Just the Thing

by Marie Harte

  “I know her.”

  Sam moved closer. So did Foley. “Yeah? How do you know Rena?”

  “Oh right. Rena, from Ray’s. She’s all right.” Gavin nodded and realized how much space around him he’d lost as the men started to crowd him. The music turned from a slow ballad to something throbbing, techno punk, and loud. The bass pulsated through his bones, and sudden anxiety filled him. The remembrance of loud booms signaling danger. Shouting. Violence.

  Not here. It’s all good. But it’s so loud.

  His heart raced like a jackhammer.

  He must have looked off because the guys frowned at him, and Lou took a step forward. Gavin instinctively clenched his hands into fists and jerked back. He bumped against the edge of a table, spilling someone’s water. He stilled and tried to make sense of everything. Breathing in and out, focusing on what was real and in front of him helped. But not with so many faces too close.

  “Hey, we were just kidding.” Foley moved back a space. “Lou, step away, man.”

  Lou shrugged and moved back. “Still didn’t say how he knows Rena, exactly.”

  Gavin tried to be subtle about evening his breathing, but he feared he looked like a scared rabbit. Still, better a rabbit than a man two steps away from chopping Lou in the throat, shoving the flat of his hand under Foley’s nose to force shards of cartilage into his brain, and kicking Sam in the knee to take him down before putting him down permanently.

  In seconds he’d evaluated and realized how to even the playing field. But hey, he hadn’t acted on it.

  He waited, forcing himself to be calm, wanting to be anywhere but surrounded by strangers in an unfamiliar place.

  “Sorry.” Sam surprised him with the apology, his eyes cautious. “Didn’t mean anything.”

  Gavin felt like a fool. He shrugged, keeping it casual. “Nah, no biggie. I just… I, ah… Sometimes the music hurts my ears.”

  Foley grinned. “That crap? Hurts my whole fuckin’ body. But at least it’s not some bullshit country or folk music.” He made a face. “You would not believe the noise the guys like to play in the garage.”

  Gavin forced a commiserating grin, felt the sweat gathering at the back of his neck, and slid into the space Lou had vacated—one with an avenue of escape.

  “There’s a nice quiet spot outside.” Sam nodded to a tiny outdoor courtyard dimly lit by strands of white lights through tree branches. The doors to access it had been closed earlier. “I was out there before, when it got too stuffy after the McCauleys took forever making toasts.”

  “Yeah, thanks. That’s probably what I need. Some fresh air.”

  Sam nodded, his gaze thoughtful. Lou and Foley had started arguing about something and stepped away.

  “So Rena,” Gavin said, wanting to put that to rest. “I met her a few weeks ago at Ray’s. My brother and I had to take care of some jerk messing with our sister.”

  Sam didn’t seem surprised. “So that was you, huh? The preppy twins who put a beatdown on Greg. Heard you guys did some nice work. You should stop by sometime for a beer and darts. You play?”

  “Nah. But I might take you up on a drink.” Of soda. God knew what he’d go home with at Ray’s if he imbibed. No way he’d be lucky enough to snag Rena.

  “You do that.” Sam gave him a final once-over, grunted, then stepped away.

  Chapter 3

  Gavin made a beeline for the courtyard, narrowly avoiding his father and Flynn, another of his yappy cousins. Once outside, he sank gratefully onto a bench off in the shadows. He closed his eyes and let the brisk evening air cool him off, felt the whisper of the spring wind, and heard laughter and muted music. The leaves on the trees fluttered, and his calm returned in slow measures.

  Then he heard a whine.

  He blinked his eyes open and heard a whump-whump. Another whine, this one suspiciously canine. “Hello?”

  A soft woof, and he spotted what appeared to be a big dog. Maybe a Great Dane or Rhodesian ridgeback? It moaned hopefully.

  Gavin rose from his bench and moved across the courtyard to the dog, tied to another bench and tangled in his lead. It turned out to be a giant puppy. The dog had a water bowl and a bone but wanted to lick every spot on Gavin’s face and hands instead.

