"I wanna ask you to come back to Savannah with me Friday and stay the weekend. We'll stay at my father's place." The smile that pulled at her lips almost made me laugh. I gripped her thigh and pulled her in just a little tighter. "It may be a bad idea, but I want you with me."

She crossed her arms over her chest and waited silently for me to continue.

"The chance of running into Nicole is pretty high. In fact, once she gets wind that I have another woman with me, I'm positive it will pique her curiosity. I just need to know that you'll be okay with the chance."

She nodded her head lightly. "As long as you're okay with it. I'm not intimidated by her, if that's what you're asking."

"I want you to meet the man who raised me." I didn't take my eyes from hers as it sank in.

"The man?" she paused. "Not your parents?" she asked.

I shook my head. "That's the other thing I wanted to tell you. I was the result of a teenage pregnancy. My mother gave me up after the delivery."

Maria raised her hand to rest it on my chest, and I placed mine over hers. "I was adopted when I was one by two of the greatest people I have ever known, Kathleen and Wayne Tennison. They were older, but that didn't stop them from taking in an infant."

I swallowed hard and looked down at her lap. "Kathy died when I was eleven. After that it was always me and Wayne. I looked for my real mom for a short time, but then I realized I had all the love I needed from those two. If at some point in time my real mother contacts me, I would agree to meet her. But I was blessed to have what I had, so there wasn't a reason to go looking for more."

"Last night, do you have any idea what you did for that little boy at the restaurant?" She smiled and bit her lower lip. "You took a heartbroken boy, who had recently lost both of his parents, and brought joy back to his life, even if it was just for a short time. He now has a happy memory to help him through his dark days."

"What?" she gasped. "He lost his parents?" she asked, holding her hand to her chest.

"Yeah, that woman was his old babysitter. He lives in a boys' home." Tears fell from her eyes and I wiped them away.

"But what I did wasn't enough. We need to do more," she insisted with determination in her eyes. "But how do we? We should have asked, Gavin. We should have asked her how we could do more."

I slipped my hand around the back of her neck and pulled her close, feathering a kiss across her lips. "I did ask, baby. I know where he lives. I've already planned on finding a way to be a part of his life, even if it's just in a small way. You saying that you want that too just goes to show what I already knew."

She tilted her head, her eyes still reddened from her recent tears. "What's that?"

"You're really making it hard for me not to fall further." I watched as her eyes once again glistened. "You just got this way about ya. I'm not sure how the h.e.l.l I fought it this long." I wasn't ready to say the words. The next time I did, it would be forever. The next time I confessed my love, it had to be forever.

"You better hurry up and catch up, Mr. Tennison. I fell a long time ago. It's been kinda lonely without you by my side." She blinked back her tears, and her confession made my chest tighten.

Flipping her over and resting her back against the couch, I lowered my body over hers. "You're not alone. I promise. I've just been really good at hiding it." I kissed her softly. "Don't lose hope in me. I just need us to fall together. We haven't done any of this right. We're starting over, and this time there's no holding back, okay?" I kissed her once more. "I won't push you away. I won't run. I promise."

She looked in my eyes with adoration. At that moment, it was on the tip of my tongue, and I could see she was about to say the words herself. Kissing her with more intensity was a cop-out, but I wanted to be able to say it back and I wasn't quite there yet.

Chapter Seventeen.

My phone rang just as we drove past the sign saying Savannah. I hit the b.u.t.ton, and the voice that filled the car made my head hurt.

"Where are you? I don't have all day to wait on you. I have a child who is tired and hungry. You're late." Nicole's b.i.t.c.hing had me gripping the steering wheel and grinding my teeth.

"No, actually, I'm early. I have 32 minutes to be exact. So you'll see me in 32 minutes. Go feed your daughter." I hit end just as Nicole started to argue.

Looking back, I had to admit she had always been demanding and high maintenance. But love is blind and I just took it, without thinking twice. Each day I spend with Maria, I realize more and more that Nicole and I were completely wrong for one another.

Maria's sweet voice filled the silence. "Well, she's pleasant."

I chuckled at the sarcasm dripping from her comment. "Yeah, if you find a root ca.n.a.l pleasant, then she's a gem." I winked and grabbed for her hand, holding it securely in mine and resting it on my upper thigh.

The moment we pulled up in front of the place I had grown up in, the sense of home set in. This place held a lot of great memories for me. I was ready to share some of this place with the girl I had almost broken. I wanted to let her into my world, my life.

