Gavin sat outside Ella’s house all night, but she never came home. He thought about driving around to her siblings’ homes to find her but decided that tracking her down when she didn’t want to be found would do nothing to help his case. And what case did he plan to make? He wasn’t sure exactly. All he knew was he had to try to explain himself to her and beg for yet another chance.
How many chances did one man deserve from a woman before she decided he wasn’t worth the bother? He had to be getting close to wearing out his welcome with Ella. Except he kept hearing her tell him she loved him. She’d loved him as recently as yesterday. Hopefully he hadn’t killed all that love with his ham-handed reaction to her gift.
Gavin was still sitting in his truck in Ella’s driveway when a stretch limo pulled up to the curb. Ella got out and then got right back into the car when she saw his truck.
He jumped out of the truck. “Ella, wait. We need to talk.”
Hannah got out and came over to him. Nolan was right behind her. “Leave her alone, Gavin,” Hannah said. “She doesn’t want to talk to you. Not now. We’ve got a plane to catch, and we’re going to get her suitcase. You need to leave.”
“Not until I talk to her.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Hunter said, emerging from the limo with Will in tow.
“Come on, you guys. Are you being serious right now? This is me.” He’d been friends with Hunter and Will Abbott for most of his life. Were they really going to pull this shit on him now of all times?
“She doesn’t want to talk to you, Gavin, so it’s not going to happen,” Will said.
Gavin took a step toward the limo.
Will and Hunter took a step toward him.
“Don’t do this, Gav,” Hunter said softly. “If you want to talk to her in the next week, you know where to find her.”
“So that’s the plan? Blackmail me into doing something I don’t want to do?”
“There’s no plan,” Will said. “Or at least there isn’t anymore. You saw to that, didn’t you?”
“Please ask her to give me five minutes.”
“We don’t have five minutes.” Hannah returned with Nolan, who carried Ella’s bag. “We’re due at your parents’ house right now. We’ve got a plane to catch and a friend’s wedding to get to. We’ll miss you, Gavin, but then we always do at Sultan stuff.” Hannah went up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek and patted his shoulder on her way by.
The show of affection didn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated. Even after he’d broken her sister’s heart, Hannah still loved him. Thank God for small favors. He stood there and watched them put the suitcase in the trunk. The driver held the door for them as they got back in the car. It took off a minute later in the direction of his parents’ home.
Left alone in the cold early-morning darkness, Gavin knew a moment of pure, unadulterated panic. Ella had reached her limit. She had nothing left to say to him. It was a miracle it hadn’t happened before now. As he got back into his truck and threw it into reverse, he decided it didn’t matter if she had nothing left to say to him. He had stuff to say to her, and somehow he was going to find a way to make her listen.
The subdued group of travelers picked up Gavin’s parents and headed out of town, only to be stopped just outside downtown Butler by an obstruction in the road.
“Seriously?” Hannah said, reaching for the door handle.
“Don’t even think about it,” Nolan said sternly.
“We’re going to miss our flight!”
“We’ve got hours until our flight,” Nolan said. “Stay put.” He got out of the car and went around to the front, where the driver was trying to move Fred along.
“He’s not going to budge until he gets what he came for,” Hannah the moose whisperer said. “Get on out there and talk to him, Cam.”
“No way,” Will said. “Enough already with his crush on Cam.”
“He just wants to say good-bye before she leaves town for a week,” Hannah said.
“And how do you know that?” Hunter asked his twin.
“I thought we’d concluded a while ago that I speak Fred.”
Bent at the waist, Cameron climbed over the others to get to the door.
“Cam, wait for me,” Will said, following her.
“What the devil is the deal with that moose?” Amelia asked.
“He’s got a thing for Cameron,” Hunter said. “A bit of a crush, if you will.”
“But wasn’t she the one who hit him that time?” Amelia asked.
“He’s decided not to hold it against her,” Megan replied.
Though her heart was broken into a million pieces by the confrontation with Gavin at her house, Ella watched the goings-on with a detached sense of amusement. How could you not be amused by a moose that had a crush on your sister-in-law? With the doors and windows open, they could hear Cameron and Hannah speaking with Fred, asking him to move along and let them by.
Ella kept thinking about Gavin and his desperate pleas to talk to her. Her heart had nearly leaped from her chest when she saw him in her driveway waiting for her and looking as if he’d been there all night. She’d sent her brothers out to tell him she wasn’t interested in what he had to say, but that wasn’t exactly true. She was very interested, but after her siblings had been good enough to offer her a ride to Boston, she wasn’t about to make them all late.
What she and Gavin had to say to each other couldn’t be said in a minute or two. And it was going to have to wait until she got home. With Fred blocking their path out of town, Ella wondered if the moose was trying to help her—and Gavin—by keeping her from leaving with things unsettled between them.
That’s giving a moose an awful lot of credit, Ella thought.
After a loud “moo” that made Amelia jolt in her seat, Fred ambled off into the woods. Will, Cameron, Nolan and Hannah got back into the car.
“Can we please go now?” Nolan said.