  Gavin chuckled as he untangled the leash, giving the dog space to move. “Easy, boy. Wow. You’re friendly, huh?” He sucked in his breath when the large pup nearly gelded him. But the dog calmed right down when Gavin used a deep-voiced command for sit. He peered at the collar and, when he turned the tag just right, saw a name. “Jekyll, huh? Makes sense, because you are nearly one huge Hyde already.” He sat, stroking the dog, and the big puppy soaked up the attention like a sponge. Anytime Gavin stopped, the dog nudged him with that huge head to continue.

  Not sure how long he sat there petting Jekyll, Gavin felt himself easing all the way down, able to once again truly enjoy himself. He wondered how his parents were doing, if Landon had escaped with Ava, if Hope had danced with more of Del’s guests. Had Theo, not yet of legal age, tried to snag himself a beer?

  He also wondered what Zoe was up to. A date? Washing her hair? Breathing? He clearly recalled her snarky put-downs. To his surprise, he hadn’t seen her last night at the self-defense session. And that bothered him. He’d tried to talk to her at the gym on Wednesday and Thursday, but both times she’d been too busy running to converse. She was definitely sending out don’t touch vibes. And though he’d been called persistent, he hadn’t wanted to look like that guy who didn’t understand that no meant no.

  Seemed like with Zoe, he was dead in the water with no place to go but down. He sighed.

  As he petted the dog, a woman rushed outside straight in his direction. She seemed frantic, upset.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  She gave a small shriek, and Jekyll tensed.

  “Shh, it’s okay, boy,” Gavin said to calm the pup. To her, he apologized, “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. I came out here to clear my head. Too much loud music in there.”

  “Oh.” The woman held a hand to her chest. He couldn’t make out much of her face, but she seemed younger than Hope and had a petite frame. “You scared me. But now I can see you. Took my eyes a minute to get used to it being darker out here.” She sighed. “Yeah, that music is loud.” She paused. “What are you doing? Is that a dog?”

  “This is Jekyll. We just met.” He watched as she neared, the moonlight highlighting her features before she joined him under the shadow of the trees. Her enthusiasm for Jekyll had him sliding over in the seat to make room for her. “Careful. He likes to lick.”

  “Oh, he’s adorable.” The woman chuckled as she sat. “So big, though. I always wanted a dog when I was little.”

  “We all do,” he said. “Until we have to clean up after it. I went through my dog phase pretty quickly.”

  She nodded, still enthralled with Jekyll. He sat like a gentleman as she stroked him.

  “You okay?” Gavin asked.

  “Yes. Just avoiding someone inside.” She sighed.

  “You want me to talk to them for you?” Gavin could barely take care of himself. But if a woman needed help, he could suck up his issues and deal. “Is this a woman thing, like someone being bitchy? Or is one of the guys inside bugging you?”

  “Oh no,” she protested. “Nothing like that, really.” She groaned. “He hasn’t done more than say hello, but I can feel him watching me. Not like a stalker or anything. But like he’s going to ask me out, maybe. Not that he has or anything. I don’t know.” She groaned again, and though Gavin couldn’t see her, he could hear the blush in her voice.

  He grinned. “So that’s a no to me beating him to a pulp?”

  “I sound stupid. The poor man has done nothing more than look at me and say hello once or twice, but he makes me nervous.”

  “Nervous can be good. As long as it�
�s not psycho-stalker nervous.”

  “You’re not helping.”

  He chuckled. “Sorry. But it’s funny to hear it from a woman’s perspective. I want to make a certain woman notice me, and I’ve said hello a bunch of times.” And flexed for her, but that was beside the point. “But she won’t give me the time of day.”

  “Maybe that’s because you make her nervous. She’s probably hiding, like me.”

  “Hmm. Maybe.” Something to think about. “You going to be okay out here?”

  “Yes. But if anyone asks, you never saw me.”

  He stood and saluted. “Right. Bye, Jekyll.”

  He left the pretty brunette alone with the dog and entered the great room again. When Hope found him right away, he turned his head from her, cupping his cheek.

  “Gavin? Gavin, where were you?”

  “My face. God. He has big hands.” A peek at her showed his sister had paled.

