Snowfall in Cold Creek, page 38
“Not once.”
His chest constricted at her quiet confidence.
“You’re wrong,” he whispered. “Clearly. Just ask Christine.”
“It doesn’t sound as if your feelings for her are fake.”
“Not now,” he admitted. “I guess not even at the beginning. I always liked her...” He closed his eyes for a moment. “I’m embarrassed to admit I never really noticed her before Maddie’s wedding. She was the nice girl who worked for Dad.”
“She was more than that.”
“Yes...well...” Condensation pooled around the lip of the iced tea glass, and he ran a finger across it before taking a long drink.
“Tell me how this fake yet not-so-fake relationship started.”
“I lied to Schuyler at Maddie’s reception. Told her I had a girlfriend so she’d stop with the matchmaking business.”
“Did she stop?”
“She didn’t believe me,” he said, shaking his head.
“Your sister knows you well.”
“Lucky me.”
“True.”
He felt the wisp of a smile curve his mouth. Neither his sisters nor his mother would let him get away with much, and he loved them for it. Mostly.
“She was pushing me on the identity of my mystery woman and why I hadn’t brought her as my plus one. I’d been dancing with Christine earlier in the night and told her how annoyed I was with the pressure to settle down. I’m not sure why, although I was grateful at the time, but she stepped in with Schuyler and claimed that she was my girlfriend.”
“Schuyler believed that?”
His smile grew as he thought about Christine coming to his rescue that night. It had been refreshing, spontaneous and sexy as hell. “Christine is a great office manager, but she might have missed her calling with acting. She convinced Schuyler. She convinced me.”
“Do you know she’s always had a bit of a crush on you?”
“Not at the time.” He frowned. “How did you?”
“Oh, sweetie. It’s a mother’s job to understand those kinds of things. That’s part of the reason it made me happy to hear you two were together. She’s got such a good heart, and you deserve someone like that.”
“I don’t,” he whispered. “I hurt her, Mom.”
“Because your feelings weren’t the same as hers? I saw the two of you together. It didn’t look fake.” She leaned forward on her elbows. “No offense, son, but you aren’t an actor.”
“I cared...” He paused then said, “I care about her. I didn’t expect it and things would have been so much easier if we’d stuck to the plan of having fun while I was in Austin. The engagement raised the stakes even more. Then it became more. I even suggested that we keep seeing each other after I go back to Denver.”
“Where’s the problem?”
“She told me she loved me.” His body went tight as he waited for his mom’s response.
“How dare she,” Barbara murmured.
“Exactly.”
His mother reached over and gave him a soft swat to the side of the head.
“What was that for?”
“Maybe I’m hoping to knock some sense into you. An amazing woman said she loves you and that’s bad?”
“It means she has expectations,” he said, then cringed.
“And?”
“I’ve never been great with that. I don’t date seriously. I’m not built for it. Why can’t anyone understand that?”
She held up her hand and ticked off responses on her fingers. “One, because it’s not true. Two, because it’s a weak excuse. Three, because you love her, too.”
He automatically shook his head. “I don’t. I can’t.”
“Gavin.”
“Mom, every woman I’ve ever dated has told me I’m not husband material. I’m perfect for a good time, a few laughs and fun weekends away. I don’t stick.”
“They were wrong.”
“I’ve dated a lot of women,” he said quietly, embarrassed at having this conversation with the woman who raised him but needing someone to understand just the same.
“I’m aware,” she answered.
“I’ve messed up with plenty of them. Not on purpose but in the same way I ruined things with Christine.”
“You only have to get it right once.”
He shook his head. “I don’t...” He closed his eyes and let the truth wash over him. “I love her,” he whispered.
“Yes,” his mother answered simply.
“But what if I hurt her and—” His lungs burned as he drew air in. “What if I’m not enough? What if I can’t be the man she deserves? What if I end up with my heart broken?”
“My sweet boy,” his mother whispered as if she was comforting a toddler with a skinned knee. “You are so brave and adventurous.”
“No. I’m a spineless coward. When things got serious, I turned tail. She has no reason to give me another chance.”
“She loves you.”
As if that was reason enough.
“But—”
“Are you going to try to make it work? No one can force you. Not your sisters or me. The choice is yours, Gavin. How much do you love her?”
“With more of my heart than I even realized existed.”
“What’s the worst thing that could happen?”
He blinked as understanding dawned. “Giving up on this chance at happiness. I have to fight for her to take me back. If she doesn’t, I’ll respect her decision. But if I don’t try, then I’m going to live the rest of my life regretting it.”
“Can I give you a piece of advice?”
He laughed softly. “Isn’t that what you’ve been doing this whole time in your subtle way?”
Barbara patted his hand. “Make it count. You’re all about taking risks, and the stakes don’t get any higher than when you’re putting your heart on the line. Go big or go home.”
“Really?”
“Would you ski down a bunny hill when the double black is there for the taking?”
