by Jaycee Clark
“I would imagine it would be,” he said.
“Thank you again for lunch. I wanted to treat you to lunch. After all you’ve done for us.”
Gavin smiled at her disgruntled voice. “Call me old-fashioned, but my father taught me to be a gentleman. You open doors for ladies and you pay for their food.”
Her dimples deepened as she smiled fully at him. “Even ones who set your teeth on edge? I feel privileged and I’m sorry you inherited us for the day.”
He wasn’t. “Don’t worry about it.”
Gavin helped them get their bags and walked them to their house.
She opened the door and let Ryan rush in. “Would you like to come in for something to drink? I don’t have a clue what we have. Probably Kool-Aid and who knows.” She smiled. Those dimples.
He’d never thought of himself as a dimple man, but maybe he was.
“I better get going and let you get your stuff squared away,” he said.
A moment of silence hung between them. She reached up and touched her cheek and the small movement had the anger shifting in him again. Gavin bit down at the sight of her bruised face. His fist bunched in his pocket. It looked swollen even with her shades. And he could see the shadow of it beneath her makeup. He wondered how many different colors it was. He could see the dark purple and blue hue of battered skin. What if her jaw had been cracked, or her cheekbone? Gavin reached out to touch her, but instead he curved his palm around the edge of the door.
He had been taught to cherish and protect both women and children. As a child, these were values his parents instilled in him, and later as a doctor in his field he came to believe it even more. Her lips were moving, but he hadn’t heard a word she said.
“What?”
She tilted her head. “Do you tune out all women or is it just my charm?”
He smiled. “It’s just you.”
Her sigh brushed his face. “I wanted to thank you for all of this. Again.”
“You’ve already thanked me.”
Silence stretched between them and he watched as she licked her lip and rubbed one bare arm, the movement causing that filmy material to stretch and glide over her torso.
“I did, didn’t I?”
On impulse, he said, “How about lunch later this week?”
She tilted her head. “Call me and I’ll let you know.”
• • •
Ryan stood upstairs in his room looking out the window as Gavin Kinncaid pulled away.
Gavin was pretty cool. He often seemed almost rude to Taylor, but then she was rude back to him and Taylor was never rude. Even with that jerk she’d been married to, Charles. She’d always been nice to that man.
Adults were strange sometimes.
Ryan looked around his room, saw his space posters, and his violin.
He ran a finger down the wooden body, huffing out a sigh. He was glad to be back home with his stuff, especially his violin.
A honk from below drew his attention back. Ryan waved and wondered if they’d see Dr. Kinncaid again. The man was cool and had this deep rumbly voice and his family was neat, living in that great big house that had the pool. They hadn’t had a big tour because Mrs. Kinncaid and Taylor started talking about plants. Who wanted to talk about plants?
Gavin and his mom got along great. Maybe when he was that old, he and Taylor would still get along. Taylor was great. Not like that other one. No, he wasn’t going to think of her.
His stomach churned and tightened.
Shaking his head, he picked up his violin and found a piece of music he wanted to practice. The notes flowed from the instrument, through his arm and chin, connecting at his heart and flowing back out. That’s how he liked to think of it anyway.
Music was the best.
Chapter 4
Taylor walked out of the office and onto the sidewalk.
“Taylor,” his quiet voice had her turning. Gavin stood still and silent, leaning against the wall.
He was dressed in a dark button-down shirt and slacks, those wicked eyes hidden behind black shades. A sigh slipped out of her. Idiot.
“Lunch?” he asked.
“Funny, I don’t recall my phone ringing.” She dug her keys out of her purse. Her heart did a little skitter as he stepped closer to her.
“I like spontaneity. Women tend to get irate when something planned gets canceled due to say, labor, or complications.”
Women, plural. “You would know, I’m sure.”
“Jealous?”
She ignored him and shook her head.
“Okay. Truce. I’m hungry and you’re off for lunch I presume, so let’s go eat.”
Taylor figured she should say no, but she was hungry and knew no one. “Fine, since you asked so nicely, how’s a girl to refuse?”
“Did you get a rental?” he asked.
“Yes.” Taylor pointed and they walked to her gray compact car. Gavin took her elbow and her blood hummed at the simple contact, even as she stiffened for a moment. She cleared her throat. “At least the dealership loaned me a car while mine is in the shop.”
“Well, I’m right over here.”
She started to jerk away, but the slight shiver from his touch made her pause. Plus, she had to admit, she liked the feel of his hand, warm on her arm. It had been a long time since a man had not only walked her to a car, but had been a gentleman about it. Which, considering who this was, it seemed almost odd. She was used to his rude, sometimes condescending behavior. Though yesterday he had been nice enough. And here he was today to take her to lunch.
And she was reading more into this than she should be. Idiot.
He looked to her car and said, “I’ll admit, for some reason, I didn’t expect you to drive a Mercedes. Social workers make more than I thought. At least you have another to drive.”
Taylor only smiled at him. She didn’t want to tell him how she had all but blackmailed Charles for the damn car, and then had to give him the money to let her keep it. Should have just let her ex have the stupid thing and bought a new one. She did have money from a comfortable inheritance, from her parents and a distant aunt, but it was the principle of the thing. And it was hers. And now it was in the shop.
