Chapter 14 #2
Nat starts dancing right there, pulling Katie toward the living room and dancing into a conversation with people I don’t know.
Gavin laughs, backing away when they gesture him forward. I’m tempted to join them, but I’d rather talk to Gavin.
I know, annoying. It’s not like we haven’t done enough of that already.
He leans back against the counter Nat vacated, so I lean against it beside him. “Are you named for the state?” he asks.
“It’s spelled differently.”
“Then, no?”
“No. Besides, no one from my area of California calls it Cali.” I pull a face. “That makes us cringe.”
Gavin’s smile widens. His white teeth are bright against the dim room. He runs a hand through his hair before folding his arms over his chest and facing me. “You Americans are so picky.”
“And yet our strong opinions won us freedom. What did yours get you?”
His booming laugh surprises me. “Low blow, Callie.”
My face aches with how wide I’m smiling. I shift so my hip is leaning against the counter and we’re facing each other. “You handed me that one on a silver platter.” The sleeves of his oversized sweater are so long on me, they slip past my hands, so I push them up again.
“That jumper looks good on you.”
My heart thrums. Did someone just add a tree to the fire, because it feels too warm in here. “I like the bells.”
Gavin nods slowly, but he doesn’t take his eyes from my face.
He’s not saying anything, but I feel like he’s communicating something to me.
I just don’t know what it is. Last time I thought I understood his silent signals, I tried to maul him and was promptly pushed away, so clearly I can’t read this man as well as I think I can.
But the energy buzzing between us is palpable. Can one person feel that sort of thing? Is it possible for chemistry to go one direction?
Is it possible he’s changed his mind about wanting to kiss me? It feels like Gavin is leaning toward me, but I’ve been wrong before.
“So, ex-girlfriend?” I ask, before I can chicken out.
To Gavin’s credit, he doesn’t clam up. “Aye.”
“I thought so. Katie went into mom-mode.”
“It’s been years,” he says a little quieter. “Blair doesn’t come home often, so I don’t have to encounter her much.”
“Is this hard for you? Because we can leave. I wanted to talk to Nessa, but I don’t have to.”
Gavin rakes his gaze over my face, taking in every detail.
I don’t know if he’s gauging my sincerity or something else, but he’s definitely making his mind up about something.
I don’t get the opportunity to know what decision he comes to, though, because we’re interrupted by Poison Ivy herself.
The woman’s even in a green dress, so it’s extra fitting.
She pushes her voluminous red hair over her shoulder. “Hey, Gav.”
His voice is even, but it feels like he leans slightly toward me. “Blair. Have you met Callie?”
“No.”
She hasn’t even looked at me. I’m feeling dismissed, but I won’t leave until I get a signal from Gavin. Ugh. I’m terrible at reading his signals, remember? I don’t know what to do.
Abandoning him isn’t an option. He’ll have to abandon me.
“Is Liv with you?” he asks.
“She’s spending Christmas with her dad.”
Gavin’s face falls, and my heart falls for him. There was a child involved? Every new layer here makes me want to comfort him more. Not his child, clearly, but judging by his face, he cares for her.
He runs his fingers over his beard. “Her dad? Wow. When did she reconnect with him?”
“Can we go somewhere else?” Blair asks, her eyes finally flicking at me before landing squarely on Gavin again.
He swallows hard, his throat bobbing. I want to slink away silently. This is clearly a struggle for him, and I’m standing between them like a big old American bubble of awkward.
“Sorry, eh. No.”
She leans back like his words are a physical blow.
“Can’t,” Gavin continues, pulling me flush against his side. “I’m with Callie.”
Now I get the full force of her attention. It falls on me like a blowtorch, scorching through narrowed eyes. “With Callie,” she repeats, as though asking for clarification.
I’m frozen. I don’t know what he means either.
With me, like, he arrived with me tonight?
Or with me, like, in a relationship? Obviously that would be a ploy only previously seen in the likes of fiction, but the way his large hand snakes around my waist and pulls me up against him, I’m leaning into the second.
Blair’s nose wrinkles in distaste. She leaves without saying anything else, but Gavin doesn’t lower his hand.
His heart races, and I can feel it pounding against where my shoulder blade is pressed to his chest. His breath is warm against my ear. I’d worry he’s on the verge of a panic attack, but I think he’s coming down from whatever that was.
When she’s disappeared into the crowd, I start to turn, but Gavin’s hand tightens the slightest bit. “Callie, I am so sorry.”
“It’s fine.” I tip my head back enough to see his face. “I don’t mind being your Blair-repellent.”
He holds my gaze for a few heavy beats. “How much do you mean that?”