The Choice - Nicholas Sparks [74]
“That’s kind of like the way we are, huh?” Gabby remarked as she squeezed Travis’s hand. “One always chasing excitement, the other holding back?”
“Which one am I?”
She laughed and leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. Stopping, he took her in his arms, amazed and terrified by the strength of his feelings. But when she lifted her face to kiss him, he felt his fears begin to melt away, replaced by a growing sense of completion. He wondered whether love felt like this for everyone.
Afterward, they stopped at the grocery store. Neither of them was very hungry, so Travis picked up the makings for a chicken Caesar salad. In the kitchen, he grilled the chicken and watched Gabby rinse the lettuce leaves at the sink. Curled up on the couch after dinner, Gabby told Travis more about her family, arousing a mixture of sympathy for Gabby and anger at her mother for failing to recognize what an incredible woman Gabby had become. That night, they lay intertwined in each other’s arms until long after midnight.
On Tuesday morning, Travis was at her side just as she was beginning to stir. She cracked open an eye.
“Is it time to get up?”
“I guess so,” he mumbled.
They lay facing each other without moving before Travis went on. “You know what sounds good? Fresh coffee and a cinnamon roll.”
“Yum,” she said. “Too bad we don’t have time. I’ve got to be at the office at eight. You shouldn’t have kept me awake so long last night.”
“Just close your eyes and wish real hard, and maybe your wish will come true.”
Too tired to do anything else, she did what he suggested, longing for just another couple of minutes in bed.
“And there it is!” she heard him say.
“What?” she mumbled.
“Your coffee. And a cinnamon roll.”
“Don’t tease me. I’m starved.”
“It’s right there. Roll over and see for yourself.”
She struggled to sit up and saw two steaming cups of coffee and a mouthwatering cinnamon roll on a plate on the nightstand.
“When did you . . . I mean, why did you . . . ?”
“A few minutes ago.” He grinned. “I was awake anyway, so I raced downtown.”
She reached for both the coffees and handed one to him, smiling. “I’d kiss you right now, but this smells great and I’m starved. I’ll kiss you later.”
“In the shower, maybe?”
“There’s always a catch with you, isn’t there?”
“Be nice. I just brought you breakfast in bed.”
“I know,” she said with a wink. She reached for her roll. “And I’m going to enjoy it.”
On Tuesday evening, Travis took Gabby out on the boat, where they watched the sun go down from the waters off Beaufort. Gabby had been quiet ever since she’d returned home from work, which was why he’d suggested it; it was his way of trying to put off the conversation he knew was coming.
An hour later, seated on Travis’s deck with Molly and Moby lying at their feet, Travis finally gave in to the inevitable.
“What’s going to happen next?” he asked.
Gabby rotated the water glass in her hands. “I’m not sure,” she said in a low voice.
“Do you want me to talk to him?”
“It’s not that simple.” She shook her head. “I’ve been trying all day to figure it out, and I’m still not sure what I’m going to do, or even what I’m going to say to him.”
“You’re going to tell him about us, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I really don’t.” She turned to Travis, her eyes filled with tears. “Don’t get mad at me. Please don’t. Believe me when I say that I know how this makes you feel, because it makes me feel the same way. In the last few days, you’ve made me feel . . . alive. You make me feel beautiful and intelligent and wanted, and no matter how hard I try, I’ll never be able to tell you how much that’s meant to me. But as intense as all this has been, as much as I care about you, we’re not the same people, and you’re not facing the same kind of decision that I am. For you, it’s easy—we love each other, so we should be together. But Kevin is important to me, too.”
“What about all those things you said?” Travis asked, trying not to sound as scared as he felt.
“He’s not perfect, Travis. I know that. And no, things aren’t great between us