She’d called Harry the exact same thing one or two times. Okay, so more like fifty times, but who was counting?
Amy walked away, saving Leah from having to comment.
He’d planned out the entire weekend under the assumption the weather was going to be nice. At least when he’d checked it Wednesday night there hadn’t been a single rain cloud or thunderbolt on his weather app until the middle of next week. The app was telling him a different story now. If it was correct, there was a 60 percent chance of rain starting at five o’clock tonight. Sunday’s weather looked even worse. Since the weather was out of his control, he wasn’t going to stress about it. Instead he’d focus on making sure they had an enjoyable weekend regardless of whether he had to make some last-minute adjustments.
Shoving the device back into his pocket, Gavin answered the door. He’d waited months to be able to kiss Leah, and now that he finally could, he did it every chance he got. Like now. Before Leah crossed the threshold into the condo, he pulled her in close and lowered his lips to hers.
“I missed you,” he admitted when he pulled his mouth away. “I hope you’re ready to have me stuck to your side for the next two days.”
She smiled up at him and not for the first time he wondered how his half brother could’ve been so stupid.
“Looking forward to it.” She kissed his cheek and then slipped from his embrace so she could enter. “You’re never going to believe who I bumped into on my way up.”
Gavin opened his mouth to comment, but she waved a hand dismissively in his direction. “Your neighbor Amy. You know, the woman I caught Harry with.”
He’d run into Amy once since then. She’d offered up a polite hello but had otherwise avoided eye contact and remained silent during the elevator ride up. He hadn’t bothered to coax her into a conversation either.
“She looked embarrassed once she realized where she recognized me from. And she insisted she didn’t know Harry was seeing someone before apologizing.”
Leah never brought up what had transpired, so he avoided the topic too. Since she mentioned it, he figured it was safe to tell her what happened after she left. “I don’t think she did. By the time I got back inside, she’d dressed and then she stormed out after tossing a few insults Harry’s way. She never came back while Harry was living here.”
“Smart woman.” With a slight shake of her head, Leah dropped onto the sofa. “Did you know he tried to get me to take him back? Seriously, what woman or man would take back someone they caught cheating on them? If a person does it once, they’ll do it again.”
He knew more than one woman who’d done just that. Harry was a charmer. He always had been. People, especially women, had trouble telling him no. The size of his bank account certainly helped too.
Joining her, he slipped an arm over her shoulders. He found it next to impossible to be in the same room with her and not be touching her. “Yeah, I knew he tried. And to answer your question, you’d be surprised how many times he’s gotten a woman to give him a second chance. He, unfortunately, takes after our father when it comes to getting what he wants.”
“I actually hung up on him during one of his many tries,” Leah admitted with a cheerful smile. “Anyway, enough talking about him. I know the two of you are related, but I’d rather forget I ever met Harry.”
If he’d dated the female equivalent of his half brother, he’d share Leah’s sentiments.
“Harry who?” he asked.
“My thoughts exactly.” She leaned in and kissed him before asking, “Okay, I’m dying to know what you have planned for us. Are you going to share or do I need to guess?”
He’d intended to tell her what he had planned as soon as she arrived, but having her guess wasn’t a bad idea. It’d give him some possibilities of things she would enjoy doing in the future.
“How about we head out and you can guess on the way,” he suggested.
The last time he traveled out to the recreational complex located in West Orange, New Jersey, had been back in mid-April. Erin had been staying with him for spring break, and he’d taken the entire week off so they could go on some day trips together. Before she came, Erin made a list of all the things she wanted to do and places she wanted to see while with him. As always when she came to the city, the place she wanted to visit the most was The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Erin loved art and had for as long as he could remember. The number two activity on her list, however, had been visiting the complex in New Jersey so she could try the zip line and ropes obstacle course there and play a round of mini golf. During their visit, they’d done both and made a quick visit to the zoo, which was also part of the complex. While not as large or, in his opinion, as nice as Roger Williams Zoo, it made for a nice addition to their day. A stop at the Six Flags amusement park located about two hours from New York City had come in third on that visit. Unfortunately the day they visited the park had also been during opening weekend, and the lines had been longer than usual. The only upside had been at least it was a cool day so they hadn’t melted while waiting for the rides.
Going through the obstacle course wasn’t on his agenda today. Instead he envisioned them playing a round of mini golf at the best mini golf place he’d ever visited before taking out one of the swan boats for a relaxing trip around the lake. If Leah spotted the Above The Trees Adventure obstacle course and wanted to add it to the day, they could. Although he genuinely hoped it didn’t appeal to Leah. In general he wasn’t afraid of heights. He could ride the ski lift up to the top of any mountain and ski down without a second thought. The obstacle course was a different matter entirely. The idea of being more than ten feet in the air with nothing between him and the ground except a rope and a nylon harness made him break out in a cold sweat. But he’d suffered through the experience for Erin. If Leah asked, he’d suffer through it again for her.
By the time they reached their destination, Gavin had a nice list of future outings tucked away in his memory. And although she hadn’t guessed his plan for today, her first theory before leaving his condo had been a baseball game, which was actually what he hoped to do tomorrow. Eventually she gave up and their conversation turned to the novel Fatal Deception. She managed to surprise the hell out of him when she slipped up and mentioned her brother had written the book. He didn’t know the guy well, but he couldn’t picture Curt sitting at a computer for hours writing about fictional characters. Then again, Gavin had a hard time imagining Leah’s brother remodeling houses, and he knew it had been Curt’s hobby for some time.
“Essex Recreational Complex,” Leah read aloud as they passed though the entrance. “I’ve never heard of it, but unless it’s for work I don’t visit New Jersey.”
He navigated his way through parking lot A before finding a spot with some shade. It wouldn’t prevent the car from warming up, but it would keep it a few degrees cooler than most of the other spots.
“What’s on the agenda while we’re here?” she asked.
“Anything you want. But I thought we could play a round of mini golf to start.” He took her hand as they moved away from his car. “I’ve never visited a better mini golf facility than Paradise Fairway.”
“Then you’ve never been to Pirate’s Cove in Newport,” Leah replied.
Gavin shook his head. He’d taken Erin to the popular mini golf park. While he agreed the place was nice and had excellent ice cream, the facility here topped it. “Pirate’s Cove is okay, but this place is better.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”