Chapter Twelve
She woke to music, the soft strumming of a guitar accompanying a gravelly, rusty voice.
Gavin.
Alone in her bed, Anna blushed fiercely, clear to her toes as she remembered.
Had that been her last night, and this morning? That wanton woman who had rolled across this bed in the throes of passion with a man who stole her breath and owned her heart? How was she supposed to face him after...
Oh, my. It wasn’t possible to stay embarrassed when she remembered that she—dull, drab Anna Collins—had made Gavin Marshall cry out in pleasure nearly as often as he’d done the same to her. Breathless at the thought, she jumped from the bed and reached for her robe. She had to see him. Had to assure herself that last night had been real. Maybe as important to him as it was to her.
His music drew her to the den.
He wore nothing but jeans and was seated on the floor with his back to her, a pad and pencil by his side as he quietly strummed the chords. And he was singing.
“...Alone and oh, so cold, drifting along, with no one to hold, day after day, just growing old...until you.”
Anna would forever regret whatever sound she must have made that alerted him to her presence and made him stop playing, stop singing.
He snapped his head around. “I didn’t hear you.”
“You were busy. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
He leaned the guitar against the couch and climbed to his feet. “That’s all right.”
She smiled at him. “I thought you said you couldn’t sing.”
Gavin ducked his head, charming her. “That wasn’t singing. That was gravel on sandpaper.”
“It was singing. You should record your songs yourself instead of selling them to other artists.”
He’d thought about it, Gavin admitted to himself. More than once. But it was one thing to hand your words off to someone else to sing. Quite another to have your own rough, craggy voice recorded for posterity. And if you were serious about it, you’d have to go the whole route, appearances, concerts...
“Nah,” he told her. “That’s not my thing.”
“That wasn’t something I’ve heard before,” she said, motioning toward the notepad and guitar.
“Nobody has. I haven’t finished it yet.”
“May I hear it?”
He grinned. “Not until it’s finished. I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.” He reached for her and slid his arms around her, pulling her close. He kissed her, taking his time, savoring, enjoying. He regretted now that he’d gotten up and left her to wake alone. But the song had called him to his guitar, refusing to wait. Over the years, he’d learned to heed that call.
Besides, he thought ruefully, if he’d stayed in bed with her, they would have made love again, and he knew instinctively that Anna wasn’t used to it. Or hadn’t been, he thought smugly. He couldn’t bear the thought of causing her any pain or discomfort.
But, damn, did she feel good in his arms.
He eased off, nibbling the corner of her mouth. “Good morning,” he said against her lips.
Anna sighed in utter contentment and allowed herself, if only for a moment, to lean against him, to wonder in the darkest recess of her heart what it would be like to wake every morning to his music and his kiss.
Don’t look ahead, Anna reminded herself firmly. He was here now, hers now. She wouldn’t spoil it wanting the impossible. “Good morning,” she whispered back.
“Don’t clean house today.”
“What a thing to say.” She chuckled as she stepped out of his arms. “It’s Saturday. I always clean house on Saturday. I can have it done by the time you’re through working on your song.”
“I’m through working on my song, and the house is practically spotless. Let it go, just this once. Spend the day with me.”
The effect he had on her when he got that little-boy plea in his eyes, while his smile was all man, was interesting. She was supposed to resist that lethal combination?
“All right.”
They went out for breakfast, and the rest of Saturday morning raced by in a blur of color and laughter and intimate looks, of quick pecks and long, slow kisses. They found a craft fair set up in a parking lot, where Anna had to do some fast talking to keep Gavin from buying her a black velvet portrait of Elvis to hang above the CD player in her living room.
After lunch they went to the zoo. Anna had not been there since she was a child. She drank it in, loving it, but all the while more than aware that this might be her last day with Gavin. If not today, perhaps tomorrow.
She didn’t mean to dwell on it. She had lived a lifetime in the past few days. The memories would warm her for years to come. She didn’t want to think about how soon it would all be over.
But at the petting zoo, everywhere she turned she saw families. With children. Teens to toddlers to infants. It was the babies that drew her gaze again and again. Some fussing irritably, some grinning and cooing, some sleeping in their strollers or strapped to Mommy’s or Daddy’s chest or back.
It wasn’t that Anna particularly wanted a baby. Not just any baby. But suddenly she knew she wanted Gavin’s child. A son or daughter with vivid blue eyes and a smile that would take her breath away.
