I give him a half-wave in greeting and go back to my beer while they continue talking. I can’t help noticing an even more beautiful specimen of a man approaching us. He’s totally out of my league even if heisgay, but that won’t stop me from appreciating the eye candy.
“What’s so funny there, brother?” Wait, what? Is this sandy blond haired, blue-eyed guy, Luke’s brother? From how Faith described him, I thought Jackson looked like Luke, with black hair and green eyes.
“I was telling Kaden how hot Luke is; seems it runs in the family.” Connor is ready to pounce before they even get to shake hands. “Connor. Nice to meet you, gorgeous.”
“Gabe. Likewise.” He winks at Connor.
Gabe—Luke’s business partner and friend. That makes more sense and confirms his queer status. Kaden has already given us all the details about him.
“Connor,” Kaden scolds. “Can you stop hitting on everyone for, I don’t know, thirty minutes maybe? Is that possible?”
“Timer starts now, then all bets are off.” My sarcastic asshole of a friend actually sets a timer on his watch.
Gabe starts walking backward from our group toward the bar. I see his lips moving, saying something to Luke, but I don’t hear what he’s saying. I’m too busy staring. It’s like every angle of his face was sculpted by an artist whose intent was to create perfection—and that’s saying a lot because I don’t usually find anything remarkable about most guys we meet. When he turns around, I can’t help but admire the perfectly plump, rounded ass he’s packing—and apparently my dick agrees.
Faith grabs my attention when she hurriedly snatches her phone and practically shoves her face into the screen. “Jackson texted. They’re on their way.”
“What’s up, guys?” Another new face for Connor to flirt with instead of Gabe arrives. “Cousin, you decided to join the land of the living.”
Is it officially ‘All Tall, Dark, and Sexy Men, Report to The Garden’ night?
Faith scoots away from the guy, who I assume is Dakota. “Hi, Faith,” Dakota greets her shyly. She eats men like him alive, poor guy.
Faith gives him one of her signature ‘I can’t be bothered talking to you’ glares, and Dakota looks like a puppy that had his favorite toy taken away.
“Hey guys, I’m Dakota. Nice to meet you.” His grip on my hand is firm, and fitting, I suppose, reminding me he’s a police officer.
I’m about to tell Connor not to hit on Dakota when I notice Gabe coming back with a beer for Luke. I don’t usually have a staring problem—if anything, I avoid eye contact with people—but with Gabe, it’s harder than it should be. When he glances my way for the first time, I cringe at getting caught gawking at him. I take a deep breath when he makes his way over toward me and sits beside me on the couch, leg-to-leg, leaving me wondering if he’s oblivious to personal space or if this is intentional.
“Hi,” he says simply. From the way he greeted Luke, I’d expected him to be more outgoing than that.
“Hey. Uh, Gabe, right?”
“That’s me. Are you a friend of Kaden’s?” His deep yet softly spoken voice is a wave of silky cream, wrapping my body in warmth like my favorite blanket on a rainy day. He aims his striking blue gaze at me, and I could stay silently locked in it forever. It takes me a few seconds to remind myself he asked me a question, and to respond without sounding like an idiot.
“Yeah, I’m Ender. We’ve been friends since middle school. Connor, too.”
A slow nod is all I get from him before he takes a sip of his beer, glancing around at the rest of our group, and joining in the chatter. My first impression of Gabe is really not what I expected compared to when I saw him approach Luke—he went from outgoing and cheerful, to now seemingly…reserved or standoffish. Did Kaden tell Luke something about me or my past, and he told Gabe? Why would he do that and not warn me, so I know how to field any questions they ask me about my family?
Lanie’s high-pitched, surprised squeal when she sees us snaps me out of my head before I spiral any more than I have already.
Jackson greets his brother and cousin, then Lanie makes her rounds, hugging each of us. Both Gabe and I stand at the same time, his forearm pressing against mine at our sides in the process—his long hairs brushing against my skin, sending little sparks of desire throughout my entire body. Neither of us reacts visibly, standing there waiting for our turn to greet her and wish her a happy birthday, though the connection is affecting me in ways it shouldn’t be. He’s essentially a stranger, and yet, any type of skin-to-skin contact helps fill this emptiness that’s left over from years of neglect by the people who should have loved me the most. It’s the strangest thing to be so dependent on something you hardly ever get to experience.
I shake those thoughts away when Lanie flings her arms around me in her viselike grip of a hug. “Hey End, glad you’re here. Save me a game of pool for later when we sneak upstairs.” Lanie is hardly subtle in letting me know her plans to kick my ass later—she’s exceptionally good at pool.
“You got it, short stuff.” I get an elbow to the stomach for that when she turns to introduce herself to Gabe. At five-foot-three, she looks tiny next to him. He is an inch or so taller than mysix-foot, and on the leaner side when it comes to body type. His broad-shouldered, solid body must be a work of art under those clothes.
“Happy Birthday, Lanie. It’s nice to finally meet the woman who has Jackson wrapped around her little finger.” When he laughs with her at his jest, the sound sends a shiver through me. The deep huskiness of it is even manlier than I thought it would be, and I like it more than I think I should. The last thing I need is an attraction to another person who won’t be reciprocating those feelings and then having to be around them on a regular basis.
“I didn’t expect her to be so tiny after meeting Kaden,” Gabe whispers, leaning into me as we sit back down.
“Lanie is short like their mother, Claire, but don’t let their size fool you—they both pack sassiness like no other. Kaden gets his height from their father. They’re two of the funniest and greatest parents I’ve ever met. Kaden and Lanie are very lucky.” I state the latter, meaning it with my whole heart. I’m so fortunate to have had them, and the Ackermans, there for me when I left my parents for good. I wouldn’t have been able to leave if it weren’t for all of them stepping in to support me. Though I felt I didn’t deserve the help, I’m grateful for them.
When I realize there’s silence between us, I turn toward Gabe and find him staring at me inquisitively. Shit. I laugh nervously at myself, taking a swig of my beer before I can say anything else to make him want to ask questions I don’t want to answer.
Luckily, Connor has great timing for once, tapping his watch with his normal sassiness. “Time’s up! How dare your family have genes to pass on like this? Is everyone in your family beyond fuckable? Geez.” Connor gasps dramatically, staring at the trio, then turns his attention to Gabe. “Are you sure you’re not in the family? Because those genes spread to you, too.”
“For Christ’s sake, Connor will you control your hormones tonight, please?” I take advantage of the distraction and focus on reining in my best friend’s flirting back to a safe level before he takes it too far, as usual.
