I nod again, watching him as he walks into the living room in a pair of mesh shorts and a gray t-shirt. His wet hair falls in his face and it gives him this whole “bad boy” vibe that teenage me would have eaten up with a damn spoon. But that was before I found myself a boyfriend who rode a motorcycle and did drugs. One month with him was enough to scare me straight.
“Do you want to eat in the living room or at the island?” he asks, pointing to the gorgeous white marble island with a waterfall edge and three chairs in front of it. I shrug. It really makes no difference to me where we eat dinner… unless that’s usually something I get uptight about but I can’t see that. Then again, there are a lot of things about my new life that don’t make sense to me.
“Where do we usually eat dinner?”
He points to the island. “There. We save the dining table for special events.”
“Okay,” I answer with a nod as the elevator dings and a tall man in a suit steps out.
“Your dinner, Sir,” the man says to Gavin before handing him a couple of paper bags.
“Thanks, Carl.”
Carl turns to me and his face lights up. “Miss Shaw! So happy to see you back at home. How are you feeling?”
“Sore,” I answer as I plaster a smile on my face, thankful Gavin supplied me with his name so I wasn’t forced to have another awkward conversation with someone I don’t know. “But good. Thank you, Carl.”
“Excellent. Well, if you need anything at all, you just let me know.”
I nod. “I will.”
He beams, pride shining through his eyes and from just a glance, I can tell how much Carl loves his job - taking care of the residents of this building and it immediately endears him to me. Gavin hands Carl a little bit of money and he slips it in his pocket before wishing us a good night and disappearing back into the elevator. Gavin turns to me with a perplexed expression.
“Do you remember Carl?”
I shake my head. “No. I just didn’t want to explain that I can’t remember anything again.”
A look of understanding flashes across his face.
“Shall we?” he asks, holding his hand out to me and I take it as I stand up from the couch. He leads me over to the island and only releases my hand to pull a chair out for me. I smile up at him in thanks as I sit down.
“You want something to drink? We have water, wine, apple juice, or sweet tea.”
I eye the bag of food before meeting his gaze again. “Tea, please.”
“You sure? The wine might help you relax a little.”
“No,” I answer, shaking my head. “Better not with the pain meds.”
He nods as he pulls a pitcher of sweet tea out of the fridge. “Right.”
After grabbing a glass out of one of the upper cabinets, he fills it and sets it down in front of me. I watch him as he carries the pitcher back to the fridge and grabs a beer for himself before sitting down next to me. The past two weeks is starting to catch up to him and I’ll be surprised if he stays awake long enough to finish his dinner. He passes out our food and I groan loudly as I take my first bite. The burger is juicy and so full of flavor, a stark contrast from the bland, beige hospital food I’ve been eating for the past four days.
“Good?”
I nod and wipe my mouth with the napkin. “Oh my God, yes.”
“Good,” he answers with a grin. “I was starting to worry about you. You’ve barely been eating anything since you woke up.”
“Um, because it was terrible.”
He laughs and nods as he grabs his beer and takes a sip. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”
As we eat our dinner, I ask him about where he grew up and he tells me about his hometown in California. When he shares with me that both of his parents have passed away, my chest aches but I also feel a connection with him that wasn’t there before because I know exactly how he feels. He tells me more about the night of the charity event where we met and I can’t help but smile as he admits how hard his heart was beating in his chest when he approached me and hearing him describe the two of us dancing the night away sounds like something out of a dream. By the time we finish, I’m more relaxed than I’ve been since waking up in the hospital and his eyes are drooping more and more with each minute that passes.
“Can you point me in the direction of the shower? I want to wash the smell of the hospital off me.”
He nods and stands up from the island. “Of course. I’ll show you where everything is.”
Taking my hand in his, he leads me past the kitchen to a long hallway that opens up into a gorgeous master bedroom. Another wall of windows gives the space an ocean view and I suck in a breath as colors splash across the sky with the setting sun.
“Oh, that’s incredible.”
He smiles. “Isn’t it? I can’t wait for you to see how gorgeous it is in the morning.”
I nod, gazing out at the water for a moment before letting him lead me into a massive en-suite bathroom. It’s all white marble again but there are little pops of blue that remind me of the water below and it feels more like me than the living room or kitchen. I eye the giant tub in the corner before turning to the walk-in shower along the back wall. Gavin releases my hand and walks across the room to a cabinet. He pulls two towels out and hands them to me.
“Okay, I guess I’ll leave you to it. Just yell if you need anything.”
I nod, wishing I could usher him out of here without being rude. That shower looks too damn inviting and I didn’t realize how badly I needed one until he led me into the room. Finally, he turns and leaves me alone. I make sure the door is locked before stripping out of my clothes, my body aching but I fight through it. Once I’m naked, I walk across the room and set my towels on the bench next to the shower before changing my mind and turning toward the tub. With my aching muscles, a nice long hot bath sounds perfect. Besides, how in the hell could I pass up this amazing tub?
Turning the water on, I set it to the perfect temperature before grabbing a jar of what looks like bath salts. After prying the lid off, I bring it to my nose and moan as the scent surrounds me. It’s vanilla mixed with something fruity and I can’t resist the urge to dump a scoop or two into my bath. When the bath is halfway full, I step inside and sink into the water, letting out a loud sigh. The warm water washes over my muscles, relaxing me and if I laid my head back, I think I could fall asleep right here. Leaning forward, I turn off the water and lie back, closing my eyes.
As tension seeps out of my body, my mind begins working overtime, thinking about the past four days, about how much I miss Baton Rouge and Mercedes and how weird I feel living in a house with a man I don’t know. How is any of this supposed to help me? I just can’t understand. The doctors kept saying how being in my own home with my things would help me and relax me but the pressure to be who Gavin needs and wants me to be is immense and I don’t think I can handle it. Maybe I should just book a flight to an island and go relax in the sun until my memory returns… if it ever does. Even that doesn’t sound as appealing as it should, though. The only place I want to be, the only place that’s given me any kind of comfort in the last four days, is Baton Rouge.
Sighing, I pull the plug and stand up. My head spins and I grip the edge of the tub for a second, taking deep even breaths until it passes. When I’m feeling steady again, I grab my towel and wrap it around my body as I step out of the tub. The house is quiet as I unlock the bathroom door and peek out into the bedroom so I tiptoe over to the closet I saw on the way in before realizing how stupid that is. It’s my damn house. Why the hell am I tiptoeing like I’m a guest?