His Love (18 page)

“Makes sense.” She stared straight ahead, out the window, and tried to ignore the way her stomach did a heavy flip.

His lips moved to her ear, his breath warm against her skin. He kissed her there and whispered, “I’ll miss you, you know.”

Her heart skipped a beat and her eyes slipped closed. She was glad her face was turned away from him so he couldn’t see her, because her emotions were probably all over her. His arms were wrapped around her middle, their fingers intertwined. She gave them a gentle squeeze and whispered back, “I’ll miss you too, Gavin. A lot.”

He kissed the top of her head, inhaling her scent as he held her close.

They were silent for the rest of the ride.

*

Gavin watched Toni’s
face as the car pulled up in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her hazel eyes lit up, her smile went wide and joyful… she turned in his arms and said, “You thought of this?”

“I wanted to see you on your turf,” he said, unable to keep his fingers from playing in her hair. “And I know it’s one of the finest museums in the world. Honestly, I intended to come here before I’d ever met you; it was on my must-see list. So, here we are. Show me around. We have a few hours…” He checked his watch; it was just past noon. “We aren’t meeting Sean and Cass ’til six-thirty.”

She gaped at him for a few seconds before crushing her mouth against his in a series of quick, fiery kisses. “Thank you so much for thinking of this, and setting this up… oh, Gavin, you’re going to love it. I can’t wait to show you so many things.”

Her excitement was contagious, her delight palpable. The satisfaction of seeing her so thrilled flooded his insides with warmth and light.

Hand in hand, they wandered from exhibit to exhibit for hours, only stopping for a bite to eat at the museum cafeteria around two o’clock. Toni was as knowledgeable as any tour guide. She took him through the Greek and Roman Art wing, the Arms and Armor wing, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts… there were so many wondrous things, and she knew a little bit about most things they saw. Sculptures, artifacts, paintings—he tried to take it all in, snapping pictures with his cell phone wherever it was permitted. But all that wasn’t the highlight of his time there; Toni was. The quiet confidence or awe in her voice when she told him tidbits about a piece or an artist, or the way her eyes studied something she hadn’t seen before, drinking it in… she was enchanting, delightful. And bloody impressive. She’d told him she’d been impressed by seeing his medical skills in action? Watching her walk through the museum, so obviously in her element, had the same effect on him.

Gavin insisted they head to the gift shop before they had to leave for their dinner date with Sean and Cassandra. “I want a souvenir of this amazing day,” he said. So in they went. They split up and canvassed the store.

Toni thumbed through art books, glanced at T-shirts and boxed card sets. After a few minutes, Gavin called her over to the long, rectangular counters in the middle of the store. She went to him, noting how he stared down through the glass at the jewelry.

“Want to bring something back for my mum,” he said. “She loves silver jewelry.”

“So do I,” Toni said. “She has good taste. And a thoughtful son. This is sweet of you, to think of her.”

His grin quirked. “Help me pick something out?”

She looked down at the array of pieces, sparkling and beautiful. There was gold and silver, jeweled or not, earrings and bracelets and pendants… “It’s overwhelming,” Toni grinned. “Everything’s gorgeous.”

“Aye. That’s why I need your help. A woman’s opinion.”

“Well… does she have a favorite color? If she does, maybe find something that’s got that color stone in it.”

Gavin’s brow furrowed as he tried to think. “She likes yellow, but I don’t think that’s going to be here mixed with silver. Maybe we should just pick something with only silver, no stones.”

“Okay.” Toni continued to peruse the display.

“Hey,” he said. “What’s
your
favorite color? Do ya have one?”

“I love turquoise,” she said.

He smiled. “You wear that color often, I’ve noticed.”

“Well, that’s why,” she smiled back. “And pink. Especially hot pink.”

“Okay. Good to know.”

“What about you?” she asked as she moved further down the long counter. She lifted her eyes to look at him. “Do you have a favorite color?”

“I tend to favor blue,” he said. “I know. Typical. Boring.”

“You’re neither of those things.” She pressed a quick, light kiss to his lips, then turned back to gaze through the glass. “What about those earrings? You know her, I don’t. Think they’d suit her?”

He looked at the pair she pointed to, a delicate dangly swirl of silver threads. “Maybe. Earrings would be good, right? Better than a pendant or something?”

“You can give earrings to any woman and be safe,” Toni said. “Pendants are for girlfriends. But somehow I’m sure your mom would love anything you pick for her.” She stopped, and he watched her eyes widen. “Ooooooh.”

“What?” He leaned in. “You see something ya like?”

“That.” Toni pointed to a tiny decorative box. Gavin read the small card beside it, describing it as an adaption of a Fabergé egg. It was robin’s egg blue, with delicate gold overlay and tiny crystals. “I just love the color, and it’s so intricate.” She stared at it a moment longer, then moved along the counter.

“If ya like it, get it,” he urged.

She shook her head. “It’s too decadent. It would just sit on a shelf and collect dust. Besides, an impulse buy like that isn’t smart considering I’m getting ready to quit my job.”

He blinked and said, “You’re what?”

