Last Call (Book #2 - Heat Wave Series) Page 13

  “You keep saying ‘we’ and ‘us.’”

  “Do I?”

  “Yes.” Her eyes searched his face. “What does that mean?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “What do you know?”

  Gavin looked at Sunny and grinned. He was pretty good at avoiding questions, but she was way better at the question-answer game than him. It probably came from years of experience raising a teenage boy. She knew how to keep hammering away until she got answers.

  “I know I’m walking around in unfamiliar territory. I know why this property means so much to you and Robby. Personally, I like Anticue the way it is. I have a lot of fond memories of this island, and I’d hate to see it changed by the addition of a resort.”

  She watched him for a minute, probably gauging his sincerity, then stood. Rather than walking away as he expected, she stepped in front of him, straddled his legs, and sat on his lap.

  Oh yeah, this was good. Real good. And pretty damned dangerous. He was already in deeper than was wise, and this crotch-to-crotch action wasn’t helping.

  “Will you help us keep our property safe?” She wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck, and scooted as close as she could get.

  His body responded to her close proximity, a fact she couldn’t miss, given the tight fit of their bodies. He considered telling her he would walk barefoot through hell if that’s what she wanted. But common sense prevailed, and he said, “I’ll do everything I can to make this work out okay for you.”

  Her eyes softened, then melted. She rested her forehead against his, and in a heartbreakingly gentle tone, said, “I’m trusting you.”

  He swallowed the lump clogging his throat and tried to find the right words. Problem was, he didn’t have a fucking clue what those words were.

  The freckles dotting her nose grew a shade darker after their time in the sun, and her cheeks carried a pink tint. His voice abandoned him, like his words. So rather than say anything, he brushed the hair out of her face and kissed the tip of her nose.

  Switching to an easier subject, he asked, “Do you mind if I stay here tonight?”

  She looked at him through her lashes and chewed her bottom lip. Her eyes liquefied, and he wondered if she was imagining all the things they could do if they had an entire night together. Then her forehead wrinkled, and her demeanor shifted, and he figured this was where she started to worry about Robby and his thoughts on Gavin staying all night.

  Hoping to persuade her in his favor, he said, “I want to go to New Bern tomorrow to see my grandfather. Since I’m this close, if I stayed here, I could get up first thing in the morning and be there in time for breakfast.”

  It was a lame excuse, especially since he’d driven an hour to take Callie home, only to then turn around and drive another hour back to Anticue. But he’d use any excuse to spend time with Sunny. “If you’re worried about Robby, I’ll sleep on the couch. And if you’re really uncomfortable with me being here, I’ll go home.”

  Sunny smiled mischievously. “I’m almost thirty years old. I can do whatever I want, whenever I want…”—she lowered her mouth to his—“…with whomever I want.” With a sheepish expression, she added, “Maybe Robby can stay with a friend.”

  “We could camp on the beach.” He lowered his voice and nuzzled her neck. “Do you like making love on the beach?”

  She shivered. “I don’t know.”

  The beast growled. He really, really, really fucking liked being the first person Sunny experienced these things with. “I guess we’ll find out tonight.”

  Her breathing accelerated. “Talk about something to look forward to. This will be the longest work night of my life.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Callie wasn’t normally a mean drunk. Usually, she was the mushy-gushy one, hugging her friends, telling them how much she loved them. Tonight, however, the more she drank, the meaner… well, the madder she got.

  Mad at Gavin. Mad at the sleazy bartender. Mad at the whole damned world.

  Wasn’t there a famous movie scene where a character stood on the rooftops and yelled at the world about being mad as hell before taking charge of their life?

  She glanced to the peak of her parents’ rooftop… about a million miles up in the air. Maybe she should quietly take charge. No yelling, just a simple proclamation. “I’m going to Anticue.”

  Jen dropped her chin and gave her a don’t-be-stupid stare.

  Tiffany, always a step behind, said, “Why would you want to do that?”

