soft cheeks, floppy mess of hair, and bright eyes. He was cute then but has grown more handsome over the years. I much prefer the present-day Gavin, who is watching me carefully.
“It’s nice,” I say, and then my eyes fall on the pillow, where three familiar-looking gold-wrapped candies are lined up in a row.
I pluck one between two fingers and stare at Gavin, who shifts on his feet. “My mama did some preparatory shopping,” he says.
“How did she know these are my favorite? How did you?”
“I’ve seen you sneaking them out of a desk drawer sometimes during the day.”
Gavin has been spying on me at work. I try not to let that thought send me shooting over the moon.
“Have you never tried one?” I ask.
He shakes his head. I open his hand, dropping the gold ball into his palm. I grab myself another and carefully peel back the foil.
“You’re not allergic to nuts, are you?” I ask, knowing full well that he isn’t.
That’s the sort of thing I know about Gavin. Facts that might be used to fill out a form at work or something. Not real things or true things. I want to know it all. And I definitely plan to find out as much as I can while I’m here from whatever secrets lie in this room and the ones I bet his mother will share.
Before I can tell him it’s too much for one bite, he pops the whole thing into his mouth, and I can hear the crunch as he chews. I bite mine in half, holding back a moan as the smooth filling and crunch of hazelnut and wafer hit my taste buds.
Gavin makes a pleasant humming sound, drawing my attention to his mouth. Delicious.
The candy. The candy is delicious. I force my attention away from his full lips.
“What’s in this?” he asks.
“Hazelnuts and chocolate,” I tell him, not mentioning that this particular confection reminds me of his eyes. But his irises have lighter brown flecks and almost a gold ring toward the center. I realize that I’m staring and drop my gaze to the floor before popping the rest of the chocolate into my mouth.
“Thank you,” I say. “This is a surprising touch. I’m surprised you noticed.”
“I notice more than you know,” Gavin says. “I always have.”
My eyes drift back up to his. I wonder, not for the first time, where we would be if Zane hadn’t said what he’d said at mini golf. If Gavin hadn’t been feverish. If Eleanor hadn’t dropped Ella off on his doorstep, like some kind of deranged, child-delivering stork.
But all those things did happen. Everything’s different now. But does it have to be?
At the moment, the worries and concerns and details seem to have melted away. When I look into Gavin’s warm chocolate eyes, I stop thinking about the girl sleeping down the hallway. When my gaze drops to his lips, I’m not considering our age difference. When he shifts closer to me, I forget all about the fact that I signed a contract to work for him as Ella’s temporary nanny.
The tension between us has the force of the moon’s gravitational pull, and any moment, I’m going to be swept away with the tide and right into Gavin’s arms.
Would that be such a bad thing?
My eyes are just fluttering closed when Gavin steps back. “I forgot something. Wait here,” he says.
Before I can respond, he’s gone, and I hear his heavy footsteps running down the stairs. I’m disappointed yet also relieved. Okay, fine. Mostly disappointed. But I should be relieved. Kissing Gavin right now would only add to the tangled mess of things.
But it would be amazing.
He’s back before I can even move, which is slightly embarrassing, since I’m standing exactly where I was moments ago. Gavin drops my suitcase on the floor and hands me two gift bags.
“I never gave you your birthday present,” he says.
The wattage from my smile could probably power the electricity for a whole city block. I take the bags. “You said present. Singular.”
Looking a bit sheepish, which for the record, is an adorable expression on Gavin, he shrugs. “I got nervous and bought two. Open this one first.”
He tugs on one of the bags. I set the other on the bed behind me. The anticipation is like all of my childhood Christmas mornings rolled into one. Because Gavin bought me two gifts. I wonder if he had them gift-wrapped, because the tissue paper looks artfully arranged inside the gold and turquoise