But there would be no babies for Anna. Not Gavin’s. He’d been very careful last night and this morning to use a condom. At the time she had considered it thoughtful of him, even loving. Now, with reminders everywhere around her of what she would never have, she wished with all her heart that he had been less considerate.
“Anna?”
Her cheeks flushed with heat. Dear heavens, she hoped he couldn’t read her thoughts. She gently eased the feeding bottle from the baby lamb’s mouth and passed the bottle to the petting zoo attendant. Everywhere she looked, there were babies, she admitted with dismay. Even if they all did have four legs and a tail.
“Anna, is something wrong?”
“No.” She pasted on a smile and looked up at Gavin. “Of course not. It’s a beautiful day, we’re at the zoo, and life is wonderful. What could possibly be wrong?”
Gavin studied her face, her eyes. “I don’t know. You just looked...sad, I guess, for a minute.”
“Not me,” she claimed.
Claimed a little too forcefully for Gavin’s comfort. As if she was trying to convince herself. There were shadows in her eyes. She was a damn poor liar.
“Come on.” He took her by the hand and led her from the petting zoo area out into the regular zoo. “Let’s find the monkeys.” Monkeys always made people laugh. He wanted to see Anna smile again, wanted her to forget whatever was bothering her. He wanted her focused on him.
There it was, something he had never experienced before. Jealousy. Over something he couldn’t even name. He didn’t want Anna thinking of anything but him. Now wasn’t that a fine how-do-you-do. He felt stupid and childish, and he didn’t much like it. Trouble was, there didn’t seem to be anything he could do to make himself feel differently.
Despite the lively antics of the monkeys, Anna grew quieter with each passing moment. But no matter how many times he asked, she continued to deny that anything was wrong.
“Do you have a headache?” he asked, his concern growing.
“No.” There came that forced smile that was starting to set his nerves on edge. “I told you, nothing’s wrong.”
Just then a toddler a few feet away stumbled and fell, landing on his rear and letting out a loud wail. Anna jerked and reached out as if to pick the child up, but the child’s mother was right there, scooping her son up into her arms.
Mortified that she had almost picked up another woman’s child, Anna stepped back and turned away.
But not before Gavin finally saw and understood what was in her eyes. Yearning.
Denial screamed in his head. He had to be wrong. She had already told him she wasn’t ready for a family. She couldn’t now suddenly be wanting...
Oh, God, he thought.
“Come on.” He took her by the hand again. “Let’s get out of here.”
He had to be wrong. It was his overactive imagination, that was all. Yet during the ten-minute walk back to the car, he noticed that every time they neared a young child, Anna’s gaze would linger. Hungrily.
This was bad. Terrible. Disastrous.
He cleared his throat. “Is this something new for you, or do you always stare at every baby you see?”
Her hand jerked in his. Beneath his fingers he felt her pulse leap. Before she turned her head away he saw the color that washed through her cheeks.
His stomach clenched.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Right there in the middle of the parking lot, Gavin pulled her to a stop and placed his hand beneath her chin, tilting her face until she looked at him.
He had known from the beginning that this woman had home and hearth and commitment written all over her. He’d known she wasn’t the type of woman he should get involved with.
A baby, for God’s sake. He could see it plainly in her eyes now. She wanted a baby. His baby.
A lump the size of Cleveland lodged in his throat. “What happened, Anna?” he asked gently, genuinely puzzled, fighting back the panic that threatened. “Did your biological clock suddenly decide to start ticking?”
Irritated, with herself as well as with his question, Anna jerked her head free. Despite the heat stinging her cheeks, she managed a slight glare. “Don’t be ridiculous.” She turned and headed toward the car still several rows away.
He caught up with her in two strides. “Don’t do this, Anna. Don’t shut me out.”
Anna heard the plea in his voice as well as his words. She paused and turned toward him. With a hand on his chest, she looked into his blue, blue eyes and prayed she could put her own dreams aside before she ruined what little time they had left. “I would never shut you out.”
He placed his hand over hers and pressed it harder against his heartbeat. “Then talk to me. Tell me what’s going on in that mind of yours. You’re starting to make me feel as though I’ve misled you.”
“How could you have misled me?”
“I don’t know, but the way you suddenly started staring at every baby within sight scares the tar out of me. You knew... Anna, you knew from the start that I wouldn’t be staying.”
