Surprise Bidder

“It’s okay, Leah,” I tell her. “You’re safe now. Everything is going to be alright.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Leah

After a warm meal and a proper shower at the hotel Gavin brought me to, I feel much better.

The stress from the morning’s events has worn off. My fear has been washed away along with the dirt and sweat. My legs and arms still feel a bit sore from the strain of hanging on and trying to reach the crag, but they’re fine. The cut on my palm has already started to heal.

I close my hand and gaze at my reflection in the mirror. Blue eyes stare back at me.

I haven’t worn contact lenses since I left the apartment, so my eyes are back to their natural color. And now, Gavin has seen them.

As before, he’s managed to find me. Why did I think he wouldn’t?

No. I had no doubt he could find me. I thought he wouldn’t come searching for me. And yet he did. Not only that. He said he wouldn’t hurt me. He’s not here to punish me for running away. He said he wanted to talk, and Giselle said he wanted to clear up the misunderstanding about the Ball.

I draw a deep breath. So I guess we’ll talk. I’ll hear what he has to say and I’ll tell him the truth. Well, I’ve already told him the truth. I’ll just have to explain it, which should be easier now that he’s seen my eyes. He might have figured it out already.

Still, I have to tell him.

I dry my hair one last time and step out of the bathroom. Gavin is sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting. I walk towards him and sit about a foot away.

“Hey,” he greets me.

“Hey,” I say back with a faint smile.

It feels like we’re starting from square one.

“How are you?”

“Better. Clean. Glad to be alive.”

I turn my head towards him.

“Thank you for saving me.”

Of course, I only crossed that bridge this morning because he was chasing me. Then again, I might have crossed it another time and if he hadn’t been there…

I rub my arms. I don’t want to think about that.

Gavin grasps my chin and looks into my eyes. “Your eyes are blue.”

I nod. “I was wearing contacts before to make my eyes gray.”

His eyebrows crease. “To hide your secret from me?”

“No. I didn’t know you…” I turn my head away. “I didn’t know it then. It was because I was tired of being seen as just someone pretty or being the blue-eyed blonde. I wanted to be something more.”

He touches my hair. “And your hair. Why did you cut it?”

I shrug. “I wanted to have a new hairstyle.”

Gavin draws a deep breath. “So you had blue eyes. You had long, golden hair. You were the waitress at the masquerade party.”

I glance at him. “And you were the man in the black suit that I saw on the balcony who followed me to the bathroom.”

“You were the one who broke Townsend’s nose.”

So the man I hit was Townsend?

“With a tray,” I say.

He grins. “Like a pro.”

I glance at the ceiling with creased eyebrows. “There are pro tray throwers?”

He chuckles. “You could be the first.”

I wait for him to ask more questions, but he falls silent as he stares ahead. What I’ve told him must be sinking in.

So Gavin believes me? He won’t ask me to show him the handkerchief? Good, because I lost my purse that night. He won’t ask how I got pregnant when I was supposed to be on the pill?

He just scratches his chin as he goes deep in thought.

He believes me.

“That was what? Five months ago?” he asks.

I place a hand on my swollen tummy. “I am about twenty weeks pregnant. Well, twenty-one.”

Gavin glances at my belly. It seems like he’s debating on whether or not to touch it. He can, but it’s up to him if he wants to.

“It’s a girl, by the way,” I tell him. “We’re having a girl.”

His eyebrows arch. “Really?”

“That’s what the doctor said,” I answer.

The corners of his lips turn up in a faint smile.

I thought he’d want a son, but he seems glad to know he’s having a daughter. Maybe because this way he’ll have someone to spoil? Someone to really treasure?

I suddenly have the feeling he’ll make a great father.

“You don’t have to marry me,” I tell him. “You don’t even have to tell the world about us. I just want to keep my daughter.”

Gavin nods. “I’ll talk to the Council.”

“And maybe have some help providing for her needs,” I add.

Gavin looks into my eyes. “I’ll take care of you. Both of you.”

Those are the words I’ve been longing to hear. Warmth and joy swell inside my chest.

“Thank you,” I tell him. “You don’t have to give us a house or millions of dollars. Just- ”