Lovely (10 page)

Chapter
26

The entire night had been
a wild, erotic, and loving adventure ride. By the time we finally laid down in bed to actually sleep, sunlight streamed through the cracks in the venetian blinds and lit up the tiny particles of dust floating in the air. I awoke later in the day to a touch I’d grown quite familiar with during the night tracing over the raven tattoo on my back. Beneath the bird a single word was written: Brother.

I sighed deeply, rolling onto my side, and snuggling against
Gavyn in a spooning position. “I’m glad that wasn’t a dream.”

“Keep wiggling your
arse on me like that and I’ll remind you how real it was.” He chuckled, draping his arm over my stomach. “So, did I find all your tattoos? I loved the treasure hunt.”

“
Mmhmm.”

I knew he was curious
about the raven tattoo so I answered without him having to ask. “He died. I was in a dark place when I got the one on my back.”

“It’s a nice dedication. Much of life is dark, but moments like this make it wonderful.”

I nodded, though I’m not sure if he could see. “I’m starving.”

“Me too.
I put the steak you cooked in the fridge last night. Want me to cut that up and scramble some eggs? I still can’t believe you don’t own a kettle.”

“I can
make breakfast. As for tea, I bought a box for you, but you’ll have to heat the water in the microwave.”

“That’
s okay. Get cleaned up.” He squeezed one of my bare breasts. “These got a bit messy.”

Blushing, I laughed. “I remember.”

He kissed the side of my neck before slapping my butt and climbing out of bed. I stretched after I sat up. My back cracked and stomach growled. I headed for the bathroom, turned on the water, and climbed into the shower. I’d never been in a better mood.

When I exited the bathroom
a short time later, I was still drying my hair with the towel. “Smells great.” I saw Gavyn’s feet near the nightstand by the bed since my head was tilted downward. Sensing something was wrong, I lifted my gaze slowly. His back was to me and he didn’t say a word.

“
Gavyn?”

He turned to face me and my heart sank down to the floor. In his hand was the diamond engagement ring Brody had given me. I’d still never gotten around to giving it back to him.

“I can explain.” I stammered out. I’d never seen an expression of anger and disappointment on Gavyn’s face before. And the full force of it was directed at me.

“Are you engaged?”

“No!”

“Married!?” He yelled.

“Of course not. Please let me explain.”

He held up his hand to silence me as he stared at the huge diamond. “I went to place the condoms back in the drawer and this is what I find. After
the best night of my life, I find the biggest fucking engagement ring I’ve ever seen! What is all this? You tell me you can’t afford to have your tooth pulled and yet you have this ring worth like ten thousand dollars.”

More like twenty
, I thought, but wisely kept my mouth shut. I felt defensive since he wouldn’t let me explain. “I was engaged once, but that’s over. My ex showed up here around the time you and I started dating. He refused to take it back and I haven’t found the time to send it to him.”

Gavyn
clenched his hand into a fist around the ring for a moment before throwing it back in the drawer. His glare made me flinch. “You’ve been with him since we started dating.”

“No! Not like that. I reaffirmed that it was over between us. He’s stubborn.” I stepped toward
Gavyn. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to talk about him. It wasn’t important. You left out some facts about your life, too.”

He
winced a little at that. “Not about women I used to fuck coming to my apartment. Why did you leave him? Wanted a few thrills in the sack since he was the only man you’d been with?” As he spoke, he picked up his pants off the floor and jerked them up hastily. “Or was that a lie, too?”

Tears filled my eyes and
overflowed instantly, soaking my cheeks in a stream of water. “He killed my brother!” I screamed.

“What?” The shock of my words caused
Gavyn to immediately lessen the harsh tone of his voice.

“I mean, it was
both their faults. I can admit that now. Our parents’ are neighbors with huge estates. There’s a lake house. They were having a bachelor party. Like idiots they decided to take my car for a spin.” The truth spilled out of me in a cascade. I never thought I’d recount the story to anyone again. “My fiancé was driving. There was an accident. My… brother died.”

