Chapter 5

<Gavin Forrester>

We pull up in front of the destination after at least half an hour of driving. Victoria looks relieved to be out of the car as she takes in a few deep breaths. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion and she taps her stiletto on the ground while she waits for me to join her.

"Keep an open mind and I promise you'll love it." I whisper and lead her to the elevator that will take us up to the art gallery.

We step inside and I press the proper floor. I watch as she bites her lip and looks around nervously.

"You okay?" I ask as we step out into the Broadway 1602 gallery.

"Much better now," Her eyes light up as she admires the many works of art that are greeting us.

"I'm guessing you're an art buff..." I give her an expectant look and she nods.

"Most weekends when I was a child, my parents would drag me to every art museum and gallery in the city...Let's just say, I came to appreciate it more as I got older." She winks as another painting catches her eye.

I just follow her, complete admiration overshadowing the deep brown of my eyes.

She tells me about every painting. The meaning behind the colors, why the artist used the brushstrokes they did and sometimes even what the artist was probably thinking when they created it. I allow her to lecture me on every painting and I listen intently. It's fun watching how happy she gets when she talks about art. It's like she's in her own little world. I'd do anything to keep that light in her eyes, just like it is right now.

She's perfect and I'm not going to take that away from her...A bullet will never touch her skin, at least not by my hand.

Victoria grabs my hand as we continue to walk through the gallery. A smile crosses her face whenever a new painting comes into sight. She makes me stop and admire every painting. Some of them are so abstract that I wonder whether or not the artists were drunk while they were painting. Whenever I say something like that, though, Victoria smacks my arm and continues on with her admiration of the many paintings in this gallery.

"I think this one is my favorite," Victoria says with the biggest grin I've seen her wear all day.

She's pointing at a particularly colorful piece that we passed when we first entered the gallery. Surprised that we are back at the entrance, I look down at my watch and realize that we've been here for almost five hours. I run a hand through my hair and smile at her.

"It's beautiful," I tilt my head so I can fully take in the painting. "The painter seems to be happy because they are using light, pastel colors and soft brushstrokes." I bite my lip and raise an eyebrow, not sure if I gave her the right answer.

"You're learning!" Her grin widens and she pulls me into a hug.

"Well, I sure hope I learned something since you've been the one teaching me all day." I smirk and wrap my arms around her.

I lead her towards the elevator because if we spend one more minute in here analyzing paintings, I think my head will explode. Especially considering I haven't eaten since like 9 o'clock this morning. I press the down button and we both slip inside. I let out a deep breath and press the ground floor button as the doors close.

"I think that's my favorite because this is the first time I've felt happy since my engagement. Thanks, Gavin." She smiles and leans closer to me.

"I'm glad I could make you happy but our little day out isn't over yet. I don't know about you but I'm starved and I know this little low key restaurant that would happily take care of that need." I grab her hand and we walk off the elevator.

"Now, that you mention it, I could use a little food..." She taps her chin as we slip back into my car.