"You ready to meet my best friend?" I smiled, and she returned an excited smile, nodding her head as we both crawled out of the truck.

Wayne is my best friend, the man who taught me everything. He was the one person who always stood by my side. Never pa.s.sing judgment, he always understood and supported me.

I had taken only two steps toward the house before the back door came open. A big ole' grizzly of a man filled the doorway and warmed my heart instantly.

"d.a.m.n, boy, you said she was pretty, but you sure didn't do this girl justice," Wayne said.

All I could do was shake my head and laugh. "I'm pretty sure what I said was, 'She is so beautiful she makes my knees weak,'" I clarified and looked over to find Maria with reddened cheeks. She turned, looking back at Wayne just as he reached out and took her in his arms.

I watched as he held her close and whispered something in her ear that made her laugh. Her eyes met mine and she smiled. Something in that moment made me realize just how genuine she was.

Maria has one of the kindest hearts, and she deserves to be happy. Standing back and watching her interact with one of the most important people in my life was enough to make a grown man feel weak.

"How do you feel about entertaining this old man while I go get this mess finalized and out of my life?" I asked Maria.

Wayne wrapped his arm around Maria and pulled her toward the house, hollering back at me as he dragged her along. "Oh, son, she'll be just fine. I have a whole mess of photo alb.u.ms filled with all your embarra.s.sing, awkward moments." He chuckled, and I hung my head with the thought. "We'll grab us a good ole' cuppa sweet tea and sit out on the porch. I'll give this girl plenty of ammo to use against ya."

Maria looked back, shrugging her shoulders and smiling. She was loving this.

I could only imagine the torture of her comebacks after a few hours with my pop.

Turning back to the truck, I climbed up in it and dreaded seeing Nicole.

After today, I would never be forced to be in the same room with her again. I could let go of my past and all the bulls.h.i.t that had been dragging me down over the last year and a half.

I could finally face the fact that I was in love with an amazing girl. A girl that deep down I knew could make me happier than I had ever been before.

Chapter Eighteen.

Walking into the conference room and seeing the glare on Nicole's face almost made me laugh. Did she think that s.h.i.t could still work on me?

My lawyer had arranged for us to meet at his office. So I took a seat next to Trevor, my lawyer and longtime friend.

"Glad to see you made it safe. Did you bring your friend?" he asked quietly enough that I thought only I would be able to hear. I smiled, nodding my head, and looked up to find Nicole with a sour look on her face.

"Your friend, huh? Well, you sure moved right along, didn't you?" she spat with venom.

"At least I waited until the divorce was filed. I could have been like you and slept with one of your friends." Tilting my head to the side, I waited for her to make another comment.

"Okay, let's get this moving along. There's no need to drag it out any further," Trevor stated, and I couldn't have agreed more. This d.a.m.n thing had gone on way too long as it was. The sooner my signature is on that paper, the sooner I can move along with Maria.

"The house is closing next week, and those proceeds will be split between the two of you, once all fees and commissions are paid." Trevor began reading through the final agreement.

"As for the joint bank accounts, they have all been unfrozen and closed. I have two checks, one payable to each of you for equal amounts." I could feel Nicole's glare, but I refused to give her any satisfaction. I watched Trevor as he went over everything from our life together.

"Gavin has agreed that any contents, as far as furniture and so on, go to Nicole. As for his truck and her Equinox, they are both paid for and the t.i.tles have been changed to individual from joint ownership."

Nicole jumped in. "Well, what about the boat?"

I laughed before I could stop it. "That so-called boat is t.i.tled to Wayne Tennison; therefore you have no ent.i.tlement to it. It is back with its rightful owner."

"He gave that to you," she stated.

I held her gaze and refused to back down. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Borrowing and giving are two completely different things."

Wayne did give me his boat, but he had yet to change the t.i.tle. I was grateful right then for his lack of following through. He had a wandering mind at times and tended to put things off, and this time I was so happy he had forgotten to change the t.i.tle on the boat.

Watching Nicole consult her attorney and hearing him agree with me made another laugh rumble in my chest. This time I held it back, but d.a.m.n I was throwing one h.e.l.l of an eat that s.h.i.t party on the inside.

The moment the papers were slid before me, I felt like a huge weight was about to be lifted. After signing my name, I held the pen out to Nicole and offered the smile I knew she would recognize. It was my go f.u.c.k yourself smile, aimed right for the woman who I was more than happy to walk away from.

