The Unforgettable Ex (Captured by Love Book 5) (Volume 5) (19 page)

Natasha cleared her throat, gulping involuntarily and feeling the heat creep up her face. “Would, um, Gavin be taking Amber with him?”

Carter stared at her, and she tried not to squirm. “He didn’t say
we
when I spoke with him. He said
I.
”

“Well,” Cassie said, “if he does come, the only person he could share with is Jarryd, since Jarryd is the only other single guy. But I sincerely doubt Gavin would want that.”

“I’m happy to share with Marilyn. I’m sure she won’t mind,” Natasha said, annoyed at herself for being accommodating to her ex, but unable to help looking forward to seeing him at the same time—as long as Amber wasn’t with him.

“Oh, good. That fixes it, then,” Carter said.

“Or,” Cassie said to her fiancé, “if Marilyn prefers her own room because that’s what she’s expecting, I could share with Tash and you can share with Gavin.”

Carter scowled. “Are you kidding me?”

“Well, it’s your fault that you didn’t tell me about Gavin possibly joining us. As for Tash and me, we’ve been roommates before, so we don’t mind sharing a room again for the next two nights. Right, Tash?”

“Right,” she answered, grinning and enjoying Carter’s grimace.

“I’m telling Gavin not to come at all, then,” Carter said, scowling at Cassie and pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Because I’m sleeping with
you
, and not with anyone else.”

“Not even your best friend?” Cassie asked with a giggle.

Carter stepped towards Cassie. “Only you, babe,” he said softly, before giving his soon-to-be wife a lingering kiss on the lips.

Natasha sighed loudly. “Maybe it’s time for the two of you to check out the master bedroom.”

“See, babe?” Carter said with a grin. “Tash is giving us the master bedroom. That means she’s sharing with Marilyn and not you.”

Natasha rolled her eyes. “As if Cassie was being serious. Anyway, Gavin might not come at all.” She hoped.

Carter’s phone buzzed. “Speak of the devil,” he murmured before answering the phone.

Her heart pounded in her chest. Did she really want to spend a whole weekend with Gavin in a romantic setting like this, even with other people?

“Okay, hang on a minute,” Carter was saying to Gavin. Then he tapped something on his phone and faced her. “Is it really okay with you if Gavin comes?”

She swallowed, words catching in her throat.

“It’s on mute,” Carter said, holding his phone up for her to see. “If you’re not comfortable I’ll tell him there’s no room.”

“It’s okay. We need to get used to being around each other again anyway.”

“Positive?”

“Yes.”

Carter took his phone off mute. “Dude? Yeah, cool, there’s room for you.”

“Oh,” Cassie interrupted. “Tell him that tonight we’re dressing up for dinner.”

“Cassie said to tell you we’re dressing up for dinner tonight,” Carter said. “The girls are cooking
MasterChef
-style dishes... Great. See you tonight, bro.”

Carter hung up and Natasha let out the breath she didn’t realise she’d been holding.

Gavin wasn’t arriving until tonight. At least she had a few hours to prepare herself for being friends with him again—and nothing more.

*****

“
So why is she being aloof?”

Natasha frowned questioningly at Jarryd, pausing from her task of setting the dining table with pretty floral-patterned dinnerware. “Aloof?”

“Yeah. I don’t think she likes me very much,” he whispered, placing the glazed duck he’d cooked in the middle of the table next to Cassie, Jade and Marilyn’s mouth-watering dishes.

She sighed. Frankly, she didn’t know either why Marilyn was being standoffish towards Jarryd. “Hey, maybe it’s because she hardly knows you. Be a little patient.”

“Did you tell her I’m interested in her? Maybe the feeling’s not mutual and she’s giving me signs.”

“No, I haven’t told her. Marilyn hates—
hates
—being set up with guys because she’s had enough of it. Everyone from her mother to her neighbour has tried to introduce her to some eligible bachelor, and she doesn’t like the pressure. So she
won’t
get any pressure from
me
this weekend in relation to you. I don’t even know what possessed me to agree to your idea to invite you here.”

“Oh, really? I thought I’d worn you out with my begging,” Jarryd teased. “Anyway, what if she thinks that you and I are together? Maybe that’s why she’s trying to avoid me.”

“Then stop coming up to me and whispering in my ear so no one will think that,” she said with a laugh.

