Page 63 of Unexpected Love

“This felt quicker. Explain, please.” There’s noise in the background, but it quickly fades away.

“Aren’t you at work?” He’s been on nights the last two weeks, but he’s still made time to talk with me—something I'm choosing not to look too closely at for fear that I might let my heart feel what his persistent attention likely means. And I want to talk to him, too.

“Yeah, but it’s slow, and I’m at the station, so quit stalling and tell me what’s going on,” he teases.

“There’s really not much more to it.” I shrug even though he can’t see me. “I got a call from Nicole’s lawyer at work this morning telling me she dropped the suit.”

“That’s great news,” Gage interrupts, and I can tell he means it.

“Yeah,” I say softly, almost to myself. “I was so excited to tell Scott about it. I couldn’t wait for everyone to get to Scott’s to share the news. Which was probably a good thing.” I feel the tears building, thinking back to Scott’s reaction. “It hit Scott harder than he was expecting.”

“I bet. Scott’s an amazing father—and man. To go through everything he’s currently dealing with and then have to fight for custody of his kid on top of that? He didn’t deserve it.” A small smile grows at the confidence I hear in Gage’s voice.

I love that people see how amazing Scott is, and that I get to say I live in a town where the people support their neighbors like everyone here has supported the Marks family. It’s what I loved about Harborview—despite my parents living there—and it's why I kept my apartment in town. I love that Ashford Falls has it, too.

“So, how does this lead to you moving into the guest house?” Gage asks after a moment of silence.

“Well, after sharing the good news, we were all sitting around talking when Quinn announced that she was moving in with Declan.”

“And with the guest house empty and you looking for a place to live…it’s kismet,” Gage finishes for me.

“Yeah, it kind of is.” I laugh.

“I’m not gonna lie. Selfishly, I’m a little sad you won’t be a few houses down the street anymore.”

“Yeah, but now I’ll have privacy, and we won’t have to plan around what Declan is doing because it won’t matter if he’s home or not.”

“You make a good point.”

“I know. I’m a genius. You should know this already,” I tease. And the lightness I seem to always find in these conversations with Gage washes over me.

“Oh, believe me, I’m well aware of how smart you are.” He laughs. “It’s one of the things I find most attractive about you.”

“Is that so?” I question. I’m not saying it’s that out there to be attracted to someone’s intelligence—it’s just not something I’ve heard from other guys before.

“Of course. That, your honesty, and your confidence.” He says it so matter of fact it makes me pause.

“I don’t know about that last one. My confidence is shot,” I mumble.

“No, it’s not. It might be a little bruised, but you’ve still got it. You wouldn’t have shown up at my door that first night if you didn’t.”

“I don’t know if that was confidence.” It felt more like desperation to take back a little piece of myself from my parents and Brian.

“You telling me exactly what you wanted that night was, and you can’t argue that.” His voice takes on a husky sound like he’s picturing that night in detail, and it has my thighs clenching at the thought.

“Okay,” I say, sitting up in my seat. “I think it’s time for a new conversation.”

“Is that so?” he breathes, copying my words from earlier.

“Yes. You’re at work, and we aren’t having phone sex, so new topic, please.”

Gage laughs but changes the subject. “So, this weekend, huh?”

“Yeah.” I relax in my seat, a smile on my face. “Declan and Quinn are spending the next couple of evenings packing her stuff. We’ll make the switch on Saturday.

“Hasn’t she been here for like three months?”

“Yeah…” My voice trails off, curious at what he’s getting at.

---