The sharp reminder that he was only temporary in her life was like a knife to her heart, all the more painful for being true. He had never misled her, had never given her any reason to think he wanted more from her than these few days. “Yes,” she whispered, “I knew.”
Gavin felt her pain as if it were his own. It tore him up inside. “Anna, I never meant to hurt you.”
“Shh. No.” She pressed her fingers over his lips. “You haven’t hurt me.” She had hurt herself by letting herself fall in love with a man she knew would not stay. “You’ve given me so much joy. More than I ever dreamed was possible. If I want more, that’s my problem, not yours. I will never ask for more from you than you’re willing to give.”
Gavin lowered his forehead to rest against hers. God, what was he supposed to do? “Don’t let me hurt you, Anna. Please don’t let me hurt you.”
Anna slipped her arms around his neck and held him close. She was the one whose entire perception of herself had just been turned upside down by the sudden realization that she wanted this man’s child and the knowledge that it could never be, yet he seemed to be hurting even more that she. How ironic. How incredibly sad. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to ruin our day.”
Gavin pulled back and looked down at her. “It’s not ruined,” he said huskily. “Come on, let’s go home.”
“Yes.” She looked up at him with her heart in her eyes. “Let’s.”
It occurred to Gavin on the way home that he needed to make a stop. Of all the lousy timing. After the conversation they’d just had, how the hell was he supposed to admit he was out of condoms?
Just do it, pal. You know you have to.
He did know it. No matter what she thought she wanted, he could not take the chance of getting her pregnant. He would not be the one to ruin her dream of college, and he would not get married simply because he’d gotten careless with birth control.
A few blocks from her house he pulled into a drugstore parking lot.
She looked at him expectantly.
Gavin took a deep breath, then swallowed. “Unless you want me to sleep in Ben’s bed again, or on the couch, I need to make a purchase.”
Another knife to her heart, Anna thought, and this time it twisted even more cruelly. But she had gone into this with her eyes open, and she wasn’t willing to end it simply because she wanted more than he offered. She would take whatever he would give her, and be glad of it.
“Don’t buy them on my account,” she told him quietly. “But no, I do not want either of us to sleep alone tonight.”
He touched a thumb to the corner of her mouth. “You might not think so, but I am buying them on your account. I have to, Anna. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
She gave him a wobbly smile. “When did you get to be so dam responsible?”
His lips curved slightly. “For a rock-and-roll songwriter, you mean?” Then his smile died. “Don’t let me be the reason you lose your dream of college. Please don’t.”
Heavens, she loved this man. “Go buy your condoms, Gavin. I’ll be waiting for you.”
They spent the rest of the afternoon watching old movies on television. They sat close and held hands, with Anna’s head resting on Gavin’s shoulder, each feeling their time together slip away moment by moment.
It was barely dark that evening when Gavin gently lifted Anna in his arms and carried her to bed. “I want you.”
Anna clung to him and fought the urge to tell him how much she loved him. Such an admission from her would only make him feel worse. She wouldn’t do that to him. She would stick to her promise to take only what he was willing to give. When he tore open the condom wrapper a few minutes later, she knew that it was for the best.
Then he proceeded to make her forget that she had ever wanted anything but his touch. She lost herself in the moment and gave him everything she had, everything she was. And afterward, when they both returned to earth, they started the journey again, together.
“The sun’s coming up,” he murmured.
“I guess,” she said, nibbling on his earlobe, “we didn’t get much sleep.”
That fast, just a nibble on his ear, and he wanted her. Fiercely. But first he had to see into her eyes. He rolled and shifted until she was sprawled atop him and straddling his hips.
“I guess,” she said breathlessly, “we’re not about to.”
Gavin let out his breath. The shadows were gone. She met his gaze squarely and smiled easily, fully. Naturally.
He smiled back and brushed a thumb over her nipple, gratified by her sharp intake of breath. “I was hoping you’d say that.” She was the most generous, giving lover he’d ever known.
Anna kissed him. feasting on his lips. When he ran a hand down her spine and cupped the heat of her, her hands fisted in his hair. She felt his clever fingers stroke and probe, and her mind blanked. There was only him, only his mouth, his touch. She could barely hear the sound of harsh breathing over the thundering of her own heartbeat in her ears. Gasping for breath, she tore her mouth free.
Gavin took instant advantage, pulling her up until the tip of her breast filled his mouth. Her cry of pleasure urged him to suck harder. She was so sweet, so responsive. And she was driving him out of his mind.
