In Her Wildest Dreams (13 page)

“Oh, no you can’t.” She laughed. She tried to step out of his embrace, but he held on even tighter. “You will not have Tonya giving me the evil eye for keeping you away. Besides, I’ve got a full day ahead of me, too,” Erica reminded him. “There are a few last-minute details I need to attend to for the upcoming Valentine’s Day experiences. I also have to make sure everything is in place for The Hawthorn Group. They’ll be here in a few days.”

Erica felt him stiffen. “Why would you have to get anything ready for them?” he asked. She looked at him over her shoulder. “You’re still going through with sending them on the fantasy night?”

“Of course,” she said.

“But I thought you agreed that this franchising thing wasn’t right for Your Wildest Dreams?”

“I still have some reservations about it, but I’m not ready to completely wipe the idea off the table.”

Gavin turned her around to face him. “Erica, how could you even think about going through with this? You just told me last night that it would be a slap in the face of everything you’ve put into building this business.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m ready to just say ‘No, thank you,’ Gavin. There is a lot of money on the table. I’m not in a position to walk away from that.”

A muscle ticked in his taut jaw. “What’s more important to you,” Gavin asked, his voice cold, controlled. “The money or making sure Your Wildest Dreams remains the way you envisioned it?”

“That is so unfair.”

“Why? Because I’m calling you out for selling out your dream in exchange for a few bucks?”

Erica drew in a sharp breath. She flattened her palms against his chest and pushed him away, her blood pressure spiking.

“You actually have the nerve to get self-righteous with me? It’s so easy for you to take the high road when you have millions sitting in the bank, Gavin.”

“It’s not about the money.”

“Because
you
don’t have to worry about money,” she countered.

“You think I don’t worry about my bottom line? I’m still in the business of making money, Erica. It may not be on my mind constantly, but my goal is to keep Decadente operating in the black.”

“What does that have to do with me or my company?” she asked. “You’ve already proven you can be a success at building a business, and you
do
have millions in the bank. I doubt you’re sweating buck shots when the bills come at the end of month.” She poked him in the chest. “
You
don’t have to worry about what will happen if your business flops, Gavin.
You
have a fallback plan.

“I’ve put every penny of my life savings into Your Wildest Dreams and am over my head in debt. If my business dries up, I’m out on the street. Forgive me for considering, just for a moment, of having that worry taken away from me. If that makes me a sellout, then fine, I’m a sellout. Sorry if it lowers your opinion of me.”

Erica’s body shook with fury, her chest heaving with the effort to draw in a breath after her tirade. Gavin reached for her, but she jerked her arm away.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “You’re right; we’re not in the same position. But you know that I would never let you end up on the street, Erica.”

“No,
I
would never let myself end up on the street,” she said. “It is
my
responsibility to make sure I’m never in that position. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot to do today.”

“Erica—”

He reached for her, but she pushed past him and headed for the bathroom, grabbing her overnight bag on the way. Erica purposely lingered, not wanting to face Gavin again after their heated exchange.

She didn’t have to worry about that. When she finally left the bathroom, all that was left of him was a handwritten note on the coffee table.

I’m sorry. We’ll talk later. Love, Gavin.

Erica fisted the note in her palm as she stared at the bed they’d shared last night, wondering whether it was the only night they would ever share a bed.

How could someone who she thought knew her so well, someone she considered one of her best friends, be so disconnected from her problems? Erica rubbed her temples, not wanting to think too hard. If she started to think, she would be forced to examine just how deep her friendship with Gavin really had been all this time.

Did he know her at all?

She wasn’t sure she even wanted to know the answer. 

Chapter Eleven

Gavin measured out eight ounces of hundred-year-old bourbon and added it to the still-warm chocolate. He mixed the liquor into the batch, making sure it was completely incorporated before pouring it into the prepared fleur de lis–shaped candy molds. He tapped them against the table, knocking out the air bubbles.

“Supplies are in,” Tonya said, backing her way into the kitchen, her arms laden with shipping boxes.

