Chapter 12 #2
Plus, something about how Davis looked this morning made her think he’d made an effort. His shirt was ironed and layered over a T-shirt with the name of a band no one had ever heard of. Duke Ellington? She planned to Google it later.
“Then what gives that we’re just sitting here? You have a math test today or something?” That always slowed her step on the way into school. She was good in math. But it still made her brain hurt.
“Just making sure I’ve got my game face on. I’m going to hear it all day from the guys and I want to make sure I play my part.”
“That’s called having second thoughts.” She couldn’t deny feeling deflated after last night’s texts. She’d thought he would be more into this, but he seemed nervous. And quieter than he had two nights ago on their date. “You don’t have to do this.”
She reached for the door handle but he covered her other hand with his. Gently.
“Mia. Wait.” He slid his hand under hers, letting hers rest on top. “It was my idea. I want to do this. I just don’t want to screw it up. When you came out of your house this morning, I took one look at you and realized it might be a tough sell to make people believe you’re dating me. And only me.”
It took her a minute to process the words for all the good stuff they contained. A compliment to her for sure, which felt nice. But also…something like vulnerability. Which rarely passed from the lips of teens and never guys, in her experience.
The honesty of it made her brave enough to pony up a confession of her own.
“That’s funny, because I was worried all last night that you were playing me and this was going to be like that movie where the girl from the wrong side of the tracks is tricked into thinking she’s going to be homecoming queen before the kids throw pigs’ blood on her.”
His eyes widened.
“You have a scary imagination, Mia Benson.” His hand, still under hers and kind of cradling it, squeezed lightly. “And I hope I can prove to you that I’m not a bad guy.”
A thrill went through her. There was no other word for the zingy feeling that fluttered around her insides.
The number of students streaming toward the school increased as the time for the first bell drew closer.
Headlights darted through the truck cab now and again even though the sun had risen a little while ago.
The shouts and honks of kids greeting each other was more muted in the morning.
The parking lot was far noisier in the afternoons.
And right now it was so nice to think about Davis Reed and whatever was happening between them instead of all the scary crap of the night before. When Pete died, she would lose her safe place to live. Her ability to attend Crestwood.
Damn it. She was not thinking about that right now.
“I have an idea.” She took a deep breath, hoping her suggestion wasn’t crazy. But what did she have to lose after the way the first date went? “Something that might make us feel better about pulling this off.”
She bit her lip. Told herself she could do this and it was going to be fine.
“I’m listening.” He checked his digital watch, the clock face lighting up. “But it’s almost time so we should make it quick.”
“We’ll feel more like we’re dating if we—you know—” She pointed to his mouth and hers. “Kiss.”
Real smooth, Mia, a helpful sarcastic voice in her head trilled.
She should have just kissed him, of course. But she could count on one hand the number of times she’d ever had a nice kiss. Because, duh. There were none. She wasn’t about to share her crappy kissing experiences with him. If he knew how to give nice kisses, she wanted him to take the lead.
Too bad Davis looked like she’d just asked him to rob a candy store. Like he really wanted to, but it was against his ethics or something. Seriously.
“Mia.” He turned toward her, his long leg brushing hers on the bench seat, but otherwise, he didn’t come closer. “When I kiss you next time—if there is a next time—I want it to be real. Not part of a game we’re playing.”
She would not have thought that she’d be the kind of girl whose heart did backflips. But…yup. He turned her all kinds of inside out with that statement.
When she said nothing—her throat had dried up—he smiled crookedly at her. Could he see how much his words affected her? She couldn’t tell. She could only watch, speechless, as Davis brushed his first two fingers over his lips and then grazed those same fingers along her cheek.
She got legit goose bumps.
“Besides,” he continued as the first bell blasted over the PA system in the parking lot. “I definitely wouldn’t want to rush it.”
“I can’t believe this place is even more jam-packed than yesterday.” Clayton swung Gabriella’s rental car into a spot on the street several blocks from the courthouse. “And we’re here early.”
“It would have been easier to park the motorcycle, I bet,” she observed as she tied the belt on her coat together while he straightened out the vehicle. “If the weather was better, I would have enjoyed that, too.”
So would he. And not just because taking the bike would have given him the chance to feel Gabby wrapped all around him for the duration of the ride.
He truly appreciated the way the bike gave him more to do than a car, keeping his twitchiness at bay by engaging him on a lot of levels.
His father was stable, according to the nurse Clay had spoken with this morning.
But he was still out of it. Still in no position to have that conversation Clay had hoped they would have the day before.