  “Because Gavin is there. I think.”

  “Oh, hon,” Tiffany said, grabbing the next pitcher from the cooler. She topped off Callie’s glass. “You don’t want to go there.”

  “Yes, I do.” A new wave of mad washed over her. “I do want to go there. I want to confront him while he’s with that bartender.”

  “Callie, he’s not doing anything wrong.” Jen sounded perturbed, like Callie was dense and Jen was tired of repeatedly having this conversation. “He’s not made any commitments to you. He’s never even acted interested in you. In fact, I’d say he’s gone out of his way to let you know he’s not interested.”

  Pain slashed through Callie’s anger, then mixed with it to create a volatile combination. “You are such a bitch.”

  Jen took a sip from her drink and shrugged. “Maybe. But you need to face the truth. It’s painful to watch you follow after Gavin like a puppy dog. You need to forget about him. Find someone who's interested in you. Like Jason.”

  Callie sniffed. “I don’t want Jason.”

  Do I?

  She thought for a beat. No, definitely not.

  Probably not.

  No, she wanted Gavin. She’d always wanted Gavin.

  Jen flicked her gaze from Callie to Tiffany. “I think you’re overlooking something important. None of us are capable of driving anywhere.”

  True. Callie deflated like she’d been popped with a pin.

  Who did she know that could drive them? She checked the time on her cellphone. Nine-thirty.

  Her heart thumped heavily as an idea struck.

  A crazy… outrageous… terribly wrong idea.

  But drunkenness was on her side, so she grabbed her phone, pulled up the number for the country club, and hit call. “Hi. This is Callie Holden. Is Jason still working?”

  Tiffany gasped and, in a harsh whisper, asked, “What are you doing?”

  “Finding a ride.”

  Jen shook her head. “Callie, the way to get a guy is not by having him help you spy on another guy.”

  Eyes wide and panicky, Tiffany nodded and quickly said, “Tell Jason we’re going to spy on my boyfriend.”

  “Very good, Tiff. I’m impressed.” Jen sipped her margarita. “That might actually work.”

  “I’m not trying to—”

  A click on the line indicated Jason picked up the call. “This is Jason.”

  Callie smiled broadly, hoping it would come through on his end of the line. “Hi, Jason, this is Callie Holden. How are you?”

  “I’m great. And you?” Although he sounded surprised to hear her voice, he also sounded pleased.

  Taking that as a positive sign, she forged ahead with her plan. “I’m good. But… Well… We have a little dilemma and need some help.”

  “Okay.” His reply was filled with hesitation, but she refused to let her courage be squashed.

  “Jen, Tiffany, and I need to go to Anticue. You know, the little island near the North/South Carolina border? The problem is, we’ve had a few margaritas, and… well…” She hoped he’d fill in the blanks and offer to drive them without her actually asking.

  After a long pause, he asked, “Why do you need to go to Anticue?”

  She wasn’t interested in Jason. Really. But for some reason, she found herself saying, “Tiffany thinks her boyfriend is cheating on her. We want to see if we can catch him in the act.”

  She kept her eyes locked on the ground, unable to meet Ti
ffany and Jen’s stares. He didn’t answer, as if thinking it over, and a terrible thought hit Callie square in the chest. “Do you have plans?” Oh, crap. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

  She closed her eyes and absorbed the sound of his laughter echoing through the phone. “No, on the second, and the plans I have can be changed. But I don’t get off work for another hour. By the time I get changed and pick you up, it’ll be at least eleven. Will that be too late?”

  Waiting might give Callie time to change her mind. But that's okay. If she decided going to Anticue was a bad idea, Jason could hang out with them here. “No, that’ll be great,” she said. “We’re at my house. Do you know where I live?”

  “I sure do. My parents live in the same neighborhood.”

  “No way! Why haven’t we met before?”

  “They moved into that house after I left home.”

  “Oh, so you don’t live with them now?” Did she sound disappointed to find he wasn’t her neighbor?