“Put that down,” Gavin said. “Why didn’t you send the UPS guy in here?”

“You’ve been in such a funky mood this week; I didn’t want you biting his head off for disturbing you. And he was in a rush,” she added. “He loves your orange-cranberry truffles, by the way.”

“Great. Now I can die happy,” Gavin muttered.

He had to duck to miss the candy mold that went sailing past his head. “Hey,” Gavin shouted. “What the hell?”

“Snap out of it,” Tonya ordered. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you’re spoiling the damn chocolates. We’re supposed to encourage people to be in a joyous, romantic mood so that they will spend boatloads of money. You’re running people off with all this sulking.”

“I’m definitely not the one to inspire romance in anyone,” he said.

“Gavin, what happened between you and Erica? She hasn’t been here in almost a week. Erica Cole hasn’t stayed away from this shop for that long in the entire time we’ve been opened. Even when she had the flu she dragged herself here.”

He waved off Tonya’s questioning, not wanting to get into it. But Tonya—like his mother last night—refused to be ignored. She poked her head through the kitchen door to check on Casey, the woman she’d hired through a temp agency to help get through the extra foot traffic that was sure to come this week. Apparently confident that things in the front of the store were under control, Tonya caught Gavin by the hem of his shirt and dragged him to his office.

She pushed until he’d taken a seat, then closed the door, crossed her hands over her chest, and said, “Okay, spill. And don’t gloss over anything, Gavin.”

He let out a tired breath. Holding his hands out in front of him, he said, “I messed up. After finally getting Erica Cole to see me as more than just her friend, I completely messed it up.”

He told Tonya about their night out on the town, doing a trial run of the fantasy experience that Erica wanted to create for The Hawthorn Group. He also told her about Erica’s confusion over whether or not to accept the franchising offer, and how he thought the decision was a no-brainer.

“Why would she even consider selling her business concept after all the work she’s put into building it? It doesn’t make sense to me,” Gavin said.

“So, are you saying that you wouldn’t consider doing the same thing if some big consulting firm approached you about turning Decadente into a nationwide franchise?”

“Absolutely not,” Gavin answered. “Would you?”

“I’d sure as hell think about it,” Tonya said. “I understand where Erica is coming from. It’s not easy to just say no to that kind of money, Gavin, and if I were ever in her shoes, I’d have to think long and hard before turning it down.”

“But they want to completely change her business; that’s her biggest hang-up about all of this, the fact that Your Wildest Dreams, the franchise, will not be the same company she started.”

“She can just as easily start up another outfit under another name and make it into the company she envisioned. You’ve built two companies from the ground up. Granted, Decadente has a long way to go before it’s on the scale of Technology Concepts, but think about the headaches you went through in those early days, when you didn’t have a multimillion-dollar nest egg to fall back on and didn’t know whether you’d have the money to cover next month’s rent.”

Gavin kneaded the bridge of his nose. Even though nearly fourteen years had passed, he could remember those days all too well. If someone had dangled a golden apple in front of him back then, would he have taken a bite? Possibly.

“You may have a point.”

“I
may
have a point?” Tonya gave him her most superior look. She shook her head. “Gavin, Gavin, Gavin. When will you realize that you should never, ever doubt anything I say? I am always right.”

There was a crash in the front of the store.

Tonya’s chin dropped to her chest. “Except when it comes to our new hire,” she said.

The crash wasn’t loud enough to be the large display case shattering—thank God—so, it could only be one of the smaller domed displays.

“Let me get the broom and see how much inventory now has bits of glass in it,” Tonya said.

“Hey,” Gavin called. Tonya looked back. “Thanks.”

She smiled. “Don’t let it get you down too much, Gavin. Erica can’t stay away forever. She’s probably huddled in a corner right now, going through sugar withdrawal.”

“Unless she started going to that new place that just opened up on Magazine Street,” he said.

“Never,” Tonya gasped. “Give her time. She’ll be back.”

