Chapter Seventeen

 

ERIN

 

I hate this house Danny shares with I don’t even know how many other guys. Seems like there’s a new face every other day. The bathroom is disgusting no matter how many times I clean it. Why can’t guys hit the toilet? It’s a plenty big enough target, for God’s sake. And there’s nothing but beer, condiments, and leftover pizza in the fridge. I don’t understand how people live like this, and Danny’s been doing it since he graduated from college.

I have to get out of here, but first, I need a job. Not a nanny gig, either. I’m through with that scene. Through with the heartache. And I’m not even talking about Garrett. Losing Abby is as much of a slice to my heart as losing him. Might even be worse, since she’s an innocent victim in all of this. Garrett, he had a choice.

I’ve avoided social media while I’ve been hiding out here. I’ve only left for necessities—food, toilet paper, fresh air. Okay, so I’ve left a lot, but I avoid anyplace I once went with Garrett and I wear a hat or scarf over my hair most of the time. I’m like a movie star trying to go incognito, except it’s easy because no one really cares who I am.

Danny’s tried to talk me into reaching out to Garrett, and I’ve refused. I’m too raw, my head is too full of what ifs. I’m afraid if I do go see him, I’ll beg him to let me stay, and that’s just pitiful and sad.

Danny, on the other hand, had no qualms about going to Paynter and Chloe’s wedding today. “She’s paying me more than I’ve made in any one month since I graduated,” he said as he adjusted his tie and headed out the door. “You sure you don’t want to go with me?”

“Positive.” The duck punctuated my response with a quack.

Yes, the duck. To be honest, I didn’t even realize I had the thing in my arms until we were seated on the L, heading to Danny’s place, the night my world came crashing down around me. I tried to return it the next day, but the thing just followed me home again. I’ve had to buy a larger purse so it can sit inside when I go to the grocery store, because it quite literally refuses to be away from me. The one time I tried to lock it up, one of the guys Danny shares the house with let it out because it was making such a ruckus. The damn thing came flapping and waddling down the street after me and nearly got hit by a car.

So now I have an obsessed duck, no job, and I’ve vowed to never fall in love again. Wow, how the mighty have fallen. Not that I was particularly mighty in the first place, but there had been a point when I felt pretty damn good about my life. The only thing missing was Garrett’s declaration of … something. Anything to give me hope that what we had was special, and that it wouldn’t all unravel the moment a difficulty—a.k.a. Peter Wilkins—showed up.

My phone vibrates and I glance down to read the screen.

HELP!

That’s all the text from Danny says. I wait for him to elaborate.

I forgot my wallet. Stupid bartender won’t let me have a drink without my ID.

I type: Aren’t you working anyway?

Only until the wedding starts, then I’m done. And holy shit, Garrett’s sister is smokin’. I’m sticking around, but I need my wallet!

I pause with my fingers over the screen. I have literally nothing else going on at the moment, so dropping off his wallet would be no big deal. Except he’s at Paynter and Chloe’s wedding, and so is Garrett, I’m sure. And Abby. And that’s too close for comfort.

I’ll grab one of your roomies, ask him to take it to you.

His response is immediate: Are you fucking kidding me? Any one of them will steal the last $5 to my name and take my license and Social Security card, too.

I consider pointing out that he shouldn’t carry his Soc around in his wallet, but then again, where else is someone like Danny supposed to keep such a valuable bit of identification?

Come on, his next text cajoles. I’ll meet you at the end of the street. You don’t have to actually come to the house.

I stare at the words on the screen. I suppose that’s fair enough. And I need to go out for toilet paper, anyway. Again. No idea how a houseful of guys goes through TP so damn fast. Or what the hell they did when I wasn’t living here, because no one else seems inclined to ensure the place is stocked up.

Fine. Give me ten and I’m on my way.

His response is a bunch of kissy face emojis, so I guess he’s pleased. With a groan that’s mostly annoyance at my general lot in life, I climb off the couch, grab my bag and head to the bathroom, the duck waddling along behind me. I don’t do much to my appearance since I don’t plan to actually see anyone, but I do change out of my pajama pants and throw on a pair of jeans and a bra.

Thirty minutes later, with the duck perched in the passenger seat, I turn my vehicle down Paynter’s street, driving painfully slow as I search for Danny and try to avoid sideswiping the plethora of cars parked pretty much everywhere. There’s only a narrow passage, enough for one car at a time, and lights flash ahead of me, indicating someone is waiting for me to move so they can leave. Paynter’s house looms to my left, and I actually hunch my shoulders and stare straight ahead as I guide my vehicle off to the side so the other driver can get through the crush of parked cars.

