The Unforgettable Ex (Captured by Love Book 5) (Volume 5) (11 page)

“Benjie, meet the birthday girl,” she said.

“Happy birthday, Cassie,” Benjie said. “Thanks for having me at your party.”

“Thanks, Benjie. Good to see you here,” Cassie responded.

“And this is my brother Carter.”

“Great to meet you, Carter. Natasha’s told me so much about you.”

Her brows rose. All she’d ever told Benjie about Carter was that he was her older brother and that he was marrying the birthday celebrant. Funny how some people felt the need to lie just to have something to say.

“And this is Molly,” she continued, keeping the smile on her face, “and Gavin.”

Benjie shook hands with the two, and Natasha couldn’t help noticing that Gavin was squinting slightly at Benjie, and his smile had gone tepid. Ha! Suddenly, she felt much better.

She walked back to her seat to let the newcomers greet the other guests, with Benjie following her with a hand on the small of her back. Ah, what else could she do but let him take small liberties. He was here as her date, after all. And besides, Gavin had been holding Molly’s hand!

“Thanks again for inviting me tonight, Natasha,” Benjie said as they settled on their chairs. “I’m so glad you called me.”

“Sure,” she said blithely, about to make a comment to remind him that he shouldn’t read anything romantic into all this. But the words froze in her throat when she realised that Gavin and Molly wouldn’t have a choice but to sit themselves right across from her and Benjie. They were the only empty seats left.

She sighed. She’d have to be on her toes all night and mind her reaction.

“What’s that sigh for?” Erin asked in a low voice.

At that moment, Gavin escorted Molly to her seat, pulling it out for her before sitting down himself. Molly swayed flirtatiously towards Gavin, and Gavin... grinned at Molly.

“That,” she whispered to Erin, trying not to look.

Erin patted her thigh. “Remember it’s all an act.”

“Yeah.” Still, she couldn’t help but think that Molly was overdoing it.

Benjie leaned close—even placing his arm around her shoulder—and whispered in her ear. “I think you’re the most beautiful girl here tonight. It’s a shame you’re not after a new boyfriend. Are you sure about that?”

She wanted to roll her eyes, but instead she gave him a sweet, non-committal smile. See? She really was a good actress too.

*

D
inner was sumptuous. But after more than two hours of gritting her teeth from watching Molly continually make cow eyes at Gavin and putting up with Benjie’s suggestive comments, Natasha was drained.

She stared at her image in the mirror in the ladies’ room as she washed her hands, noticing the signs of tiredness on her face. She sighed. Regardless of how much she wanted to go home, she couldn’t leave Cassie’s birthday party before it was over.

Resigned to her fate, she left the bathroom and stopped in her tracks. Gavin was outside, and seemingly waiting.

“Is the men’s room full?” she asked.

Gavin snickered. “No. I wanted to have a few seconds with you and I thought this was the only opportunity.”

“Oh.” Happiness started blossoming in her chest again. Seriously, how bad did she have it?

Fortunately, this corridor leading to the restrooms was hidden from view of the restaurant’s dining room, but it was still nowhere near private enough. She was surprised that Gavin was taking the risk of hanging around here to wait for her.

“So,” Gavin said, “where did you find the clown?”

“Clown?” she asked with a questioning look.

“Benjie,” Gavin said dryly.

Her mouth curved up. “He’s someone I used to work with, before I rejoined our family’s company.”

“You asked him out?”

“Yes. You told me to find myself a date.”

Gavin inhaled deeply, his lips pressing into a thin line. “He’s being overly familiar with you, don’t you think?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Molly’s being overly flirtatious, don’t you think?”

Gavin’s lips twitched. “She’s just doing her job.”

She made a face of disagreement.

“Anyway,” Gavin said, touching her cheek ever so briefly, “I want you to know that there’s been a break in the case and it’s looking promising. The guy that Molly and I had been working on was caught red-handed, and we’re hoping he’ll give up the information we want. Unfortunately, I’ll still be very busy in the next few days catching up on some work. But can I turn up at your place one of these nights, even though it’s late, like midnight?”

She nodded, her heart dancing in her chest.

“Great,” Gavin said, grinning widely. “I’m not sure when yet, but it’ll be sooner rather than later.”

