Chapter 3
Gavin made a beeline for the courtyard, narrowly avoiding his father and Flynn, another of his yappy cousins. Once outside, he sank gratefully onto a bench off in the shadows. He closed his eyes and let the brisk evening air cool him off, felt the whisper of the spring wind, and heard laughter and muted music. The leaves on the trees fluttered, and his calm returned in slow measures.
Then he heard a whine.
He blinked his eyes open and heard awhump-whump. Another whine, this one suspiciously canine. “Hello?”
A soft woof, and he spotted what appeared to be a big dog. Maybe a Great Dane or Rhodesian ridgeback? It moaned hopefully.
Gavin rose from his bench and moved across the courtyard to the dog, tied to another bench and tangled in his lead. It turned out to be a giant puppy. The dog had a water bowl and a bone but wanted to lick every spot on Gavin’s face and hands instead.
Gavin chuckled as he untangled the leash, giving the dog space to move. “Easy, boy. Wow. You’re friendly, huh?” He sucked in his breath when the large pup nearly gelded him. But the dog calmed right down when Gavin used a deep-voiced command forsit.He peered at the collar and, when he turned the tag just right, saw a name. “Jekyll, huh? Makes sense, because you are nearly one huge Hyde already.” He sat, stroking the dog, and the big puppy soaked up the attention like a sponge. Anytime Gavin stopped, the dog nudged him with that huge head to continue.
Not sure how long he sat there petting Jekyll, Gavin felt himself easing all the way down, able to once again truly enjoy himself. He wondered how his parents were doing, if Landon had escaped with Ava, if Hope had danced with more of Del’s guests. Had Theo, not yet of legal age, tried to snag himself a beer?
He also wondered what Zoe was up to. A date? Washing her hair? Breathing? He clearly recalled her snarky put-downs. To his surprise, he hadn’t seen her last night at the self-defense session. And that bothered him. He’d tried to talk to her at the gym on Wednesday and Thursday, but both times she’d been too busy running to converse. She was definitely sending outdon’t touchvibes. And though he’d been called persistent, he hadn’t wanted to look like that guy who didn’t understand that no meantno.
Seemed like with Zoe, he was dead in the water with no place to go but down. He sighed.
As he petted the dog, a woman rushed outside straight in his direction. She seemed frantic, upset.
“You okay?” he asked.
She gave a small shriek, and Jekyll tensed.
“Shh, it’s okay, boy,” Gavin said to calm the pup. To her, he apologized, “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. I came out here to clear my head. Too much loud music in there.”
“Oh.” The woman held a hand to her chest. He couldn’t make out much of her face, but she seemed younger than Hope and had a petite frame. “You scared me. But now I can see you. Took my eyes a minute to get used to it being darker out here.” She sighed. “Yeah, that music is loud.” She paused. “What are you doing? Is that a dog?”
“This is Jekyll. We just met.” He watched as she neared, the moonlight highlighting her features before she joined him under the shadow of the trees. Her enthusiasm for Jekyll had him sliding over in the seat to make room for her. “Careful. He likes to lick.”
“Oh, he’s adorable.” The woman chuckled as she sat. “So big, though. I always wanted a dog when I was little.”
“We all do,” he said. “Until we have to clean up after it. I went through my dog phase pretty quickly.”
She nodded, still enthralled with Jekyll. He sat like a gentleman as she stroked him.
“You okay?” Gavin asked.
“Yes. Just avoiding someone inside.” She sighed.
“You want me to talk to them for you?” Gavin could barely take care of himself. But if a woman needed help, he could suck up his issues and deal. “Is this a woman thing, like someone being bitchy? Or is one of the guys inside bugging you?”
“Oh no,” she protested. “Nothing like that, really.” She groaned. “He hasn’t done more than say hello, but I can feel him watching me. Not like a stalker or anything. But like he’s going to ask me out, maybe. Not that he has or anything. I don’t know.” She groaned again, and though Gavin couldn’t see her, he could hear the blush in her voice.
He grinned. “So that’s a no to me beating him to a pulp?”
“I sound stupid. The poor man has done nothing more than look at me and say hello once or twice, but he makes me nervous.”
“Nervous can be good. As long as it’s not psycho-stalker nervous.”
“You’re not helping.”
He chuckled. “Sorry. But it’s funny to hear it from a woman’s perspective. I want to make a certain woman notice me, and I’ve said hello a bunch of times.” And flexed for her, but that was beside the point. “But she won’t give me the time of day.”
“Maybe that’s because you make her nervous. She’s probably hiding, like me.”
“Hmm. Maybe.” Something to think about. “You going to be okay out here?”