With his hands at her waist, he lifted her until she rose above him, poised where he needed her, where he knew she needed him. “Take me, Anna. Take me.”
Slowly, one exquisite inch at a time, she sank onto him, taking him deep inside, all the way, to the hilt. He nearly shouted at the glory of it, of feeling her surround him, seeing her above him, her wide gray eyes hot and smoky. She pulled his hands up her ribs until he cupped her breasts. Keeping her hands over his, she began to move, slowly, surely, wringing one moan after another from him as her eyes slid shut and—
“What the hell is going on here?”
The bubble of intimacy and passion they’d stolen for themselves burst, shattered by the voice of Ben Collins from Anna’s open bedroom door.
Gavin’s gut clenched. Anna’s eyes went blank with shock. Gavin swore viciously and grabbed for the sheet, trying to shield her from her brother’s condemning eyes.
Anna stared at her brother, paralyzed with horror.
“Anna,” Ben cried. “For God’s sake!”
With a sharp cry, she folded in on herself and fell against Gavin’s chest. “Get out,” she gasped, hunching her shoulders in mortification. “Get out!”
Gavin wrapped her in the sheet and held her tight. “You heard her,” he snarled. “Get out.”
“You get out,” Ben shouted. “Get out of my sister’s bed, you son of a bitch.”
“Ben,” Anna cried, her voice muffled against Gavin’s neck. “Just get out. Get out of my bedroom!”
“I’m not leaving you here alone with him.”
Gavin’s temper exploded. “You wanna take me on, you little weasel?” He rolled Anna to his side, jumped from the bed and stepped into his jeans.
“Gavin, no,” Anna cried.
“What gives you the right,” Gavin demanded through gritted teeth, ignoring her and advancing on Ben, “to walk into your sister’s bedroom uninvited, unannounced?” He grabbed Ben by the collar and dragged him from the room.
Shivering in reaction, Anna allowed herself a full five seconds to huddle beneath the sheet. Then humiliation gave way to rage. How dare her brother walk in that way and pass judgment on her and Gavin? How dare he?
And how dare Gavin...
How dare Gavin what? Defend her honor?
Tears stung her eyes. Adding herself to the list of people she was angry with, she dashed the tears away and grabbed her robe, intent on putting a stop to the shouting in the living room before things got out of hand.
When she reached the living room a few seconds later she realized things were already out of hand. Gavin and Ben stood nose to nose, Gavin’s eyes narrowed to furious slits, his fists clenched at his sides.
Ben’s face was beet red. “I won’t have you amusing yourself at my sister’s expense, damn you.”
“Amusing myself?” She’d never heard Gavin’s voice that quiet, that steely. “Is that—”
“Stop it! Both of you, just stop it right now.”
Both men, chests heaving, kept one eye on each other when they turned to her.
“I can’t believe,” Ben said to her, “that someone with as much common sense as you’ve got would fall for whatever line this bastard used.”
“You’re digging a hole, kid,” Gavin said coldly. “And I’m gonna bury you in it.”
“Anna, can’t you see he’s using you? What better way to get to me than to cozy up with my sister?”
“I think you’ve said enough,” she told him.
“Think about it, Anna,” Ben said desperately. “Why else would a rich, famous songwriter come on to a woman like you?”
Anna reeled as though he’d slapped her. The blood drained from her head. Her stomach rolled. “A woman like me?”
“Way to go, jackass,” Gavin snarled. “How many more ways can your pea-size brain come up with to insult her?”
“I’m not insulting her. Anna knows what she is. She’s nice, and she’s good, and she’s nothing like the party girls you hang out with.” To Anna he said, “He’s only here because I owe him money. You pay him off and watch how fast he leaves. It’s not you he wants, it’s his lousy five thousand dollars.”
It hurt. Oh, God, it hurt. The truth of her brother’s words sliced to the bone.
Gavin gripped her arm. “Anna, don’t—”
“It’s all right, Gavin. We both know he’s right.”
“He’s not right, and you know it. Things changed. You know they did.”
“Pay him, Anna,” Ben urged. “Pay him off and get rid of him.”
“She gonna pay me, too?”
Anna whirled toward a new voice from the couch. Stunned, she could only stare. The man rose slowly to over six feet. He had to weigh at least two twenty-five. His head was as bald as a baby’s behind and he wore a wide gold hoop in one ear. When he crossed his beefy arms over his chest, he looked, incredibly, like Mr. Clean. But Mr. Clean had never leered at her that way, making her feel dirty and exposed.