Lifting my phone off the console, I start to send Danny a text when there’s a tap on the window. I let out a little shriek that’s accompanied by a quack, and when I look up, I see a young guy in a valet uniform. Rolling down the window, I give him an apologetic smile.

“Sorry. You startled me.”

“Is that a duck?” he asks, nodding at my passenger.

“Um … yep.”

He shrugs. “Goats, ducks, these rich people sure are strange.” And then he grabs the door handle and pulls it open. “Come on, I’ll park it properly for you. Wow, you took the casual aspect of this wedding for real, huh?”

“I’m not here for the wedding. I’m just dropping off—” The duck flaps its wings, filling the space with feathers and down. The valet guy sneezes and backs away; the duck climbs into my lap and, before I can grab it, hops down onto the concrete.

“Oh, for crying out loud,” I mutter as I unsnap my seatbelt to chase after it. “Now you decide it’s a good time to leave my side and explore?”

There’s another car heading down the street, so I hurry to grab my feathered friend before she meets her end under a pair of Goodyears. But she waddles off between two parked cars, and the space is too small for me to get through, so I have to hurry around the front of one of them to try to head her off at the pass. As I round the fender, I catch movement out of the corner of my eye and glance behind me. The valet has taken charge of my car and is driving off in it.

Great, just great. Now I have no choice but to wait until he returns so I can tell him to turn right back around and retrieve my car again. And, damn it, I left my cell phone, so I can’t even text Danny to tell him I’m here.

I need a place to hide in the meantime. It’s bad enough I’m drastically underdressed, even for a casual wedding, but I don’t even belong here. And the last thing I want is for one of Garrett’s family members to notice me and alert him to my presence. I have no idea what he’ll do, but I doubt I’ll appreciate it.

Ah-ha. Across the street and down two houses, there’s a for sale sign in the front yard. And there are no curtains on the front windows, so I can tell the place is empty. I’ll just go hover in the side yard over there until I see the valet running up the road, and then I’ll pay him to give Danny his wallet—at this point, I don’t even care if his Social Security card gets stolen—and I’ll be off, back to the sanctuary of my current gross, overpopulated home.

Quack!

Shit. That sound was much too far away. Where the hell—crap. She’s waddling off across Paynter’s front yard, heading toward the side yard between his house and the one Chloe used to live in. I smack myself on the forehead. She’s heading for the lake.

Which is where the wedding is taking place.

I seriously consider leaving her, but I can’t. Apparently, I’ve become attached to the damn thing. She and Danny have been my only friends over the last couple of weeks, and she’s been an even better friend than him since she doesn’t like to suggest maybe I should go talk to the man who ripped out my heart and left it in a pond at the local golf club.

A couple of valet guys are watching me, but the small cluster of guests who are standing on the sidewalk smoking don’t seem to have noticed my presence. I give the uniformed guys a wave, and then I bolt across the sidewalk and into the grass after my duck. She squawks and flaps her wings and increases her speed as she heads for the water.

“No, no, no! Duck, come back!”

“Duck?” The babyish voice brings me to a halt as the breath is sucked from my body. “Erin? Erin!”

A whirlwind of champagne-colored chiffon and dark curls rushes toward me, holding a white satin leash attached to a goat that’s been dressed up with ribbons and bows. The satin is frayed in one section, showing a thick rope underneath. I’m guessing the goat has been nibbling.

And then Abby slams into me, wrapping her little arms around my legs, and I drop to the grass so I can hug her back. God, it feels good to see her again.

“Erin, Erin, Erin, why did you leave me?” She’s clutching me and sobbing, and I cross my legs and pull her into my lap and just hold her. Along with a satin headband to match her dress, there’s a barrette in her hair, one with a tiny pink rose glued to the top. The one I gave her when we met.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry, baby.” Tears spill from my own eyes and splatter onto the headband, creating dark starbursts that are sure to stand out in the family pics. “I didn’t mean to. I wish I didn’t have to.”

“Don’t ever leave me again.”

“I…”

Something brushes my arm; it’s the white duck looking up at us. It gives a little quack and Abby turns her head, her brimming eyes growing wide as she stares at it.

“Ducky!” she shrieks, and she grabs the thing and hugs it to her body. “You brought me a duck! I love you, Erin!”

