Chapter 31
“Good morning, beautiful.” Gage leaned over from the driver’s seat to kiss Carly once she climbed into his truck Saturday morning. He was glad he decided to accompany her to the meeting with Mr. Griffin when she half-heartedly gave him a “Morning” in reply before buckling her seatbelt. He’d taken one look at her face and knew she was just as concerned as he was about what to do. He was at a loss as to how to deal with her ex since the bastard hadn’t shown any indication as to whether he’d seen any of pictures of the two of them or if he was planning to make a move. He and Carly had discussed easing up the surveillance a couple of times, but she said she wasn’t sure if she comfortable with the idea not knowing if her ex had truly decided to let her go.
As he drove through the Dallas traffic with Carly only giving one or two-word answers to his attempts at conversation, he prayed Mr. Griffin had a new plan they’d both be comfortable with and would put Carly at ease.
“How are you doing, Ms. Owens?” Gage smiled as Carly relaxed at the kindness in the private investigator’s voice. He guided her to one of the chairs directly across from Mr. Griffin’s large mahogany desk.
“Have you thought about what we discussed on the phone?” the investigator continued.
In truth, Gage had been upset when Mr. Griffin suggested scaling back. Like Carly, he wasn’t entirely convinced her ex had given up. He wouldn’t spare any expense to make her feel safe, but knew it was pointless to continue and waste the time of the investigator contracted out of Houston if her ex-husband had moved on. He reached over for her hand, hoping to reassure Carly she wasn’t alone.
“Yes, but I’m still not sure. It’s hard for me to believe he’s giving up this easily, especially given all the ominous threats he made before I left.” As Carly looked to him and visibly swallowed, Gage squeezed her hand to remind her he was more than willing to continue paying if she wanted to keep the twenty-four-hour surveillance going.
“I know you’re worried, so I think I’ve come up with a new plan that might make you feel a little better,” Mr. Griffin spoke up, drawing Gage’s attention back. “I agree we shouldn’t stop completely. I suggest we continue to monitor Mr. Moore, just not with someone tailing him all the time. With your permission, we can put a GPS tracker on his car that we can monitor. It’ll be perfectly legal since you told me the car was registered in your name and your ex-husband never bothered to have the title changed after your divorce was finalized. I’ll have the P.I. down there check up on him every week or so. Mr. Moore hasn’t made any moves so far, and there’s no indication he will, but I do understand your concerns, Ms. Owens.”
Gage let go of Carly’s hand and leaned forward wanting to make sure he understood, “How will you get a device like that in his car without him knowing and how can you be sure he won’t find it and remove it.”
“We have our ways, but I can’t make any promises. However, the man whose tailing him feels certain Mr. Moore hasn’t caught on he’s under surveillance, so it’s very unlikely he’ll even suspect it’s there. The system will send an alert if the car doesn’t move for a while or the device gets removed or destroyed, so if he does discover it, we should find out quickly. What do you want to do?” Mr. Griffin asked as he sat back in his chair, one eyebrow raised.
“What do you think?” Carly turned to Gage.
“It’s up to you. As I said on the way over, I don’t mind paying to continue this way if that’s what you want,” he answered and reached for her hand to reassure her once again, wanting it to be her decision.
Carly smiled, and Gage let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding and relaxed as she squared her shoulders. Looking back at Mr. Griffin she said, “Okay, let’s go with what you suggested, Mr. Griffin.”
“Good, I’ll let them know, and we’ll get everything set up. The tracker should be on his car by Monday, and I’ll keep you updated,” Mr. Griffin replied as he made some notes in the open file laid out on his desk.
After saying their goodbyes, Gage led Carly to his truck then headed back to Oaktown, where he intended to take her to lunch then figure out a way to spend some alone time with her for the rest of the afternoon. He wanted her to know how proud he was of her for taking one more step forward in taking control of her life. He also wanted to tell her he loved her but was hesitant, not wanting to overwhelm her before it was clear her ex-husband wasn’t going to come after her.
