Last Call (17 page)

He. Wasn’t. Interested. Not today. Not next
week. Never.

He thought about the note in his pocket and
laughed. Maybe he should write a note, stick it under their noses,
and make them recite it out loud. With feeling.

“What are you laughing about?”

He lifted his head and found Sunny at the
bottom of the stairs, watching him. “I’m thinking about writing a
note to get my point across. Like someone did to me.”

She grinned as she walked up the stairs, then
sat on the step below him. “Was that your boss?”

“Yeah.”

She tilted her head to the side and studied
him. “He’s not happy.”

“He’s never happy.” Gavin picked at a piece
of peeling paint on the steps. “It actually went better than I
expected.”

Hope lit her eyes. “He accepted my refusal
without a fuss?”

“Hell, no.” The laugh that burst from his
chest was harsh and held no trace of humor. “He’s mostly pissed off
about me standing up the little princess tomorrow night. The whole
sale thing will hit him later tonight or tomorrow morning. Then
he’ll call back.”

For the second time since ending his
conversation with Max, something tugged at the back of Gavin’s
mind. He couldn’t put his finger on what, or where, in the
conversation he felt something was off, but something surprised
him.

Sunny’s eyes crinkled as she grinned. “The
little princess? Would that be the brunette?”

“The one and only.”

Sunny relaxed back against the railing. “Do
you mind explaining that situation to me?”

“It’s pretty simple. Callie’s had a crush on
me since I went to work for Holden. I was twenty-two; she was
fourteen. I imagine it was her first crush, and it’s one she’s
insisted on retaining.”

“So you guys never dated?”

Gavin felt his lip curl and his face scrunch
up like he was about to hurl. It wasn’t that Callie revolted him,
but the idea of dating someone who felt like a sister made him…
well, want to hurl.

Sunny laughed and slapped him on the knee.
“Okay. I get it. That’s a definite no.” She picked at a string
hanging from the bottom of her cut-off shorts. “So what about this
property? What happens when he gets mad?”

“A shit storm to rival Hurricane Hugo.” Gavin
pushed his fingers through his hair. “I’ll meet with him on Monday
to find out what he’s thinking and planning. Then I’ll figure out
what we need to do to keep the storm from reaching the shore.” He
smiled. “I did tell him I was going to use some of my accumulated
vacation. That should buy us a little time.”

“You keep saying ‘we’ and ‘us.’”

“Do I?”

“Yes.” Her eyes searched his face. “What does
that mean?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“What do you know?”

Gavin looked at Sunny and grinned. He was
pretty good at avoiding questions, but she was way better at the
question-answer game than him. It probably came from years of
experience raising a teenage boy. She knew how to keep hammering
away until she got answers.

“I know I’m walking around in unfamiliar
territory. I know why this property means so much to you and Robby.
Personally, I like Anticue the way it is. I have a lot of fond
memories of this island, and I’d hate to see it changed by the
addition of a resort.”

She watched him for a minute, probably
gauging his sincerity, then stood. Rather than walking away as he
expected, she stepped in front of him, straddled his legs, and sat
on his lap.

Oh yeah, this was good. Real good. And pretty
damned dangerous. He was already in deeper than was wise, and this
crotch-to-crotch action wasn’t helping.

“Will you help us keep our property safe?”
She wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck,
and scooted as close as she could get.

His body responded to her close proximity, a
fact she couldn’t miss, given the tight fit of their bodies. He
considered telling her he would walk barefoot through hell if
that’s what she wanted. But common sense prevailed, and he said,
“I’ll do everything I can to make this work out okay for you.”

Her eyes softened, then melted. She rested
her forehead against his, and in a heartbreakingly gentle tone,
said, “I’m trusting you.”

He swallowed the lump clogging his throat and
tried to find the right words. Problem was, he didn’t have a
fucking clue what those words were.

The freckles dotting her nose grew a shade
darker after their time in the sun, and her cheeks carried a pink
tint. His voice abandoned him, like his words. So rather than say
anything, he brushed the hair out of her face and kissed the tip of
her nose.

Switching to an easier subject, he asked, “Do
you mind if I stay here tonight?”

