Chapter Nineteen
The door opened, and two kids flew into the room. “Uncle Garrick! Uncle Garrick!”
I hadn’t been expecting his niece and nephew. They had to be Kourtney and Hugh’s kids. They were the only ones with a boy and a girl.
Still in his business clothes, grey slacks and dress shirt, Garrick squatted and caught the two children as they flew into his arms. “Hey, munchkins.”
My heart melted as he easily swept up the kids into his arms and deposited one on each hip. If memory served me right, they were around five and seven.
“What have you guys been doing? I’ve missed you.”
“We went to MeMe’s pool this morning. And then MeMe and Papa took us to the park. We were going to dinner when we asked to stop and see you.”
He kissed their heads. “That sounds like fun. I’m glad you came by.”
The kids looked my way in unison as if they’d sensed someone else in the room. Curious stares came my way from everyone. This was beyond awkward. Garrick opened his mouth to speak when the little girl asked, “Who is that?”
“This is Knoah, my girlfriend.”
Girlfriend. He’d said the word. For a moment, I was filled with elation until I noticed the silence. The room grew awkward. For the first time, I noticed Hastings standing behind everyone. Garrick frowned but set the kids down and walked over to me. When no one said a word, my doubt began to grow.
Do they hate me as much as Vivian does?
His mother smiled. “How long have you been together?”
“Not long,” Garrick replied. “Knoah’s going to live here for a bit due to some unforeseen circumstances.”
She approached me, her face open and friendly. “Knoah is a beautiful name. I’m Suzette, Garrick’s mother.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Shaw.”
She flicked her wrist. “Pssh. Call me Suzette. Mrs. Shaw makes me feel old.”
“Thank you, Suzette.” I held out my hand, but Suzette hugged me instead.
“I’m a hugger. I can’t help it.” She pulled back. “Since my son has lost his manners, let me introduce you to everyone else. This is Kourtney, my eldest daughter. These are her kids, Derrick and Savannah. Hugh, her husband, is at home playing cards with Garrick’s father.”
Kourtney joined us. “Nice to meet you. I’m a hugger, too. I hope you don’t mind.”
“I don’t. It’s nice to meet you, as well.”
I felt only warmth from Garrick’s family, and it brought a smile to my face. Nothing like Dylan’s. I knelt to greet the kids, who slowly walked over to me. “Hey, Derrick and Savannah. I’m Knoah.”
“How old are you?”
The little girl tilted her head. Her mother scolded her, but I waved it off and answered, “I’m twenty-six. How old are you?”
“I’m seven. Are you going to be my aunt and have babies with Uncle Garrick? He’s almost thirty.”
“I—uh—” Babies? Marriage? That was megawarp speed. I was at a loss, and my jaw snapped shut.
Kourtney shook her head. “I blame the princesses. Savannah thinks anyone who’s dating should get married and live happily ever after.”
That eased me. Marginally.
“Mom, MeMe is always saying Uncle Garrick needs to settle down and have kids of his own. He loves kids. He loves us.”
Kids?
My breathing sped up. Calm down. You need to calm down.
Garrick stepped in front of me. “How about ice cream? I think there’s some in the freezer.”
The kids took off with Kourtney following behind.
“I’m so sorry, Knoah.”
“It’s okay.” Or not. I had a million unanswered questions now. And a small ache formed in my chest. On his bucket list, he’d put that he wanted a family.
Garrick placed his hand on my lower back. I knew I should say something, but I was still speechless. Hello, warp factor nine. A little fissure formed in my heart.
Suzette waved it off. She had no idea how big of a deal this was. “How does a family dinner next weekend sound? I know Melissa and Marcus would want to meet Knoah. And of course their kids. It’ll be fun.”
I stopped and stared, frozen. Each sibling was married with two kids. Quickly doing the math, I calculated over fifteen people, including me, at dinner. That was a lot of people to meet all at once. A lot. Completely different from my family of three. I took a slow, deep breath to calm down.
“We’ll have your favorite, Garrick. As long as Knoah likes Italian. Do you?”