“It better be sooner rather than later,” she said, returning his grin.

They stared at each other for a long second, before the men’s door opening interrupted them.

“You better head back there,” Gavin murmured, his gaze warm.

Oh, she so wanted to kiss him, but she better not. She didn’t want to do anything that might jeopardise whatever was going on right now.

She started walking back to their table, more than ready to laugh with Benjie and watch Molly flirt with Gavin again. Funny how just a minute of Gavin’s sweet words and tender looks could change her mood.

“Natasha!”

She turned towards the caller and groaned inwardly. What on earth was this guy doing here?

Leo stood up from a table he shared with two other guys and walked to her. “Hi. I did see you go in there, and I saw Gavin too. What a coincidence that the two of you are having dinner here as well.”

“Yeah. Actually, we’re with a big group for Cassie’s birthday.”

“Oh, really? Well, tell her I said happy birthday.”

“I will,” she said with a small smile.

“Uh, Natasha, I haven’t had a chance to apologise to you for my behaviour a few weeks ago. I know it’s not an excuse, but I drank too much and let my emotions get away from me. You didn’t deserve to be treated the way I treated you that night. I just want you to know I’m really sorry.”

She nodded. Leo seemed genuinely contrite. “I’m sorry it didn’t work for us, Leo. I do wish you all the best for... everything. You’re a great guy.”

“Thanks,” Leo answered, giving her a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Anyway, you take care, hey?”

“You too. See you around,” she answered, exhaling slowly through her mouth as she walked away from him.

Wow, that was awkward. But at least she’d kind of cleared the air with Leo.

Her good mood returned. After her misgivings earlier on, this night had gotten much better.

*****

N
atasha quickly rinsed the toothpaste from her mouth, then ran for her phone, hoping it was Gavin who’d just sent her a text. It was! But why had he sent it from an unknown number?

*Good morning, babe. It’s Gavin. Have to use a new prepaid phone. Please don’t call my usual one. I need to keep it free for a very important work call I’m expecting. Hope you didn’t make any plans today. I have a surprise for you.*

Her brows rose. It was eight forty on a Sunday morning and he was already working? Cassie’s party finished very late so he couldn’t have had much sleep.

But what surprise did he have for her? She called him back on the new number.

The phone rang once before it was cut off. Hm. Was he working right that minute?

She got another message a few seconds later.

*Sorry, babe. Wrapping up an unexpected development so can’t talk right now. But can you be ready in half an hour?*

Her lips tugged up.

*Hope you’re not tired from lack of sleep. But I’m excited about your surprise. Give me a clue?*

She added a kiss emoji.

*I’ll give you 2 clues. Romantic. Adventurous.*

Gavin had added an image of a heart. A heart!

*I’m excited!*

*Good. Be ready in half an hour, okay? Have to finish here.*

*What should I wear?*

She waited and waited, but Gavin didn’t answer. But excited as she was, she couldn’t help but be perplexed that Gavin had arranged a date for today when he’d told her just last night how busy he was. Maybe that was part of his plan to surprise her? 

With a sigh, she went to her closet to decide on an outfit. Gavin had said he’d planned something romantic and adventurous. Did that mean they’d be spending time outdoors today? The weather was quite cool, with today being a handful of days away from the official start of winter.

*

N
atasha was finishing her tea when her phone sounded with another text.

*Are you ready?*

*Yes. Just waiting for you.*

*The BMW I hired is now outside your building. I’ll meet you at the place where the driver is going to take you. So go now so we won’t be late for my surprise.*

Her mouth dropped open.

*Hired? Why would you hire a BMW when you’ve got one?*

*Because we’ll be late if I pick you up myself. And it’s all part of the surprise.*

*I’m only in jeans and a casual top. Should I change? Where exactly are we going?*

*What you’re wearing is perfect, Natasha. We can’t be late or it will ruin the surprise. Don’t change. Just go now.*

She stared at the message, her heart starting to race.

Something was very wrong, especially the “Natasha” bit. She couldn’t remember the last time Gavin had called her that. It had always been Tash for a long, long time.

There was something else. Gavin did use prepaid phones often, but as far as she knew, their purpose was to enable him to give out different contact numbers when he had to go incognito. She’d never known him to use his personal phone for work, so why was the situation reversed now?

