The Bromance Book Club - Lyssa Kay Adams Page 0,20
not do that?”
“Do what?”
“Whatever you were about to do. I can’t do that with you right now.”
“All I did was say your name.”
“It was how you said my name.”
“How did I say it?”
“Like it meant something,” she spit out under her breath.
He leaned slowly, purposefully, a shockingly mischievous glean in his eyes. Her heart did not start to thud, and her skin absolutely did not prickle with goose bumps at the seductive caress of his voice. “And what would it mean if I told you I woke up calling your name this morning?” he murmured.
What the . . . ?
He winked, let go of her hand, and walked to their seats.
Thea stood in the aisle and squeaked out a belated protest. Then her feet came back to life. “What was that?” she hissed as she sat down.
He hooked an ankle over his knee in a casually male pose. “What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean! Did you just wink at me?”
“I believe so, yes.”
“You don’t wink.”
“That’s not true.”
“It absolutely is true. A woman remembers every time a man winks at her, because we love winking. It’s like catnip. Wink at us, and we roll over and start purring. You haven’t winked at me in a long time.”
“Then I’m an idiot.” Gavin slowly lowered his gaze to lips. “Because I wouldn’t mind hearing you purr.”
Thea squeaked. “Excuse me?”
“You look beautiful, by the way,” Gavin said, nonchalantly pulling his eyes back to the stage. “You should w-warn a guy before w-w-walking out in that dress.”
The lights dimmed, and blessed darkness hid the way her cheeks absolutely, positively did not flush with heat.
* * *
• • •
Gavin spared a glance at Thea in the dark theater. Her spine was ramrod straight, her legs crossed tightly. If she clenched her own hands any harder, she’d snap a finger.
He was going to personally disembowel Del and Mack if this didn’t work. Not just the flirting, either. He couldn’t believe what they wanted him to do tonight. He couldn’t believe he’d agreed to give it a try.
The curtain rose over the stage as a recorded orchestra began to play over the speakers. A line of kids danced onto the stage in a mishmash of animal faces and uneven steps. He puffed out a laugh as he recognized their daughters. Even onstage, their personalities were clear. Amelia was flashy, vibrant, dancing to her own beat. Ava was serious, determined to get the prescribed steps correct. Next to him, Thea’s hands lost their rigid grip of each other, and her spine relaxed against the back of her theater chair. Whatever anger she held for him was at least temporarily pushed aside at the sight of their girls.
A sensation of falling made his vision swim as he watched her—the way her face reacted to every adorable thing Ava and Amelia did, the gentle curve of her jaw, the dimpled cheek that deepened as she laughed, the tiny crescent-shaped scar below her left ear.
Thea’s eyes darted at him in the dark now, and the wariness in her expression brought a chill to his skin.
The show lasted an hour. As soon as the curtain dropped, she whipped her gaze to his. “Stop.”
He decided to play dumb, but oh shit sweat prickled his armpits. “Stop what?”
“Whatever the hell you’re doing,” Thea whispered, her eyes darting around them to make sure no one was listening. “You stared at me the whole time. And that whole purring comment? What are you doing?”
He tried the half-smile thing Mack used. “Just flirting with my wife.”
“Flirting?!” Her hand covered his forehead. “Do you have a fever?”
Heart pounding, Gavin peeled her hand away, turned it over, and pressed his lips to her palm. “As a matter of fact,” he murmured in what he hoped was a seductive tone, “I do.”
Thea yanked her hand away and leaned back, staring at him as if he’d just sprouted horns. “You got in a car accident, didn’t you? Or fell down the stairs or got hit in the head with a line drive.”
Gavin swallowed. “Huh?”
“A head wound. It’s the only explanation. You need to see a doctor.”
“Maybe we could play doctor?” The uncertain whine of his voice belied any attempt at confident seduction.
Thea’s lush, glossy lips parted. But a split-second later, she snapped them shut and ground her molars. Like a soldier called to attention, she shot to her feet. When he failed to follow suit, she glared pointedly at his knees, as if his six-three frame was a deliberate