Conquest of the Heart (33 page)

“Yes. We’re keeping them in the closet by the
front door. Since it’s still warm, no one has to hang a coat up, so
it will be safe there.”

Faith went and put her gift where the others
were and returned to talk with Juliet for a little while. After
some time, she mingled among the others. She spent a lot of time
walking around with Lauren, catching up with her since they hadn’t
seen each other in a while.

“I feel like you’ve been on some sort of
sabbatical. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you. How are you?”
asked Lauren.

“I’m fine, Lauren. How are you doing? Have
you been keeping yourself busy with other people’s business?” Faith
teased.

“Not nice. You know, I resemble that remark,”
she laughed. “How’s Gavin?”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself? He’s around
here somewhere, I’m sure.”

“You’ve spent more time with him than anyone
ever has. Even Chandler hasn’t seen him as much as you. But you,
you get days and weeks. What have the two of you been doing? Don’t
tell me nothing. You’ve been on four trips together. There is bound
to be some kind of attraction between the two of you. You’re
beautiful, he’s sexy. You have to be at least flirting.”

Faith just shook her head. “Girl Scout, stop
it already. I love you, but you’re too nosey. Just stop.”

“Faith, I might be nosey, but I’m not stupid.
I see how he looks at you, and even more, I see how you look at
him. I’ve never seen him look at anyone like that before. He would
never quit seeing Chandler for them. She was always his backup plan
when he needed it. Now all of a sudden he doesn’t need her? I love
you, too, but please at least give me credit for the obvious.”
Lauren hoped that Faith would at least give her a small nugget of
affirmation.

“I can’t help you, Girl Scout. I wish I
could. Don’t give up, though. You’ll know when it’s time for you to
know,” encouraged Faith. That was the best she could do.

Chandler had hopelessly been following Gavin
around like a lost puppy. When he stood alone for a minute, she
walked over to talk with him.

“Hi, stranger,” she said.

Gavin rolled his eyes and turned around.
“Chandler. How are you?”

“I’ve missed you.”

“Well, I can’t say that I feel the same,” he
said flatly.

“You will. Soon enough.”

“Chandler, we’ve been through for some time
now. Get over it.”

“I can’t. You’re not with the right woman,
Gavin. You should be with me.”

“Have you been drinking? It’s not going to
happen. Even if Faith wasn’t around, it wouldn’t happen. I told you
long ago that you weren’t my type. Some years later, you’re still
not my type. Nothing is going to change that.” Gavin started to
walk away and then said one more thing, “Enjoy the rest of the
party.” He joined some others that weren’t too far from them.

Lauren and Faith continued to talk for a
while longer before Faith went to find Adrian. They had to gather
for the surprise. The idea was to get Gavin comfortable enough to
forget about his suspicions. The DJ was in charge of gathering
everyone in one place on the lawn. When they all got there, they
let him have it.

Gavin was standing near the front of the
group.

“Surprise!” they all shouted. “Happy
birthday!” they continued, laughing and clapping. A birthday cake
was brought out on a cart with thirty eight candles lit. All of the
presents that people brought were stored on the bottom shelf of the
cart.

“Wow, I’m not sure I can blow all of these
out,” he grinned. Gavin took a deep breath in and blew as hard as
he could to put out all the fire in front of him. Everyone cheered
when he was done. Faith smiled and watched from the back of the
crowd.

The servers picked up the
cake and took it to the kitchen to cut it. While they did that,
Gavin began to open his presents. Juliet sat next to him to make a
list of what he had gotten and it was from for thank you notes.
Faith had a note on hers that said
“Open
Last”
. He carefully unwrapped and enjoyed
every gift that he got, though he hated being in the spotlight like
this. After opening about forty boxes, bags, and cards, he reached
Faith’s box. When he opened it, he was shocked, and shook his head
and smiled. The card on the outside said, ‘
For my favorite cook – Love, Faith’
.

“What is it?” someone asked.

“It’s a piece of cookware if you can believe
that. It’s called a Moroccan Tagine. They’re designed to retain
moisture, flavor, and even temperature for meats and
vegetables.”