Oh no. Now what do I do? “I love you too, baby.” And I do, I really do. I shouldn’t have said it because it’s probably going to be worse when I leave again, but I can’t help myself. This kid means the world to me, and it’s tearing me up that I can’t be with her anymore.

“Abby? Where the hell are…” Garrett steps around the corner and comes to a stuttering stop when he sees us seated on the grass. He’s so handsome in his khaki slacks and pale blue button-down shirt with the boutonniere pinned over his left chest pocket, it makes my mouth water and my heart ache.

I quickly swipe away the tears on my cheeks and run a hand through my hair. Ugh, I should have at least put on lip gloss or mascara. No, not mascara, since I’d now have black streaks running down my cheeks, and I’m pretty sure naked, swollen eyes are way better than that.

“Daddy,” Abby says, beckoning him closer. “Erin brought me a duck. His name is Ducky.”

“Ducky?” Garrett inches closer, like he’s afraid to make any sudden moves.

“Actually, it’s a girl,” I tell her.

“A girl!” Abby cries out, and she hugs the duck so tightly I’m worried she’ll suffocate it. Meanwhile, Spot has noticed the duck’s presence and is snuffling its feathers. Do I need to worry about the goat trying to eat the duck? I don’t even know, and I can’t seem to make my body function enough to try to stand up, to get the duck out of harm’s way, just in case. All I want to do is sit here and hug this kid.

Okay, that’s not all I want to do, but I figure her daddy probably doesn’t want to join in our little reunion.

“I’m sorry,” I say without looking at him. “I didn’t mean to come. I just…”

“Is that the duck from the golf club?” Garrett asks.

“Um … yes.”

“You stole a duck?”

Furrowing my brow, I shake my head. “No. She adopted me. Seriously, I can’t get the duck to leave me alone. I—”

“I understand. Completely. I have the same problem.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t want to leave you alone, either.”

Suddenly, he’s bending over me, pulling Abby out of my lap. Wrapping his hand around my upper arm, he tugs me to my feet.

“Um, I should … umph.” My words are muffled by his shirt as he’s dragged me into a hug so tight, it rivals the one Abby gave Ducky.

Ducky? Why do I have a feeling the thing finally has a name?

Without relinquishing his hold, Garrett cups my chin and lifts my face, and then he crashes his lips against mine and oh God, it’s the greatest feeling in the whole wide world. I choke on a sob as I melt against him, wrap my arms around his neck, and open my mouth, welcoming the intrusion of his tongue, my leg lifting like I want to climb his body. Which I do, actually. I want—

“Fuck, I’m so glad to see you,” he says after stopping to take a breath. I’m raining tiny smacking kisses all over his face while he talks. “Why did you run away? Why won’t you answer your phone? Why haven’t I been able to find you? Where the fuck does your best friend live, anyway?”

I freeze as reality slides down my spine like a trickle of icy cold water. I try to extract myself from his arms, but he won’t let me go.

“No way,” he says, apparently guessing my intentions. “You aren’t going anywhere. Not until we talk.” He glances down at his daughter. “Abby, take the duck—”

“Ducky.”

He rolls his eyes. “Ducky. Right. Take Ducky and Spot and go find Uncle James, please.”

Abby places the duck on the grass and gives Spot’s leash a tug. “Come with us, Ducky.” Much to my surprise, the bird waddles along by her side without so much as a backward glance in my direction.

“Huh,” I say, watching them.

“Huh, what?” Garrett says.

“That’s the first time the duck has been willing to leave my side since that night.”

“Are you telling me I’m stuck with a duck now?”

I shake my head. “No. I’ll take her home with me. I wouldn’t—”

“Well, since your home is at my place, I guess that answers my question. Although I don’t even know if ducks are allowed in our building.”

Leaning away so I can look up into his face, I say, “What did you just say?”

“I said I don’t know if ducks are allowed in our building. But don’t worry, I’ll work it out—”

“No, no. Before that. My home is at your place? Is that what you said?”

“Yes, it is. It’s—”

“You still want me to be your nanny after that debacle at the golf club? You didn’t lose all your sponsors?”

“Not all of them, no. Quite a few, though, and I’m probably going to be footing a fair portion of my expenses for the rest of the season out of my own pocket, but Callum’s got some ideas for next year. And no, I don’t want you to be my nanny. Evie’s been great, actually. I’ve hired her full time.”

