my favorite sister?” Curt asked, hugging her and dropping a kiss on her cheek.
“I’m your only sister,” she replied, returning the embrace.
Pulling away, Curt ruffled her hair as if she was Reese’s age and smiled. “Doesn’t mean you’re not my favorite.”
“If you’re looking for me to return the sentiment, it’s not happening. And you know it.” Leah loved her brothers equally. Although they were different in most ways, they’d both always been fabulous older brothers, and she’d never claimed to favor one over the other.
“That’s okay. I know the truth, and I promise not to tell Brett. We wouldn’t want to hurt his feelings.”
Yep, some teasing from her brother was just the thing she needed this afternoon. “All alone today?” she asked. From what she’d seen and been told by other family members, Curt and Taylor rarely spent their free time apart.
“Yeah. I spent the night at Scott’s. We went to see the New York/Boston game last night. Taylor couldn’t make it. She had a bridal shower to go to yesterday. Someone she went to college with.” He looked around before he continued. “Gavin’s not here?”
Leah shook her head. “He’s driving Erin back to Providence. Let’s go sit outside. It’s too nice to stay in here.”
He waited until they were seated near the pool before speaking again. “I’m surprised you didn’t go with him. Did things not go well between you and Erin?”
Reaching out, she adjusted the umbrella so they were both in the shade. “We got along great. I didn’t want to go with them today.”
“I told you, you had nothing to worry about.” He took his sunglass off his head and set them on the table. “Since Erin won’t be around next weekend, why don’t the two of you come and visit. I completed what used to be the ballroom.”
He’d extended the same invitation before Erin’s arrival. He’d even suggested they bring her along. Then she’d declined because of all the activities Gavin already had planned with Erin. Today she really wished she could accept… but at the moment she couldn’t.
Leah adjusted her position so she faced forward rather than her brother. “Maybe I’ll come up. I’ll let you know before Friday.” Ready for a new topic altogether, she asked, “Did you hear Brett’s news?”
Unfortunately, Curt didn’t take the bait. “It seemed odd you didn’t go with Gavin to Providence, but if you’re trying to change the subject, I know something’s up. What happened?”
Over the years, she’d gone to her brother for advice regarding work and even school. Never once had Leah sought him out for advice regarding her romantic relationships. When she needed that, she called Tory or Allison, occasionally even Courtney, but Curt was a good listener. More important, he was here and her cousins weren’t. If she explained the situation, he might be able to help her sort through things. Either that or he might offer to beat Gavin up for her.
“Yesterday we went to a party and I overheard a conversation between Harry and Gavin. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop. I was looking for him because Erin hurt herself and needed him. But the how I heard doesn’t matter. Harry thinks their father encouraged Gavin to get involved with me after I wouldn’t take him back. Turns out Harry stayed with me because their father wanted the connections.”
Curt crossed his arms and digested the words. “From what I know about Harry, it doesn’t surprise me. I never understood why you dated him, and I expected you to kick his ass to the curb long before you did. The same goes for their father. Using his son’s relationships to benefit himself or the company sounds like something he’d try. And we both know he wouldn’t be the first person to do it. ”
How she should’ve handled her previous relationship was irrelevant at this point. Only her current one mattered. “Anyway, when I confronted Gavin, he denied it. But I’m not sure I should believe him.”
“You’ve spent more time with him than me, but I don’t see him doing something like that. He seems like a decent guy. And I’m not the only one who says that about him.”
“What, do you conduct background investigations on the men I date or something?” Curt played the role of a typical protective big brother from time to time, but he’d never hinted at digging around to learn more about the men she got involved with.
“No, but considering his father and brother’s—”
“Half brother,” she clarified.
Curt glared at her, and for the first time all day she cracked a smile. Regardless of age or the situation, sometimes it was simply fun to annoy one’s older brother.
“Considering their reputations and what Harry did when you were together, I was concerned about you. Gavin and I have some of the same friends and acquaintances, including his stepbrother, Evan, so I reached out to a couple.”
Should she hug him for being so concerned or slap him for butting his nose in where it didn’t belong? Maybe both.
“None of them found it weird?” she inquired.
“Not the way I asked. And you can do what you want, but unless Gavin has lied to you in the past or given you another reason not to trust him, I’d give him the benefit of the doubt on this one. Forget what Harry said and move on.”
“He waited until I confronted him before he told me about Erin,” she pointed out.
“Withholding info is not the same as lying.”
“Gee, thanks, Professor Sherbrooke. I didn’t know that.”
Curt ignored her sarcastic reply. “Hey, I agree with you. He shouldn’t have waited to tell you about his daughter, but maybe he had his reasons. I did something similar in the spring. Only Trent and Gray know, but when I met Taylor and her family, they didn’t know who I really was.”
She couldn’t help herself. “And who did they think you were, Santa Claus?”
If looks could injure you, she’d be suffering big time right then.
“Curt S. Hilton, the author. My point is, he’s not the first person to not share personal information until they’re ready. And since he came clean as soon as you confronted him, I wouldn’t hold it against him. Just like I wouldn’t hold Harry’s action against Gavin.”
Curt had no reason to fabricate such a story; still she found it hard to accept. And in her opinion, what he’d done was far worse than Gavin simply withholding information, because while C. S. Hilton was Curt’s pen name, he’d lied to Taylor and her family.
“They didn’t recognize you?”
“Nope, not until I shaved off the beard, cut my hair, and ditched the glasses,” he explained.
She tried to envision her clean-shaven brother with a beard and long hair but couldn’t do it. “You’re lucky Taylor
forgave you. I’m not sure I would’ve.”
They both fell silent. Leah didn’t know what was occupying her brother’s thoughts, but everything Curt had said since she opened up to him was going through her head.
“One last thing and I’ll drop it. Taylor’s an excellent judge of character, probably because of her job. And she liked Gavin,” Curt explained. Then true to his word, he changed the subject. “Brett’s running for a seat in the Senate. I’m not sure what to think. I can’t picture him in Washington. Can you?”
No, but their elder brother wouldn’t be the first male Sherbrooke to surprise her. “A few years ago, I never would’ve pictured either Jake or Trent married with children either.”
***
Erin’s company and conversation kept him engaged throughout the ride from Connecticut to Rhode Island, so keeping thoughts of Leah at bay had been manageable. Unfortunately, an empty condo didn’t do the same.
After dropping Erin off and offering Amber and Todd his congratulations on their baby news, he debated on whether to drive back to New York or crash at his apartment in Providence. In the end, he’d opted to hop back on the highway and head home. If on the off chance Leah called and asked him over, he didn’t want to be hours away.
Not that he expected her to call tonight or even tomorrow.
At least tomorrow he’d have work to distract him. Since they wouldn’t be in Maine as planned, taking the day off was pointless.
Usually he’d be thankful for a drive without any traffic. Tonight he would’ve welcomed it, because even light traffic would’ve given him something other than his and Leah’s relationship to focus on. Instead he made the entire trip back to New York without hitting a single trouble spot until he reached the city.
When he opened the door, a dark empty room greeted him. The place always seemed emptier than normal somehow after Erin’s visits, and it often took a couple days to return to normal. Tonight the feeling was a thousand times worse. A couple days wasn’t going to change it either. He’d grown too accustomed to coming home to Leah almost every night for the emptiness to seem normal anytime soon.
The Billionaire's Heart Page 19