"You need more than a little food after that long day." I squeeze her shoulder and turn the key in the ignition.

~~~~~

I keep driving until the little park I went to as a child comes into view. It's about half an hour from the heart of the city and involves a lot of back roads to get to but it's all worth it once we arrive. I take the key out of the ignition and the car comes to a stop. I get out and pop the trunk so I can get the lunch I bought for us before I had picked her up. I walk over to her side of the car and open the door, offering Victoria my hand. She accepts it and struggles to stand up in her black stilettos.

"Not the best shoes for anything but standing around." She smirks as she finally regains her balance.

"Did Carter buy you them?" I grin and wrap my arm around her waist so I can keep her upright.

"No, if he had it his way, he'd bind my feet so I'd never be able to run away from him." Victoria rolls her eyes and we walk over to an old oak tree.

I set out a picnic blanket and help her sit down. She laughs and takes off her shoes as I set down the bag of food in front of her. Her eye catches on the bottle of red wine in the top of the bag and a smirk crosses her lips.

"I told you, you were the red wine type." I wink and open the bottle, pouring the dark red liquid into two plastic cups.

I hand her one and she immediately takes a sip. Her eyes light up as she continues to drink it. I smile and take the rest of the food out of the bag. There's French bread and cheese, some olives and then some chocolate for dessert. Victoria reaches for the bottle of wine but I shake my head and begin to pour it for her instead.

"Let me serve you, love." I hold out the cup for her along with some of the bread.

She gratefully accepts in and leans back against the tree. I pour some more wine and take a seat right in front of her.

"Did you hear mine and Carter's fight this morning?" She asks and bites her lip, her gaze not reaching mine.

I don't answer at first and just continue sipping on my drink.

"Please tell me, I won't be mad..." She scoots forward so she's closer to me.

"Yeah, I'm sorry..." I set my glass down and look at her.

"I should've hung up, it's no problem...I'm just sorry you had to hear all of that. He ditched me to go get drunk and then he comes home and demands things of me he has no right to know." She traces the brim of her glass before finishing off the last few sips in it.

"I'm sorry you're stuck with him for the rest of your life." I pat her leg in a comforting way and she grabs my hand.

"Don't worry, the divorce is going to come the minute we get back from our honeymoon." Victoria winks and lays down on the blanket.

I lay down next to her and we just stare up at the rustling leaves of the tree above us.

"What's your family like?" Victoria asks completely out of the blue. "I mean you know what mine's like so what's yours like?"

"Both of my brothers are colonels in the military, my mom was an executive chef and my dad was a judge. So in comparison to the rest of my family, I'm a failure." I chuckle as I think about all the times my parents told me to be more like my brothers.

They were so proud when Lucas and John applied for WestPoint that they decided I was going to go there too. I had no choice so the minute I turned 18 they shipped me off to military school and they didn't bat an eyelash when I got deployed a few weeks after graduation.

When I got back from my first assignment I quit the military and was basically disowned by my parents. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they took me out of their will. The last time I saw them was when they made me help them move stuff into their beach house in Florida and that doesn't bother me in the slightest. I haven't heard from my brothers since they got deployed a few years ago but that's normal, they get busy and forget to call. However, I'm always the first person they call when they get the chance.

"Why? You seem to be doing pretty well here..." Victoria's voice trails off as she waits for me to explain.

"My parents were obsessed with the idea of all of their sons being the military but I quit after my first assignment and moved back up here. I haven't talked to them since I left the military which was about seven years ago." I run my fingers through my hair and don't meet Victoria's pitying glance.

"That's awful, I can't imagine not speaking to my parents for seven years." She bites her lip and sits up.

"It's not that hard when they love your brothers more than they could ever love you. It's also not that hard when they disown you for having a different vision than your brothers." I sit up as well and grab some more bread.

"I'm an only child, that's why they're putting some much pressure on me to marry Carter. They want their only child to have a good future ahead of her, even if she's marrying the devil. They've always been obsessed with their image and money so things like love and rationality take a backseat." Victoria crosses her arms and stares at the playground equipment.

"That's how my parents were. I guess our parents just wanted us to do something practical and meaningful even if it wasn't what we wanted to do..."

"Now, you're making it sound like our parents had good selfless intentions with what they were forcing upon us." She chuckles and hits my arm playfully.

"No, they're trying to live through us, nothing else." I roll my eyes as she continues chuckling.

"Like pageant moms!" Her eyes light up with amusement.

"Yep," I shake my head and stare at her.

How could Talon want such a beautiful person dead?

~~~~~

It's been at least two hours since I brought her here for the picnic. We've sat around laughing, talking and eventually playing on the playground. That was a feat in itself since she was wearing a tight dress and stilettos but we had fun. I pushed her on the swings and chased her down the slides more times than I could count. Luckily, we were the only ones there all day so no grown-ups came to judge us. I mean I'd be a little creeped out if I saw two grown people running around the playground like 5 year olds.

Then came the time for us to pack up the food and drive home before her fiancée came looking for us. She's dozing off in the seat next to me as I drive down the crowded New York streets.

"Drop me off a Grand Central again, Gavin." Victoria whispers and then goes back to dozing off.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you home? I don't want you to have to walk home alone in the dark after you get off of the subway." I shift into the other lane that will take me to Grand Central.

"It's fine, I'll get a cab or something. I don't want them to suspect anything because then they'll never let me out of their sights and I like seeing you, Gavin." She smiles and turns to face me sleepily.

"Okay," I sigh and pull up in front of the station. "Same time tomorrow?"

"How about 5? My mom is forcing me to go wedding cake shopping." She rolls her eyes as she puts on the head scarf and sunglasses.

"Okay, we'll go out to dinner or something." I say as she gets out of the car.

"Good, as long as it's somewhere low key."

"Don't worry, I know a place where no one knows who you are." I smirk and watch her shake her head.

"Night," She blows me a kiss and walks into the station.

I watch until she's completely out of sight before driving away.