Page 33 (1/2)
AFTER DINNER, ELIZABETH HELPED WITH THE DISHES, then went looking for Gavin She found hiood"
He smiled at her "Yeah, it was"
"YourHow she handles it all"
"She holds up well She’s got hi to be fine"
She sat on one of the patio chairs "Yes, he’s going to be fine Which et back to work"
He paused, stared at the grill "Not yet"
"Gavin, you need to work"
"I’m not ready yet, Lizzie A few more days, just to make sure he’s okay"
"You’re not really doing anything here, Gavin, other than driving yourself crazy Your dad is on the mend Mick is here to help out your mom Jenna has the bar under control Tara is local, too Your dad has plenty of help"
His gaze shot to hers "I said I’m not ready yet"
"What are you so afraid of?"
"The question is, Elizabeth, what are you so afraid of? That Gavin will be replaced, and you’ll lose aze on Mick, who pushed the screen door open and stepped out back
She knew this conversation should have waited until they were back at Gavin’s house But he’d been so tense lately, and watching that gaet back to work Not for her God, not for her
For himself
"Mick, please Let me have a minute with Gavin"
"Why? So you can needle him about how important it is that he play for the Rivers? God, Elizabeth, don’t you ever let up? Is the job always number one to you?"
She stood, wiped her hands down the sides of her Capris "It’s not like that I was just--"
"I knohat you were just You were just going to convince Gavin that ti, and if he doesn’t get out on the field, he’s losing iotiation position I kno you think"
She shook her head "No, you don’t If you’d just let me--"
"Can’t you just for one second think about someone else besides yourself and your career and what’s important to you? What about Gavin, my mother, my father? What about what’s important to them? Did you once stop to think that maybe my ht--"
"No, you didn’t think at all about that All you thought about was getting Gavin back on the ball field, so millions of people could see him play God forbid he’s not out there front and center, on television, in the a to let you use Gavin to play it"
Her gaze shot to Gavin, who hadn’t said a word
Didn’t he know? Didn’t he understand what she was trying to do?
He didn’t He believed every word Mick said He thought it was about the money, the PR, the face time Not about as best for Gavin the person, as best for him inside
Tears pricked her eyes, and she’d be damned if she’d cry in front of them
"I’m sorry"
She brushed past Mick and opened the screen door, past Tara and Gavin’s o"
Tears blinded her as she grabbed her purse and fled to the front door She pulled it open and ran to her car, peeled out of the driveway and hit the street She hoped like hell Gavin wouldn’t come after her
He wouldn’t She already kneouldn’t
Gavin had believed Mick Mick’s words had sunk in, had made sense to hi, would have stopped Mick fros
But he hadn’t
Deep down Gavin believed Elizabeth was just as bad as Mick thought she was
She should have seen it, should have known
At least now she did
It was over
GAVIN WAS SUCH AN ASSHOLE HE’D STOOD THERE AND listened to Mick odda brother, who always kneas best, right?
Only o back to the game yet Mom needed him So did Dad And Elizabeth was probably anxious about Gavin ames She had his professional interests in mind, not his personal ones
Didn’t she?
Mick had just stood there and stared at hiht about this Open your eyes and see her for who she really is before she hurts you"
Then he’d gone inside, leaving Gavin alone out there with his thoughts
All his thoughts
Only he wasn’t sure which thoughts were the right ones
"Gavin, what happened?"
His mother stepped outside, a dish towel in her hand
Gavin bent his head over the grill and scrubbed "Nothing"
"Elizabeth ran out of here, and I’"
He shrugged "I’ll handle it"
"Did Michael say so that wasn’t the truth"
She took a seat on the chair "Expand on that"
"She wanted ame"
"And?"
"Mick accused her of selfish interests That she’s only concerned I’ll be replaced"
"And you said what to that?"
He lifted his gaze to his "