“There’s another note,” someone pointed
out.

Gavin looked on the other
side of the box. It said, ‘
Open
Me’
.

“I guess I have to open the
box,” he smiled. Gavin carefully opened the box and saw another
note. This one said, ‘
Lift
Lid’
. He lifted the lid of the cookware to
find another wrapped gift hidden inside.

He looked around, trying to find Faith, but
she wasn’t there. “There’s another gift in here,” he smiled. At
this point, no one knew who this gift was from but they were
impressed with how well it was put together.

The last and final note
read, ‘
Now your set is
complete’
. Gavin was curious as he
unwrapped the smaller package. Once open, again he smiled and shook
his head. It was a set of CD’s, Charlie Parker’s Savoy
Sessions.

Shocked by how generous everyone had been, he
looked over at Adrian. “You know I don’t like celebrating my
birthday. Why did you do this?”

Adrian shook his head, “This wasn’t me. I
merely assisted.”

“Mom?”

“Not me this time,” smiled Juliet.

“Where is she?” asked Gavin, looking around
again for Faith.

“I don’t know where she’s run off to,” said
Adrian.

“Thank you everyone. I really do appreciate
this. Please continue to enjoy yourselves and don’t forget to have
some cake. I’m sure it will be delicious. I must excuse myself as I
have someone to choke,” he chuckled as he walked away. The DJ went
back to playing music as the group dispersed.

Gavin searched everywhere for Faith and
finally found her in the garden.

“There you are,” he said.

She cringed as she waited for her
scolding.

“You are so stubborn. I know Dad told you I
wouldn’t like this. Why’d you do it anyway?” Gavin grabbed her by
the waist and turned her around.

“Like you said, I’m stubborn. I wanted to do
it. Happy birthday.”

Gavin wanted to kiss her so badly, but he
held back. “Thank you, and thanks for the gifts. They were
wonderful. I loved your notes.” He hugged and squeezed her tight
and then pulled away slightly. “You shouldn’t have done all of
this. How did you find out when my birthday was?”

“I spied it on your driver’s license,” she
smiled. “Why don’t you like to celebrate?”

“I just don’t. No real reason. You will pay
for this, you know that, right?”

“If I must. What’s my punishment?” she
asked.

“Come with me,” he said, taking her hand and
leading her back to the area where the DJ was playing.

Gavin left Faith for a moment, telling her to
wait. He went to talk to the DJ. When he returned to her side, he
took her hand and said, “Dance with me.”

Faith shook her head, “No.”

“Yes. It’s my birthday, and I want you to
dance with me.”

“What dance?”

He pulled her close and whispered in her ear,
“The Rumba.”

Faith shot a glance at him, “To what?”

“Follow me.”

People began to gather around. Most of them
had no idea that Gavin could dance. The song that he requested was
Celine Dion’s “I Surrender.” It was the most played song on Faith’s
iPod.

As they began to move, the atmosphere
changed. Faith and Gavin were suddenly in their own world, as if no
one else was around. Their hips swayed as one, with Gavin leading
Faith with each glide and step. His hands caressed her body with
intense affection, and his lips managed to graze her neck when
close enough. Every embrace strengthened the electricity that
flowed over the dance area, with chances of them kissing increasing
as they held each other close. Their desire for each other was
beginning to fill the air, igniting an erotic mood in everyone who
stayed to watch. People began to couple up, shifting their
attention to the one they either came with or found.

Adrian looked at his wife in a way she hadn’t
seen in a while.

“Let’s go upstairs,” he whispered in Juliet’s
ear.

She nodded and gave him a sultry smile.
Adrian asked one of his staff to lock up.

“We’re not going to be back down this
evening. Please make sure the house is secure when everyone is
gone. Don’t worry about cleaning up tonight. I have a feeling it’s
going to be a long evening.” He turned to his bride and led her to
their room.

Gavin and Faith were still causing a stir on
the dance floor. Chandler continued to look on, her blood beginning
to boil. She would have been coupled up, but the one she wanted to
be coupled with was responsible for starting all of this. The love
he had for Faith was now visible and she didn’t like it at all.

