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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.
Even with all the travel he did, Gavin never left a bag packed. No matter the time when he got home from any kind of trip, he made a point of emptying out his suitcase or overnight bag right away. Now he left the bag he’d packed for their getaway on his bedroom floor and only removed the diamond ring he and Erin had picked out.
Flipping up the cover, he looked at it. Instead of sitting inside a box, it should be on Leah’s finger. Thanks to Harry, that might never happen. Opening his mouth and suggesting their father asked him to get involved with Leah was one thing. Doing it in a place where anyone could walk in and overhear the conversation was another.
He’d never loved Harry the same way he did Vivian or even Piper. Since Harry’s mother had been the other woman when his parents were married, it was understandable. Especially since Mom filed for divorce when she learned that not only was Dad cheating on her but he had another baby on the way. At least it was understandable in Gavin’s eyes. Still, he’d never disliked Harry.
All that changed yesterday.
Now his emotions toward the guy bordered on hate.
Gavin closed the ring box, shoved it in a drawer, and hoped the old adage “out of sight, out of mind” would work this evening.
He’d promised her all the time she needed. Gavin intended to honor his promise, which meant calling her less than twenty-four hours after uttering those words was not an option.
But damn, he wanted to hear her voice.
Tell her he loved her.
Hear her say the same back to him.
“Not happening tonight.”
Watching and waiting for the phone to ring accomplished nothing useful, so Gavin left his cell on his nightstand and retreated to his office. Work had always filled his days and nights before, but he’d never needed it to do that more than he did this evening.
If work didn’t distract him, there was always the kitchen. Although he didn’t often have the time to do it, he found cooking almost as therapeutic as physical activity. A few hours experimenting with some recipes had an added bonus exercise didn’t: he’d have some food ready to eat in his refrigerator this week.
***
“Hello.”
The knife almost missed the onion on the cutting board and landed on his finger instead.
Onions might make a person cry, but not hear voices. If Leah was here, she’d made her decision.
Please let it be the decision I want.
Grabbing a towel, Gavin wiped his hands and checked the time on his watch. Almost ten o’clock already? He’d been working longer than he’d realized. Unable to get anything useful accomplished in his office, he’d given up around six and made a trip to the grocery store for ingredients. He’d been cooking ever since.
Gavin tossed the towel aside and lowered the flame beneath the pot on the stove. “I’m—”
“Cooking,” she said, entering the kitchen. “And whatever you’re making smells amazing.” She stopped behind one of the stools near the counter.
“Just playing around. I needed something other than work to focus on when I got back from dropping off Erin,” he admitted.
He didn’t care if it made him sound pathetic or not. It was the truth. No matter how hard he tried to focus, his mind had kept replaying the afternoon they’d made love in his office.
She gripped the back of the barstool and moistened her lips. “I sent you a text before I came, but when you didn’t answer, I assumed you were still on the road. I planned to wait if you weren’t here when I arrived.”
“No, I’ve been home for a while. I left the phone in my bedroom, and I haven’t checked it since. Sorry about that, but I’m glad you came.” He moved in her direction, intent on pulling her close and not letting go again until tomorrow.
Common sense kicked in before he reached her. Just because she stood in his kitchen didn’t mean she was about to give him the news he wanted to hear. Some people preferred to deliver both pleasant and unpleasant news in person.
“Last night you told me to take all the time I needed,” Leah began, getting right to the point. “I don’t need any more time, Gavin. I don’t know about you, but last night I couldn’t sleep because I was thinking about us and about what Harry said. I did the same all day today.”