A little while later as he sat next to Carly at a small table in the corner of Rosalita’s, a margarita in front of her he’d insisted on despite it being only early afternoon, Gage smiled softly. “Are you sure you’re okay with pulling back on the surveillance?”
“Yeah. It’s just going to take me awhile to believe Daniel’s finally let me go. I feel better that the P.I. will still keep track of him in some way.” She took a sip of the pale green drink and gave him a small smile.
“I’m glad to hear that.” He reached across to take her hand but quickly pulled it back as the waitress appeared with their nachos to share and two empty plates. Gage chuckled when Carly moaned as she took a bite of the steaming chips piled high with bits of marinated steak, guacamole, jalapeno peppers, and gooey cheese.
“Hungry?” Gage teased her as his stomach growled, and he scooped a large portion onto his plate.
Swallowing, Carly smiled then took a long sip of her drink. “Just a little. It’s been a tough week, and I didn’t feel like eating.” She sighed as she scooped up another bite of the nachos.
“Is something else bothering you? I know you’ve been worried about the P.I. situation and Dr. Crawford, but it seems like it may be more than that,” Gage asked, sitting up when he took notice of the weariness in her voice.
Carly shrugged her shoulders and gave him a small smile. “Dr. Crawford scheduled my formal observation, so I’m a little nervous about that, and…” she trailed off as she shrugged her shoulders and lowered her gaze.
Gage lowered his fork as his stomach twisted, hoping he hadn’t done something else to upset her. “What is it? Did I do something?” he asked and reached over to gently place his hand underneath her chin and bring her eyes back up to meet his.
“I know it’s stupid, but I don’t like the way Ms. Lewis has been coming on to you,” Carly whispered, reaching up to wipe away another tear.
“Who?” Gage questioned and let go of her face, truly at a loss as to who Ms. Lewis was.
“Vicky, the one who took Mrs. Taylor’s place,” Carly replied, relieving Gage’s twisted gut when he realized who Vicky was.
“Oh, she’s harmless. You don’t have anything to worry about.” Gage replied, taking another bite. He remembered the bleach-blonde woman and her fake boobs he had no interest in and looked down to grab another bite of the nachos still piled high on his plate.
At the loud sigh followed by a “humph” coming from across the table, Gage’s eyes flew back up, and he gulped down his bite of food. He quickly realized from the mixture of hurt and irritation on Carly’s face he’d been too quick to push her worry to the side.
“I mean it. You don’t need to worry. Ms. Lewis is just like all the other women chasing after me, hoping to get a piece of my fame and fortune. I never looked at them twice. But if it puts you at ease, I’ll keep my distance,” Gage said as he reached over to rub his thumb over her cheek in an effort to wipe away her concern.
Leaning in close, he growled so only she could hear in the busy restaurant, “I only have eyes for you, sweetheart.”
Gage relaxed with her chest moving freely once more as she smiled. “Thanks.”
“Good. How about we finish eating and then maybe we can find something else to do this afternoon to cheer you up,” Gage replied, wondering if his dad needed Jonathan’s help later.
“What did you have in mind?” Carly replied breathlessly her eyes turning a deep sultry shade of brown that had Gage’s dick swelling uncomfortably in his jeans.
“I just thought maybe I could call my dad and see if he had anything he needed Jonathan to help him with for a while,” he answered, placing his free hand on the top of Carly’s thigh.
As she placed her hand on top of his and moved his fingers closer to the junction of her thighs, Carly licked her lips. “I was waiting to surprise you until after we were finished eating, but I think I’ll tell you now. Rachel and Sophie went shopping in Dallas. I have the house to myself the rest of the afternoon.”
With his cock growing uncomfortably behind his zipper, Gage pulled his hand back before he did something inappropriate in the middle of the crowded restaurant. “Well, we better hurry up and eat then.”