My heart drops to my toes.

“…But we’ll have to work around her school schedule in the fall. Shouldn’t be too hard, since you and Abby will start touring with me. Every single tour. So really, Evie’s going to be more of a house sitter. And duck sitter, apparently. Did we really adopt a duck?”

“Hang on.” I squirm out of his embrace and lift my hands into a T. “Time out. I’m sorry, I’m having a little trouble following you. Because I swear you’re talking like we’re a couple. Or, actually, a family. And that doesn’t make a lot of sense, considering I ruined your career and you just said you don’t want me to be your nanny anymore.”

“Honey, you didn’t ruin my career. I ruined my career by not being honest. With myself and with you. Although, to tell you the truth, I’m still the best golfer in the world, and Callum’s a fucking magic man when it comes to spinning stories, so hopefully we’ll be all right in a few months.

“It’ll help if, from this point forward, we can avoid scenarios where I’m standing knee-deep in muck and you’re puttering away in a golf cart while some psychopath tells the world he loves you. Not for the sponsors, either, but because I’m not sure I can handle going through that again.”

I shiver. In truth, I’ve been hiding from Peter as much as I’ve been avoiding Garrett. I haven’t yet figured out how to deal with the man.

“Do you love him?” Garrett’s studying my face like he’s trying to pull the answer from my features.

Closing my eyes, I shake my head. “I thought I did, when I was working for him. But eventually I realized I got caught up in the idea of playing house. Just like I did with you.”

“Are you saying you don’t love me?”

I shake my head again. “No. I do. I think. I mean, yes, I love you. I—”

“I’m so glad to hear you say that. Because I don’t want you to just play house with me.”

“If you’re about to throw some golf analogy at me…”

He laughs. “You’re never going to get away from the golf analogies, Erin.”

“I still have to deal with Peter. I’m pretty sure he’s the reason I’ve gotten fired from every single one of my nanny jobs. I need to—”

“He’s locked away,” Garrett says quietly. “He’s in a mental hospital in Ohio. My lawyer’s keeping tabs on him, though, and if he ever gets out, we’ll go straight to the police and file a restraining order. You don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

Thank God. Still… “I’m sorry,” I say, dropping my gaze to the ground and toeing a clump of grass with my sneaker.

His arm reaches into my line of sight and he grabs my hand to pull me into an embrace again. “Why are you sorry now?”

I try to flap my hand, but it’s pinned to my side by his arms. “That whole thing never would have happened if I hadn’t convinced you to hire me.”

“This is true.”

I pause, waiting for him to expound. When he doesn’t, I lean away to look him in the face again. He smiles down at me and kisses my nose.

“Thank God you convinced me to hire you. Best decision I ever made. Well, second best.”

“What’s the first?”

“Deciding to fire you so you can be my wife.”

“Firing me is the …” My voice trails off as my brain fully digests what he said. “Are you … did you just ask me to marry you?”

“Maybe. Yeah, I guess I did. Sort of.”

I stare at him. I’m pretty sure my mouth is hanging open, too. His grin widens.

“Oh yeah, and I love you, too. I should have told you a long time ago. Weeks. Months. Hell, I’ve probably been in love with you since that night at the bar, when you tried so hard to blow me off.”

“I … I…”

“I plan to tell you on the regular now, so I hope you’re as into this relationship as I am,” he says.

“I ... I…”

“—on time.” Paynter’s voice drifts around the corner of the house, interrupting my brain’s inability to form a coherent thought, let alone an actual sentence. “And Chloe hates to be late to anything, let alone her own damn wedding. But I need the best man in order to—” He stops when he sees Garrett and I in an embrace. “Hey, you found your date,” he says. “Good. Now get the hell back here so I can get married.” And then he turns around and disappears behind the house again.

“I guess that’s my cue,” Garrett says, slinging his arm around my shoulder and urging me toward the backyard.

I dig in my heels. “I can’t go back there. I’m a mess. Look how I’m dressed. And my face. I’m not even wearing makeup. Plus I’ve been crying. And how does everyone feel about me? Does your family hate me? Because I can’t face them if they do. Why don’t I go wait in my car?”

He’s laughing as he adjusts his direction so we’re heading toward the front yard instead. “We’ll go in through the front door and sneak upstairs real quick.”

“While I’m all for a quickie right now, that isn’t really solving our immediate problem, Garrett.”

He arches his brows. “You want a quickie? Right now?”

