It's Only Love(42)

“You’re not mad I told Hannah and not you?”

“No, Wade,” she said, smiling at his reference to the special bond the two of them had always shared. “I’m not mad. I hope Hannah was able to give you some good advice.”

“She did.”

“If there’s anything I can do, anything at all . . .”

“I know. Thank you. Don’t tell anyone, okay?”

“I never would.”

“I gotta get back to work figuring out how to incorporate sex toys and marital aids into our health and wellness line. Never thought I’d say that sentence out loud.”

Ella snorted with laughter. “Good old Dad strikes again.”

“Thank goodness it’s going to be your problem getting the sales force onboard. No way I can imagine having that conversation with all the lovely grandmothers who work for us.”

“You’re so cute that they’d be filled with warm thoughts of Wade Abbott on cold winter nights.”

“Eww.”

Ella lost it laughing at the face he made.

“On that note, I’m outta here.” He tossed the stress ball to her and made a hasty exit.

After he left, Ella couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d told her and how awful it had to be caring about Mia the way he did but not knowing if she was okay.

Since she was apparently taking a break from work, Ella stood and stretched and then left her office to cross the hall to Hunter’s. “Knock, knock.”

“Hey, what’s up?”

Ella stepped into Hunter’s office and closed the door. “I need a favor.”

“Okay . . .”

“It’s a weird favor and you may not approve, but I need the favor anyway.”

“That was a hell of an intro. Lay it on me.”

“I want to take Gavin to Dylan’s wedding, and I need you to help me with the logistics. I don’t know Dylan as well as you do.”

He tapped his mechanical pencil against his lip as he contemplated her request. “I thought Gavin said he wasn’t going to the wedding.”

“That’s what he said. Yes.”

“So, um . . .”

“Nolan told me he never goes to Sultan things anymore, except for when they’re here.”

“That’s true.”

“It’s because he thinks of them as Caleb’s friends, not his. But they’re his friends, too. Everyone has said that.”

“You might be wading into shark-infested waters here, Ella. Gavin is weird when it comes to stuff that involved Caleb. I suspect it’s been part of his coping mechanism to distance himself from things he associates with Caleb.”

“By doing that, he’s also distancing himself from people who care about him. I hate that for him. I hate that he’s been living half a life for all these years. I want to remind him of things he used to enjoy. If he can’t do those things with Caleb anymore, he can still do them with me and you and all his other friends.”

“It might be too hard for him,” Hunter said softly.

“The first time. Maybe the second and third time. But eventually he’ll start to associate new memories with old friends.”

“Are you prepared for him to be unhappy that you’ve done such a thing?”

Her stomach knotted at the thought of making Gavin unhappy. That was the last thing she wanted to do. “I hope he’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

“You’re playing with emotional dynamite.”

“Maybe so, but you know what he told me last night?”

Hunter cringed. “Is it PG-13?”

“Yes,” she said with a laugh. “He said it’s been years since he laughed or smiled as much as he has with me in the last few days. I want to give him more to smile about. That’s all this is.”

“And if you get a few days in the tropics with the guy you love . . .”

“Bonus.”

Hunter shook his head, his disapproval still obvious, but he clicked away on his computer and then looked up at her. “I sent you an e-mail with Dylan’s address.”

“Thank you.”

“Your heart’s in the right place with this, Ella. Don’t think I can’t see that. But just be prepared for it to not be as easy as you think it’s going to be.”

“Nothing with Gavin has been easy, except for the way I feel about him. Loving him is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”

“I know that feeling, but I also know Gavin, and he’s different since Caleb died.”

“Of course he is. We all are.”

“No one more so than Gavin. The grief runs deep. All the way to his bone marrow.”

“Grief isn’t the only emotion he’s capable of feeling. I’m determined to prove that to him.”

“Just make sure it’s not at your own expense.”

“I’m getting tired of everyone warning me off the man I love.”

“I know that feeling, too. Everyone thought I was crazy for getting involved with Megan, especially when she’d been so crazy about Will for so long. Didn’t matter. I get it. But none of us wants to see you sucked into the rabbit hole Gavin’s been in for years now. In fact, I can almost promise you that I’ll throw myself in front of that if I see it happening.”