God…
Annoyed with herself yet again, she wiped her peppered hand on her sweats and said, “What gives, Gavin? Where’s Gale? Did he stand me up?”
“There’s not a chance he’d stand you up.”
She peered down the road. “Then where is he?”
“You’re looking at him.”
“I don’t…” As understanding sank in, she said, “You lied?”
He dragged his narrowing eyes down her sweats, and then he eyed the pepper shaker in his hand. “Actually, I’d say you’re the fibber.” He motioned with his hand at himself, like he was presenting a prize, and said, “Gavin Gale Wheeler at your service. And if you think a little pepper is going to get you out of our date, you’re wrong.”
“You set me up on a blind date with yourself?” Oh boy. He was definitely a smooth talker.
“I’m the best there is. Let’s go, beautiful. Get your keys or purse or whatever you need. We’ve got plans to work through the hitches in your life, and I’m an organized guy. I’d like to stick to those plans.”
She’d poured her heart out last night, and it was all kinds of romantic that he hadn’t forgotten. That made her even more attracted to him, which made her even more nervous. She crossed her arms and said, “I told you I’m not ready to date.”
“And I told you this isn’t a date. We’re greasing your wheels before we take the ultimate ride.” He waggled his brows.
She inhaled a shaky breath, knowing just how ultimate that ride was.
He rolled his shoulders back and said, “It’s important that you’re fully in control of every aspect of your life before you let the one and only man who matters into it.”
How could he be so confident about them? She looked down at her shabby clothes and said, “I can’t go like this.”
“Why? You look beautiful. Stunning, really.” He held her gaze, the honesty in his eyes urging her to just go with it. “I love the extra effort you put into your eye makeup. Were you going for the smoky look? It’s all the rage this summer. Come on, time to get your keys. Or Mace,” he said teasingly as he took her hand and stepped into her cottage.
His gaze swept over the hardwood floors in the cozy living room. Her writing desk sat against the wall to their left, with a vase full of flowers from her gardens. Beside the desk, an armoire housed her television and space for her notebooks, printing paper, and other necessities. A sofa sat against the wall to the right, and there were three stools at the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room.
Gavin whistled. “I bet you get lost in here, huh?”
“Ha ha. What can I say? I don’t make much money, and this was all I could afford. But the truth is, I love it. I don’t need much space.” Her one-bedroom cottage was only three hundred and fifty square feet. It used to be part of the vacation cottage community next door. The owner had parceled off the five cottages on this side of the road and sold them as individual homes.
Gavin snagged her phone from the desk and handed it to her. “It was a joke. This place is adorable. Wait until you see my place. It’s not big or glamorous, and I do make a lot of money.” He winked and glanced into her bedroom. “King bed. Nice.”
“Stop.” She elbowed him. “You’re not getting into that bed.”
He stepped closer, and when he reached for her face, she struggled to ignore the rising temperature between them. He brushed his thumb over her cheek and beneath her nose with a thoughtful expression and said, “Pepper. You went to a lot of trouble to get out of this date.”
“Not really.”
His eyes drifted over her shoulder to the built-in bookshelves surrounding the front door. “Whoa! Be still my heart. Those are awesome.”
“Right? I love them.”
“Looks like we have more in common than just being incredible in bed.”
She choked out a surprised sound.
“You know it’s true.” He motioned toward the flowers on her desk and said, “But I clearly need to up my game. You obviously met some dude between last night and this morning, and he brought you flowers.”
The tease in his eyes made her smile. “Yeah, well, you know. Word got around that I was home and single guys are flocking.”
“Let them flock. After tonight, none of them will measure up.” He took her hand and said, “Where are your sneakers?”
“I never wear sneakers.”
He picked up the sandals by the door and plunked them down by her feet. “Slip your feet in, princess.”
“Gavin…”
“Don’t bother trying to dissuade me.” He knelt and slipped her feet into the sandals. Then he stood and looked around the room. “We’re friends, remember? Friends don’t let friends hide out.”
“I think that’s supposed to be drive drunk.”
“I wouldn’t let you do that, either. Where are your house keys?”
She pointed to a bowl on the counter. Holding tightly to her hand, he dragged her to the counter, retrieved the keys, and said, “Purse?”
“If you want to take out the ratty-looking girl, then this is a date, and you’re paying, right? I shouldn’t need my wallet.”
He chuckled and headed out the door. “You don’t need my help at all, do you? Last night was just a ploy to get me to take you out.”
He closed and locked the door without releasing her hand, and then he hauled her against him, and holy cow, he felt good.
His expression turned serious and he said, “Let’s get one thing straight, Harp. I know you’ve gone through some shit, but I’d like to think we’re friends, and one thing you’ll learn, if you haven’t already, is that I’ll never lie to you. Do you believe me?”
“I think so.” She wanted to, and she truly thought she did, but she didn’t trust her judgment enough to say for sure.
“Okay, that’s going on our list to work on, too.” He smiled and said, “Right here, right now, I want you to promise me that you’ll leave that ‘take out the ratty-looking girl’ nonsense behind. You’re gorgeous, and no amount of messy hair or smeared makeup will ever make you look anything less than beautiful. Ugliness comes from within. That’s something you should have learned from the time you were a kid. Don’t all parents teach their kids beauty starts from the inside?”
“Yes, but—”
“No buts, okay? If you were an ugly person you wouldn’t have friends who care so deeply about you. And by ugly I mean inside, because you could be caught in a fire tomorrow and your looks could change, but that still wouldn’t make you ugly.” He paused for a long time, his words sinking in. Then he said, with no less vehemence, “I value honesty, integrity, and kindness, so I sure as hell wouldn’t have been with you in Virginia, much less thought about you after that first night, if you didn’t embody all those things.”
“Gavin, that was…” She didn’t have the words to explain how that made her feel, but it was big, and it was real.
“Promise?”
She’d almost forgotten what that promise was supposed to be. Promise me that you’ll leave that ‘take out the ratty-looking girl’ nonsense behind. She nodded. “I’ll try.”