Her eyes continued to scour the jewelry. “Yeah. I’m too miserable there. Time for a change.” She glanced up, sensing his intense stare. “What?”

“A few days ago, you said it’d be too hard, you… made excuses.” His brows creased, his expression clearly astounded. “So to hear ya say that now, I’m just surprised.” He peered harder. “When did you decide this? Did something happen?”

“No, nothing specific happened…”
I fell in love with you and it’s turned my world upside down. Everything feels wrong and I need to do something to fix the parts that I can.
“I’ve been thinking about it, that’s all. I mean, I have to research other jobs more before I quit, but I’m going to. I will.” She turned around the corner of the case and moved along the next section, her eyes on the jewelry.

He was at her side, leaning in closer. “Toni… whatever you choose to do, I wish you luck,” he said quietly. “I want you to be happy.”

Her breath hitched as she looked up into his face.
You make me happy. And you’re leaving in a week, and I’ll probably never see you again.
She swallowed back what felt like a pebble in her throat. “Thanks. Me, too.” Feeling a sting that threatened tears, she looked down again. A magnificent pendant drew her eye, sparkling at her; an elegant silver butterfly with tiny crystals decorating the wings. The stones were several shades of blue and purple, the threading delicate. “I know this is such a cliché, but I love butterflies.”

“Why is it a cliché?” he asked.

“Well, first of all, half the women under thirty seem to have a butterfly tattooed on them somewhere. Second, you just always hear it, you know? ‘She spread her wings and turned into a beautiful butterfly, ready to soar.’ It’s like, ugh, really? How original.”

He smirked in amusement. “I didn’t take you for a cynic.”

“I’m not a cynic,” she said. “Just a realist.”

“Well,” he said, “I like butterflies. Both how they look and their symbolism. Plus, clichés usually come to exist for a reason. Because there’s an element of truth, or somethin’ so basically human that it resonates for many.”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” The pendant was almost five hundred dollars. No way, she thought. But, it had small matching earrings, much more reasonably priced. “I think I’m going to get the earrings for myself. They’re not horribly expensive…” Peeking up at him from under her lashes, she added quietly, “And every time I look at them, they’ll remind me of you, and the wonderful day we shared here.”

His eyes rounded and a muscle twitched in his jaw. His hand cupped the back of her neck and he leaned down to kiss her, soft and sweet. “I love that.” Another tender kiss. “Let me buy them for you, please.”

“What? No.” She shook her head. “I wasn’t fishing for you to get them for me—”

“I know.” His hand lifted to caress her cheek. “But when you look at them, I want you to do that knowing they were a gift from me. And rememberin’ today, like you said. Because I’ve loved everything about today, too. It’s been a nearly perfect day, being here with you.” He held her chin as he said, “I’m getting them for you.”

Her heart stuttered and tears pricked her eyes. “If you insist,” she whispered.

“I insist.”

*

Dinner with Sean
and Cassandra was lovely. For three hours, the four of them talked, laughed, ate, drank—well, Cassandra didn’t drink anything but water. Lightly buzzed from all the wine they’d shared, Toni and Gavin collapsed into their seats on the train back to Long Beach. She curled into his side, snaking her arm around his waist and letting her head sink onto his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She was asleep by the first stop. He held her and thought back on the day… on his time with her in the museum, the incredible exhibits, the delicious dinner and good conversation his brother and sister-in-law… all of it had been fantastic. He’d rarely enjoyed such a wonderful day.

And he was leaving in just a week. How had the time gone so fast?

Toni jolted in his arms, reacting to whatever she was dreaming about. He tightened his grip around her and dropped a kiss on her forehead, meant to soothe. She calmed right away, stilling in his arms. As if she knew he was there and could relax.

Gavin stared out the window, or tried to; it was so dark outside that all he could see was their reflection in the window. Him holding her, her long curls draped over her shoulder. They looked good together… they looked like they belonged together. Sean’s words, when the two of them had been alone for a few minutes, echoed in his head: “It’s too bad you and Toni can’t stay together. You seem so right for each other… but long distance relationships rarely work. It’s a shame. I feel for ya, brother.”

Sean had nailed it on all counts—it
was
too bad. And it was a damned shame.

Something Toni said earlier in the day floated back to him through the tiredness that had blanketed his brain. So offhandedly, she’d mentioned she was going to quit her job after all.
“Time for a change,”
she’d said. An idea sparked in his mind, making his blood run a little faster. She wanted a change? Well, what if she took a huge leap and made a huge change… like moving to Ireland to be with him?

He closed his eyes, huffing out a breath of self-loathing. He must be more drunk and tired than he’d figured, thinking up things like that. He had to be out of his mind. They’d known each other for three weeks. No way could he ever ask that of her…

Because it was insane.

Because he had a split second glimmer of
“what if?”
that made him want it.

Because she’d say no, of course. Her family and friends were here, her life was here. Why would she ditch all that to take a chance with him? She wouldn’t. And being rejected by her would break his heart… which, he knew now, was already going to break anyway when he left, regardless.

‡