Chapter 1 #2
“Thanks.” She touched his hand, as if in some gesture of gratitude. The warmth from her touch, the heat from seeing her tongue on her lips, the power from that gaze … It all combined to form red blaring warning signs: Stay away from this one, or life as you know it will come to a screeching halt.
He jerked his hand away from her fingers and gestured to the door. “After you.”
A flicker of hurt appeared in her blue eyes. Gavin hated that he’d caused that, but he needed to establish some firm boundaries. He needed a sign over his head: Emotionally busted. Only responds to his own son and Mama. Stay far away.
Austin grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the door. “I’m so glad you’re coming, Kari. To think you’ve never been to a hockey game. This will be the best night of your life.”
Kari let him pull her along, and Gavin walked behind them.
When Austin had said, “Best night of your life,” Kari had glanced over her shoulder at him.
The appealing look in those incredible eyes reeled him in so quickly, he wanted to show her exactly what the best night of her life would look like—a romantic dinner for two, a hike up to Angel Falls on a warm summer night, and more kissing than Gavin had ever let himself think about.
Gavin gritted his teeth and glanced away.
They reached the door, and Gavin hurried to swing it wide and hold it for her. Her arm brushed his as she walked past, and an incredible scent reached him, something sweet, musky, and designed to make a man forget his own name. Gavin sucked in air.
She looked up at him from beneath thick eyelashes and murmured, “Thanks.”
“S-sure,” Gavin stuttered out. He squeezed his eyes shut and listened to her and Austin chat as they made their way to his Lexus sport utility.
It was official. He was an idiot. He was in trouble.
And all of his years of thinking he was impervious to the gentler sex were about to be proven fruitless.
Kari drew in a steadying breath as the adorable Austin Strong got her door and she settled into the front passenger seat of a beautiful black off-road vehicle of some sort.
Vehicles were not her specialty. Romance was what she specialized in.
She’d written over a hundred romance novels and thought herself somewhat of an expert in couples finding their happily ever after.
Yet she had never in her life experienced what she wrote about.
Tingly feelings from shaking a man’s hand?
Wanting to melt in a puddle from a broody, incredibly sexy glance of a pair of deep brown eyes?
That didn’t happen to her. She wrote about it.
Maybe her mom was right and she needed to break away from her computer for something besides her daily runs.
Maybe she needed to make an effort to stop living in her imagination.
Kari always teased back that her imagination was a lot more fun than reality.
That might not be true if one Gavin Strong was around.
Gavin slid into the driver’s seat without looking at her.
She caught a hint of his heady cologne and tried to identify what kind it was.
He slid a pair of sunglasses on, and she let out a dreamy sigh at the perfect picture he cut, which drew a sharp gaze from him.
He didn’t say anything, just started the car as Austin climbed in back and started teaching her about the rules of hockey and what position he played.
She was eating up all the information and how cute and friendly the little boy was, trying to keep her focus off of the man seated next to her.
Unfortunately, Gavin Strong was larger than life, in every sense, and could take control of a woman’s every thought.
The car warmed up quickly, but she hadn’t even felt the cold of the Colorado mountains without her coat on, not with Gavin Strong nearby. He heated her clear to the bone. Could she use that in a book, or was it cheesy? Hmm. She had a feeling she would get all kinds of book ideas from this guy.
She focused on what Austin was saying and encouraged him with questions.
She’d been wanting to do a series about hockey players, and she needed to do some research.
This was perfect because Austin’s descriptions were in depth, but she could still understand them and he was definitely engaging to talk to.
Usually, her research was all from her close friend Google. Austin’s readily given info and invitation to watch his hockey game was so much more fun than Googling the info and watching YouTube videos.
So Gavin was his … brother? Somehow that didn’t fit.
They seemed more like father and son to her.
Wouldn’t that be a story? The broody hero hides the truth from his only son.
When the mother reappears after having been kidnapped by South American drug lords for ten years, their undying love for each other rekindles and …
She frowned. No, no, no. She didn’t want the mother reappearing.
This man needed a new love: blond, reclusive, a late bloomer who never got noticed, maybe a romance writer.
Kari had never actually written about a writer.
It was her life and it seemed too boring, but nothing was boring with Gavin Strong around.
“Are you okay?” Gavin asked quietly as Austin explained in depth what boarding was.
“Yes, sorry. I get distracted sometimes.” She turned to look at Austin, and the little man was grinning as he told her how he’d slammed someone into the wall, but the move brought her closer to Gavin and she couldn’t help but take in his incredible scent.
Daring a glance at Gavin, she saw that his eyebrows had a questioning tilt to them.
Oh, she liked that. Questioning tilt. She wanted to pull those glasses off and see his eyes, though the glasses made him look even more the tough, secretive hero.
He had the dark hair and eyes, plus a strong jaw with the perfect length of facial hair.
His lips were firm, but they’d be more than up to the job of making her heroine beg for mercy, or beg for more. Yum. She fanned her face.
“Are you hot?” Gavin asked. “You can control the temperature on your side.” He gestured to the panel.
Kari couldn’t peel her eyes off of him to look at any thermostat. “No, I’m fine. Thank you.” Tilting to the front of the vehicle, she leaned a little closer to Gavin and inhaled deeper. Then she nailed it. “Tom Ford?”
He tilted his head. “Excuse me?”
“Tom Ford cologne. I’ve used that very scent in …
” She ticked through characters and scents in her head.
“Three—no, maybe four of my novels.” She made it sound like an advertisement.
“Tom Ford is a sensual fragrance with base notes of citrus and ginger, highlights of amber and leather. For the strong, appealing, yet untouchable man.”
Gavin was staring at her instead of the road now. If only she could rip those sunglasses off.
“Don’t you need to …?” She pointed at the road.
He refocused but said, “No, not really. It pretty much drives itself.”
“That’s good.” She winked bravely. “You can stare at the crazy romance novelist all you want.”
“So you … write romance?” He said the word romance like it was acid on his tongue.
“You don’t like romance?” she shot at him, disappointment seeping in. She suddenly realized she’d been dreaming that this man was a real-life version of the heroes she wrote about every day, but if he didn’t like romance … Game over.
“I’m sure romance is fine … for some.” His voice was tight and uncomfortable.
Hmm. She was right. Tragic past. Hiding his identity from his own son.
Some woman had shattered his heart, and he hadn’t let himself love since.
He could still be a hero. She knew just the woman to break through that wall and heal him.
If only she had any practical experience to go along with all her book knowledge.
“Was your heart tragically broken? Is that why you’re the emotionally closed brooding hero type? ”
Gavin’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. He stared studiously out the window as they approached the mountain pass that led out of the valley.
His hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles whitened.
Aw, crap, what had she done? She was treating him like she was in an interview.
How did it work when you were actually in the story?
She knew one of her heroines would never say anything so blatant yet dumb.
“I’m sorry. That was all wrong. I need to lure you in first, make you fall for me, and then you’ll tell me your secrets.
” She nodded to herself. Yes, that was how it worked in her books.
She focused on Gavin, waiting for his response.
If she was writing it, he’d lift up those glasses, give her a smoldering look, and tell her how she’d already lured him in. Ooh, yeah, she liked that a lot.
All he did was grip the steering wheel tighter, his jaw clenched.
He looked handsome, irresistible, and not at all ready to be lured in.
Shoot. She tried not to guide her characters to say things the exact way she wanted.
They usually revealed their amazing stories to her through her fingertips as she tapped away at her laptop.
If she relaxed and trusted in the story and the voices in her head, her characters came up with dialogue she’d never be capable of thinking up.
She needed to calm down and let it flow.