“I never asked, are you busy today? I just assumed you were going to lunch.”
“Yes, I was . . . going to lunch, that is. Actually, someone else asked and I lied and said I already had a lunch appointment.” She smiled. “And you fell nicely into place.”
He leaned closer to her, backing her against the door of the car. “Did I now? Sort of like being used, isn’t it?”
She licked her lips. “Um . . . No, not really, because I didn’t know you’d be here and . . .”
He was so close she could see his eyes behind his shades, smell his cologne, or maybe it was his aftershave.
“Oh, but being used has its advantages,” he continued with a wicked grin and a wiggle of brows.
What did that mean?
If she leaned a little closer she could kiss him. Taylor blinked, cleared her throat.
Finally, she took the bait. “Dare I even ask what those advantages are?”
For a moment he only gave her his almost smile, and tilted his head down so that he stared at her over the rims of his shades. His eyes twinkled, catching up at the corners.
Gavin Kinncaid could be dangerous, no doubt about it. His full charming smile caught her breath.
“Do you really want to know?” he asked, his voice low and deep.
Yes. No. Probably. Taylor sighed.
This time a laugh rumbled out before he tapped her nose. “Yes. No. Probably?”
Oh, God, did she say that out loud?
Again his chuckle vibrated the air between them. “You’re cute when you’re flustered.”
It was from spending too much time with him yesterday, that’s what all this was about.
A man. He was just a man.
And she knew most men were pigs, jerks, or worse. Friends. Yeah, they could just be f
riends—even if she did have fantasies about him.
Taylor wasn’t up for anything else. Was she? No. She had Ryan, her new job, and . . . And that’s all she needed.
It was.
Then why did she wonder if there was more out there for her or if she’d already had her chance on the love merry-go-round and blew it?
That was a depressing thought. Charles, her one and only? No, don’t think so.
But right now, she needed to concentrate on her job, getting Ryan settled, and starting life over. And that’s what she would do. Concentrate on Ryan and her work. But this dark-headed doctor kept intruding. Thoughts of the man had kept her up half the night. Either she had it really bad for some guy she’d just met—okay, that was probably a given—or she’d been too long without sex. Probably another given.
Sex with her ex had just been sex. But with Gavin?
Where had that thought come from?
“Hello?” Gavin said loudly in her face, his expression questioning.
Taylor shook her head. Lord, he’d think she was an idiot.
“Um. Sorry,” she muttered.
“I’d dearly love to know what you were thinking about,” he said in his soft rumble of voice.
She just bet he would. She could feel her face flaming.
“Nothing.”
His expression, one brow cocked, one lowered, said he was trying to figure her out. “And just where were you going to meet me?” he asked.
“Meet you?”
He poked his tongue in his cheek before saying, “Lunch? You said you lied and told someone you had a lunch appointment, and I fell nicely into place.”
“Oh!” God help her! “I haven’t a clue,” she admitted. “Maybe you have an idea. Though I’m telling you now, I’m paying.” She held up her hand. “And spare me your gentleman’s speech.”
Another crooked smile, this one devastating charm, and her nerves danced at the flash of teeth.
“Fine. I get to drive though, and we’re taking my car.” A hand was held out to her, and she simply stared at it. His sigh filled the air between them. “Don’t tell me, besides no one taking your elbow, no one ever offered you their hand either. What’s wrong with those Texas cowboys?”
Taylor rolled her eyes and reached for his hand. Her breath caught in her throat. Such a simple thing, a glance of fingers on palm, but her entire being had suddenly awakened. Nerves no longer danced—they reeled as blood pumped through her veins. She blinked, staring at her long pale fingers still lying on his large tanned palm.
“They must be too busy with their horses,” he continued as his fingers closed over hers.
By the grace of God, she didn’t stumble along after him. Even managed to remember to lock her car. Talk about humiliating. Did he not feel it? Amazingly enough, her mind still functioned within the context of his dumb remark.
“Not all men in Texas are cowboys. Not all of them go to rodeos, know how to saddle a horse, or own cattle, contrary to popular belief. You couldn’t have caught Charles or any of his cronies dead in a pair of boots or a hat if you had all but paid them.” Great! Just great. Can I say anything more idiotic than bringing up my ex?
They walked in silence to his SUV.
Gavin held her hand in his, and like the day before, he opened the door for her, making certain she was in before he shut it. Hopefully, he wouldn’t pick up on her mention of Charles. He’d leave it alone. She could have been talking about anyone. And why should he care? He wouldn’t. Leather groaned and sighed as he slid into the driver’s seat.
“Charles?” he casually asked as they pulled out of the parking lot.
But she caught the slight tension in his voice, noticed he wasn’t exactly smiling now.
Instead of answering him, she just shook her head and grinned. “Where are we going to eat?”
“Charles?” He was stubborn.
Two could play this game. “I was sorta thinking Mexican or maybe one of those bar and grill places with great salads.”