She looked at him through her lashes and
chewed her bottom lip. Her eyes liquefied, and he wondered if she
was imagining all the things they could do if they had an entire
night together. Then her forehead wrinkled, and her demeanor
shifted, and he figured this was where she started to worry about
Robby and his thoughts on Gavin staying all night.

Hoping to persuade her in his favor, he said,
“I want to go to New Bern tomorrow to see my grandfather. Since I’m
this close, if I stayed here, I could get up first thing in the
morning and be there in time for breakfast.”

It was a lame excuse, especially since he’d
driven an hour to take Callie home, only to then turn around and
drive another hour back to Anticue. But he’d use any excuse to
spend time with Sunny. “If you’re worried about Robby, I’ll sleep
on the couch. And if you’re really uncomfortable with me being
here, I’ll go home.”

Sunny smiled mischievously. “I’m almost
thirty years old. I can do whatever I want, whenever I want…”—she
lowered her mouth to his—“…with whomever I want.” With a sheepish
expression, she added, “Maybe Robby can stay with a friend.”

“We could camp on the beach.” He lowered his
voice and nuzzled her neck. “Do you like making love on the
beach?”

She shivered. “I don’t know.”

The beast growled. He really, really,
really
fucking liked being the first person Sunny
experienced these things with. “I guess we’ll find out
tonight.”

Her breathing accelerated. “Talk about
something to look forward to. This will be the longest work night
of my life.”

Callie wasn’t normally a mean drunk. Usually,
she was the mushy-gushy one, hugging her friends, telling them how
much she loved them. Tonight, however, the more she drank, the
meaner… well, the
madder
she got.

Mad at Gavin. Mad at the sleazy bartender.
Mad at the whole damned world.

Wasn’t there a famous movie scene where a
character stood on the rooftops and yelled at the world about being
mad as hell before taking charge of their life?

She glanced to the peak of her parents’
rooftop… about a million miles up in the air. Maybe she should
quietly take charge. No yelling, just a simple proclamation. “I’m
going to Anticue.”

Jen dropped her chin and gave her a
don’t-be-stupid stare.

Tiffany, always a step behind, said, “Why
would you want to do that?”

“Because Gavin is there. I think.”

“Oh, hon,” Tiffany said, grabbing the next
pitcher from the cooler. She topped off Callie’s glass. “You don’t
want to go there.”

“Yes, I do.” A new wave of mad washed over
her. “I do want to
go there.
I want to confront him while
he’s with that bartender.”

“Callie, he’s not doing anything wrong.” Jen
sounded perturbed, like Callie was dense and Jen was tired of
repeatedly having this conversation. “He’s not made any commitments
to you. He’s never even acted interested in you. In fact, I’d say
he’s gone out of his way to let you know he’s
not
interested.”

Pain slashed through Callie’s anger, then
mixed with it to create a volatile combination. “You are such a
bitch.”

Jen took a sip from her drink and shrugged.
“Maybe. But you need to face the truth. It’s painful to watch you
follow after Gavin like a puppy dog. You need to forget about him.
Find someone who's interested in you. Like Jason.”

Callie sniffed. “I don’t want Jason.”

Do I?

She thought for a beat. No, definitely
not.

Probably not.

No, she wanted Gavin. She’d always wanted
Gavin.

Jen flicked her gaze from Callie to Tiffany.
“I think you’re overlooking something important. None of us are
capable of driving anywhere.”

True. Callie deflated like she’d been popped
with a pin.

Who did she know that could drive them? She
checked the time on her cellphone.
Nine-thirty.

Her heart thumped heavily as an idea
struck.

A crazy… outrageous… terribly wrong idea.

But drunkenness was on her side, so she
grabbed her phone, pulled up the number for the country club, and
hit call. “Hi. This is Callie Holden. Is Jason still working?”

Tiffany gasped and, in a harsh whisper,
asked, “What are you doing?”

“Finding a ride.”

Jen shook her head. “Callie, the way to get a
guy is not by having him help you spy on another guy.”

Eyes wide and panicky, Tiffany nodded and
quickly said, “Tell Jason we’re going to spy on
my
boyfriend.”