Wait. She’s talking to me. “Yes, I like lasagna.” Oh wait, should I have assumed Garrick’s favorite dish?
His mom beamed.
“We’ll see, Mom.” Garrick looked over his mom’s shoulder at Hastings. I’d forgotten he was there. “What are you doing here?”
“I need to speak with you. It’s important.”
A sense of uneasiness spread through me as Hastings strolled into the room. Suzette shook her head. “Come on, Knoah. Let’s head to the kitchen while these two men chat about work. Goodbye, Hastings. It was good to see you.”
Hastings softened. “You as well. Tell Henry I said hello.”
“I will.”
Wait. Suzette seemed to like Hastings. Why?
Hastings nodded toward Suzette. “Good to see you. It’s been a while. Thanks for letting me catch a ride up.”
“Of course. Don’t be a stranger. It’s been too long.”
Linking arms with mine, she led us out of the room. With Hastings around, that uneasy feeling had made itself known again. What’s up with him? I swore I could feel his eyes follow me out of the room.
As we rounded the corner, I heard Hastings ask, “Girlfriend?”
Suzette patted my arm. “He’s an old friend of Garrick’s. They have some things to work out.” When I said nothing, she continued. “He got a seat on the board of one of the companies GS Industries acquired without Garrick knowing. They used to be so close as kids, but then they stopped. Garrick never said why.”
I filed that information away. GS Industries had recently been in the spotlight due to false reports of excessive layoffs blown out of proportion. Garrick confirmed that things had spun out of control. I wondered if Hastings was on that particular board. Did he intentionally let things get out of hand? Why?
Giggles came from the kitchen.
This was unlike anything I’d ever experienced with Vivian. In the two minutes I’d known Suzette, I felt closer to her than I ever did Dylan’s mother.
We rounded another corner and entered the kitchen. The children were eating fudge bars at the glass-topped table. Kourtney nodded to Savannah, who hopped off her chair and walked to me. “I’m sorry, Knoah. What I said was rude. You’re Uncle Garrick’s first girlfriend ever. I got a little excited.”
First girlfriend. Ever.
I knew this, but hearing it from someone other than him made this leap of faith we were taking more special in so many ways.
Though she completely took me off guard, this little girl was only seven. I kneeled in front of her. “You’re too sweet. Do you think I could have a fudge bar with you guys?”
Her face lit up. “Yes. Uncle Garrick keeps them in his freezer just for us.”
Kourtney handed me a fudge bar, and we moved over to the table. “Mmm, this is good.”
The cold, chocolaty goodness coated my tongue. Actually, it occurred to me that I was famished after not eating much all day.
“I’m five.” Little Derrick decided to talk to me. He held up five chocolate-covered fingers.
These kids were beyond precious. I’d always wanted a family. I held up five fingers, too. “Wow, you’re a big boy.”
“He’s not as big as me,” Savannah chimed in.
I always wondered what it would be like to have a sibling. I envied the closeness I saw between brothers and sisters. Derrick reached for me. Somehow, I managed to finagle him into my lap while holding my fudge bar. Of course, I got fudge on me in the process, but I loved it.
Savannah asked, “Can I sit in your lap, too, Knoah?”
“Sure. That’s why I have two legs. One for each of you.”
Savannah climbed up, and we all took a bite of our treats. Some of the fudge dripped on my pants, but it didn’t bother me. “So what was your favorite thing at the park?”
“Swings!” They said in unison.
Kourtney snickered. “They would swing all day long if we let them. Are you okay with them?”
“Yes. Very much so.”
I moved Savannah’s hair behind her shoulder. “Do you know what my favorite part of the park is?”
“What?” Derrick asked. Savannah watched me with intense interest.
“The merry-go-round. When I was younger, Dad would spin me. I would giggle while I went round and round. He’d chant, ‘Around and around my sweet pea goes, where she stops, nobody knows.’ Then he’d try to guess where I’d stop. If he was right, I owed him five kisses on the cheek.”