• • •
“Here we are,” Gavin said, ushering her through the door of a brownstone. The glass-and-wooden door opened and the inner air wrapped its cool arms around them, welcoming and inviting from the heat outside. Dark woods and leathers greeted, multicolored glass lamps dulled the light on the wooden tables. The noise here was muted and quiet, an old jazz tune played on the air.
“Hope this is all right. Lots of choices and it’s not too far from where we were.”
Taylor smiled at him. “It’s fine. Perfect.”
The hostess grabbed a couple of menus and led them to a table. Gavin’s hand dropped from her elbow to the small of her back, almost possessive, and the breath caught in the back of her throat. What was this? A friendly lunch? Or a date?
Gavin felt her slight tension when his hand went to her back. He hadn’t meant to do that, it just seemed like the most natural thing. Hadn’t even thought about it, to tell the truth. They stopped at a walled-in booth and Taylor slid into one side, he in the other. A slight furrow between her brows wasn’t lost on him.
Nothing was lost on him, when it concerned Taylor.
He’d noticed the edginess when he’d first called her name, replaced by a smile. He also noticed her almost nervousness, not to mention she’d ignored his question about Charles. Who the hell was Charles? Some guy from Texas, obviously.
And why did he care? It wasn’t like he and Taylor were even dating, for God’s sake.
But where Taylor was concerned, Gavin found himself not only thinking about her, but also wondering how she was, what she was doing. Hell, the woman kept him up half the damn night. Thoughts of her dancing through his head. Maybe that was where this protectiveness was stemming from. Yeah, friendship. They were friends, of sorts. Weren’t they? Did he want to be friends with her? She kept him on his toes, aggravated him half the time. So where did that leave him?
Who was Charles?
“Today’s salad sounds great. What are you getting?” she asked him.
Today’s salad? What? Gavin shook off his thoughts.
“I have no idea, probably what I always get when I’m here.” He popped his menu open, stared at all the letters, prices and words, and didn’t comprehend a damn thing.
Taylor ordered the coconut shrimp salad, and since that actually sounded good to him, he got one too.
He watched the muscles move in the long column of her white throat as she swallowed the cool drink of her tea. And thoughts of kissing that pale skin just below her chin flashed into his brain.
Friends? Yeah, right.
She leaned her bare elbows up on the table. The white sleeveless shirt buttoned down the front, and as the top two buttons of her shirt were undone, he couldn’t help but get a glimpse of white lace as she shifted. Damn.
“So tell me about your family, Gavin.”
He cleared his throat. “You met Mom. And Aiden.”
“Hmm. What does your brother do?”
“Aiden? He runs the hotels.” Gavin didn’t want to talk about his family. “You know lots about me, and I know very little about you. Seems kind of one-sided to me.”
“Is that right?” Cinnamon brows rose above those dark eyes of hers. “And how do you figure that?”
“Well, you know what I do, what I drive.”
“For all I know you could be engaged to an intern or some socialite woman from the country club.”
“Jealous?”
She leveled him a look.
“No and no. There was Scarlett but I was about to dump her when she dumped me.”
Taylor tilted her head. “Aw. Poor baby. That kicks the pride, doesn’t it?”
He ran his tongue around his teeth. “You been dumped?”
“Been there and done that. Scarlett? As in O’Hara? Oh my,” she breathed in a heavy Southern accent. “Why Rhett, did she find her long-lost Ashley?”
“I hated that movie.”
She straightened. “It was actually a book first, but so did
I, the heroine was too tedious. So what was Miss Scarlett’s problem with you? I have to ask, is she from Georgia?”
Her grin was contagious. “Oh yeah. Her state representative daddy plays golf with mine. Same functions, whatever. But she had a problem with my responsibilities.”
Taylor shook her head. “High maintenance. Would not take you as the type who would go for that.”
“We’re off subject.”
“Was there one?”
“The fact you know more about me than I do of you. You even know about my lack of relationship success with a Georgia woman, and you know about my family.” The glass of tea cooled his palms. “Now you, I know you’re new here and that you’re a caring social worker and you have a son named Ryan. That’s it.” Well, maybe he knew a bit more, but not compared to what she knew of him, and he found himself wanting to know more.
“You know I let my job get to me sometimes,” she said with a smile.
“True, but I don’t know why.” There it was, that slight tensing of her again, an almost indiscernible pull of brows. “Besides,” he added, “that has to do with work.”
Her sigh settled between them. “What do you want to know? Though I get to answer only the questions I can or want to and get to ask one in turn.”
Gavin nodded. “Fine.”
He shifted his weight in the seat, stretching his legs out a bit more, and his leg grazed along her skirt. He cleared his throat and asked, “What are you doing in D.C.? And don’t tell me working. I mean, what made you move from Austin to here?”
Her eyes looked away from him and back towards the door, then settled back on the glass that sat in front of her. “It seemed the best for all concerned after the divorce.”
“Ah. Methinks me found a tale.”
Gavin wanted to understand Taylor and he had absolutely no idea why. Normally, he just went after the chase, spent some enjoyable evenings and times with women, but nothing serious. None of his previous relationships had ever plagued his mind like this one woman whom he knew very little about, and wasn’t even sleeping with.
“Look,” he told her, “you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”