“Very good, Tiff. I’m impressed.” Jen sipped
her margarita. “That might actually work.”

“I’m not trying to—”

A click on the line indicated Jason picked up
the call. “This is Jason.”

Callie smiled broadly, hoping it would come
through on his end of the line. “Hi, Jason, this is Callie Holden.
How are you?”

“I’m great. And you?” Although he sounded
surprised to hear her voice, he also sounded pleased.

Taking that as a positive sign, she forged
ahead with her plan. “I’m good. But… Well… We have a little dilemma
and need some help.”

“Okay.” His reply was filled with hesitation,
but she refused to let her courage be squashed.

“Jen, Tiffany, and I need to go to Anticue.
You know, the little island near the North/South Carolina border?
The problem is, we’ve had a few margaritas, and… well…” She hoped
he’d fill in the blanks and offer to drive them without her
actually asking.

After a long pause, he asked, “Why do you
need to go to Anticue?”

She wasn’t interested in Jason. Really. But
for some reason, she found herself saying, “Tiffany thinks her
boyfriend is cheating on her. We want to see if we can catch him in
the act.”

She kept her eyes locked on the ground,
unable to meet Tiffany and Jen’s stares. He didn’t answer, as if
thinking it over, and a terrible thought hit Callie square in the
chest. “Do you have plans?”
Oh, crap.
“Do you have a
girlfriend?”

She closed her eyes and absorbed the sound of
his laughter echoing through the phone. “No, on the second, and the
plans I have can be changed. But I don’t get off work for another
hour. By the time I get changed and pick you up, it’ll be at least
eleven. Will that be too late?”

Waiting might give Callie time to change her
mind. But that's okay. If she decided going to Anticue was a bad
idea, Jason could hang out with them here. “No, that’ll be great,”
she said. “We’re at my house. Do you know where I live?”

“I sure do. My parents live in the same
neighborhood.”

“No way! Why haven’t we met before?”

“They moved into that house after I left
home.”

“Oh, so you don’t live with them now?” Did
she sound disappointed to find he wasn’t her neighbor?

“I left when I turned eighteen. I love them,
but I needed to be on my own.”

“Hmmm…” Callie looked at the pool, at the
guesthouse where she lived, at her parents’ house. She spent six
months out of each year traveling, so she never considered getting
her own place. But, at twenty-four, maybe she should.

Feeling a lot less mad, and way less
ambitious about this taking-charge-of-her-life business, she said,
“Thanks, Jason. I’ll see you when you get here.”

She disconnected the call and took a long
drink from her glass.

“Well?” Tiffany asked.

“He’ll be here at eleven.”

Jen jerked upright from her relaxed slump,
her enthusiasm nearly launching her out of the chair. “We need good
spy clothes.”

Tiffany grinned and bobbed her head. “Those
black leather pants and that black Vera Wang sweater would be
awesome on you, Callie.”

Callie perked up. “With the black
onyx-and-silver bracelet Daddy gave me last year for my
birthday.”

Tiffany and Jen were out of their chairs in
an instant. “What can we wear?”

She loved having two best friends who wore
the exact same size as her. It was like they each had three closets
to choose from, creating a never-ending supply of new clothes.
Especially since they all had the same favorite hobby:
shopping.

Energized by the idea of dressing like
Batgirl and charging off to save the world—or at least her little
piece of the world—Callie grabbed her glass and jumped out of the
chair. “I have two pairs of leather pants and a leather mini.” She
giggled. “I think I should wear the mini and let you guys have the
pants.”

***

A roar of laughter from the end of the bar
brought Sunny’s head out of the beer cooler. Gavin, Ed, and Joe had
been talking and laughing for the past three hours. They were like
old friends who’d known each all their lives but hadn’t been
together in years. Gavin, seeing her glance up, winked, then
returned his attention to his counterparts.

“He’s sure does make friends easy,” Robby
said, drying a shot glass to set on the shelf.

Sunny dried her hands and jotted down the
inventory numbers for each brand of beer. “Yeah, he does.”

Not only had Gavin made friends with Ed and
Joe, he also befriended the kids during several intense games of
pool. He held his own and even won a few, which earned him instant
respect from the normally reserved group.