What would he think when she told him she’d made it for him? She’d planned to save it for Christmas, but that was too far away. She wanted him to have it now. She wanted it to keep him warm today. So she summoned her courage and returned to the kitchen, sweater in hand.
He looked up from the griddle he was watching over. “What’s that?”
“It’s for you.”
Gavin turned down the heat on the burner so the pancakes wouldn’t burn. He took it from her and held it up. “Wow, that’s nice.”
“I made it for you.”
“You made this? Seriously?”
“Uh-huh.”
“When?”
“Um, well, over the last couple of months when I was busy being frustrated with you and our, um, situation. I could either knit you a sweater or stab you with the needles. I chose the former.”
His low chuckle made her smile. “It’s beautiful. Truly. A work of art. I had no idea you could knit, let alone make something like this.”
“My grandmother taught me to knit when I was eight. I’ve been doing it ever since. It’s my stress reliever.”
“I’m very impressed.”
“Try it on.”
He flipped the pancakes and then pulled the sweater over his head. It was a perfect fit, as Ella had known it would be. She’d spent years studying his sexy body and had felt like an expert on all things Gavin Guthrie long before this week’s master class.
She adjusted the collar of his denim shirt and patted his chest. “Looks great. Very sexy.”
Hooking an arm around her neck, he drew her in for a kiss. “I’ll never take it off.”
“Yes, you will,” she said meaningfully.
“Well, I suppose I could be convinced for the right incentives.” He kissed her again and then released her to deal with the pancakes.
They sat together at the table to eat, sharing the butter knife and the syrup. It was all so domesticated and comfortable, and Ella would be perfectly content to start every day this way for the rest of their lives.
“Hey, El,” he said, putting down his fork.
“Yeah?”
“I want to you know . . . It means so much to me that you thought of me this way.” He rested his hand flat against the sweater. “When we weren’t together and I’d given you every reason to believe we never would be. That you had faith in me and us . . .”
“I didn’t always have faith, not after our last go-round. I’d started to accept that it wasn’t going to happen.” She offered a wry smile over the top of her coffee mug. “But I finished the sweater anyway. I told myself I was done with you after that.”
He reached for her hand and linked their fingers. “And yet you still came when they called you that night.”
“Old habits die hard.”
“Thank God for that. I’m so glad you came when they called, that we decided to give this a try.”
“Me, too.”
“I hate to say I have to go, but I have to go.”
Ella stuck out her bottom lip.
“We’re staying in bed this entire weekend, you got me? Don’t make any other plans.”
“Christmas tree farm Saturday afternoon, and family dinner on Sunday.”
“I might let you out for those things, but otherwise, you’re all mine after your deal tonight.”
“Okay then. Will you do me a favor and not make any plans for next weekend?”
“Why? What’s up next weekend?”
“If I tell you, then it won’t be a surprise.”
“I suppose I can be persuaded to go along with a surprise from you. So about tonight . . . Is it okay if I come by after work or is it only for employees?”
“Oh, you can definitely come. We do the meeting part between five and six and then we have dinner and dancing with a DJ at the Grange. I’d love for you to come by. I should’ve asked you before now, but I didn’t think you’d want to.”
Holding both their plates, he stood and bent to kiss her. “I want to.”
Suddenly, Ella couldn’t wait for tonight.
* * *
Though her day was frantically busy seeing to the final details for that night, she took the time to call Gavin’s mother. She couldn’t delay this call any longer if she was going to pull off the big surprise next weekend.
“Ella,” Amelia said, “this is a nice surprise, and I’m so glad you called. I was worried about Gavin last night.”
“He had a couple of rough moments, but we got through it. I think.”
Amelia’s deep sigh came through the line. “I didn’t know Cindy was going to talk about the day she found out. I feel like I owe Gav an apology for that.”
“You don’t. Not at all. He understands that’s what the inn is for and he wants to be supportive of what you all are doing there.”
“I keep hoping that one of these days it’ll get easier for him. They were so close. So, so close. As their mother, I was always proud of their tight bond. But after Caleb died . . . Gavin was never the same.”
“I know. It’s been hard to watch for everyone who cares about him.”
“I’m glad he has you now, Ella. I said to Bob last night . . . What a lovely couple you make and how happy he seems when you’re around. It’s so nice to see that spark of life in his eyes again. It’s been gone so long I wondered if we’d ever see it again.”
“You’re going to make me cry, Amelia.”
She laughed. “I’m sorry. You didn’t call me to cry, did you?”
“No,” Ella said, laughing. “I was hoping you might be able to help me pull off the wedding surprise. I talked to Dylan and we’re all set to stay at the resort. I’m going to get plane tickets today, but my one worry is about Gavin’s work. He said the reason he wasn’t going to the wedding was because of work—”
“That’s bull,” Amelia said forcefully. “He’s hiding behind work to get out of doing things and being around people that remind him of his brother. Don’t let him pull that crap.”
Ella laughed. “All righty then!”
“I don’t mean to be cranky about it, but I’m tired of him hiding out and avoiding the life he used to enjoy. I think it’s great that you’re surprising him with this trip and forcing him out of his bubble. So what can I do to help?”
Fortified by Amelia’s support, Ella said, “He’s mentioned his number two man at work is Clinton, but I don’t know him so I wondered if you or Bob might be willing to get in touch to put him on notice that Gavin is going to be gone for a week.”
“Bob would be happy to do that. They know each other from a poker game they’re both in.”
“That would be great. His work was the only thing about this plan of mine I was worried about.”
“We’ll take care of that. Don’t you worry.”
“Okay, then I guess I’ll buy the plane tickets. Fingers crossed he’s happy about this.”
“Oh, he will be. It’ll be great. Thank you again, Ella. It’s really such a sweet thing for you to do.”
“It’s my pleasure.” They said their good-byes, and Ella fired up her computer to buy the plane tickets. Since she hadn’t been anywhere fun in a couple of years, she splurged on first-class seats. As she was punching in her credit card number, she hoped she was doing the right thing. Despite Amelia’s assurances, Ella still wasn’t entirely confident that Gavin would love her surprise.
But the thought of a week in paradise with him had her pressing the purchase button.
* * *
Ella was onstage with Charley, going through the PowerPoint presentation they’d put together to brief the sales team on the new holiday merchandise when she saw Gavin sneak in the main door to the Grange. She faltered briefly before picking up her train of thought and carrying it to the finish line.
They took questions for a few minutes before turning over the stage to their father.
Lincoln’s job was to thank the employees for their dedication over the next few busy weeks. He always did a great job of talking about the store his father-in-law’s parents had founded and the historical significance of the Stillman and Abbott family business within the town of Butler.