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CHAPTER 17
Gavin was pacing theshort corridor in front of the bedroom Brooke, her mother, and his sisters had disappeared into what felt like hours ago.
“What the hell is going on in there?” Frustrated, he stared at Blake and Logan who, by the looks of things, were on the third bottle of champagne.
“I don’t know”—Logan chuckled—“but you should probably prepare yourself. It’s never good when they’re together like that. All sorts of things get planned.”
“Like what?”
“Like weddings,” Blake said with a straight face.
“Weddings?” Gavin repeated and deflated, he sat down. “I...” He patted his pocket. “I have my mother’s ring. Charlie had brought it with her, but I’m not sure whether I should ask Brooke to marry me.”
Logan’s eyes narrowed.
“I want to,” Gavin added quickly. “Believe me, there is nothing I want more than to always be with her and Connor, but I’m not good at relationships. What if I can’t protect her? And what about...?” He motioned toward the little boy playing in the corner with his cars. “Am I really the best ‘new dad’ he could get?”
Blake shrugged. “Probably not. But if you love her, nothing else matters.”
The bedroom door opened, and this time, both his sisters and Eleanor walked out.
Eleanor walked over to Gavin. “Brooke will see you tomorrow morning.”
“Is she okay?”
Eleanor patted his arm. “She’ll be fine. It’s been a long day—give her time.”
Gavin stared at the closed bedroom door. This was not how he’d wanted the day to end. Deep in thought, he walked toward the front door.
“Where are you going?” Lindsay asked.
“Out. I have my key. I’ll be back later.”
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It was just beforesix the next morning when Brooke slipped out of the apartment. She was on her way to the convenience store close to the apartment building.
She’d hardly slept the night before, after reading all of Gavin’s messages, even though she’d been so tired. Afterward, she’d wanted to talk to him or send him a message, but in the end, she knew she had to know for sure if she was pregnant or not before she told him how she felt about him.
He wanted to talk to her. Exactly what about, she didn’t know, but he’d said he never wanted to be without her again. Whether he was talking marriage or whether he wanted them to live together wasn’t clear at this point, but she had to tell him about the baby. If there was a baby.
She took the stairs. It gave her more time. Ridiculous, really. The sooner she knew whether or not she was pregnant, the better for all concerned.
A baby.She and Adam had talked about having another one, but after he’d passed, she’d put the idea out of her head. She’d had her chance at love; she had a son.Not many people fell in love again,she’d argued.
And then she’d met Gavin.
What he made her feel... Smiling, she skipped down the last few steps and nearly missed the last one. Out of breath, she steadied herself against the wall. Oh, my goodness, she could be carrying a new life inside her; she should be more careful.
“Babe, are you okay?” A very worried-looking Gavin had just entered the building and was rushing toward her.
“I’m fine.” She smiled and walked into his arms.
He hugged her tightly against him. “I’ve been so worried about you. I wanted to talk to you last night, and then, when your mother said you wanted to be alone, it freaked me out. Are you really okay?”
She pulled away slightly. “I read your messages last night. Your previous messages, the ones you sent me when you left me to go to Sarah. I read those, and I listened to all the others.”
