Collide (Collide #1)(162)

The sound of the clock ticking away on the wall gained Gavin's attention. He glanced at it and pictured Emily walking out of the church, considering it was the evening of her and Dillon's rehearsal dinner. Gavin had no desire of letting Dillon know he wouldn't be attending. None of it f*cking mattered. He didn't know how much more pain his heart could take and showing up at the church or the dinner would surely sink him further. Groomsman or not, he wasn't going. In less than twenty-four hours, the woman he loved, the woman he saw a life together with, the woman he thought would hold his child in her arms one day would no longer be Emily Cooper. She would be Mrs. Dillon Parker.

All of it was more than Gavin could handle.

Standing from the couch, he made his way into the kitchen with every intention of cracking into a second six-pack. It was then that a knock came at the door. After pulling said six-pack from the refrigerator, he padded over to open it. Taken slightly off guard by his visitor, without saying a word, he walked back into the living room and settled himself onto the couch.

"You look like shit," Olivia noted, entering the penthouse. "I may be wrong, and tell me if I am, but I'm pretty sure you have the funds to buy a razor blade. Has the man worth millions gone bankrupt?"

"You've never been short in the humor department," he muttered, not looking in her direction as he continued channel surfing. "Shouldn't you be at the rehearsal dinner?"

After dropping her purse to the ground, she peeled off her coat and scarf. "As much as you should be," she quipped, flopping onto a leather chair. "You weren't at the church, and you seriously don't look dressed for the party. Come on, go take a shower, and I'll wait while you get ready. Oh, and I'll drive since it's apparent you've been drinking."

Shaking his head, he plucked a bottle from the six-pack, popped the top off, and took a long pull from it. He didn't respond, but he gave her a look that was nothing short of threatening.

"What?" she asked in one of the most innocent tones he'd ever heard her exercise.

"Oh, give me a f*cking break, Liv." He narrowed his eyes on her. "You know I'm not going."

She cocked her head to the side, her brown eyes wide. "Wow, Gavin, I thought you had a little more fight left in you. You're a powerful man in every aspect of your life except for when it comes to this? When it comes to Emily, you just throw the towel in, huh?" She gave a casual shrug and crossed her legs. "Hmm, I guess I don't know you as well as I thought I did."

"Fight left in me?" he bit out. Clicking the television off, he tossed the remote onto the glass table, its piercing sound making Olivia jump. He rose to his feet. "Why the f*ck would I fight for someone who doesn't love me back? I'm f*cked up over what happened. Believe me, you have no clue the ideas that have spawned themselves to life in my head the past few weeks, kidnapping her being one of them. I'll love that girl until the day I f*cking die, but I'm no f*cking sap. Your friend's a little more warped than I imagined."

Olivia studied him for a moment as he paced the room back and forth. "Warped? You do realize who opened your door showing off pretty red panties the morning after you dropped Emily off, correct?" He shot her an icy look, but she continued. "She's ripped to pieces, Gavin. You have a long history of f*cking women and then leaving them. My friend's hurt because you f*cked around behind her back. Did you expect a different reaction from her?"

Raking his hands through his hair, Gavin squeezed his eyes shut. "I didn't f*ck around behind her back!" When he opened them, he could see the shock on Olivia's face, but he didn't give a shit at that point. "You may be correct on not knowing me as well as you thought you did, but you do know the uncaring animal that I've turned into the past few years. Why the f*ck would I go to her job, trying to get her back? Why would I pour my f*cking heart out to the girl? For a piece of ass?" He chuckled, but that chuckle held no humor behind it. Digging into his pocket, he pulled his cell phone out and tossed it to her.