I looked over at Gunther. “Please see to it that my decision doesn’t affect my mother’s employment here. She loves working for you and has devoted so many years to the job. Please don’t punish her for my actions.” I nodded toward Ruth. “Have a lovely evening.”
Without looking back, I rushed into the kitchen and found my phone in the drawer where staff kept their belongings. I was pretty sure Gavin would follow me, so I ducked out the side door. I preferred to be alone. I thanked God my mother hadn’t been in the dining room to witness that. She was in the kitchen, occupied with helping the caterer plate the desserts, and hadn’t even noticed me rush in and grab my phone. But someone would surely fill her in on the drama she’d missed.
Outside, the earlier rain had tapered to a light drizzle. I didn’t even know where I was going. I just needed to get away from the house. I decided to walk to Worth Avenue and call a cab to take me back to West Palm.
The sound of a speeding car registered behind me. It slowed as it approached.
He rolled down the window. “Raven, get in.”
“Go back to the house, Gavin.”
He continued driving alongside me. “Please.”
I kept walking. “No. I’d like to be alone.”
“No fucking way I’m letting you walk alone.”
“What, am I gonna get mugged by a man wearing a pink Brooks Brothers shirt?” I stopped for a moment, looking into his pleading eyes before deciding to open the passenger door.
“Thank you,” he said.
When I noticed he wasn’t driving toward the bridge to take me home, I asked, “Where are we going?”
“Somewhere we can be alone.”
He drove to the same inlet we’d visited before—his favorite place.
We parked and got out. Gavin was silent as he led me down the rocks to the water.
The ocean was particularly rough tonight, and that mirrored the mood of the entire evening.
We sat quietly for a while before he turned to me. “I’m so fucking proud of you for standing up to her like that. It should be really hard to hate your own mother, but she makes it easy sometimes. When you quit and walked out, this massive sense of relief came over me, because I never want to witness her treating you like that again.” His lip trembled.
“She left me no choice. There’s only so much a person can take. I just hope it doesn’t affect my mother. She really needs that job.”
“I’ll talk to my dad and make sure it doesn’t.”
Kicking some sand, I said, “The whole situation just sucks.”
“You lost your job because of me, because I couldn’t stay away from you, and my mother knows it. I’ll make sure you can pay for anything you need.”
“No, you won’t. I’m not a whore, Gavin. I don’t need your money. I’ll find another job.”
“Raven, I’m...” He paused, looking up at the night sky. He turned his body toward me. “I know we’ve been hanging out casually, but my feelings for you have only grown. I’m a fucking liar. I’ve been pretending to be okay with the whole friends thing. The truth is, I’ve never felt this way about anyone. I don’t know what to do.”
My heart pounded as I tried to ignore my own feelings. “That’s easy…nothing. You do nothing.”
“When I first spotted you tonight in this dress, it took my breath away. And to think my mother made you feel like you shouldn’t have been wearing it. When you’re in a room, you shine brighter than anyone else. And she doesn’t want that, because she thinks all eyes should be on her. She needs to tear others down to build herself up. She can try to control my life with her purse strings, but she can never, ever dictate what I feel.” He pointed to his heart. “I feel so much I can hardly breathe lately. It’s scaring the hell out of me because I know the right thing to do would be pretend it’s not happening. But I can’t, Raven. I don’t know how to stop this.”
I closed my eyes a moment. “It’s not just you. I feel it, too.”
As I opened my eyes, his shut, as if hearing me match his sentiment, knowing he wasn’t alone in this, brought him immense relief.
His hair blew in the wind. He looked so handsome. I wanted to touch him. No, I needed to touch him. I ran my hand slowly through his hair. He grabbed my wrist and brought my hand to his lips, kissing it over and over. He kept my hand on his mouth as he looked out at the water. He looked like he was searching for a solution, one I was sure wouldn’t come.
I was unsure of so many things right now—everything except how Gavin felt about me. His feelings were genuine, rivaling my own. And right now, we were both feeling pretty hopeless.