Two hours later, Gavin walked through the doors of the Jeremy Davenport Lounge at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Canal Street. He searched the semi-crowded lounge, spotting Dalton at a table in the corner near the baby grand piano.

“How’s it going, man?” Dalton greeted him, standing up and pulling Gavin in for a one-armed hug.

“Could be better, but that’s nothing I want to get into right now,” he said.

“So, did you work your magic on the program?” Dalton asked.

Gavin gestured for him to sit. He pulled his laptop from the case and set it on the table, then he hooked up his secured mobile hotspot device so that he could get online. He brought up the test Website he’d created and turned the computer to Dalton.

“Damn,” his friend whispered. Dalton scrolled up and down the page. “These graphics are freaking amazing, Gavin. How in the hell did you do this so fast?”

Gavin shrugged. “It had been a long time since I’d worked with code. My inner nerd was just waiting to come out and play again.”

Dalton’s crack of laughter drew stares from others around the lounge. “Man, I knew you were good, but this...” He shook his head. “This is Cooper-Hewitt Award good.”

Gavin accepted the praise with a nod of his head. He signaled for a waiter, ordering a beer and Angus beef sliders.

“So, what do you see happening with you and these guys?” Gavin asked.

“Well, first thing I plan to do tomorrow is book a booth for the expo. In fact,” Dalton said, pulling the laptop closer, “I might just do it right now.”

“I mean long term.”

“Why? You thinking about leaving the chocolate business?” Dalton chuckled. When Gavin didn’t join in, his ex-partner looked up. “That was supposed to be a joke.” 

“You don’t see me laughing, do you?”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Dalton closed the laptop. “What are you saying, man? I thought you were done with the computer business?”

“So did I,” Gavin said. “But working on that program...” He shook his head. “I’m thinking maybe I was too hasty in leaving Technology Concepts.”

“What about the chocolate store?”

Gavin shrugged. “I’ve been tossing around the idea of putting more of the business side of things into Tonya’s hands, but now I wonder if maybe I could become a silent partner and she just take over the shop completely,” he said, his mind recoiling at the words, but Gavin continued. “Tonya is probably a better chocolatier than I am. She can find someone to run the front of the store. It would work out.”

But even as Gavin spoke the words, a heavy weight settled in his gut. He didn’t want to walk away from his business. He’d been in that position before, and the thought of facing what he’d been through after leaving Technology Concepts churned like a raging sea storm inside of him. But after this week, being in his kitchen just wasn’t the same anymore. Something was missing.

Or, rather,
someone
.

“I haven’t made up my mind yet,” Gavin said. “It’s just something I’ve been thinking about.”

“Well, when you’ve made the decision, let me know,” Dalton said. “The possibilities are vast, my friend. We could make another run at it. Who the hell knows, this time around we may build something even better than Technology Concepts.”

***

Erica stared at the man sitting across from her, sharing his awkward discomfort. She held her hands up. “Understand that I am not judging you, Mr. Aristophonicholi, but I could not, in good conscience, not say anything.”

“You didn’t say anything to my wife, did you?”

“No,” she quickly assured him. “That’s not my place. But you can understand the catastrophe that could have taken place if your wife had set up a Your Wildest Dreams experience on the same day you had one scheduled, right?”

He nodded. “Thank you,” he said. He sat back in his chair and let out a weary breath. “I guess I need to make a decision.”

Erica gave him a small, understanding smile. “Let me know if you want me to cancel one of the experiences,” she said. “There are usually no refunds at this late stage, but your circumstances are different. I’ll refund everything minus the hotel cancellation fees.”

“Cancel the Valentine’s Day experience I planned for Rebecca.” He looked up. “And, if you can, add a dinner cruise on the Steamboat Natchez to the experience Amelia planned. She’s always wanted to do one of those, but I’ve always put it off.”

It took every bit of self-control Erica could summons not to pump her fist in the air with a whoop. “If you don’t mind my saying, I think you made the right choice. Your wife is lovely.”

“She is,” he said. “I’m lucky to have her.”