“Yes, okay. Jesus, ease up.”
She smiled. “Awesome. Follow me home, and I’ll get you the keys and show you around. And remember, you owe me.”
He felt a little as if he’d sold his soul to the devil, but worst case, he could finagle his way around his baby sister. He hoped. “Gardening on a date? You think that will work?”
“What do you have to lose? Think of it this way. She’ll never see it coming, and then she’ll think you actually have a brain in that head. One that’s thinking about more than getting into her pants.”
“Would you stop talking like that?” He scowled.
“What? Is it the innuendo?” She batted her eyelashes. “Hearing me talk abouts-e-x?”
He darted out of the kitchen.
“Gavin?” his father asked. “You okay?”
“Hope’s picking on me,” he whined, grinning when his mother reprimanded her only daughter while his father sat back and shook his head.
“Narc.” Landon looked disappointed, as did Theo, but Ava laughed.
“Have I told you how much I love this family?” she asked Landon. “It’s all the dysfunction I need to study in one place.”
Van lifted a brow, and Theo groaned.
Linda continued to snipe at Hope, who of course sniped back.
Landon didn’t look too pleased. “Hey, I thought you used your cousins for that. What’s the rule? No shrinking me.”
“I’d never do that,” Ava protested a little too emphatically. Gavin bet she’d found a gold mine in his brother. Mr. Self-Assured had to have issues out the ass. “I do like to study my cousins. But when we do dinner with your family, I learn so much more about family dynamics.”
“Glad to be of service,” Landon muttered.
Ava beamed. “So tell me, Linda, how do you really feel about Landon wanting to elope with me to Hawaii?”
“Elope?” Linda’s eyes bugged. “What?”
Van sighed.
The earful that followed would put Ava on top of her game for months to come.
Gavin shook his head and followed Hope out the door, the only safe option he could see.
* * *
Thursday evening, Zoe gaped at the address Gavin had sent her to. She’d been lucky enough to dodge her mother’s phone calls, had missed Cleo stopping by earlier this evening, and had ignored Piper’s texts. Otherwise, she would have shared news of a date she wanted to keep to herself.
Now she had to get through said date without jumping the poor man. Every time she thought about how long she’d sat on him in the gym—knowing exactly what he felt like in those thin shorts, every inch of him excited to be with her—her world turned upside down. Not a prude by any means, she’d still never ground over an aroused man in a public place when she barely knew more than his name.
Well, she’d wanted to do a one-eighty from her normal routine. Cleo and Piper would be pleased. Or at least, they might be if Zoe decided to confide details about this date. Then again, depending on how tonight went, she might never speak to Gavin again. She sure the hell wouldn’t be sleeping with him on their first night out together.
So sad she had to keep reminding herself of that. No one-night stands.
Ever?
Ignoring temptation, she shut her fantasies down tight.No, never.
After parking in the stone driveway of a huge old Victorian house on a nice piece of property in Magnolia—a pricey area of Seattle that boasted quiet streets, lots of greenery, and amazing views of Puget Sound—she cautiously left the car. She stared at the house with suspicion, wondering just what Gavin had in store.
He opened the door to greet her. Wearing a pair of well-worn jeans and a faded blue sweatshirt, he looked at home and way too handsome for her peace of mind.