She scribbled her name quickly, looking up at me with tear-filled eyes. There was no way I was falling for that. I didn't feel one bit sorry for her.

I stood up, shaking Trevor's hand and nodding toward her attorney, just before I turned and walked out.

I could hear her movement from behind as she scurried after me. "Gavin, wait, please."

I stopped just outside on the sidewalk in front of the office and turned around to face her. "What?"

"I know I hurt you. I'm sorry. I'm a terrible person. You were always so good to me and I betrayed you. I just wish we could have worked it all out, had another shot. I love you, I never stopped."

I laughed. I stood right there before her and laughed. "You really are a piece of work, you know that? But, um, thanks for the life lessons. Take care of that baby, Nicole."

Just as I was about to climb up into my truck, she spoke again. "We were good together once."

I shook my head and let out a deep aggravated breath. "We were never good together. We were toxic. It was h.e.l.l from the beginning, and you know it. Let's stop lying to ourselves, Nicole. It's time to move on."

"Like you have?" she whispered.

I didn't turn to face her, as an image of Maria flashed in my mind. I grinned at the thought of her back at my pop's house, sitting on the porch and laughing at the pictures of my adolescent stages.

"Yeah, Nicole, just like I have." I jumped up in my truck and offered her a friendly smile before I drove away, leaving it all behind.

Hearing her laughter spilling from the porch was a beautiful sound. I stood at a distance watching the two of them pa.s.s a set of binoculars back and forth and looked off in the same direction, wondering what the h.e.l.l they found so funny. There was only one neighbor within a couple of miles.

"Oh my, he's going again. This time he's wearing his football helmet." She paused, laughter spilling from her once more before she continued. "He has on a pair of bright yellow socks, pulled up to his knees."

She pa.s.sed the binoculars to my pop, continuing to laugh and holding on to her stomach. "You've got to see this."

I took a step up onto the porch, causing the board to creak under my shoe. They both turned, looking as if they had been caught doing something they shouldn't.

Maria did everything she could to hold back her laughter, while biting down hard on her lower lip.

Raising my eyebrows at them, I waited for an explanation.

Pop and Maria looked back and forth at one another, before looking back to meet my questioning gaze.

She was the first to speak. "Um, we uh..." She paused, and Pop began to chuckle at her obvious avoidance.

"She started it." Pop pointed at her and she gasped at his comment, her mouth hanging open in surprise. Pop was like a kid at heart, and he was pinning the entire thing on my girl.

"It was an accident. I didn't set out to seek your crazy neighbor. I honestly just intended to look out over the land. The shirtless, barrel-riding fool...well, I stumbled upon him by accident." She tried to explain, but the only part I caught was shirtless and man.

I walked over to them and grabbed for the binoculars. Looking in the direction of the neighbor's house, I tried to figure out what the h.e.l.l they found so d.a.m.n entertaining.

At first, nothing appeared out of the ordinary, until he stepped into view. I was momentarily dumbfounded.

There stood a man with a beer gut. He was shirtless and wore a football helmet, mouthpiece and all. He had on basketball shorts and socks pulled up to his knees-oh, and a pair of tennis shoes.

I watched as he approached a barrel tilted on its side. Observing it closely, I found that it was placed upon some sort of springs. At each corner, a bungee cord was hooked and ran out to some hooks that were in the concrete pad it all sat on.

I heard Maria giggle, but I couldn't look away. I had to see what this fool was about to do. I now understood their need to watch.

He slowly climbed up onto the barrel, one leg draped over each side. Hooking his hand around a rope anch.o.r.ed to the front, he bounced a few times-why, I don't know.

Then all at once, he began kicking his legs as if riding a mechanical bull.

A deep chuckle escaped me, while I watched him bounce around, throwing his arm up in the air. "What the h.e.l.l," I said as I continued to watch in amus.e.m.e.nt.

"Keep watching, it only gets better." Maria's sweet, amused voiced whispered just to the right of me.

Suddenly the man swung his leg over the side and jumped off the barrel. He began kicking his foot in the dirt, punching at the air. He appeared to be p.i.s.sed off about something. I watched as the grown man threw a fit. He began kicking the makeshift bull, barrel, whatever the h.e.l.l you want to call it. It was the funniest d.a.m.n thing I had seen in a long time.