“I want to do the merry-go-round. Can we?” Derrick asked.
I loved the park, so after taking a bite, I said, “Sure. That’ll be fun. It’s been a long time since I’ve gone.”
“Uncle Garrick!” Savannah screamed, and I looked up to see him leaning against the door, watching us. “I like Knoah. She’s going to come home with me for a princess slumber party.”
I giggled. “I think a princess party sounds good. We could paint each other’s toenails and do each other’s hair.”
She hugged me. “I can’t wait. It’ll be so much fun.”
Derrick huffed. “I don’t like princesses. They’re girlie. What kind of party could we do?”
Tapping my chin, I thought for a second. “Well, what if we painted a wooden car and then raced it?”
“Yes! I love cars.”
I’d been a big hit when I used to babysit in my teens. I loved watching kids. And Garrick’s family was amazing. Like the man himself, I’d instantly bonded with them. I shushed the part of me that wanted to freak out.
Savannah bounced in my lap. “Can we do it today?”
Garrick stepped in. “Not today, princess. Knoah is going to get settled in.”
“Is she going to live in your place?”
I glanced over at Suzette and Kourtney, who were watching Garrick.
“She’s going to live next door.”
Their faces lit up. It was strange how different these women were from Vivian. When Dylan and I moved in together in college, Vivian’s response had been the exact opposite. In fact, she’d called me a dirty whore. That was when Dylan practically cut her out of his life, which only fueled her hatred toward me.
“I want to come tomorrow, Mommy. Uncle Garrick, can we?” Savannah perfected the puppy dog face as she asked.
Garrick gave me a wink while Kourtney responded, “Sometime soon. But now we need to go. Daddy and Papa will be getting hungry.”
“Aww, man. I want to stay with Knoah.”
I gave her a little squeeze. “Well, I’ll see you at the family dinner MeMe is planning. Do you think you could be my friend there since I won’t know anyone?”
“Yes! Derrick and I will be your best friends.”
Garrick gave me a breathtaking smile. “I have a feeling I’m never going to get to see my girlfriend when I’m around my family.”
Again, the word sent a warmth inside my chest. We were really together. Officially.
Suzette gave Garrick a hug. “It’s good to share. I’ll see you next weekend. It was great meeting you, Knoah. Make sure he treats you right.”
Quickly, Kourtney cleaned up the kids, and we headed to the door. She waved and said, “Bye. We’ll see you next weekend.”
When they were almost at the door, the kids turned and raced back to me. “Bye, Knoah.”
I hugged them. “I’ll see you guys later.”
After the door closed, Garrick wrapped his arms around me. “You were wonderful with them. Thank you.”
“Kids are precious. I love how magical the world appears to them.”
His fingers grazed my chin. “Mom and Kourtney liked you, too.”
“I hope so.”
He leaned in. “I know so.”
Softly, his lips brushed against mine. The thought of being alone in that other apartment for the first night felt disconcerting. “Does this place have two bedrooms?” I knew it had more than one, but it was the easiest segue to what was on my mind. Earlier our tour had been cut short with Sawyer’s call.
He pulled back. “It has three.” I played with my ring, too nervous to ask for what I wanted. “What is it, Knoah?”
“Would it be okay if I slept in the spare bedroom? I don’t want to be alone in the other apartment. If it’s too awkward, I’ll understand. When Sawyer comes back, I’ll be fine.” I knew we were safe, but still there was a murderer at large.
“I would feel better knowing you were closer.”
And I wanted that, too. I chewed my lip, nervous at my decision. “Me, too.”
“I need to work for a bit. Let’s get the stuff you want moved here.”
I needed some space to sort through my thoughts. Around Garrick, my rational thoughts flew out the door. This was my new reality. I had someone amazing in my life. “After, I’ll scrounge up something for dinner if that sounds good.”
“It does.”
He pecked his lips against mine again. I wanted more. Needed more. The desire licked through my veins. I wanted to feel his hands on my body, know what it was like to be possessed by him. But first, he needed to know the truth before I thought about anything further than where we were.