  “I left when I turned eighteen. I love them, but I needed to be on my own.”

  “Hmmm…” Callie looked at the pool, at the guesthouse where she lived, at her parents’ house. She spent six months out of each year traveling, so she never considered getting her own place. But, at twenty-four, maybe she should.

  Feeling a lot less mad, and way less ambitious about this taking-charge-of-her-life business, she said, “Thanks, Jason. I’ll see you when you get here.”

  She disconnected the call and took a long drink from her glass.

  “Well?” Tiffany asked.

  “He’ll be here at eleven.”

  Jen jerked upright from her relaxed slump, her enthusiasm nearly launching her out of the chair. “We need good spy clothes.”

  Tiffany grinned and bobbed her head. “Those black leather pants and that black Vera Wang sweater would be awesome on you, Callie.”

  Callie perked up. “With the black onyx-and-silver bracelet Daddy gave me last year for my birthday.”

  Tiffany and Jen were out of their chairs in an instant. “What can we wear?”

  She loved having two best friends who wore the exact same size as her. It was like they each had three closets to choose from, creating a never-ending supply of new clothes. Especially since they all had the same favorite hobby: shopping.

  Energized by the idea of dressing like Batgirl and charging off to save the world—or at least her little piece of the world—Callie grabbed her glass and jumped out of the chair. “I have two pairs of leather pants and a leather mini.” She giggled. “I think I should wear the mini and let you guys have the pants.”

  ***

  A roar of laughter from the end of the bar brought Sunny’s head out of the beer cooler. Gavin, Ed, and Joe had been talking and laughing for the past three hours. They were like old friends who’d known each all their lives but hadn’t been together in years. Gavin, seeing her glance up, winked, then returned his attention to his counterparts.

  “He’s sure does make friends easy,” Robby said, drying a shot glass to set on the shelf.

  Sunny dried her hands and jotted down the inventory numbers for each brand of beer. “Yeah, he does.”

  Not only had Gavin made friends with Ed and Joe, he also befriended the kids during several intense games of pool. He held his own and even won a few, which earned him instant respect from the normally reserved group.

  It bothered her to keep wondering if he had ulterior motives for getting to know everyone. He denied the accusation when she confronted him on his offer to help Robby, but she couldn’t stop the idea from sneaking up on her every now and again.

  He was one hell of a kisser and a great lover. But should she trust him?

  “What’s his deal, Sunny?” Robby asked, standing behind her, peering over her shoulder. He didn’t know the real reason behind Gavin’s appearance, but he obviously had suspicions. Last night, he questioned why Gavin brought three women he didn’t like to a bar in Anticue to drink two beers.

  She knew the answers to those questions now, but Robby didn’t. He probably formulated all kinds of crazy reasons, although none could be crazier than the truth.

  She made another note on her notepad and grabbed a sucker. Closing time was in half an hour and she’d hoped to escape without having this conversation. Apparently, that wasn’t going to happen.

  “If I ignored you, you’d be pissed.”

  She turned and glared at him. His cranky attitude was another item on her must-talk-to-Robby-about list. “I’m not ignoring you.”

  “Really. Could’ve fooled me.”

  Even though they were siblings and not a parent and child, she didn’t like it when he got mouthy like this. He wouldn’t talk to anyone else like that. At least, she hoped he wouldn’t. And just because they were related, it didn’t give him the right to treat her badly.

  But she also recognized he needed to create discomfort between them so it would be easier to leave home and go out on his own. She once overheard a psychologist soothing a friend on the subject, explaining that since humans didn’t toss their young out of the nest, conflict was necessary in order for the child to make the separation happen.

  Knowing that little bit of psychobabble didn’t help when Robby was being a jerk. But she had to admit, the way they were going at each other lately, they’d both celebrate in the street the day he left for college.