A shudder of revulsion tore through her. “Who are you?”
“I’m Rocko.” He grinned, showing a shiny gold front tooth. “Rocko Mariano from Reno. Your little brother said you’d pay his debt, but he forgot to mention what a looker you are. If you don’t have enough money, maybe we can work out a trade, you and me.”
Gavin snarled and started forward, but Anna blocked him with her arm. Horrified, she kept Gavin at bay and whirled on Ben. “You dare?” she whispered harshly. “You dare bring one of the goons you owe money to into my home?”
“I didn’t have any choice,” Ben said tightly. “If you’ll just lend me a little, I can pay him off and he’ll leave.”
“Anna.” Gavin’s fingers dug into her arm. “Don’t do it.”
“How much?” she snapped to Ben.
For the first time, Ben looked uncomfortable.
“How much did you lose this time?” Anna demanded.
“Not much. Just six. Grand.”
Anna’s heart stopped. “Six...thousand? Dollars?”
Gavin let go of her arm and turned on Ben. “You stupid, self-centered bastard. She’s not buying your way out of this mess. Not this time, you little weasel.”
Ben’s gaze had lowered, but suddenly his eyes bulged as he stared at Anna’s arm. “Good God, a tattoo?” He snarled at Gavin. “What the hell have you done to my sister?”
“Ben—” Anna began.
“Dammit, Anna.” Gavin whirled on her.
“Pay him and get him out of here, Anna,” Ben urged. “Get him out of here before he ruins you completely.”
“You’re not giving up your college again for this ungrateful jerk.”
“Come on, Anna,” Ben wheedled. “You know you’ve always got a little extra tucked away.”
“Six thousand dollars?” she said again. “Plus the five you owe Gavin?” She looked at Ben as though she’d never seen him before.
“Whatever money she’s got is what she’s saved up for her college,” Gavin said with a snarl.
“Get off it, Marshall. Anna’s never been to college.”
“And why do you think that is?” Gavin mocked. “Could it be because every time she saves up enough money, you come dragging in here with some sob story? You’re pathetic, Collins. A mooching little weasel who’d rather live off his sister, no matter what it costs her, than stand on his own two feet and act like a man for a change.”
“So much for friendship,” Ben muttered.
“Friendship?” Gavin glared. “Yeah, I thought we were friends. Until I made the same mistake she makes by believing you when you said you’d pay me back. You paid me back, all right. Took my money, took my car, and took off. So help me, if you’ve put so much as a ding in the door, I’ll rearrange your face.”
“That’s enough,” Anna said quietly. “Gavin’s right about one thing, Ben. I am going to college. I start this fall. That means I don’t have any money to give you.”
“Come on, Anna, I’ll pay you back by fall, I swear it.”
She saw the panic in his eyes, heard the desperation in his voice. Saw the way the thug across the room narrowed his eyes into menacing slits.
“No,” she told him, her insides freezing into a hard knot. “I’m through being used. By anyone.” She met Gavin’s eyes and held them.
Gavin felt a sliver of panic prick him. “Anna—”
“I’m going to go take a shower now.” She felt dazed. Battered and bruised. “When I come out, I want all of you gone.”
Ben protested viciously.
Gavin held her gaze. “I’m not leaving, Anna.”
“Why not?” She smiled at him sadly. “It was fun while it tasted, but you came to get your hands on my brother. Well, here he is. You can take him and go home now. Like I said, I’m through being used. By anyone.”
“Anna, don’t do this. I love you.”
Anna heard him, but the words barely registered. They were too far-fetched to be believed. Gavin didn’t love her. He had made that more than plain yesterday.
Too much of what Ben had said echoed her own fears. She was just dull little Anna Collins. Had it been only two days since she’d reminded herself that a man like Gavin could never be serious about a little mouse like her? How right she had been.
Oh, she didn’t doubt that he cared. A little, at least. But love? No. He was only trying to make her feel better.
“That was sex, Gavin, not love. Really good sex, but it’s over now. You’ve got what you came for. You can go home.” She turned her back and walked away.
Ben snickered. “Guess she told you.”
