Page 65 of Dark Terror
On the way home Gabe stopped at the grocery store to pick up the ingredients he needed to make dinner. He was going with a cold meal of assorted meats and cheeses, fancy crackers, grapes, strawberries, and pear slices so he wouldn’t be stuck in the kitchen. Two glasses of wine were poured and ready and sitting on the coffee table with the platter. For dessert he had chocolate pudding—her favorite thing in the world—topped with whipped cream and a cherry already in crystal dessert dishes chilling in the refrigerator.
The final touch was a Prince CD—her favorite artist—playing with the volume turned low. The lights were dimmed, and vanilla-scented candles—her favorite—were scattered around the living room.
They had passed the point of knocking, and when she walked in, he had showered and put on a pair of black lounge pants. He was shirtless because that was the way she liked him. He got that because he liked her shirtless, too.
“Hey, you,” he said, meeting her at the door and pulling her to him for a kiss.
“Well, that was a nice greeting,” she said when he let go of her. She set Cricket on the floor and then looked around the room. “Is tonight a special occasion?”
“Yes, you’re here.” He took her hand and led her to the sofa. “I missed you today.”
She kicked off her sandals, turned to face him, and tucked her legs up under her. “I like you missing me when we’re not together.”
“I have something for you.” Since he couldn’t wait to show her what his dad had made for her, he picked up the package from the end table and handed it to her.
“Well, you know I love surprises.”
He hoped she liked this one. When she removed the contents, he watched her face. She stared at it, then lifted eyes shimmering with tears to his.
“This is my perfume bottle. It’s beautiful, Gabe. Thank you.” She clutched the shadowbox to her chest as she kissed him with tears streaming down her cheeks.
“My dad made it for you.” He pulled her onto his lap so that she was straddling him. “I saw how much it hurt you to see it broken.”
His father had outlined each shard of glass with silver leaf and then had glued the pieces onto black felt in the shape of the original bottle, leaving a fraction of space between each fragment. On a silver plaque at the bottom of the shadowbox was her brother’s name and underneath the words,A brother is a gift to the heart. It was a striking piece of art, and Gabe could tell that she was deeply touched.
“Can I call him and thank him?”
“He’d love that.” He reached over to the end table and picked up his phone. When his dad answered, he said, “I’m putting you on speaker. Someone here wants to talk to you.”
“Mr. Calder, this is Cara Jenner.”
“Hello, Cara. And none of that Mr. Calder business. I’m Louis.”
“Um, okay. Gabe gave me the shadowbox you made for me. It’s beautiful, Louis. I don’t have the words to tell you how special that perfume bottle was, and you gave it back to me. All I can say is thank you, but that doesn’t sound adequate.”
“I can hear in your voice how much it means to you, and that’s all the thanks I need. You have to promise you’ll get Gabe to bring you to dinner one night so his mother and I can meet you.”
“How about this weekend?” Gabe said. He wanted his parents to meet her, too. His parents had met Brittaney when they’d visited him in college and hadn’t warmed up to her. He had no doubt they were going to love Cara.
“Perfect. Is there anything you don’t like to eat, Cara?”
“I’m not a picky eater, but I don’t want you to go to any trouble because of me.”
Gabe laughed right along with his dad. “Don’t spoil his fun, babe. His favorite room in the house is the kitchen.”
“Very true,” his dad said. “Looking forward to meeting the woman who’s putting a smile on my son’s face. See you two on Saturday. Oh, and Cara, Gabe’s mother doesn’t bite, I swear.” Chuckling, he ended the call.
“Okay, if he thought he needed to warn me, I’m officially scared now.”
“You’re not alone. I’m scared of her, too.” At her wide eyes he couldn’t help teasing her more. “She’ll run a background check on you, but as long as you don’t have a criminal record, you’re good.”
“Seriously?”
Actually she probably would. “Just ignore her and talk to my dad.”
“I can’t do that.”
“I’m kidding. She’s going to love you, Cara.” She still held the shadowbox against her chest, and he tapped a finger against it. “I assume since your brother brought you that perfume, it’s one of your favorites?”