  “Oh no. I was kidding. Seriously, no one bothered me at all. I…” She trailed off as he straightened, dropping his hand, and looked down his nose at her. “Asshole.” She marched off, her lack of concern for her dear brother heartbreaking.

  Landon joined him. “So Mike finally got himself hitched again. Sucker.”

  They snickered, though they were both pleased for their cousin. Mike’s first wife had died years ago in childbirth. That he’d found love again had surprised all of them. Gavin had to hand it to him. The guy had guts, opening himself to risk like that.

  “Seen Theo?” he asked, not seeing his brother around.

  Landon pursed his lips. “Maybe I have. Take a look. I sent Dad to find him.”

  Gavin followed Landon’s gaze and saw their father walk up behind Theo, who was taking a sip of beer from a bottle clearly not his own. Then Gavin watched as Theo spit out what he’d been drinking and choked when their father patted him on the back.

  “I take it you arranged everything?”

  “What? Like getting my underage brother a beer with the promise not to tell anyone, then letting Dad know Theo was planning to take a drink? Nah. Not me. Must have been Hope who narced.”

  “Nice.” Gavin chuckled. “So setting Theo up… You’re still thinking it was him that put the blow-up doll in your bed.” Back when Landon had been courting Ava, a doll looking suspiciously like her had ended up in his brother’s bed. Landon’s lips flattened, apparently still not amused with one hell of a prank. “Yeah, I do.”

  “I do too.” Gavin knew Theo had done it. A work of genius. He had real hopes for his kid brother. “That or Hope.” Payback for throwing him at freakish Sam, the giant. “She’s shifty enough to do it, and she’d been the one upstairs alone that time. Remember how she bitched about my unclean bathroom?” Try to sucker me. Ha. That’ll teach you, Hope.

  Landon’s eyes narrowed. “Good point. I’ll have to give Hope some of my personal attention too. Wouldn’t want her to feel left out.”

  “You do that.”

  After a pause, Landon glanced at him. “It’s kind of loud in here. Ava and I are planning to take off.”

  “Me too.” Gavin felt relieved that he could leave without looking like a wuss. “Can I get a ride?”

  Landon nodded, and Gavin thought maybe Landon felt the same about the noise. His brother had seen some shit overseas. Sand and hot sun, mortars, gunfire. Maybe Landon also felt closed in here with too many people, too much noise. The guy had Ava to help him, though, so Gavin didn’t overly worry about Landon’s state of mind. Not as if Big Brother ever had a problem he couldn’t handle anyway.

  Gavin followed him back to Ava, musing on his evening. He’d spent some quality time with his cousins, who amused him for the most part. He’d found the courtyard and Jekyll. And he’d scammed his sister. So all in all, not a bad night.

  Of course, going home to find Zoe York in his bed—minus her pink yoga pants—would have made the night perfect. But hey, he still had hope. Envision it, and it will come, he chanted to himself. And smiled.

  * * *

  Sunday morning at the gym, Zoe leg-pressed until her thighs shook. Missing her workout times had put her off schedule, and she felt like an addict undergoing withdrawal. But one of her training teams at work was dealing with an unexpected illness, so she’d had to take over his classes at one of the satellite clinics near Tacoma.

  The hours this past week had been brutal. And ending on a Friday at six? The traffic had been hellacious, forcing her to miss the final self-defense class. She refused to think about how much she’d looked forward to it. Now she had no more excuses to watch Gavin Donnigan so carefully.

  She’d done a lot of thinking the past week, and she’d grown tired of trying to maintain a careful distance between herself and the rest of the world. Zoe wasn’t by nature a withdrawn or morose individual. Yes, she worked hard, but she maintained a sense of humor and liked being around others. Not all the time, but enough to know she appreciated socializing.

  Grieving her sister had taken its toll, and Zoe wanted to smile again, to feel alive.

  One person had made her more aware of the world around her. Even though he spouted nonsense and thought a little too highly of himself, she’d finally admitted to herself that she wanted to know him better. Guns of Steel intrigued her, and she figured she could at least give him the chance to charm her before he inevitably did something stupid and she walked away.

