“We talked about our plans. I wanted you to come with me to Vegas when I trained. You didn’t want to go.”
Gunnar summing up their relationship in three sentences angered her. So much more had happened than her being offered to go with him and then turning him down.
“Wow. So that’s all that happened between us?” She waved her hand in between their bodies. “What were my dreams? You talked about your career. What was my goal?”
Gunnar remained quiet.
“Was I taking care of anyone here at the time you wanted to go?” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“You never told me you were caring for anyone. Were you?” He furrowed his eyebrows.
“When I was going to tell you, you were too consumed talking about your career. When I was going to tell you, you dropped the bomb on me.”
“Who was it?”
Eboni shook her head. “Oh no. We are not in that place anymore.” She huffed. “You never asked me to marry you. You expected me to uproot my whole life to be with you without a promise of marriage.”
She watched Gunnar’s jaw flex like he gritted his teeth.
“I’m going up to my room.” Gunnar put his hand on the banister and started to go up to one of the four bedrooms.
The fact that he didn’t address the most important aspect of her argument, the marriage that had never happened, drained her. At least she’d let her feelings be known.
“Your bedroom is not there anymore.” Eboni stood behind him. “Your mother changed your room to a sewing room.” She knew that firsthand since she’d helped cart up the heavy sewing machine. “Your brothers’ rooms are now her gym and shoe room.”
“You’re kidding.”
Instead of waiting for her to confirm, he took the stairs by twos. From the bottom step, she heard Gunnar cursing. She shouldn’t laugh, but she couldn’t help it. She covered her mouth with her hand when she heard his heavy-booted footfalls stomping back down the stairs.
“It has been a long time since you’ve been home.” Eboni shook her head.
“The only room she didn’t touch was her bedroom.” He ran his hand over his head.
“And that’s where I’m sleeping.” From the way he stared at her, she almost wanted to offer him a spot in Queen’s queen-size bed next to her. “Are you sure you don’t want to just go to a hotel?”
He cocked his head. “She didn’t touch the apartment over the garage, did she?”
When Eboni didn’t respond, he must have gotten his answer.
“I’ll take that as a no.” He headed toward the kitchen. “If you need me, you know where to find me.”
“Actually, I do need you.” Eboni cleared her throat.
He raised his eyebrows at her proclamation.
Now that she had his attention, she had to ask to make a deal with the man who’d haunted her dreams for years.
Chapter 3
Gunnar watched Eboni take a deep breath before pacing in front of him. Didn’t she know that after their encounter on the porch he needed to put some space between them to keep from getting distracted? He held his bag in front of his body in case a lower part of his anatomy decided to pop up to make a greeting.
Talking to family about his mom would help keep his mind off Eboni and her incredible curves. He had to call his brothers once he heard what Eboni had to say.
“Okay.” She looked down to the floor before bringing her attention back to him. “Do you remember the Oceanfront Community Center?”
Gunnar froze. He clenched his teeth hard enough to bring on a piercing headache. He widened his stance to ground himself.
From Eboni’s confused expression, her memories of the center vastly differed from his.
“You know what? I get it. I hurt you so you want to hurt me.” He secured the strap of his bag on his shoulder.
“What are you talking about?” She took cautious steps toward him.
“Do I remember Oceanfront Community Center? You mean the place where I was arrested for fighting that guy for talking about me and family? Yeah, I remember it. Thanks for the great trip down memory lane.” He turned to the back door.
“Wait! I wasn’t referring to that.”
Gunnar didn’t wait for her to continue. He found the remote on the counter that went to the garage door. Thankfully, his mother hadn’t changed everything about the house. He pressed the button and heard the familiar whirring outside of the door raising.
He started out the back door, stopped, and turned back to Eboni. “Nice talking to you. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to the garage to shower.”
Gunnar hadn’t forgotten his manners and remembered the third rule of excusing yourself whenever leaving a room. Even though Eboni had brought up a painful experience, it didn’t mean he had to be rude.
As Gunnar stomped toward the two-story detached garage, he recalled the one time he’d gotten arrested. Disrespectful words said about his mother from the biggest bully in his neighborhood had triggered Gunnar’s already short fuse. One minute he’d been hanging out with his friends at a special event, the next minute he’d had the boy on the ground and had been on the winning end of the fight.
The police had arrested him at seventeen years old for assault. Thanks to his mother’s influence and smart attorneys, he’d received community service and six months of probation.
That taste of fighting and winning had propelled him to go into his sport. In a way, he should thank that bully and the center for his career. He couldn’t figure out why Eboni would bring up the place now.
Gunnar stood outside of the opened garage door with his mouth agape. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
He stared at the hot-pink Mini Cooper that had the word Queen on the license plate. What the hell had happened to his mother’s big Cadillac? He didn’t mind driving a pink Cadillac. He couldn’t squeeze himself into another tin can on wheels. After calling his brothers, he would have to get a rental car.
Gunnar punched the controller on the wall next to garage door. The metal door creaked as it lowered to the ground with the gentle hum of the motor buzzing behind it.
He climbed the stairs to the apartment he’d used when his brothers had gotten on his nerves. His mother had used it for guests. Gunnar never thought he would be a guest in his family home.
A cold chill met him as soon as he opened the door. He wondered if his mother used the place as a meat locker. He exhaled and saw a cloud of his breath in the air. He went to the thermostat and turned the heat on, hoping it would warm up the place in short order.
Sheets covered the furniture. As he removed each sheet, a cloud of dust swirled in the air. He piled the sheets on the floor by the door. He would throw them in the washer after completing his tasks.
Gunnar didn’t remember the small kitchen having all stainless-steel appliances. Apparently, his mother had upgraded this tiny apartment. Dark hardwood flooring squeaked under his feet. She’d had each wall painted with all pastel and light colors.
Before making his bed, he called Gideon first. As the middle child, Gid had become the mediator whenever a fight had occurred.
“Calling