  Grinding her teeth, she said, “Follow me to the kitchen.” She rounded the corner, out of sight of everyone in the bar, and said, “Last night, Gavin thought he was sent here to get ideas from us. Ideas he could use in the resorts he builds.”

  “And now?”

  “It turns out his boss wanted him to find out who owned the bar. They want us to sell the property so they can tear it down, along with the old fishing pier and a few houses on either side of us, to build a resort.”

  “You can’t be fucking serious.”

  Sunny’s eyebrows shot to her hairline and her chin dropped to her chest.

  Robby scrunched his eyes together, and his shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t directed toward you.” He grabbed her and squeezed her in a big bear hug. The kind he used to give her all the time… up until about six months ago when he stopped hugging her at all. As the last vapor of air left her lungs, he let go and stepped back. “You told him no. Right?”

  “Of course.”

  Robby paced around the kitchen, staring at the floor. He spun around and glared at her, his posture rigid, his voice tight. “He’s using you. He’s getting close to you so he can change your mind.” His thoughtful pacing turned to stomping. “Why are you letting him hang around? Why are you spending time with him?”

  Sunny blew out a shaky breath and chomped on her Dum-Dum. They were valid questions, ones she’d asked herself a hundred times. The easy answer: he was amazing in bed and gave her the chance to live out a few fantasies. The hard answer: she liked him.

  She winced. There was a third, more legit reason, but she hesitated to share it with Robby.

  Gavin made it sound as if his boss would resort to foul play, if necessary, to get what he wanted. Even though she didn’t really believe it, it would be an explanation as to why he was sticking around. She didn’t want to tell Robby that, because he would worry about her. But in case Gavin's concern held some validity, she wanted Robby to be aware of the slight risk, so he could be more cautious. “Apparently, his boss, Max Holden, can be pretty unrelenting in his pursuits. Gavin is acting as a buffer, of sorts, between us and his boss.”

  Robby stopped and scowled out the door, no doubt drilling a hole in Gavin’s head. “Why?” He turned toward her. “Why would he do that for us?”

  “He used to come to Anticue with his grandfather when he was young. I think he has a sentimental attachment to the area and doesn’t want it changed by a big development.”

  She took hold of Robby’s hand. “Bottom line, Robby. At this point, we don’t have any choice but to trust Gavin. If he’s hanging around her
e, at least we know what he’s up to.”

  “He better not hurt you.” Robby’s tone was a combination of his two sides: a man who wanted to be her protector, and a helpless little boy who worried about his sister.

  “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.” It might have been the lack of conviction in her voice, or maybe her wariness showed in her eyes, but Robby didn’t seem convinced.

  She wasn’t lying. She could take care of herself. But she also couldn’t shake the fear that she was playing with fire. And not in reference to Max Holden. She already liked Gavin more than she should, and the possibility of getting hurt was very real.

  Apparently, though, she was willing to take the risk.

  “Is he staying here tonight?” He sounded as disgusted as if he were asking, “Is the boil on my ass a permanent condition?”

  She found herself hesitant to answer but then remembered her emphatic statement to Gavin. I’m almost thirty years old… Dammit, if she wanted to have wild, crazy sex on the beach, so be it. “Yes. He’s staying here tonight.”

  Robby rubbed the back of his neck. “I think I’ll stay at Chad’s.” He swung out of the kitchen door, then looked back over his shoulder. “Things are winding down. Is it okay if I go ahead and take off?”

  “Sure. I can handle it from here.”

  He shifted his gaze to Gavin, then looked back to her with serious, wary eyes. “I hope so.”

  She blew out a breath and rubbed her forehead. She hoped so, too.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Gavin watched Sunny snag a Dum-Dum from the jar, then go to work cleaning the counter. “You told him why I’m here?”

  “Yep.” She didn’t look up but continued to scrub a spot only she could see.

  He figured that’s why Robby slammed out—after firing ocular silver-bullets at him. He considered going after Robby, to explain the situation from his standpoint. But as angry as he appeared, Gavin decided it wouldn’t do any good.