Jarryd let out a heavy breath. “I’m not a very patient person. Maybe I should just ask her what she’s got against me.”

She rolled her eyes. “I doubt she has anything against you, Jarryd. She hardly knows you, and I think that’s the long and short of it. The best advice I can give you is to just get to know each other as friends until she starts warming up to you.”

“Fine. I—”

“Hey, guys, where’s Gavin?” Carter interrupted.

Her heart skipped. “Gavin? Is he here already?”

“Yeah. I thought he was coming in here to say hello to you. But maybe he went straight to his room to get changed. Mm. Is that your duck, Jarryd?” Carter walked to the table to check out the dish.

“It certainly is.”

“Looks yum. I wish I could cook like that.”

“You could if you learned how to,” Natasha said with a pointed look. “Anyway, since we’re ready to eat, I’ll get the others.”

“We’re here,” Jade said, walking into the room with Lucas, Erin and Brad. “The others are still getting changed.”

“Oh my gosh,” Erin said, eyeing the table. “Tash, Lexie and I have our work cut out for breakfast tomorrow morning.”

“So you guys won’t be cooking at all, I take it?” Jarryd said to Carter and Lucas.

“No,” Lucas answered. “The rest of us guys will be in charge of a barbecue lunch tomorrow before we head back home.”

“Hey, peeps.”

Natasha whirled to the sound of that achingly familiar voice, and her mouth dropped open. Gavin was wearing—

“Nice tie, Gav,” said Brad.

“Haven’t seen you in anything pink before, bro,” Carter said. “Where did you get that tie from?”

Gavin ran his fingers on the silk cloth. “Tash gave it to me,” he said, smiling at her.

All eyes turned to her.

She shrugged. “It was kind of a joke. Gavin doesn’t usually wear
girly
colours, so I’d wondered if he’d wear it.”

“I see,” Gavin said, the corners of his eyes losing their crinkle. “So what’s for dinner?” he asked, his cheer sounding fake.

She bit her lip, wanting to throttle him. Did he expect her to just smile and pretend he hadn’t broken her heart in pieces? She wasn’t ready to play friends-again yet, damn it! And how dare he use her second first-month anniversary present to soften her up? That was the height of insensitivity.

Cassie urged everyone to sit down, directing Gavin to a chair on the other side of the long dining table and giving her a concerned look.

She smiled at her friend reassuringly. Geez, she had to rein in her emotions. She’d hate to ruin the weekend for everyone else.

Fortunately, dinner was an enjoyable affair. There were plenty of things to talk about other than pink ties and who gave what to whom.

When they all pitched in to clear up after dinner, she made sure she was out of Gavin’s way. And when they congregated in the living room for after-dinner drinks, she squeezed herself next to Lexie and Marilyn to ensure she wasn’t sitting close to him.

Soon, it was past midnight, and the couples had started making noises about going to sleep. Yeah, right. Sleep. She could only hope they’d mind their volume when in the throes of passion. Hearing four crazy-for-each-other couples having sex at the same time would be too much for her lonely heart. Fortunately, the room she was sharing with Marilyn was upstairs, with the room next to theirs being Jarryd’s. Moans and groans shouldn’t reach them up there—hopefully.

Her gaze flickered to Gavin. He was staring at his glass, deep in thought. Was he missing—

Shut up, Natasha.

“I think I’m going to bed too,” Marilyn said, hiding a yawn.

“Me too,” she said, not keen on being left down here with Gavin.

“Well, it looks like we’re all going to bed,” Jarryd said. “It’s been a great dinner. Thanks, everyone. And thanks for having me here this weekend.”

Lucas snickered. “I don’t think we could have stopped you from coming even if we wanted to.”

Jarryd laughed self-consciously.

Natasha gave Jarryd a meaningful look. So it wasn’t just her who knew about Jarryd’s reason for being here. The guy had developed an infatuation with Marilyn after meeting her at Jade’s birthday party. Unfortunately, Marilyn didn’t appear to want to know. Tash would have to see if she could pry the reason why out of her friend.

Her breathing shallowed when Gavin approached her. “Goodnight, Tash.”

“Goodnight,” she said with a small smile.

“Where are you sleeping?”

“Upstairs.” What an inappropriate question to ask an ex-girlfriend. Hrmph.