“Yes, dear,” Hannah said. “We’re all set. Fred knows when Cameron will be back, and he’s promised to keep an eye on things around here while we’re gone.”
“You’re all tapped,” Nolan said. “Seriously tapped in the head.”
Megan laughed. “I think so, too. For the record.”
“Thank you,” Nolan said to her. “I feel like I’m surrounded by lunatics who actually think a moose, a wild animal, cares what they have to say.”
“You can’t really argue with our success, though, can you?” Hannah asked him.
“Spoken by the chief lunatic.”
“Awww, he loves me so much.”
Ella loved the banter between her sister and her husband, who had the patience of a saint when it came to his wife and the moose she seemed to understand so well. But seeing them so happy together, expecting their first baby and overcoming the obstacles life—and moose—put in their way made her doubly sad for the way things had ended up with Gavin. All she’d ever wanted was what Hannah and Nolan had, what her other siblings had found with their life partners.
And she wanted it with him. Was it too much to ask to spend forever with the man she loved? It was beginning to seem that way.
“How’d you manage to get free of the diner for a week?” Hannah asked Megan.
“Butch of all people. He heard us talking about the trip and how I couldn’t possibly make it work, and he told me to shut up and go, that he was more than capable of keeping the place from burning down while I’m gone. We’ll see if that’s true.”
“And Gramps is going to check in every day,” Hunter added. “As the proprietor, of course.”
“He’ll be more trouble than he’s worth,” Will said with a chuckle.
“I think that’s his goal. He’s afraid Butch might put him to work.”
“We’ll see who causes the greatest disaster,” Nolan said. “Butch or Skeeter, who’s in charge of the garage against my better judgment.”
Ella remained silent as the conversation swirled around her. Gavin’s parents had hugged her when they got in the car, but they hadn’t said anything more. She figured they’d find a chance to talk later. Right now, she was grateful for the others, whose presence made it impossible for them to talk about it while she was still feeling so raw.
How long would it take this time before she could take a deep breath without excruciating pain? How long would it take to get over him after sharing such extraordinary closeness with him over the last couple of weeks? Every minute they spent together was imprinted on her heart in permanent ink. She would never forget a second of it.
When her eyes filled, she looked down, desperately trying to control her emotions. The last thing she wanted to do was break down in front of his parents or her siblings.
A warm hand curled around hers with a gentle squeeze.
Ella looked over at Megan, who was sitting next to her. Megan continued her conversation with Hunter, Will and Cameron without missing a beat. The show of quiet support from the woman who would soon be her sister-in-law touched Ella deeply.
Despite the agony of what had transpired with Gavin, Megan’s thoughtful gesture reminded her that she was not alone. In her family, she would never be alone, and for that, Ella was especially thankful today.
Ella’s flight landed in Providenciales an hour after the others. She’d told them not to wait on her, but she wasn’t surprised to find Hannah and Nolan in the terminal when she cleared customs. He scooped up her bag and carried it to the car from the resort that awaited them.
She hugged Hannah. “I told you not to wait.”
“You’re not the boss of me. I’m the big sister—and getting bigger by the day. How was the flight?”
“I don’t really know. I slept for most of it.” The empty seat next to her had been occupied by someone from coach, who’d been thrilled to get the upgrade to first class. Ella tried not to think about the thousand dollars she’d spent on a seat for Gavin that had gone to waste. She ought to send him a bill.
“That might be a blessing in disguise.”
“Everything hurts, Hannah. Every part of me hurts.”
“I know, honey.” Hannah linked her arm with Ella’s as they followed Nolan to the car. “And it will for a while, but we’ll get you through this. We’re going to have a wonderful time here. A week in the tropics is just what the doctor ordered for all of us.”
“I’m glad you’re here.”
“I’m glad you’re here.”
On the short ride to the resort, Ella tried to appreciate the brilliant blue sky, the palm trees, the gorgeous views of the water and scenery, but the dull ache inside had her full attention. It only intensified when she was shown to her romantic, seaside room with the huge king-size bed that reminded her of just how alone she really was, even with Hunter and Megan on one side of her and Hannah and Nolan on the other.
A knock on the adjoining door had her opening her side to Hunter.
“Hey,” he said. “How’s your room?”
“Spectacular. How’s yours?”
“Same.” He eyed her carefully. “You okay?”
“I’ve been better, but I’m determined not to be a total drag this week. We’ve all earned this break, and I won’t spoil it for everyone.”
“No one is worried about that, Ella. We’re far more worried about you.”
She shrugged off his concern. “You all tried to warn me. It’s my own fault.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s his fault. He’s a fool, and he knows it.”
“Regardless of whose fault it is, it’s over, and I’ve got to accept that.”
“It may not be over. You never know what’s going to happen.”
“I think it has to be over. I can’t keep doing this to myself. What’s the definition of stupid? Doing the same thing over and over and hoping for different results. That’s me.”
“You’re anything but stupid, Ella.”
“I’d be completely stupid to stay on this merry-go-round any longer.”