Gavin didn’t say a word. He just turned to Ben and punched him in the mouth. Seeing the son of a bitch stretched out on the floor did wonders for the black mood engulfing him at Anna’s stinging rejection. Gavin had never told a woman he loved her before. Anna was a first for him. She was in his blood, and she’d just ripped his heart to shreds without batting an eye.
As he grabbed Ben’s collar and pulled him from the floor, he was feeling particularly ugly. “Are you satisfied now, you worthless piece of—”
“Hey, all I did was tell her the truth.”
“The truth?” Gavin demanded, incredulous, furious. “Is that how you see your sister? As some perpetual old maid no man would ever be attracted to?”
Ben gaped, stunned. “I never said anything like that.”
“It was close enough, and that’s what she heard. You just sliced your sister to ribbons. You’re not fit to even speak her name.”
The stranger by the couch took a step toward them. “You wanna save the family spat for later? I want my money, Collins. You said you’d get it here.”
Looking decidedly uneasy, Ben ran stiff fingers through his hair. “You’ll get it, man. I just need to talk to my sister again. As soon as she gets out of the shower—”
“You won’t be here when she gets out of the shower,” Gavin told him coldly.
“Neither will you.” Ben glared. “She told you to get out, too.”
“You can both get out,” the man said, grinning like a crazed jack-o’-lantern. “I’ll make my own deal with Sis.”
Gavin’s blood ran cold. “You brought this creep into her home? Were you out of your mind?”
“Yeah, well.” Panic seeped into Ben’s eyes. “It would have worked out fine if you hadn’t been here, putting ideas in her head.”
“What kind of ideas? That she’s entitled to a life of her own? That she shouldn’t have had to dream and scrimp and save for twelve years for enough money to go to college because you kept bleeding her dry every time she turned around? That her brother is a grown man and she’s not responsible for his stupidity? Or maybe you mean the idea that she’s a beautiful, desirable woman that any man would be proud to call his. What’s the matter, Ben? Can’t stand to realize that somebody or something else other than you might be important to her? Grow up, damn you, and grow up fast, before you completely destroy her.”
Rocko from Reno propped hands the size of whole hams on his linebacker hips. “Ah, hell, man, you’re breaking my heart. Is somebody gonna pay me my six grand plus expenses, or do I need to take it out in trade from Sis in the shower?”
Ben gulped. “Expenses?”
“Hey, I rode in with you. I got no way home, man. You owe me for that.”
Ben’s smile was shaky and full of nerves. “Okay, okay. As soon as she comes out—”
“No way in hell,” Gavin said. He was afraid that Anna would give in and pay the bastard, just to get rid of him. Gavin wasn’t about to let that happen. He wasn’t about to let Ben or the bruiser with the earring stay under her roof one more minute. He jabbed a finger toward the guy’s chest. “Stay.”
He swore all the way to his bedroom. The room he hadn’t slept in for two nights. He was going to have to leave her, leave with everything unsettled, with her not believing he loved her. All because of that overgrown juvenile delinquent of a brother of hers. Gavin knew Ben wouldn’t leave unless he did. And if Gavin didn’t drag him all the way back to California, Ben would just turn around and come back to Anna’s.
He wasn’t having it. He wasn’t going to let Ben hang around and spew any more of his poison at Anna.
He dug six thousand in cash from the money belt in his duffel bag, and while he was there he finished dressing and packed all of his belongings. Seething with fury, frustration and pain, he went back out and paid the goon off. “Count it.”
“Hey,” Ben said, his eyes widening, his throat working on a swallow. “Hey, man, I mean, wow, thanks, Gav.”
“That’s six thousand, all right. Now where’s my traveling home money?”
“Oh, we’ll see you get home, Ben and me. Won’t we, Ben?”
“We will?”
“We will. You’re going to drive him, in my car, to the airport. Just to make sure our good friend Rocko doesn’t change his mind and come back here, we’re going to wait with him at the airport until his plane leaves.”
“Long as you buy my ticket, you don’t need to stay. I’ve got what I came for.”
“We’ll wait until your plane leaves,” Gavin repeated. “The two of you are going to the airport in the car and I’m going to follow on the Harley. When we leave the airport I’m going to follow you.” He got in Ben’s face to make his point. “All the way to my house. And if you even think about trying to lose me anywhere along the way, I’m reporting the car stolen and your ass is going to jail. You got that?”
Ben stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and swallowed. He couldn’t meet Gavin’s eyes. “Yeah. Sure. I got it, Gav. No problem.”