He laughed. “You’re comparing Christine to a ski slope?”
“I’m telling you not to hold back.”
Okay. He could do that. His mother was right. He’d hurt Christine and now he had to convince her to try again. She deserved to have him risk everything.
He stood abruptly. “I’ve got to go.”
“Back to Austin?”
“To Denver,” he clarified, then held up a hand when his mother frowned. “Trust me. I’m going to make this count.”
“I do trust you.”
“Thanks, Mom. For everything.” He gave her a quick hug, then headed for his car. His dad walked into the house just as Gavin was exiting.
“Gavin.” His father’s expression was stony. “We need to talk about—”
“I’m fixing it,” he answered without breaking stride.
“Good luck, then,” his dad called.
Gavin would definitely need it.
* * *
Christine checked her makeup in the compact mirror she kept in her desk drawer Thursday morning. Not bad, she thought, given that she’d spent most of the previous night in tears.
She hadn’t heard from Gavin after he’d left her office on Monday, not that she’d expected to. Hoped, but not expected. The news of their breakup—if she could call it that—had spread like wildfire through the office. If she had to guess, she would have said that several curious ears had been pressed to the door of Christine’s office to overhear the heartbreaking conversation.
She’d tried to play it off and had managed to hold herself together when Maddie came in and threatened revenge on her brother for being an idiot.
Christine had claimed ending the engagement was a mutual decision, and in a way it had been. She simply hadn’t been willing to take the scraps of affection Gavin offered. Not when she loved him so deeply. It was his own fault. He’d been the one to help her see that she deserved more than she normally expected. Unfortunately, that newfound understanding made it impossible for her to accept anything less from him.
It was only when she’d gotten home and curled up on her couch in private that the heartbreak had truly washed over her. Princess Di had joined her on the sofa, shoving her snout into Christine and then climbing onto her lap. She’d wrapped her arms around the sweet dog and cried for far too long.
So for the past two days, her routine had been the same. Game face at the office then allowing her mask to crumble once she returned home.
Today she’d woken up with the equivalent of a broken heart hangover. It would have been nice to call in sick and curl in a ball on the couch with a carton of Häagen-Dazs and the TV tuned to some reality-television marathon. But she had to pull herself together. So she’d applied makeup, slipped into her favorite dress and then headed for the office. She’d stopped to buy a dozen donuts on the way in, hoping the offering of dough and sugar would somehow prove to her coworkers that she was moving on.
As if.
She shoved the mirror into a desk drawer and headed for the conference room. Maddie had called an all-staff meeting in order to go over the latest sales figures and strategies for salvaging their declining business.
All eyes turned to Christine as she entered the room.
“Am I late?” she asked, tucking her hair behind one ear.
“Right on time,” Zach answered from his place near the projection screen at the front of the room.
When Christine went to slip into a chair near the door, Maddie, who stood next to Zach, gestured to her. “We’ve got a place for you up here.”
“Okay,” Christine agreed, hoping no one expected her to speak at the meeting. When she was seated, Maddie clasped her hands in front of her chest.
“Now that we’re all here,” she announced, “we’ve got a special presentation today. Could someone dim the lights?”
Christine frowned as she glanced around. No one else seemed surprised at how oddly the meeting was starting.
Maddie took the seat across from Christine and hit a button on the laptop that sat in front of her on the conference table.
A background of a tropical scene with the words, “Love is the Adventure” superimposed on top of it displayed on the wide screen.
“It doesn’t matter to me where I am...”
Christine froze as Gavin spoke into the silence of the room.
“As long as I’m with you.”
She darted a quick glance at Maddie, who grinned broadly as she hit the computer’s keyboard. A digitally edited photo of Gavin and Christine appeared on the screen. She recognized the original photo—it had been taken at the Fortune family reunion. Gavin had an arm slung over Christine’s shoulder, pulling her tight to his side. She was leaning in, her head resting on his shoulder, and they both were smiling broadly.
The happiness radiating from her in the photo was undeniable, and a fresh wave of pain stabbed at her heart. But what surprised her was that Gavin looked just as happy, at peace and content in a way she thought she’d imagined during their time together.
Instead of the background of the Mendoza Winery, it looked like they were standing in front of the Eiffel Tower.
“Whether we’re traveling to the great cities of the world,” he said, his tone both tender and deliberate, “or to a tropical beach...”
Maddie winked at Christine as she clicked a button on the keyboard. Christine couldn’t help but smile as her face, along with Gavin’s, appeared superimposed onto the bodies of people lounging on the beach. The next photo showed them skiing, and in the following one they were traversing the Great Wall of China. She laughed, as did many of her coworkers, as the photos became an unofficial “where in the world are Gavin and Christine” montage.
Gavin continued to narrate all the adventures they could have together, and hope bloomed in her chest like the first crocuses of spring pushing through hard ground. That was the life she wanted, filled with fun and adventure, and most of all with Gavin at her side for every moment of it.