Standing there without a stitch of clothing, I dropped the towel. I’d never bared my soul or the pain like that before. Never had I been so naked, vulnerable, and exposed. Feeling weak, I slumped to my knees.

“I left. I wouldn’t say I ran away because I called my family a few hours later to say I was leaving, but that I was fine.” A sob choked me up. “My brother was my best friend and the man I loved played a part in his death. I had nothing left there.”

“Farrah…”
Gavyn’s face held the only apology I needed. He came toward me and fell to his knees in front of me.

“I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I hide it from myself. Whenever we’re together, all the sadness is gone.
It never seemed to be the right time. I didn’t want to ruin the mood. I’ve been happy.”

He wrapped his arms around me and held tightly. The floodgates
were down and I bawled. Warm tears covered his bare chest. “It’s okay.” He stroked my hair. “I’m sorry I overreacted.”

“There’s more.” I sniffled and cleared my throat.

“Go on, whenever you’re ready.”

“My family wants me to come home. They said if I don’t return and marry my ex that they will go to the courts and petition for conservatorship. That means they control everything I do… what I eat, what I wear, and where I live.”

Gavyn scoffed. “That’s horrible, but you’re not crazy or disabled. They can’t do that.”

“Yes, they can. A psychiatrist signed off on some documents saying I’m a danger to myself and others.”

“I don’t understand why they would do that.”

“
My father has a lot of influence. People owe him favors. He has money.”

“What does he do?”

I frowned deeply. “He’s the governor.”

Chapter 27

As if on cue, a legal document was delivered to my house when we were getting ready to leave. Gavyn had asked me to spend the weekend at his house after several rounds of profuse apologies. Neither of us wanted to be apart and he wanted to discuss things further.

“That bastard.
They already set a court date. I have two and half weeks to get ready to fight this. I don’t have the kind of money to win, Gavyn.” I angrily ripped the envelope the notice had come in into several pieces.

“I don’t either.” He sighed deeply, rubbing his chin as he paced back and forth.

“Maybe I should return to their house until I can figure something out.” I choked up a little and had to fight to keep from breaking down again. Falling deeply in love made going home a last resort, but I had no idea what to do.

Gavyn
suddenly stopped walking and lifted his head as if a light went on. “Let’s sell the ring.”

“I… suppose we could call it a loan and pay Brody back someday. What do we do when we get the cash?”

“We build a defense. We get a good lawyer. You see psychiatrists that will testify to your sanity.”

“It’s a long shot. That ring is pocket change compared to the money they have. Are you even sure you want to get involved in this?”

“I love you, Farrah. That’s all I need to know. I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to be with you forever.”

I smiled as I rested my hand over my heart. He’d sent it aching. “Thank you.”

His eyes widened as if another genius idea hit him. “Marry me.”

For several seconds, I stood there staring at him and blinking in disbelief. “
Are you serious?”

“Yes. It’ll help the case if you have a husband, a family, and stability.”

“I don’t want to get married for that reason alone.”

He shook his head as he walked up to me and
took my hands in his. “Marry me because I love you. I think I would have married you the day we met if I had thought you’d say yes.”

“
Gavyn… I want to. I do. Don’t you think an impromptu wedding will make me seem crazier?”

“Maybe.”
He relented, bowing his head to touch foreheads with me again. “But as your husband, I will fight to the death for you.”

His words had caught me off guard and I worried that I was making a rash decision, but the one truth I knew was how I felt about him. “Let’s get married.”

Chapter 28

Later that day, after all the dramatics and further explanations, we had packed
Gavyn’s car with my meager belongings and he’d driven us to his apartment where we’d decided I was staying indefinitely. My instincts told me my decision was right, but that didn’t stop my hand from shaking as I held the cup of steaming tea to my lips. The past twenty-four hours had been a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

“Stressing is not doing you any good, Farrah.” He gave my upper thigh a light pat before resting his hand there.

