“I secretly love it.”
Hank being protective over me makes me believe he cares about me. That I’m just as important to him as his own kids. And since my dad doesn’t really give a shit, I’ve always thought of Hank as more my dad than my own. If my dad met Gavin before he took me on a date, he’d probably try to hit Gavin up for some behind-the-scenes pass or for an introduction to some actor he loves. He’s all about seizing an opportunity.
We finish dinner and Gavin pushes his chair away from the table. “Want to go outside?”
“Only if you keep me warm.” Not my slyest line by any means.
“You kidding me? I’ve been dying to get you under a blanket all night.” He winks and comes to pull my chair out for me.
This is the version of Gavin that I started to like at my parents’ house that time. The flirtatious, slightly arrogant one.
“No roaming hands.”
He raises both hands. “Promise.”
Serena escorts us out to the back of the boat, where huge, thick blankets have been laid out for us. Twinkle lights are strung across the top of the boat, and little vases are filled with what look like candles but are actually lights with blue and green glass rocks.
“I might never leave, Serena,” I say, sitting down.
Gavin lays the blanket over my lap before sliding in right beside me. “If this is too forward, just tell me.”
My stomach feels as if bubbles are popping inside it. So far, Gavin has been a great listener, thoughtful, and a total gentleman. “Not at all.”
I soak in the experience of traveling on the back of this boat that’s like a scene right out of a movie. I’m so enthralled with the atmosphere that I only catch the tail end of Gavin’s sentence.
“My parents love the fact I’m their son.”
My gaze falls to him, and I find him staring at me. My breath hitches when our eyes lock and I see that he’s opening up to me. I remain silent to allow him to take the opening if he wants it.
“They use my name to get anything from cutting in line for coffee to tickets to a show. They call my agent more than I do, and now I’m a shitty son because I’m leaving the business.”
I attempt to hold in my gasp. “You are?”
“I haven’t acted in two years, and I thought I’d go back after rehab, but I don’t have the drive anymore. My parents gave up everything for me to be famous, and now I can’t help but feel like I’m just throwing a big F-U in their faces.” He sips the coffee Serena brought over a moment ago. “At first, they were on board with the rehab. I was out of control. But now, they just don’t understand why I won’t audition anymore.”
“And why do you think you don’t want to act anymore?” I feel as though I know the answer, but I don’t want to speculate. I can’t imagine living in the spotlight all the time and constantly being judged.
“Because I never loved it. At some point, I started to hate every minute of it.”
I fight my frown.
He continues before I can say anything. “Who knows what they want for their lives at six years old? Sure, I was all in when they brought up the idea. The idea of being on television seemed fun. And at first it was. The Carters cast was like a second family, but then…”
I don’t want to pry too much. He’s clearly concerned about telling everything, but I have to admit that it makes me feel warm inside, that he’s been this open with me already.
He groans. “Why are you so easy to tell all this to?”
“What do you mean?”
“I feel like I could sit here all night and tell you every little problem, all the fucked-up shit that happened, and you wouldn’t judge me.” He picks up his coffee, his eyes diverting from mine for the first time.
“I’d say that’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
He sighs and looks at me with worried eyes. “It is, but it’s scary as hell. The first thing you learn in my industry is you can’t trust a soul. I can’t even trust my parents.” He shakes his head and sets down his coffee. “This is why I wanted to keep us off this topic. Tell me something crazy about this town.”
But we get interrupted because Serena tells us we’re docking, and with that announcement, our magical date is over. If I were a toddler, I’d be throwing myself on the deck in a fit of kicking and screaming.
Gavin pulls out his phone and hands it to Serena. “Would you mind?”
She smiles kindly and steps back.
Gavin snuggles close and puts his arm around my shoulders. “This is just for us. Thank you for a great night,” he whispers in my ear.
Tingles travel down my neck and I’m sure my cheeks are pink—and not from the wind.
Serena snaps a few pictures and hands the phone back to Gavin, then she disappears inside.
“I was going to wait until I took you home, but I want to know if you’ll go out with me again?”
I nod and smile. “I’d love to.”
And just like that, in one date, I find myself falling for Gavin Price. It has nothing to do with the expensive boat or the romantic setting, but rather the side of him he’s trusted me with. It almost makes me feel like I can trust him too.
I’m a coward.
The only good thing I did on our date the other night was not kiss her good night. I think she wondered why when I walked her up to her door and waited for her to get inside and lock the door. But I just didn’t feel right about trying to kiss her until I have the guts to tell her what I managed to avoid all night.
But we were having such a good time that I didn’t want to ruin it. I kept thinking I’d do it later and then later again, but later never came.
“So, are we just going to circle each other all fucking day?” Logan says, bouncing on the balls of his feet, circling me in the ring in his gym.
“Your wife outed me this morning,” I say, still catching my breath from the last round we went before we broke.
I’ve been dodging talking to Logan even though he’s the closest thing I have to a best friend here. Maybe ever, but I don’t tell him that. It’s hard to find true friends in my business, or my previous business. Logan’s wife, Nikki, just took to her radio show, Scandals of Sunrise Bay, to tell everyone that Posey and I went on a date. Not that I wanted to keep it a secret, but the fact that the news about the mayoral race will come out any day now and I’ve yet to tell Posey is going to cast me as the asshole in this equation.
“Yeah, she does that.” He shrugs and throws a punch that I dodge.
“I’m not sure I can tell you everything without it hitting the airwaves.”
He stops and stares at me. “You don’t like Posey?”
Not like Posey? I swear I’d marry the woman if it wasn’t crazy. I’ve never met someone so genuine and pure. She honestly wanted to heal me when I told her my troubles, and I wanted to let her stitch me up. If it wasn’t for this mayor thing, I think we could really be something. Over the last few days, I’ve contemplated withdrawing from the race. But I’ve always done what everyone else wanted and I want this for myself. I want to make a real difference in this world, or at least in Sunrise Bay. I can’t explain why it means so much to me.