With all the precautions Gavin had been taking due to Biggs’ threat, would he really be asking her to get into a strange car driven by an unknown person? And if he could text, why couldn’t he call?

Goosebumps formed on her skin. Was she being lured by Gavin’s enemy?

A knock on her door startled her.

Surely that couldn’t be the driver. She hadn’t buzzed anyone in.

She tucked her phone under the band of her jeans and let her cable knit sweater cover it. Then with heart pounding, she quietly went and checked the peephole.

She almost laughed out loud with relief. It was Gladys, the apartment building manager’s seventy-eight-year-old mother, who lived in one of the units on the ground floor.

“Hi, Gladys,” she greeted as she opened the door. The smile froze on her lips when she realised that Gladys wasn’t alone. A man wearing a chauffeur’s uniform was standing a few paces away—that was why she hadn’t seen him through the peephole.

Her heart raced. She was in trouble. Damn, damn, damn.

“Hello, Natasha,” Gladys said with a toothy grin. “This nice gentleman said he’s picking you up for a romantic day that your boyfriend has organised. He was panicking because he didn’t have your unit number and you’re not supposed to be late. Are you expecting him? He’s got a nice black car waiting downstairs for you.”

“Thank you for your help, ma’am,” the supposed driver said, walking over and touching Gladys on her shoulder. “I appreciate it.”

“No problem. Natasha deserves to have a relaxing Sunday with her man. What’s his name, by the way, dear?” Gladys asked her.

“Gavin,” she answered a shade reluctantly. If this driver was someone out to hurt or kidnap her, he obviously already knew about her and Gavin. Otherwise, why would he be here?

“Well?” Gladys asked, looking at her, then at the stranger, now seemingly unsure if she’d done the right thing by letting the man in the building.

Natasha wanted to shut the door on the driver, but she didn’t want to leave Gladys alone with him in case her suspicions were true.

“Hm, I don’t know if I should change,” she said, pretending to cast a critical eye on her outfit as her brain whirled. If this guy was Biggs, his plan could very well include threatening to hurt sweet, trusting Gladys.

That had to be avoided. According to her son, Gladys had a heart condition. If this stranger was here with a criminal intent, she didn’t want Gladys getting involved at all.

She faced the driver. “Hi. As you know I’m Natasha. What’s your name?”

“I’m John, ma’am,” he answered a little too politely, bowing.

“Nice to meet you, John,” she said, not at all believing that was his real name. “Do you think I can have a few more minutes? Gavin didn’t warn me that he’d sent a chauffeured car to pick me up so I dressed like this. But it’s obvious he’d planned something extra special so I want to get changed to something nicer.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I have strict instructions to make sure you’re not late. We have to go right now.”

“You look beautiful, dear,” Gladys commented. “No need to change.”

Darn it. “Okay, fine,” she said with a resigned smile. “Let me just make a quick dash to the bathroom. I’ve had two cups of tea with breakfast.”

John—or whoever he was—followed her inside. And it seemed that Gladys had taken it upon herself to watch the man, for she went inside too.

“You’re really keen on me not being late, aren’t you?” she said, forcing out a genuine-sounding chuckle. “I won’t be long.”

She locked the bathroom door and pulled out her phone. She made sure it was on silent and that all sounds were turned off, including the vibrate function, before sharing her phone’s location to Gavin and Carter through the Find My Friends app. Then she quickly tapped a message for the two.

*Guys, going with a BMW driver who claimed he was sent by Gavin to pick me up for a romantic date. Safer to play along than resist. Allowed you to track me through phone.*

She wanted to say more, but she could hear Gladys and John talking audibly. Argh, any hope she had that this was truly a surprise from Gavin was dashed. What professional chauffeur would be so rude as to wait right outside the bathroom door while his client peed? He clearly wasn’t who he said he was.

She flushed the toilet, washed her hands and double-checked that her phone was inconspicuously hidden under her clothes. Then with a deep, steadying breath, she opened the door.

“You better hurry, Natasha,” Gladys said. “John was just telling me your boyfriend stands to lose the thousands of dollars he’d paid for today’s special occasion if you’re late.”