His Lover's Little Secret. Andrea Laurence
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a new service that would push them ahead of their shipping competitors—concierge shipping. It would appeal to the elite BXS clientele. Ones who wanted their things handled carefully and expeditiously and were willing to pay for the privilege.
The fleet of small planes from Exclusivity Jetliners would be transformed into direct freight jets that would allow the rich art lover to see to it that their new Picasso bought at auction over the phone would arrive safely at their home the same day. It would allow the fashion designer to quickly transport a dozen priceless gowns to an Academy Award nominee while she filmed on set two thousand miles from Hollywood.
It was a risk, but if it worked, it would give Gavin something he’d been wanting his whole life—the chance to fly.
Sabine had encouraged him years ago to find a way to marry his obligations and his passions. It had seemed impossible at the time, but long after she was out of his life, her words had haunted him.
Just as her words had haunted him last night. He’d lain in bed for hours, his brain swirling with everything that had happened after he’d answered Clay’s phone call. Sabine had always had the innate ability to cut through his crap. She called it like she saw it, as opposed to all the polite society types who danced around delicate subjects and gossiped behind your back.
She didn’t see Gavin as a powerful CEO. The money and the privilege didn’t register on her radar at all, and really it never had. After years of women chasing after him, Sabine was the first woman he was compelled to pursue. He’d spied her across an art gallery and instantly felt the urge to possess her. She had no idea who he was or how much he was worth at first, and when she did, she didn’t care. He insisted on taking her out to nice dinners, but Sabine was more interested in making love and talking for hours in bed.
But she couldn’t ignore their differences. They’d lasted as long as they had by staying inside the protective bubble of the bedroom, but he could tell it was getting harder for Sabine to overlook the huge, platinum gorilla in the room. She didn’t see his power and riches as an asset. It was just one thing on a list of many that made her believe they didn’t have a future together. She would rather keep her son a secret and struggle to make ends meet than to have Jared live the life Gavin had.
What had she said? ...You know what it’s like to set aside what you love to do for what you’re obligated to do.
He did. Gavin had done it his whole life because of some misguided sense of duty. He could’ve walked away at any time. Joined the Air Force. Sacrificed his inheritance and what little relationship he had with his parents. But then what would happen to the company? His brother couldn’t run it. Alan hadn’t so much as sat down in his token office in months. Gavin wasn’t even sure if he was in the country. His baby sister, Diana, had a freshly inked degree from Vassar and absolutely no experience. His father wouldn’t come out of retirement. That meant Gavin ran BXS or a stranger did.
And no matter what, he couldn’t let that happen. It was a family legacy. One of his earliest memories was of coming into this very office and visiting his grandfather. Papa Brooks would sit Gavin on his knee and tell him stories about how his great-grandfather had started the company. Tears of pride would gather in the old man’s dark eyes. Gavin and his father might have their differences, but he wouldn’t let his grandfather down. He’d been dead for four years now, but it didn’t matter. BXS and its legacy was everything to Papa Brooks. Gavin wouldn’t risk it to chase a pipe dream.
A chime sounded at his hip. Gavin reached down to his phone to find a text from Marie. She’d arranged for an appointment at 4:15 with his concierge physician on Park Avenue. Excellent.
He could’ve just copied the information into another window and included the location to send it to Sabine, but he found himself pressing the button to call her instead. It was a dangerous impulse that he wished he could ignore, but he wanted to hear her voice. He’d gone so long without it that he’d gladly take any excuse to hear it again. It wasn’t until after the phone began to ring that he realized it was 7:30 in the morning. Sabine had always been a night owl and slept late.
“Hello?” she answered. Her voice was cheerful and not at all groggy.
“Sabine? It’s Gavin. I’m sorry to call so early. Did I wake you?”
“Wake me?” Sabine laughed. “Oh, no. Jared is up with the chickens, no later than 6:00 a.m. every morning. I tease him that he’s going to grow up to be a farmer like his granddaddy.”
Gavin frowned for a moment before he realized she was talking about her own father. Sabine spoke very rarely of her parents. Last he’d heard they were both alive and well in Nebraska, but Sabine wasn’t in contact with them. It made Gavin wonder if he wasn’t the only one who didn’t know about Jared.
“My assistant got us an appointment.” Gavin read her the information so she could write it down, including the address of the doctor’s office.
“Okay,” she said. “We’ll meet you there at a little before 4:15.”
“I’ll pick you up,” he offered.
“No, we’ll take the subway. Jared likes the train. There’s a stop about a block from there, so it’s not a problem at all.”
Sabine was fiercely independent. Always had been. It had made him crazy when they were dating. She wouldn’t let him do anything for her. He wanted to argue with her now, but he wouldn’t. His afternoon schedule was pretty hectic, and he’d have to shuffle a few things around to drive out to Brooklyn and get them in time unless he sent a car. And yet, he wasn’t ready to end the conversation, either.
“After the appointment,” he said, “may I take you and Jared to an early dinner?”
“Um...” Sabine delayed her response. She was probably trying to come up with a reason why she couldn’t, but was failing.
“A little quality time,” he added with a smile, happily using her own words to get his way.
“Sure,” she said, caving. “That would be nice.”
“I’ll see you this afternoon.”
“Goodbye,” Sabine said, disconnecting the call.
Gavin smiled as he glanced down at his phone. He was looking forward to his afternoon with Jared. And even though the rational side of his brain knew that he shouldn’t, he was looking forward to seeing Sabine again, as well.
* * *
Sabine was surprised that it didn’t take long at the doctor’s office. The paperwork took more time than anything else. Gavin and Jared got their cheeks swabbed, and they were told the office would call with the lab results on Monday.
By four forty-five, they were standing on the sidewalk watching the traffic stack up on Park Avenue. Sabine secured Jared in the collapsible umbrella stroller she sometimes took into the city. It was too busy to let him walk, even though he was getting more independent and wanted to.
“What would you like to eat?” Gavin asked.
Sabine was pretty sure that the majority of places he was used to eating at were not equipped to feed a picky toddler. She glanced around, getting her bearings for where she was in the city. “I think there’s a good burger place about two blocks from here.”
Gavin’s gaze narrowed at her. “A burger?”
She swallowed her laugh. “Let’s wait until Jared is at least five before we take him to Le Cirque. They don’t exactly have a kid’s menu.”
“I know.”
Sabine shook her head and started walking toward the restaurant. Gavin moved quickly to fall into step beside her.
“You’re used to taking people out to nice places and spending a lot of money for dinner. I suppose that’s what people expect of you, but that’s not how Jared and I roll. We’ll probably all eat for less than what you normally pay for a bottle of wine. And that’s fine by us. Right, Jared?”
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