Chapter 90 Quiet moments
Gavin’s POV
The drive to the airport was quiet. Diana sat in the passenger seat, with her hands folded in her lap, staring out the window. I kept my eyes on the road, one hand on the wheel, the other resting on the gear shift.
Traffic was light this early in the morning. The city was just beginning to wake up…streetlights still glowing against the pale dawn sky, a few early commuters on the sidewalks.
I pulled up to the departures terminal and put the car in park.
The two guards I’d assigned were already waiting, they stood at a respectable distance.
I got out and took her suitcase from the trunk. When I turned, Diana was standing beside the car, with her coat wrapped tight around her, that bright smile firmly in place.
“Thank you for driving me,” she said.
I set the suitcase down beside her. “Be safe. Please. And if you need anything…anything at all…you can call me.”
“I will.” Her smile softened. “I promise.”
She leaned in to kiss me.
I turned my face away.
Her lips caught my cheek instead of my mouth. When I glanced at her, her smile had only brightened, like my rejection was exactly what she’d expected.
“I’ll see you soon,” she said.
Then she picked up her suitcase, gave me one last look, and walked toward the terminal entrance. The guards fell into step behind her, flanking her on either side.
I watched until she disappeared through the automatic doors.Then I got back in the car and drove home.The penthouse garage was quiet when I pulled in. I parked and sat there for a moment, my hands still on the wheel, staring at nothing.
Why do I suddenly feel so tired?
I got out and took the elevator up.
When the doors opened to the penthouse entrance, I stopped.
Melissa was standing outside the door, dressed in jeans, a soft cream sweater, and her favorite coat. A scarf was wrapped around her neck, her dark hair falling in waves over her shoulders.
She smiled when she saw me. It was so unlike the weird manic smile Diana had given me. Hers was warm, and real, it felt like home. How can someone be so warm and beautiful?
“Going somewhere?” I asked.
“That depends.” She walked toward me, her hands in her coat pockets. “Are you taking me?”
I looked at her…she somehow became the center of everything, who made me want things I’d never allowed myself to want before.
“Where do you want to go?” I asked.
Her smile grew. “Anywhere. I don’t care. I just want to get out of the penthouse for a while. See the city. With you.”
I gestured to the car. “Get in.”
Her eyes lit up. She practically ran to the passenger side.
I got back behind the wheel and started the engine.
“Anywhere I want?” she asked as I pulled out of the garage.
“Anywhere.”
“Don’t we have to prepare for the tournament? The game is coming up soon and…”
“Marcus will handle everything at the office,” I said. “Today is yours.”
“Do you mean it?” Her whole face was glowing now. “Gavin Cross, taking a day off?”
“Don’t get used to it.”
She laughed…that bright, unguarded sound that made me want to pull over and kiss her until neither of us could breathe.
But I kept driving.
“There are some places I’ve always wanted to go,” she said, settling into her seat and looking out at the city as we merged into traffic. “Can we really go anywhere?”
“Yes.”
“Then I know exactly where to start.”
———
She directed me to a small cafe in the Village, I would never have noticed on my own. Brick walls, mismatched furniture, plants hanging from the ceiling. It was completely unlike anywhere I usually went.
We ordered coffee and pastries and sat by the window, watching people pass by on the street outside.
Melissa talked about her photography, about places she wanted to shoot, about ideas for her novel that she quickly tried to backtrack on when she realized she’d mentioned it.
I listened to all of it, watching the way her hands moved when she got excited, the way her eyes lit up when she talked about things she loved.
“ Dolcezza ‘ sweetthing’, tell me about the novel,” I said.
Her face went red. “It’s nothing. Just something I write for fun.”
“Tell me anyway.”
She bit her lip, then smiled. “It’s about… a girl who falls for someone she shouldn’t. And she has to figure out if love is worth the risk.”
“Art imitating life?”
“Maybe.” She took a sip of her coffee. “Or life imitating art. I’m not sure anymore.”
After the cafe, we walked through Washington Square Park. She stopped every few feet to take photos…the arch, the fountain, a dog chasing pigeons, an old man playing chess.
I walked quietly by her side and watched her work, the way she framed each shot with careful precision, the way she lost herself completely in the moment. A single thought crossed my mind. I want to shine the light for her all my life. Because she deserves to be seen.
“You’re good at this,” I said when she finally lowered her camera.
“Thanks.” She smiled up at me. “I love it. It’s the only time my brain gets quiet.”
We kept walking, her hand finding mine without either of us thinking too much about it.
Then we ended up at a small gallery in SoHo, she had read about online but never visited.The moment we walked in, a woman at the desk looked up. Her eyes widened when she saw me.
She stood quickly, smoothing her skirt, her professional smile already in place as she walked over.
“Excuse me, but are you.. you look . Oh wow ”She stopped talking mid-sentence.
Then she fainted. Just dropped straight to the floor.
Melissa gasped and started walking toward her, but I caught her arm.
“Stay here,” I said.
I pulled out my phone and made one call. Within five minutes, the gallery was empty except for us. The woman had been helped to a back room by staff who’d appeared from nowhere. Other visitors had been politely escorted out. The door was locked.
Complete privacy.
I turned to Melissa, who was looking around with wide eyes.
“What just happened?” she asked.
“I made it quiet for you,” I said simply.
She stared at me. “You… bought out the entire gallery?”
“Rented it. For the next two hours.”
“Gavin…”
“Do you prefer the quiet?” I asked. “I made it quiet so you could enjoy the art without distraction.”
She walked toward me slowly, that smile spreading across her face again.
“Good man, Gavin,” she said softly.Then she reached up and started playing with my hair, her fingers running through it gently, ruffling it in a way that made me feel relaxed and on edge at the same time.
I felt heat creep up my neck to my ears.
“Are you blushing?” she asked, delighted.
“No.”
“You are! Your ears are red!”
“Melissa…”
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek.“Thank you,” she whispered.
I pulled her closer, with my hands on her waist, and pressed my forehead against hers.
“Anything for you, piccola,” I said quietly. “Anything.”
And I meant it. Whatever she wanted, wherever she wanted to go, whatever she needed…I would give it to her.
Because she was mine. And I was completely, irrevocably hers.
We spent the next two hours walking through the gallery alone, Melissa stopping at each piece, talking about composition and color and technique. I listened to all of it, content to just watch her be happy.
When we finally left, the sun was starting to set, painting the city in gold and orange.
“Where to next?” I asked as we got back in the car.