He’d try again tonight after the trial.
After spending the night with Gabriella—and what an incredible night it had been—he was definitely feeling that edgy restlessness this morning.
He’d never tried for a meaningful relationship, knowing he would only mess it up.
He’d always preferred simple affairs with the kind of women who liked short-term as much as he did.
Nothing about his powerful connection to Gabriella was simple.
Or short-term. And that scared the hell out of him.
Every time in his life that he’d thought he made a real connection with someone, something bad happened.
His father. His brother. Even Gabriella herself.
He’d lost her once already—ten years ago.
The reminder got him thinking about the life he’d built for himself back in Memphis. Boring, maybe. But solid. Safe. He had a good reputation with his clients and all the work he could handle.
“The weather is supposed to start clearing tonight. We should have a few dry days soon.” At which time, he’d be taking the bike out to see if he could outrun a few demons long enough to help Gabriella get through this trial.
“Good.” She unfastened her seat belt but then reached for his hand instead of the door handle. “Clay? Are you okay?”
“Sure.” He nodded, thinking about touching her the night before and how much he wanted to touch her again. Hold her. He was starting to care for her all over again, and the connection was deeper this time. Stronger. “I’m good. Hoping today is easier on you than yesterday.”
That last part was true enough. He hated seeing Gabriella as tense and upset as she had clearly been yesterday afternoon.
“They’re introducing the digital evidence today.” Her wide blue eyes tracked his and he wondered what she saw. “I’m going to be holding my breath waiting to see if that last conversation is in there—the one I thought I was having with you.”
He knew there’d been more than one, but apparently the online chat messages that had been most upsetting for her were the ones that happened the night she’d been attacked.
“It’s doubtful Covington had the same computer for ten years,” he reminded her.
“But apparently the desktop is old. The women at the Salon Night were comparing notes about the evidence and I heard Kate Covington say she left the desktop in the family den, even though they’ve worked on their laptops in the last six years.”
Clayton still doubted that messages that old could be retrieved, but he wanted to be prepared for the emotional fallout for Gabriella’s sake. Reading over those notes would be tough for her.
“Either way, I’ll be there with you,” he assured her. “And you will have your chance to see him when he hears that guilty verdict.”
“I will look forward to that.” She glanced out the windshield where a young shopkeeper was unlocking the front door of an adventure outfitters store.
“But even that won’t magically heal the past for me.
Staying in the in-law suite last night made me think a bigger obstacle will be stepping back in the bedroom where I decided my life wasn’t worth living. ”
His grip tightened on her hand and a fierce certainty fired through him. “You’re stronger than you think, Gabriella Chance.”
Her half smile ghosted across her face for a moment before fading.
“Mia said something like that to me this morning. She said we gain strength from what we’ve had to overcome.
” Her voice was the barest of whispers as she tore her gaze away from the shopkeeper setting bicycles outside on the sidewalk and turned to look at Clay.
“But being in Heartache has brought back old nightmares—”
“What about last night?” He’d thought she’d slept soundly beside him.
Despite his worries about their relationship, Clayton had slept better than he had in a long time with his arms wrapped around her.
“Well. Not last night.” Some of the tension seemed to slide out of her shoulders.
“Good. And being back in Heartache brought us together. I’m not about to regret that.” He needed to remind himself as well as her. As much as he wanted to get back to his life in Memphis, this trip had been good for him. And it made him wonder if Gabriella would be open to…more.
Because in spite of his concerns that he was only going to screw up a relationship with a woman as amazing as Gabriella, Clay had to acknowledge that being with her made him a better man.
He’d seen his father. Stood by the old man’s bedside after he’d been taken to the hospital.
Clay had every intention of doing the best thing for Mia, even if Gabby couldn’t recognize that yet.
He would make sure his sister went someplace where she would be safe and happy.
Gabriella smiled the slow, teasing grin that he remembered from last night. The same one he’d recalled from their past, before her life had taken a turn for the much worse.
“You’re right. I don’t regret that, either.” She lifted soft fingers to his face and drew him closer, brushing the softest kiss along his lips before she nipped the lower one gently. “Not for a minute. I’m going to remember that while I’m in that courtroom today.”
Clay breathed in her words, his blood pumping harder from just that slight contact. He wanted to keep her right here, safe with him, and ignore the trial and the whole rest of the world. He’d never felt that fierce protectiveness for any other woman.
And even as that surge of desire heated his blood, he knew he was in over his head with Gabriella Chance.