When the original photo popped up on the screen once again, someone in the back of the room flipped on the lights. Christine’s breath caught as Gavin came forward.
“But in the end,” he said, pinning her with his gaze, “I don’t care where we are or what we do as long as we’re together. I thought I had things all figured out but you changed everything for me. You changed me.”
She shook her head automatically. She was the one who’d changed over these past few weeks. How could he—
“I love you, Christine,” he said softly as he came to stand in front of her chair. “I can’t imagine my life without you. I don’t want to be half in or to put any limits on us. I want it all. I want to be the man you deserve.” He reached out a hand, and she placed her fingers in his, the warmth of his touch sending sparks shooting along her skin. It had only been a couple of days since she’d seen him, but she’d missed this like he’d been gone for months. When she’d heard through the office grapevine that he’d returned to Denver, she figured it was the end.
But now he was offering her a new beginning.
He pulled her to her feet and lifted her hand to his mouth, brushing a soft kiss across her knuckles. “You deserve to be loved for exactly who you are. You’re beautiful inside and out, kind and generous, and you make everything in my life better.” He squeezed her fingers. “You are my life.”
“Oh,” she breathed. She wasn’t sure she could put together any actual words without bursting into tears.
“If you give me another chance,” he continued, and she felt her eyes widen as he dropped to one knee, “I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you how much you mean to me.”
There was a collective gasp in the room as he took out a small black box, opening it to reveal the sparkling diamond solitaire she’d already come to think of as hers.
“I don’t want to wait,” he told her with a hopeful smile. “I can’t imagine losing you and I promise I’ll never give you a reason to doubt me again. I love you so damn much, Christine. Will you marry me?”
Words. She needed words. Around the galloping beat of her heart and the blood hammering through her brain, she managed to nod.
“Yes,” she finally whispered, and Gavin let out a pent-up breath that told her he hadn’t been confident in her answer. But she had no doubt she’d love this man forever.
“I love you,” she said as he slipped the ring onto her finger. “I’ll love you for all of my life, Gavin.”
As he stood and kissed her, a cheer went up throughout the room. Christine only had eyes for Gavin. She knew her life would never be the same and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
In the past month she’d discovered a strength in herself she hadn’t known she possessed and a love with a man who made her happy in ways she could never have imagined. She planned to hold on tight for whatever adventure life brought her way.
Epilogue
“I touched a fish,” Christine said with a wide smile. “You must be sick of hearing me say that, but I still can’t quite believe it.” She giggled. “I swam with fish in the ocean and I didn’t drown. It was like I was the Little Mermaid. Everything was beautiful. I can’t believe I missed out on that for so long.”
Gavin leaned in for a quick kiss, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. They sat on two lounge chairs at an exclusive resort outside Cancún, watching shades of pink and gold streak across the evening sky.
“I’m glad you enjoyed snorkeling,” he said. “Are you ready for parasailing tomorrow?”
“I’m ready for anything with you,” she confirmed, then placed a hand on her stomach. “But let’s not talk about it or I might lose my nerve.”
“You can do it,” he told her, taking her hand as he leaned back in his chair. “I believe you can do anything.”
She bit down on her lower lip as tears pricked the backs of her eyes. Would she ever get used to his unwavering support?
She watched the waves curling against the shoreline for several minutes, letting the sound of the surf relax her. “I still feel a little guilty leaving Austin when things are so tumultuous with the agency and the Fortunes.”
Gavin squeezed her fingers. “We’re here for the weekend, sweetheart. Maddie and Zach totally support you taking a couple of days off.”
Christine nodded. Gavin had suggested the spontaneous trip to the beach over dinner with his family the evening after he’d proposed to her. Her first instinct had been to say no, but both Maddie and Kenneth, who’d driven over from Houston with Barbara for the impromptu celebration, had agreed it was a fantastic idea.
Schuyler had taken her on a quick tropical-vacation shopping spree since Christine’s only bathing suit was one she’d owned since college.
Her new life would take some getting used to, but she wouldn’t change a thing. Every day with Gavin would be an adventure, whether he was at her side as she conquered her fears or they were settling into a normal routine in Austin. Gavin seemed to enjoy being back in Texas, opening his law firm’s Austin branch.
They’d already talked about finding a house together, and Christine had agreed to sublet her condo to her sister when they did. Her parents had been supportive and surprisingly excited for her when she’d shared the news of her engagement with them. Aimee hadn’t said much but she’d shoved a wedding magazine toward Christine and mumbled that she’d marked the pages with “not hideous” bridesmaid dresses.
She hadn’t bothered to reveal the details of how her relationship with Gavin had actually started. No one seemed to doubt his feelings for her. After years of feeling like she didn’t fit, Christine had discovered that believing she was worthy of being treated with love and respect made all the difference. They had a long way to go to become the close-knit family her mother hoped for, but Christine actually believed they had a chance of getting there.
