Page 48 of Convincing Him
“January seventh,” answered James. “I’ll spend one last set of holidays here.”
“They’re being very lenient,” remarked Gabe.
“It was part of the deal we brokered with the FBI,” coughed James. He waited until he could breathe properly again. “I expect Parker and Marshall will be on honeymoon for the holidays.”
“I’ll be here,” promised Gabe.
James nodded. “That’s good.”
Gabe sighed and rose from his chair. “I should go talk to Mom now and let her know I won’t be getting married this weekend.”
“She’ll be disappointed,” mentioned James softly.
“She’s not the only one who is disappointed,” Gabe said softly. “I have a plan to win Brit back but I’m not sure she will agree to have me.”
Gabe saw what might have been sympathy in James’ face before giving him a nod of respect and exiting the office.
Knowing his mother enjoyed spending time on the balcony with a greenhouse for flowers, Gabe headed there first since it was usually where she could be found unless she was at one of her weekly charity meetings. Stepping past the large potted plants into the small glass greenhouse, he saw Dotty puttering away as she watered her plants, softly humming. “Mom? Do you have a moment? I have something to talk to you about.”
Smiling, Dotty put her watering can down on an old table. “I always have time for my boys. What is it, Gabe? You look a little sad.”
“I have a bit of bad news,” Gabe informed her. “Britney and I might not be getting married.”
Dotty looked down at her gardening gloves. Slowly she peeled them off and stiffened her back. “Are you sure you can’t get her to change her mind? Buy her some flowers and apologize for whatever happened? When you are in a relationship, you learn to forgive each other. Otherwise the problems just sour the marriage.”
“I have been hurting Brit for a long time now,” replied Gabe. “Flowers aren’t going to fix this. I have a plan in mind but I’m not certain it will work. If it doesn’t, I might just have to give her some space before trying again.”
“Space is the last thing a girl needs,” murmured Dotty. “Space is where separations, break ups and divorces happen. You need to go talk to Britney.”
“I promise I will talk to her,” vowed Gabe. All he had to do was find her. When he had called Naomi today, she said she hadn’t seen Britney. Not trusting Britney’s mother, he had gotten verification from the housekeeper.
Dotty sniffed and wiped away a tear. “I’m sorry. For all her quirks, I really do like Britney. I know you liked her as well.”
Somehow the word like just didn’t fit, Gabe thought. He more than liked Britney. He was going to miss her, all her clutter and chatter if he didn’t figure out a way to fix this. “I was thinking maybe we could offer my spot to Jake if things don’t work out between Brit and I. He and Sarah have wanted to get married for a while now. All our family would be there and hopefully there is enough time her family could come.”
“That would be nice,” nodded Dotty. “However, don’t give up hope just yet.”
“I don’t plan on it,” Gabe gave her a kiss on the cheek.
It was time to do the next part of his plan. A short drive later and he was outside of Tara and Rex Hudson’s family home
She had to be here.
Gabe laid on the doorbell. There weren’t any cars in the driveway which suited him fine. Tara was still at work and it looked like Rex was gone as well. Gabe didn’t think Britney had gotten her car from the dealer yet. She had been torn between a minivan or an SUV and Gabe had been no help with making the decision. As far as he was concerned, she was driving it and it should be her choice. They had only been planning on having one kid so what did it matter how many seats were in the vehicle? Britney had blathered on about playdates and school friends. At that point, Gabe had tuned her out.
Now he felt a little guilty over the whole matter. Maybe he should have listened a little better.
Realizing no one was coming to answer the door, Gabe peeled his finger off of the doorbell button. He tried the knob, but it was locked. Didn’t they have a housekeeper to let him in?
Scowling, Gabe circled the house, trying various doors and windows to see if they were locked. He hoped the security system wouldn’t go off, as trying to explain what he was doing was the last thing he wanted to do.
What was he doing? Gabe wondered as he wandered into the back yard. It had been three days since he had last seen Britney. One day since the fateful conversation with Tara. Part of him thought she was right. He would probably do Britney more harm than good by being in her life. He had been examining what others had been telling him and found their concerns had merit. He was a selfish guy.
Yet he couldn’t leave this alone. He couldn’t leave Britney alone. Max was right. He probably was the most selfish guy in the world, but Gabe did have feelings for Britney. He could finally admit maybe he did feel possessive of her, he didn’t like the idea of her finding happiness without him, and maybe he was more than willing to try to put Britney first for a change.
Finding the back patio open, Gabe tentatively entered the house. He carefully side-stepped around a large pile of boxes, following the sound of crinkling bubble wrap into the living room. Gabe looked around in amazement at the number of boxes, full and empty boxes which surrounded Britney as she sat on the floor amidst bubble wrap and packing tape.
“I’m sorry,” Britney wiped away a tear, heedless of who she was talking to as she hugged a large stuffed teddy. “I know I promised to get this all packed up and labelled to be returned for the FedEx guy. I just got a little distracted by the flower ring hair pieces the flower girls were going to wear. I don’t think I should return them. I’ll let the girls keep them. They will have such fun playing dress up with them. Then I saw the bear and I just needed a moment. It’s the first toy I bought for the baby and I’m having a hard time giving him back. The thought of putting him in a box and sending him away is like admitting it is all over. Don’t worry, I’ll get the living room cleaned up. I promised I would get a dent in it by tonight and I will.”