“Tash... I—”

“See you in the morning, everyone,” Jarryd called out as he climbed up the staircase.

Gavin inhaled deeply, glaring at Jarryd. Then he turned around without a word, leaving her with her mouth open.

Hah! He thought she was sharing a room with Jarryd!

But why would he get upset about that? Shouldn’t he be relieved?

*****

N
atasha sat up in bed, glancing with envy at Marilyn’s slumbering form.

Silently, she got up, put on her robe and padded down the stairs. Maybe reading something while having a hot drink would help her catch some elusive sleep. Tossing and turning, breathing exercises and counting sheep certainly hadn’t.

A soft light was coming from the living room. Was someone else still awake at three o’clock in the morning or had they all forgotten to turn off the lamp? She walked there and found no one.

“Tash.”

She jumped at the sound of Gavin’s voice behind her, her hand going to her chest. “Hey, you scared me.”

“Sorry,” he said, his lips curving into a semblance of a smile. “I just came from the kitchen. What are you doing down here?”

“I can’t sleep,” she answered, noticing his attire. He was still in his long-sleeved shirt—and still wearing the pink tie. Her gaze went to the tie pin that she hadn’t paid attention to earlier, and her heart pounded harder. It was the other gift she’d given him for their first first-month anniversary. Why had he worn both of them tonight?

“I can’t sleep either,” Gavin said, sauntering to the couch and sitting down.

She frowned, his demeanour tugging at her heart. She’d never seen him so... despondent. “Is everything okay?” she asked softly.

He smiled sadly, his head bowing. “I’m just tired.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

Gavin looked at her, his expression a blending of yearning and hopelessness. It clutched at her heart. No matter how much pain she’d been going through because of him, she couldn’t stand seeing him like this. She sat next to him on the couch.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, placing a sympathetic hand on his leg.

Gavin shook his head, his eyes moistening.

She sighed. “Hey, we’re still friends and I want to help. Did you... have a fight with Amber?”

Gavin snickered, half-rolling his eyes, but he didn’t answer the question. Instead, he took her hand that was on his lap and gently rubbed it with his thumb before letting it go.

She narrowed her eyes, her gaze flicking again to his tie and tie pin, and realisation sank in. “So,” she said, watching his face intently. “Am I in danger again?”

Gavin’s head whipped towards her, his eyes widening for a second before he put on an unaffected look.

But too late—she could read him well.

“Please tell me what’s going on,” she said authoritatively.

“I can’t, Tash. It’s about a case I’m doing for a client, so please don’t ask me again.”

“Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course, I do. But...”

She raised her eyebrows at him.

Gavin exhaled heavily. “There are things I can’t tell you even if I trust you. You know that.”

She stared at him. His depressed look had been overtaken by an impassive, stubborn face. Oh, she’d so hit the nail on the head, and she was mad at him for putting the two of them through hell just so she could remain safe.

Well, okay, that was a noble gesture, and it was extremely sweet of him to want to protect her at all cost. But to have broken her heart again... and to live everyday not being able to express their true feelings for each other...

She stood up and nonchalantly fixed her robe. Reasoning with Gavin that they could find a way to keep her safe even if he told her everything wouldn’t work. Her kidnapping experience was probably still scaring him, even if she’d handled that like a pro. She’d need to tackle this in a different way.

“Well,” she said quietly, “if you don’t want to tell me, then fine. But I want you to know that I still love you. I don’t think I can ever stop loving you, because I’m not even over you from when you first broke up with me five years ago.  So I’ve just decided that whether you like it or not, whether you return my feelings or not, I will show you every day, in any way that I can, in private or in public, how much I love you.”

Gavin’s eyes watered, his jaw dropping.

She sniffed, reacting from his response. “And I don’t care who knows,” she said, her voice breaking as tears started to fall. “I’ll follow you around like a lovesick puppy because I am that. And
you
won’t be able to stop me,” she declared, pointing a finger at him vigorously for good measure.

Gavin’s face broke into a resigned but happy smile. Then he stood up and reached for her. “Come here, baby.”

She sobbed as she willingly fell into his arms.

“I love you so much,” Gavin said fiercely, holding her tight as he kissed her hair. “But you can’t do what you just said. Not in public, anyway.”

She pulled back to look in his eyes. “Watch me,” she said with all the seriousness she could muster.