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I accompany her to the guest room. On the bed, are a couple of piles of folded clothes.
“They’re not new,” she tells me when I lift a blue cotton blouse. “I hope you don’t mind. They’re from my closet.”
“No, it’s great. Thank you so much.”
“Andie?”
“Mmm,” I say, going through the nicest hand-me downs I’ve ever received.
“Rowan and I haven’t had a chance to talk since he got home. But, he did message me earlier. He said…” she trails off and chuckles nervously. “He said Gavin is your captive?”
A burst of laughter erupts from me. “What?”
“I know, it’s ridiculous.” She waives her hand at the notion. “But, I had to ask. I’m sorry.”
“No. Don’t be. Actually,” I bite my lower lip. I’ve known this woman for all of an hour, and yet, I desperately want to trust her. “He is. Was. I don’t know.”
Her brows shoot upward. “Seriously?”
“It’s a long story.”
“We’ve got time. The boys are deep in negotiations.”
“You don’t want to sit in with them?” I ask her.
“It has nothing to do with me. This is all Gavin and—” She cuts herself off before saying more.
I narrow my gaze on her. “Gavin and who?”
“He’ll have to tell you that. Now, let’s talk about Gavin and you.” She shoves aside the clothes and sits on the bed, patting the space next to her. “Sit.”
“I… I don’t know. You might think badly of us if I tell you.”
She shrugs. “Girl, if only you knew the shit Rowan and I did to each other. Trust me, I’m the last person to judge.”
Blowing out a breath, I sit. “Okay.”
I stutter through the first part of the story. I’m not exactly proud of the fact that I stole from Gavin. But soon, the words are flowing out of me so fast, I don’t think I’d be able to stop even if she asked me to.
I tell her about the theft, and the blackmail. I tell her about the sex and the club and the explosion. And I tell her about my impulse to kidnap Gavin after I saved him, even though it didn’t work out exactly as I thought.
Lou listens, not a hint of judgement or disgust in her expression.
“He was tied to the bed,” I tell her as I near the end of the tale. “The first day. Then I realized he wasn’t actually secure. There seemed no point in keeping him like that. But we made sure to always have an eye on him.”
She blinks at me, then smiles almost pitifully. “Andie… Oh my God, I can’t even chide you because I was just as blind as you. Love makes us so stupid.”
“What?” I ask, not quite sure if I should be offended.
“Can’t you see it? The reason Gavin stayed isn’t because you kept an eye on him. He stayed because he knew that if he emerged, he’d have to do it without you, or he’d put you at risk. But as long as he remained hidden, he could stay in your little love nest for a long time.” Her eyes gleam with that twinkle hopeless romantics tend to have.
“What are you talking about?”
She sighs as if she can’t believe how dense I am. “Do you really think you could have kept a man like him if he didn’t want to stay? The only thing strong enough to keep him there was his desire to be with you. And even now, he could have left you with Luca and Carina. You would have been safe. But he knew that if he did, he wouldn’t see you again.”
The protest I’m about to make dies on my lips. Is she right? Could Gavin have left whenever he wanted to?
“Can I come in?” Gavin peeks into the room and I turn to him, my mind still reeling from my thoughts.