“Isn’t that what you were talking about?”

He opens the front door and ushers me inside. “Nope. I was talking about raiding Chloe’s closet to find you something to wear so you don’t feel self-conscious. But now that you’ve put the idea in my head…”

I swat him on the chest, but I’m grinning. “Garrett, I—”

“What are you doing in here? You’re supposed to be out on the beach. We’re getting ready to start.” Chloe’s heading down the staircase toward us, a woman who looks like an older version of herself at her side. There are fresh flowers twisted into her hair and she’s dressed in this breathtaking, champagne-colored gown that’s an exact replica of Abby’s. Or maybe it’s the other way around. Either way, she’s stunning. “Oh, Erin,” she says. “You made it. I’m so glad, although…” Her gaze takes in my grass-stained jeans and probably puffy face.

Chloe says, “Mom, go tell everyone the ceremony will start in twenty minutes. Come on, Erin, let’s get you cleaned up.” She grabs my arm and turns around to head back upstairs, but Garrett stops her.

“Go ahead, Chloe. I’ll make sure she finds something to wear. We’ll be down in twenty.”

She’s eyeing us like she knows exactly what Garrett’s thinking, but she finally nods and follows her mother down the stairs and heads toward the sliding glass doors leading out onto the deck.

“Come on,” Garrett says, herding me up the stairs. “We don’t have much time.”

But when you’re as desperate for each other as we are, and when you haven’t seen each other in a couple weeks, you don’t really need a lot of time.

Seven minutes later, I gasp out his name as I come, hard, while my palms are flat on the bathroom vanity and he’s pounding into me from behind, one arm wrapped around my hips, his fingers thrumming my clit, while his other cups my breast, rolling the nipple between his thumb and forefinger. I watch the magnificent sight of him in the mirror as he thrusts three more times before his body stiffens and he gives a shout as he reaches his own climax.

“Fuck,” he says as he pulls out and tucks himself back into his pants. “I can’t wait to do that again.”

“Me either,” I say with a grin as I shoo him out of the bathroom to find me a dress to wear. Ten minutes later, we’re walking down the stairs, hand in hand. Danny is standing in the foyer.

“It worked,” he says. “Yes, I am a genius. Maybe I need to start a matchmaking company.”

Garrett arches one brow. “Yes, all my parts work, although I can promise you had nothing whatsoever to do with it.”

“Actually, I did.” He lifts his hand, which is holding his wallet, and grins like a damn fool.

I narrow my eyes and study the beat up piece of leather. “That doesn’t look like the wallet from my car.”

“Nope.”

“Whose wallet did I take then?”

He shrugs. “No idea.”

Garrett shakes his head and rolls his eyes, but I stare at my best friend. “You lured me here on purpose?”

He chuckles but then sobers, the sudden bashfulness at odds with his normal cocky demeanor. “Anything for my favorite friend. You look beautiful, by the way.”

I rush to him and throw my arms around his neck. “Thank you,” I whisper into his ear. “I love you.”

“I suppose he has to be in the wedding now, doesn’t he?” Garrett mutters.

Danny grabs my forearms and pushes me to arm’s length. “He finally asked?”

I laugh. “Well, it was more of an assumption, but yeah, we’re getting married. And yes, you will be in the wedding.”

“Only if he walks the duck down the aisle,” Garrett says as the three of us head toward the backyard.

“Are you kidding? You know damn well Abby will insist on that privilege,” I say.

“Jesus, I bet she’ll want the goat, too. My wedding is going to be a barnyard affair.”

“I’m going to pretend you were not lumping me into that category,” Danny says.

“Go right ahead and pretend,” Garrett retorts.

Danny flings his arm around Garrett’s shoulders. “Hey, now that we’re going to be practically family, any chance you can get me a membership at that country club you like to hang out at? And maybe pay for it too? Oh, and how about a few private lessons?”

“Danny,” I say at the look of horror on Garrett’s face. “Too much too soon.”

He pulls his arm away and shrugs. “Hey, you don’t get anywhere without asking. Like your sister, for example. I plan on asking her to—”

“If you say it, I’m going to punch you,” Garrett says. I grab his hand and tug him toward the deck so we can get down to the lake, maybe actually witness Chloe and Paynter’s wedding.

“Come on,” I say. “Let’s go get this over with so I can lure you back to your apartment and convince you to do inappropriate things with me.”

“Our apartment,” Garrett corrects me. “And I like the way you think.”