The song finally ended. Faith and Gavin were
breathing heavily, holding each other tightly. Gavin didn’t care
who was around. He was ready to take Faith right there, and for
once, she wouldn’t have minded. She gently pulled away from him,
her face completely flush. The crowd began to clap and whistle over
the incredibly emotional dance. Faith started to walk away, and
left Gavin on the dance floor, his eyes following her every move.
She walked alone until Lauren caught up with her.

“Hey, you want to tell me how long the two of
you have been seeing each other? It’s pretty obvious now more is
going on than you’re letting on,” she said.

Faith was fanning herself, still breathing
pretty heavily, “Lauren, really? All we did was dance.”

“That wasn’t a dance. That was foreplay. Look
around you. Everyone is kissing and hugging on each other. Hell, I
need to find my husband and get him home as soon as possible. This
happened because of you and Gavin.”

Faith grabbed Lauren’s hands and said,
“Lauren, I’d really love to talk to you about this, but,” she
paused to take a deep breath, “I’m really hot right now. I need to
cool off, okay?”

She continued to walk away, leaving Lauren to
stand in her wonderment.

Gavin had been caught up as well. He was
keeping a close eye on Faith while someone was trying to talk to
him about their dance. Their words were mere sounds as he watched
her go on alone. The night had fallen quickly and he didn’t want to
lose sight of her.

“Can you,” he interrupted, “hold that
thought? I need to go take care of something.” Gavin walked away
swiftly, catching up to Faith. Chandler was not too far behind. She
hid and watched.

Gavin grabbed Faith from behind, kissing her
neck and caressing her body. Faith turned her head, and slowly
turned her entire body towards him. Their lips met with extreme
passion. It had been five weeks since they kissed each other.

“How did you know?” Faith asked breathily in
between kisses.

“About what?” said Gavin, just as breathily
as Faith.

“The song.”

Gavin stopped, but continued to caress her
neck with his hand. “It was the one you listen to the most on your
iPod. I did some spying of my own. I just wanted to see what kind
of music you liked.” He leaned down and kissed her again.

“I’ve missed your kiss, your touch,” she
said, offering up her neck for more. She felt a familiar stirring
as their desire grew.

“I’ve missed you, too,” he said tugging at
her clothes. He pulled back and gazed into her eyes. Without saying
a word, he took her hand and led her away. Chandler didn’t pursue
this time. She was shocked to have seen them kissing. According to
her, Faith was not all she led everyone to believe, and she was
more determined than ever to find out why. She sat her drink on a
table, stood up and left.

Gavin took Faith to a secluded spot on the
cliffs by the ocean. It was a warm August evening, and the breeze
from the ocean made the temperature perfect for the two of them.
There was a fire pit, two chairs and a couple of blankets
positioned in the area.

“My dad set this up for the family when I was
younger. No one knows it’s here,” he grabbed the blankets and laid
them on the grass. He lit the fire pit, took his shoes off, then
knelt down on the blankets, helping Faith sit down as well. She had
already slipped out her shoes. Gavin gently laid her back and
kissed her lips softly. Faith unbuttoned Gavin’s shirt and slid her
hands on his chest, then around to his back, stroking him gently.
He moaned from her touch.

“I love your touch as much as you love mine,”
he whispered.

Gavin unbuttoned Faith’s shirt, revealing her
breasts and skin underneath. He gently kissed her chest and
stomach, while she played with his hair. The sound of the waves
crashed loudly below, adding to the ambience of their mood. Gavin
slowly began to unbutton and unzip Faith’s pants. He kept an eye on
her to see if he needed to stop. Her eyes were closed and she was
enjoying every move that he made. He loved watching her. His
preference was to make love to her there, in the perfect spot, but
he knew it was still too soon. He opted for something else
instead.

Gavin gently slipped Faith’s pants down and
off. He lifted one of her legs and kissed her from her ankles to
her thighs. He moved all the way back up to her lips, kissing her
deeply. She was beautiful, lying there in the moonlight. She held
his face in her hands as they kissed, holding him close.