“You’re right, but knowing that doesn’t make it go away.” I picked up a cookie from the plate he’d brought from the kitchen and nibbled on it anxiously.

“They shoul
d be here soon. Mum will think I forced you into the decision if you don’t calm down.” He smiled.

“You’re going to tell her?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Though, I’m not quite sure why I didn
’t expect him to tell his family that we were getting hitched.

He laughed a little, pushing up on his glasses. The contacts had been ditched a few minutes after we’d walked into the apartment. “Should I not? Listen, if you’re having second thoughts I understand….”

“No, definitely not. I like the certainty of being yours forever… if we can win the case.”

“We will.”
He touched my cheek and I nuzzled against his palm for comfort. A knock at the door came and I put my teacup down. Awkwardly, I stood there smoothing my blouse and trying to hide any cleavage so his mother wouldn’t think I was a floozy.

“Farrah!”
Mac yelled, ran past Gavyn, and hugged me around the leg.

“Hey there, cool guy. I like the shades.” I ruffled his curls.

“Thanks!”

“
You still have the toy I bought you.” I smiled.

“Yep!”
He grinned.

Mrs.
Valmore stepped further into the room. “How many times have I told you the proper way to address ladies when they ask you a question, Malcolm?”

Mac gave an exagger
ated huff of a sigh and mumbled. “Yes, ma’am.”

“He’s a kid. I don’t t
hink we need to be that formal,” Gavyn said.

She shook her head. “Did I let you run around without properly addressing people?”

The look on Gavyn’s face soured nearly as much as Mac’s had. “No, ma’am.”

“Well, now that
we’re done with that lesson.” She walked over to me. “Nice to see you again, Ms. Caine. Gavyn has told me a lot about you.”

“It’s good to see you, Mrs.
Valmore. Would you like me to pour you some tea?” I asked.

“No, thank you. My son acquired his taste for tea from his father. I despise it. Besides, I can’t stay.”

Gavyn nodded. “Mac, go to your room for just a few minutes while I talk to your grandmother.”

“Okay.” Malcolm waggled a finger at me. “Don’t run off this time, Farrah.”

“I won’t. I promise!”

When Mac was out of the room,
Gavyn turned to his mother. “There’s something we need to tell you. Farrah and I are getting married.”

“Again, son?
How far along is she?” Mrs. Valmore asked, eyeing my stomach. “I can understand getting a girl pregnant at eighteen, but you’re twenty-four. Surely you know how to use contraception by now. The directions are right there on the box.”

“I… I’m not pregnant.” I stuttered when I finally found my voice.

Gavyn sighed. “I think I learned my lesson after my first girlfriend. I did cause her to kill herself.”

Mrs.
Valmore’s expression softened. “You didn’t get that poor girl killed. She had issues far beyond you.”

He crossed his arms. “Anyway, we’re getting this done next weekend. No big party, nothing. We can do that later. The only people I want there are you, Dad, and Malcolm.”

“Are you both sure about this? You haven’t known each other long.”

“You married father and moved off to England to be with him after you’d know each other three days! You’re still together.”

“That is true. It’s not my place to make your decisions, but be there to support them. So, congratulations.” She hugged Gavyn and then me. “Call me, Julie, by the way. Mrs. Valmore makes me sound old.” She winked at me. Despite the little lecture she gave the guys, I got the feeling she was a wild one beneath the surface.

“
Thanks, Mum.” He kissed her cheek. “Can you make the arrangements? I’ll pay.”

She nodded. “No need. It’s my job as a parent to do anything I can to guarantee your happiness. I’ll make the arrangements for Saturday. I’ll have to be sure not to leave anyone off the guest list.” I heard her mumble as she headed for the door.

“I said no guests, mother!” Gavyn called out after her, but she closed the door behind her.

“Your mom is….” My sentence was cut off before I could finish it.

“Weird, I know.”

“No, she’s awes
ome. She stands by you.”

He smirked. “And she’s weird.”