Chapter 9
“So you want to try telling me what you’re up to?” Christian raked a hand through his hair and folded his arms. His reflective sunglasses not only portrayed the beach in duplicate once more, but it also showed Gage a reflection of his own, ticked-off expression.
“What I’m up to? I can tell you what Carly and I have been up to. We’ve been hanging out. Getting to know each other, not that it’s any of your business.”
Christian shook his head, his jaw clenched in what looked like barely controlled anger. “I told you to be careful with her. That she’s been through a lot, and a week or so later you’re making out with her on the beach?”
Gage had heard enough. “First of all, I know jealousy when I see it. If you wanted to stake some sort of claim on her, you should’ve done it in the first place instead of acting like a jerk.”
“I’m not the jerk here. You’re the one willing to risk Carly’s job. Not to mention her privacy. You want the press to catch wind of her and put her under a microscope?”
Gage had already opened his mouth ready to let off with the building rant list in his head: You interrupted our first kiss, you idiot. I’m not even a big name yet. But another nagging question took its place.
“She’s risking her job by kissing me?”
Christian shrugged. “The contract changes every time. One year it’ll say no romance between staff and patrons. The next it’ll say that any romance between the two should be kept private, like no public affection or anything.”
“We can do that,” Gage said. “I haven’t even touched her until today.” But he’d wanted to.
“Yeah, well you barely know her.”
Angry heat burned up Gage’s throat. “Dude, I’m sure by now I know her better than you. What, you get to come crush on her every year? Go to some banquet with her on your arm?” He shook his head. “I’ve spent the entire week with her, and she’s opened up to me about a lot of stuff.”
Christian tugged the glasses off his face and squared a challenging look at him. “Like what?”
Gage looked into his friend’s angry eyes, hoping to deliver a real zinger.
Something that put his relationship with Carly on the map.
“I know all about her ex and how he would never commit, which only means he doesn’t deserve her.
” He puffed his chest and took one step toward Christian.
“Obviously, she’s figuring that out for herself.
I’d like to think I had something to do with that. ”
It was Christian’s turn to step forward now, his folded arms bumping Gage in the chest as he did. “I don’t want you to date her.”
A sardonic laugh reflexively shot from his lips. He gave him a hard glare. “Too late.”
They stayed that way, chests puffed, anger fueling each second that passed. Finally Christian took a step back. His shoulders fell a bit, and a grin eased onto his face. “Well, now that she’s free game, I might just ask her out myself.”
There was no use trying to fight the smile that pulled at his lips. Gage already knew the feelings between him and Carly were mutual, and growing stronger with every hour they spent together. “Go right ahead and try.”
Christian slipped the shades back onto his face, lifted his chin, and walked past him with the slightest graze to his shoulder.
“Punk,” Gage muttered under his breath. It would take a while for the adrenaline piping through his veins to simmer. In the meantime, he’d get cleaned up for his date with Carly.
He’d barely made it a couple of steps when Christian hollered at him from across the beach. “Hey, if you know her so well, why are you still buying her the protein bars?”
Gage stopped walking, but he didn’t bother turning back to him.
“She hates peanut butter. Oh, and another tidbit, in case you don’t know about this either—I kissed her first.”
It felt as if a hot poker just stabbed into his back. Gage grit his teeth and forced himself to keep walking at a slow pace. Christian had kissed her? When? And how?
He hated the ridiculous dose of jealousy that thundered through him as he headed back to the beach house.
Just what was he supposed to do with this new tidbit as Christian called it?
Ask Carly about him? That was a no-brainer.
But if the two had kissed before, then there was more to Carly and Christian’s friendship than Gage realized.
As sure as he’d been about his standing with Carly, concern brewed at the thought.
What if she did have feelings for Christian?
What if she’d never really known that he liked her in return?
If Christian made his feelings clear now, was it possible Gage would end up being the one who’d shown up too late to the game?
He stepped onto the balcony as he considered that. Gage never had been one to delay the inevitable. And if that’s what he was doing, deepening his feelings for Carly along the way, he’d just as soon cut things off now.
That very idea forced his pulse to jump.
He wanted to spend the evening with Carly so bad it hurt.
He wanted to curl up with her on the couch, lean over her once more and taste that pretty mouth of hers again.
He wanted to hear more about her likes, dislikes, and everything in between.
He wanted to ask her about the pendant she wore, something he’d planned to do today.
It seemed to be special to her, the way she was always rubbing her thumb over it.
Oh, but that kiss…Fire roared low in his belly as he thought back on the silky heat of her lips, the low sound of pleasure she’d made as he deepened the kiss, and the way she’d fisted the back of his hair.
They had chemistry, there was no doubt about that. But what if Christian truly had a different sort of connection with her? Perhaps it was better that he find out now before he became too invested in their relationship.
A deep ache rammed into his center at the thought. This was the first woman he’d dated in a very long time that wasn’t at all interested in his famous father’s status. And Gage was falling for her all too quickly. Dangerously so.
So it was settled then.
Gage snatched his phone from where he’d left it on the counter and tapped out a text to Christian. If he and Carly were treading on shaky ground, Gage may as well know it now: I’ll give you tonight to tell her how you feel. That’s it. If the feelings aren’t mutual, you need to back off, okay?
Gage stared at the screen while waiting for his reply. Adrenaline spiked through him once more, causing him to shoot to his feet and pace. At last his phone beeped with Christian’s response:
So you’ll cancel your plans with her tonight?
Gage typed back quickly before he could change his mind: Yep. Tonight only. Tomorrow, she’s all mine. If…if that’s what she wants anyway. He hit send, already hating himself for the action. Moments later, his phone beeped once more.
Thanks, man. May the best man win.
Gage stared at those words until they went blurry. Then, after a quick rub to his aching eyes, he pushed past his hurting heart and tapped out a text to Carly.
Not feeling too well. Mind if I take a rain check?
He hit send, but tapped out another one right after, hoping to show that he did, in fact, want to be with her still. Is tomorrow okay?
A knot of nerves twisted in his gut as he waited for her reply. He spun the small phone in his hand and paced across the beach house. Bare feet on the cool wood one moment, bare feet on a plush rug the next.
Would she think he was giving up so easy? On the contrary. He wanted to make sure that whatever was developing between them was real.
He’d explain that to her later. For now, he only hoped that this fairly new connection with Carly was stronger than what she and Christian had.
At last, the small phone in his hand let out a beep. Gage looked down and took in the text with a blink.
Sure, if you think that’s best. Feel better.
Better? That wasn’t likely. Already Gage felt worse than he had in days.