AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And it hadn’t just been how she’d treated Aria. She’d stopped making overtures to Gareth as well. It was like she’d accepted that he and Aria were simply co-workers, so she didn’t feel like she needed to continually stake the claim she thought was hers.
It was probably just as well that they were learning early on how to put boundaries in place between their personal and professional lives. Still, at this stage in their dating relationship, he would have loved to be able to have the lighthearted flirtatious moments during their workday that they had outside of the office.
But regardless, he had plans for Valentine’s Day, which was that day, and those plans included making sure that she knew how he felt about her. He had the whole day planned, ending with a romantic dinner at a cozy restaurant in a nearby town. He’d made reservations a couple of weeks earlier to make sure he’d get a table.
He would still respect the boundaries they’d put in place for work, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have things delivered to her. She would know who they were from, even if he didn’t sign his name to anything.
As he let himself into the clinic, Gareth smiled at what was to come that day. After two weeks of talking each evening as well as spending time together when their schedules—his schedule, really—allowed, he was quite confident that she also had feelings for him.
He’d never imagined what it would be like to find a woman he was so in tune with. Over the years, he'd been witness to his parents’ relationship, and he’d seen how they handled their differences of opinion. They’d never had screaming fights like he’d heard some of his friends talk about their parents having. That didn’t mean his parents hadn’t argued, but he’d seen how they would work through whatever it was they were dealing with.
In fact, whenever he and his siblings had squabbled, their parents had guided them through their disagreements in much the same way they settled their own. He and Aria hadn’t argued yet, but he knew that if—when—that day came, he’d do his best to make sure that they moved past it with their love for one another intact.
He’d been in the office for about fifteen minutes when he heard the back door open. Though he wanted to go see if it was Aria, he stayed at his desk. It was a good thing he did because when someone appeared in his doorway, it wasn’t the woman he wanted to see.
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Nora said as she came to stand in front of his desk.
“I guess it is Valentine’s Day today, isn’t it?” He wasn’t about to wish the same to her in case she read something into his response.
She frowned for a moment. “You didn’t remember?”
Gareth didn’t want to outright lie, so he had to choose his words very carefully. “Valentine’s Day hasn’t exactly been a holiday that’s demanded my attention in recent years.”
“That will change once you get into a relationship,” she said with a flirty smile.
So much for her not being focused on him. “Yep. I’m sure it will change once I’ve met the right woman.”
That was absolutely the truth, since he was more focused on Valentine’s Day that year than he ever had been in his adult life. Nora, however, didn’t appear to appreciate his truth. A frown chased the smile from her face, and her flirty attitude disappeared.
He hoped that Nora’s reaction to his comment didn’t ruin the day for everyone. If Nora was upset, it was possible she would take out her feelings on everyone else.
No doubt the gifts he’d arranged to be delivered for Aria were going to upset Nora more, even if she didn’t know they were from Gareth. It was too late to change anything now. But regardless, Aria deserved to know that she was special to him on this day.
The next person to appear was Jay, who paused in Gareth’s doorway. He looked between Gareth and Nora before he said, “Did I miss that we were having a meeting?”
Gareth and Jay might knock heads at times, but Gareth knew that the other man would always have his back, particularly when it came to Nora. “Nope. Nora just stopped by to remind me it’s Valentine’s Day.”
Jay grimaced, no doubt recalling that he was once again broken up with his long-time girlfriend. “The holiday devoted to torturing all the single people? Who wants to be reminded?”
“That’s been my philosophy,” Gareth agreed.
“That might actually be the reason the two of you don’t have girlfriends,” Nora announced as she swept out of the room, forcing Jay to take a quick step back so she didn’t mow him down.
Once she was gone, Jay grinned at his brother. “Pretty sure you didn’t need a reminder this year.”
“You’d be right, but I’m not about to tell her that.”
“You got plans?” Jay asked as he dropped into the chair across from Gareth.
“I do.”
“I wasn’t sure how I felt about you and Aria dating, but it seems to be going okay.”
Gareth nodded. “It is.”
“I’m happy for you,” Jay said.
“Thanks.” Gareth paused, then said, “Do you think you and Casey will manage to get things worked out?”
