Gavin, however, didn’t answer the question. He turned the force of his gaze to Molly. “Thank you for taking the boys to dinner. They’ve been talking about it all day.”
“Hamburgers will do that.” Molly fiddled with the strap of her purse. “Also, ice cream.”
She pointedly looked at the book he’d dropped with his keys. That was a trick she’d suggested—taking a book along, in case the date was a bore and ended early.
A crash and a thud echoed in the backyard. Gavin glanced around Molly. “I should probably go see—”
“Nonsense.” Evelyn shushed him. “You have a guest. I’ll go see what they got into.”
“Should I be worried?” Molly asked, not really worried. The sound wasn’t of the variety that made her motherhood hairs all raise on end.
Gavin shook his head. “Only if you’d like to go check on them.”
Evelyn hurried toward the sound of the boys laughing.
“Does it mean I get to escape?” Molly asked, leveling her stare at him.
“Only if you’re a coward.” His eyes twinkled in a way she’d never noticed before. “But we both know that isn’t the case.”
“So…good date?” she asked, when what she should have done was get up and leave.
“They all are.” That godforsaken twinkle was still present in his eyes.
And she knew damn well he hadn’t been on much of a date. Not if he took his novel along.
“Stimulating conversation?” she asked.
“I was there, so of course it was.” He smirked.
Her palm itched to whack him with the book.
“But sometimes—” He leaned against the side of the counter. “Words don’t need to be spoken.”
Uh-huh. Like, for example, when one was reading a book.
“Where’d you go?” she asked.
“A little coffee shop in Cherry Creek.”
“Is that so?” She tilted her head to the side, just the teeniest tiniest of bits.
He cleared his throat. “It is.”
“I am just wondering”—she cleared her throat just as he did—“why you have to lie about a date?”
“Am I so easy to read, then?” he asked.
“Mm-hm. I’m not even in the top reader group and I can see it. That’s how youknowyou’re easy to read.”
He leaned in, right into her space, his breath barely brushing her exposed collarbone, but he might as well have run his fingertip along the skin there. She shivered, totally involuntarily.
Dead serious, he said, “Don’t tell my parents.”
“Still hanging out in Club Single?”
He shifted. Stood back a touch. “The dating pool just doesn’t look so appealing.” He gave her a smile that she’d just bet had women dropping at his feet daily. “Don’t want to get all pruney.”
“God forbid.” She lifted her tea. Sipped. “Not much worse than that.”
