“I have to admit, I’m a little jealous.”
“You’re into Gavin? I had no idea. But don’t worry. It’s not like that between us.” Why did that leave the taste of regret in her mouth?
“No, I’m not into Gavin. I would have been if he’d showed any interest whatsoever, but nope, nothing. He’s never dragged my ass down the beach.”
“Sorry,” Harper said, sure her nose was growing.
“Don’t be. I hope it is like that between you two.”
“Well, as I said, it’s not. But if you’re not into him, then why are you jealous?”
“Because you’re back in town for half a minute and you’ve got a great guy dragging you away to be alone, and I’m over here fending off losers on dating sites and apps like Match and Tinder.”
“No way!” Harper exclaimed. “Why would you do that? You’re gorgeous and outgoing. When we used to hang out, guys were always hitting on you.”
“According to Serena and Desiree, I’m too picky, and according to Violet, I’m too uptight.”
“I don’t think you’re uptight.”
“Then you’re on Team Picky. Great. I’m probably both, too picky and uptight.”
“No, you’re not. Justin was looking at you an awful lot last night. He’s hot in that bad-boy way most girls love, but I get it.” She and Chloe had long ago discovered that they had similar tastes in guys, and bad boys weren’t either of their types. “Most of the guys around here are either tourists who are just passing through, taken, or bad boys.”
“Pretty much. But Gavin’s a great guy.”
Harper sighed. “I told you it’s not like that. He set me up on a blind date tonight. That should tell you everything you need to know.” She’d been trying not to think about what that really meant, but it bugged her to no end that he was willing to hand her off to a friend, even if she had turned down his offer to go out with him.
“That’s what Serena said. But with who? He wouldn’t tell Serena who it was with.”
“I have no idea, and I was so flustered I forgot to ask. But it doesn’t matter. He’s supposed to be here any minute, and I’m not going.”
“Oh, well, you might want to tell Gavin that. That means you can come out with us! Serena, Drake, and I are meeting Rick and Des at Undercover in about half an hour.”
“My life is too much of a mess to pretend it’s not, and Colton will see right through it.” She winced, realizing what she’d revealed, and quickly said, “I’m still unpacking and getting used to the time difference. I hate living in chaos. I just need to get things under control.”
“I hate feeling disorganized, too. Do you need help unpacking?”
Harper looked at the boxes by the door. The things she’d shipped from LA had arrived early that morning, and they were still all packed up. “No. I’ll get through it, but I appreciate the offer.”
“Are you sure you’re okay? You’ve been gone so long. It must feel weird coming back, and then being blindsided by Gavin…”
Blindsided was the perfect word for what she’d felt last night. The trouble was, she still felt off-kilter. She’d thought she’d romanticized the effect he’d had on her, but now she knew she hadn’t. After their tryst in Romance, she’d thought about trying to find him. It would have been a ridiculously futile effort, since she only knew his first name and hadn’t even known where he lived, but that hadn’t stopped her from wanting to try dozens of times. And last night she’d caught herself wanting to call Chloe or Serena just to get the 411 on him. But she’d stopped herself then, too, because her life really was too much of a mess for a guy like him right now.
Maybe one day…
“Hello? Harper?”
“Sorry. I’m here, and I’m okay. Thanks for asking.”
They talked for another few minutes, and after they ended the call, Harper’s phone vibrated with a text from a number she didn’t recognize. She read the message—My buddy is psyched about your date. Have fun tonight! Her pulse quickened as she typed a response. Gavin? How did you get my number?
His reply was immediate. You’re not the only one with fancy connections, LA girl. A minute later another message popped up. Did you forget you put your number in my suitcase?
She loved that he’d gone searching for it and typed, I’m not going on the date. I don’t even know his name! The phone vibrated a second later with his text. Gale.
“Gale?” She typed, Sounds girlie, adding a laughing emoticon.
Another text rolled in. Hardly. GALE as in gale-force wind. The guy’s going to blow you away. Trust me, beautiful.
She rolled her eyes, trying to think up a response, but she wasn’t fast enough. The phone vibrated again, and she read his text. Remember, it’s a FIRST date. You should probably keep that sunflower tat to yourself…
Heat rushed through her as memories assaulted her. Gavin’s strong hands stripping off her panties, his soft lips kissing the sunflower tattoo on her hip, his warm, wet tongue tracing the stem and each of the petals. She could still feel the sharp, scintillating points of his teeth as he tasted his way lower…
Her entire body shuddered, and she tossed her phone on the desk like she’d been burned. She was turned on and annoyed at herself for getting so carried away by mere thoughts of him.
Glaring at the phone as if it were a villain, she snapped, “I’m not going!” and stormed into her bedroom. “Who do you think you are anyway, setting me up with some other guy?”
She grabbed an old, ragged sweatshirt from the closet and tugged it over her cami. Then she tugged a pair of baggy sweatpants over her shorts. She turned her head upside down, shaking out her hair. The messier the better. She twisted it into a messy bun, securing the bun in place with a hair tie, and pulled a handful of strands free just for good measure. She went into the bathroom and pulled out her makeup, artfully smearing a little eyeliner beneath her eyes so it looked like she hadn’t slept in weeks, which wasn’t far from reality. She took one last look at her disheveled self in the mirror.
Perfect.
She stalked into the kitchen and grabbed the pepper shaker. A knock sounded at her door, and as she went to answer it, she shook pepper into her hand and inhaled it. Her eyes watered and her nose burned. How’s this for beautiful? Maybe next time you’ll listen when I say I’m not ready to go out.
Chapter Four
HARPER COULDN’T STOP sneezing, but even through watery eyes and between brain-rattling sneezes, she made out Gavin standing on her porch looking insanely handsome and shaking his head. She dropped the pepper shaker as she covered her nose to keep from sneezing on him, but that only made things worse, because her hand was still covered with pepper.
He picked up the pepper shaker and arched a brow. “Really? This was the best you could come up with? Faking sick?”
She cough-laughed as she stepped outside, hoping the fresh air would clear her nostrils. As she tried to regain control, she glanced around, expecting to see his friend. While she was at it, she took in Gavin’s sculpted bronze arms. Her gaze slid down the blue T-shirt molded to his hard chest. Her pulse quickened as she continued her visual exploration to what she knew were thick, muscular thighs beneath his cargo shorts. Her gaze drifted up along the same delicious path to his full, smirking lips.