Chapter 2 Farrah
FARRAH
I put the van in park and watched my husband’s expressions as he took in our destination.
He was just as handsome as ever, even if he had a few more lines at the corners of his eyes and his jaw, and his hair was more gray than blonde now.
As with most men, he only got better with age, looking more dignified but also more friendly, somehow softened by time and the years we spent together.
There was a soft smile on his lips as he looked from the building back to me. “What are we doing here?”
Even though The Retreat is where we both worked when we fell in love, we hadn't been here in years. Griffen Industries no longer owned it–the business had been acquired by a major hotel group several years prior.
But I said, “The hotel group reached out and asked if I would be interested in a redesign of The Retreat. They liked the original so much but said it's becoming a little dated and it's time for a refresh.”
Gage’s jaw lowered like he was genuinely surprised. “Farrah, that's amazing. Congratulations. Are you going to take the job?”
“I can't not, right?” I said with a nostalgic smile.
Interior design was my first love, and I’d continued picking up projects throughout the years, even though being with Gage, I never really had a need to work for money.
After leaving my ex, I promised myself that I would never be helpless again.
I wanted to have a career, something I could fall back on in case anything happened. Something that was just mine.
Gage took a breath and said, “That's exciting, but it feels like the end of an era.”
Unclipping my belt, I replied, “I thought we should stay in the Presidential Suite one time before the redesign happens. For old time’s sake.”
He grinned and lifted my hand to his lips. “I love the way you think.”
“My parents agreed to watch the kids overnight, so it's just the two of us. Happy early Christmas.”
His smile made the corners of his eyes crinkle more deeply, and then he reached out, pulling me in close for a kiss.
“I love you,” he said, and I felt every single word deep in my chest.
“I love you too,” I replied.
We got out of the car, and I showed Gage the duffel bag that I had stowed in the hidden compartment of the van's trunk. It was rare for me to pull a surprise over on him, and I was more than a little pleased with myself.
“It was very hard to get the Presidential Suite,” I admitted to him. “It's been booked out for months.”
“A testament to the great design,” he said with a wink.
I thanked him, but deep down, I knew the success of The Retreat was so much bigger than me.
Gage had purchased it in an up and coming part of Dallas, and the community had grown around it over time.
The travel networks listed it as one of the best places to stay in town, and it attracted everyone from celebrities to the wealthy.
We went inside, and the person at the front desk didn't even recognize us. I wondered what that must be like for Gage, who had been in the spotlight for so long as Texas's first self-made billionaire. But he simply smiled and said, “Reservation for the Griffens.”
My heart warmed. Something about all the big and little ways he claimed me as his was still so special to me.
“I've got it right here,” the clerk said.
We filled out the necessary paperwork, and soon Gage and I were on the elevator up.
I remembered us in our thirties riding this very elevator, feeling so worn down by our attraction to each other but afraid to give in, afraid to commit, afraid of what would happen if it didn't work out. But today?
Now, I wished I could go back in time and tell myself how far I’d come since a devastating divorce, how far Gage and I had come together.
But I couldn't time travel, so I settled on reveling in the moment as we rode the elevator up to the seventh floor.
But when we tapped the key card to the door and went inside, it was like walking into a time machine after all.