“Um…” Myles sputtered. “Where’d she come up with that idea?”
“Owen. He was over earlier and we had some words. He didn’t feel like backing down so I reminded him that Nat threatened to punish my butthole.”
Evette’s giggle turned into an outright belly-laugh and all I could do was stare. The sound barely registered. It was the rapture I saw on her face that had all of my attention.
Christ, she was beautiful.
Chapter 18
Three things happened simultaneously.
There was a loud burst of laughter from the phone.
Gabe winked.
Then he grinned.
It was a playful, boyish grin full of mischief. He was at ease. I was a little stunned and a whole lot mesmerized by the shift in his demeanor. It wasn’t that I’d never heard Gabe laugh, or seen him smile. It was that there was always an underlying stiffness. No, that wasn’t it, maybe detachment. As if he wasn’t fully committed to the idea of being happy.
But something was different and that more than anything had caught my attention.
“I just want it on record, that not only was I not present for any butthole conversations I don’t subscribe to any such themes when it comes to my butthole.” Cooper paused and smiled. “However, I am a huge fan of it the other way around.”
“TMI,” Gabe mumbled.
“Just to point out, you brought it up.”
“On that note, I’m hanging up,” the voice over the phone said. “I’ll hit you up when we land.”
I thought it was Myles but I hadn’t spent a lot of time speaking to him or Kevin before they’d taken off. And when they called in I hadn’t been included in those conversations. But before I could ask for confirmation, the papers strewn on the counter caught my attention.
“SITREP and police report,” Gabe told me.
“May I take a look?”
The boyish left Gabe’s grin leaving only the mischief when he said, “If I told you work could wait until the morning would you heed my suggestion and come to bed?”
I felt heat hit my cheeks and my gaze cut to Cooper to find him highly amused and shaking his head.
“Don’t look at me, babe,” Cooper started. “I’m over here minding my own business.”
“It was worth a shot.” I heard Gabe mumble before he moved to the fridge and opened it. “Hungry?” he asked over his shoulder.
“You can’t help yourself, can you?” I smiled.
I instantly regretted my offhanded remark and I only exhaled the breath I was holding when Gabe chuckled.
“About as much as you can control your nosiness.”
“I prefer to call it an inquisitive nature,” I huffed.
“You can call it whatever you want, but right now your nature is delaying me getting something I want so I’ll call it nosiness.”
He was teasing me.
And for some silly reason, my heart started to pound.
It was playful, carefree, normal, and it almost made me forget there was a do not enter sign up ahead. I couldn’t let myself get anymore caught up in Gabe. This was all a game meant for fun, not for keeps.
My thoughts turned sour and now my heart was pounding for a different reason. Pain so acute it pulsed through me.
Why did Kalee, Piper, and Anaya get to find their happy and I was stuck in the rut that was my lonely life? Why couldn’t I have what they had?
Actually, the better question was, why was I cursed? Standing in front of me was a man who excited and interested me in every way yet he hadn’t minced words. Fun and sex, that was all he wanted. So I’d take what I could get and when I got home to California I would contemplate how cruel the universe was.
“Well, me and my nosiness can take the police report back to my room, lock the door, and see you in the morning if you’d prefer.”
“Honey.”
“Is that an answer?”
“Quit fuckin’ around and read the report.”
“Someone’s testy,” I groused even though I was secretly pleased he was impatient.
Gabe’s stare sliced to Cooper then back to me. The dazzling smile didn’t bode well for me.
“You’re lucky Coop’s here or I’d demonstrate just how testy I can get.”
“Just forget I’m here,” Coop invited.
“Pervert,” I uttered under my breath and picked up the police report.
“Oh, darlin’, you have no idea.”
“You mind not flirting with my woman?”
My eyes stopped moving across the page and the words blurred.
My woman.
Twice he’s called me that.
Cooper chuckled.
Gabe growled.
Cooper said something but I didn’t hear what it was because my mind was reeling.