“Do yourself a favor, and try to put it aside this week so you can enjoy your vacation. Some time and space away might help to give you some perspective.”
“Perhaps,” she said, saying what he wanted to hear mostly because she’d already made up her mind. No amount of time in the sun would change the irrefutable fact that she and Gavin were just not meant to be as much as she might wish otherwise.
When a knock sounded on the other adjoining door, Ella went to admit Hannah and Nolan.
“Ready to check this place out?” Hunter asked the others.
“Whenever you are,” Hannah said, glancing at Ella, who nodded. If the alternative was sitting alone in the romantic room she’d expected to share with Gavin, then yes, a walk around the resort was preferable. “What about Will and Cam?”
“They’re ‘napping,’ ” Hannah said, making air quotes around the word napping.
The ache inside Ella intensified at that news. She wanted to be “napping” with Gavin, but that would never happen again. “Let’s go,” she said before she could break down into a sobbing mess like she wanted to.
With the sun shining warm upon them, they walked on winding paths through lush, fragrant vegetation, past a crystal-clear pool with a swim-up bar that Hunter said he couldn’t wait to put to use. Beyond the pool area, they stepped onto sugar-white sand that was warm under their feet and walked to the water’s edge. Ella had never seen water so blue in her life.
It was the most beautiful place she’d ever been, and the thought of spending a week here surrounded by happy couples who were madly in love suddenly seemed like the worst idea she’d ever had.
She wished she were home on her sofa with Ben and Jerry, nursing her wounds in private the way she had in the past. Staring out at the endless blue Caribbean, she decided she’d stay for the wedding and then get the hell out of there on Sunday. It was a big week in the store. She’d be better off there than here wishing for things that would never be.
Ella was having a late lunch with her siblings and their mates when Dylan and his fiancée, Sophia, found them. His eyes danced with joy as he hugged each of them. He was tall, blond, muscular and handsome. Sophia was tiny next to him, and she, too, glowed with happiness and excitement. Ella felt small for being envious of a woman she hardly knew. What must it be like to be about to marry the man you love, to have all your decisions made and the future laid out before you with as much certainty as anyone could ever hope to have?
“Thank you for coming so far, you guys,” Dylan said. “Means so much to have you here.”
“It’s certainly no hardship,” Hunter said, gesturing to the beautiful view of the Caribbean from their table.
“I appreciate it more than you’ll ever know.”
Ella kept waiting for him to ask about Gavin, but when he hugged her, he only said, “I wondered if he would come. I didn’t tell anyone he might. Just in case . . .”
She gave him a wan smile as she fought through her emotions. What did it say that even his close friend had expected him to bail, but she’d never seen it coming? “We tried.”
“No matter. I’m thrilled you’re here, and we’ll make sure you have a great time.”
“Thank you, Dylan. Sorry to crash your party.”
“You’re not crashing. Not at all.”
“You’re very sweet to say so.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “Where’s Will? He’s here, right?”
“The newest of the newlyweds are napping,” Hannah said disdainfully.
“Lose the attitude, Mrs. Roberts,” Nolan said. “You’re going to be napping soon, too.”
“Good napping or the kind where you actually make me sleep?”
“Both if you’re very lucky.”
Ella stood somewhat abruptly. “I, um, I’m going back to the room for a little while. I’ll catch up with you all later.”
“Ella—”
“I’m fine, Hannah.” Before she broke down in front of all of them, she walked away, certain she—and Gavin—would be the topic of conversation after she was gone. What did it matter? Let them talk. Hopefully, in a few months, everyone would forget they’d ever been together. Especially her. If only there were a pill she could take to wipe her memory clear of the incredibly special moments she’d shared with him. Right about now, she’d give everything she had for that pill.
On the way back to her room, she ran into Gavin’s parents, who looked to be on their way to the pool or beach. She hadn’t really gotten the chance to talk to them earlier with the others all around them.
Amelia hugged her. “I’m so sorry it worked out this way.”
“So am I.”
“I tried to talk to him,” Bob said.
Ella squeezed his arm. “Thanks for trying.”
“We want you to know,” Amelia said, glancing up at her husband before returning her gaze to Ella. “We think you’re perfect for him, and I know it’s asking a lot, but if you could just be patient with him for a little while longer. He’s been different lately. We’ve both seen it, and it’s because of you.”
“I’ve been patient a long time where he’s concerned. This didn’t just happen between us recently. It’s been stopping and starting for a while now. Since the summer.”
“Oh, well . . .” Amelia seemed surprised to hear that. “Underneath it all, he’s such a great guy.”
“I know he is, Amelia. He’s . . . Well, you don’t have to sell me on him. The thing is . . . I’m just not sure I can compete with his demons.”
Bob put his arm around his wife. “We need to let the kids work this out on their own, hon. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be.”
“We’re pulling for you, Ella,” Amelia said. “He was so happy with you. I have to believe he regrets not coming.”
“Maybe so. I’ll see you later, okay?” She hugged and kissed them both before continuing on her way, feeling even more shredded than she had earlier.