  She finished her leg presses in a less-crowded gym than she was used to, completed her circuit, and decided to finish up with a light jog to cool down. She’d spotted Gavin talking to one of the regulars while they both worked out. Obviously, he wasn’t on the clock today, yet he’d still come to the gym, as fanatical about routine and exercise as she was. As she watched him, her heart raced a lot faster than the easy jog required.

  Zoe continued to run, studying Gavin in his natural environment. He smiled and laughed at something the older man with him said. Seeming at ease, Gavin looked too darn pretty to be working in a gym. With his smile and physique, he should be modeling for a protein powder or fitness magazine.

  She sighed, wishing she was better than that—a woman who got her rocks off ogling the hot trainers at the gym.

  As if he’d felt her stare, Gavin glanced over and blinked. He nodded, but didn’t have the easy grin he normally gave her. This was friendly but aloof.

  She didn’t like it.

  Frowning, she slowed down on the treadmill. Gavin said something to the man with him. They continued to talk while Gavin finished his set of weights. Then he put them down to help the guy do his reps. After a new set of bicep curls, Gavin handed the older man his towel, then slapped him on the shoulder and walked away.

  Zoe left her machine, gave it a cursory wipe-down, then followed Gavin. Fortunately, she hadn’t lost him to the men’s locker room. She found him alone, doing push-ups in the room where they held their self-defense classes.

  “Gavin?”

  He didn’t stop exercising, and she couldn’t help but be entranced. Wow, was he strong. And ripped. She didn’t get the sense he worked out to show off either, which actually impressed her even more. She watched his back and arms, his shoulders, as he moved up and down with ease.

  “What’s up?” he rasped and continued to move.

  He paused, only to adjust his hands, then started doing triangle push-ups, which even she had a hard time doing.

  She watched in silence while he finished twenty more push-ups.

  He slowly stood and stretched, rounding his shoulders to stretch his lats. “Zoe?” he prodded.

  She’d made up her mind. Time to see this through. “I missed the last session, and I was hoping you could show me what we did. With classes being over, I can’t make up what I missed.”

  “True.” He considered her. “Where were you?”

  Nosy, but if he planned to help her, she could concede hi
m an answer. “One of my trainers couldn’t make it to work. Sick kid, so I had to step in and teach his class. Put me over on my time and stuck in Tacoma late on a Friday.” She sighed. “Totally screwed with my gym schedule, but hey, it’s my crew. My responsibility.”

  “What do you teach?”

  “Electronic medical record software. I work at SMP Medical Group.”

  “Yeah?”

  “You know when you go to the doctor, and he’s busy tapping away at his computer, documenting the exam?”

  “Yeah?”

  “That’s us.”

  Gavin smirked. “And when he’s swearing at it because it’s not doing what it’s supposed to?”

  She sighed. “That’s us getting the software company to fix the bugs. Though nine times out of ten, it’s actually user error. Just because the doc’s wearing a white coat doesn’t mean he or she is computer literate.”

  Gavin chuckled.

  “Seems like it’d be easy, but there’s constant turnover of the medical staff, and we have to do periodic updates and roll out new work-flow systems. Especially when the software is new to us,” she rambled, annoyed with herself for doing so. His easy smile and laughter made her edgy. “Well? You going to show me what I missed, or what?” When Zoe grew nervous, she tended to take refuge in assertive behavior. Great when at work, not so great when trying to attract a man.

  “Huh.” He looked her over. “So you’re pretty smart.”

  She frowned. Had that ever been in question? Before she could say something sarcastic that would no doubt get her banned from his presence, he waved her closer.

  “You missed the fun stuff.” He wiggled his brows.

  She wished he was less handsome—or less captivating. It wasn’t so much his looks as the total package that got to her. That sexy tough guy that sometimes seemed a little…off. Not wacky, just apart, as if he wasn’t quite with the rest of the group. She’d seen him staring off into space a time or two, and it made her feel a kinship with the man. The two of them locked in a knot of emotion that no one else would understand.

  Of course, he might have been dwelling on choices for dinner, for all she knew. But she didn’t think so. Gavin had depth. And persistence. Or so she’d assumed. For four long months, he’d been bugging her to smile. Now that she felt ready to, he suddenly gave up?