Page 37 of Perfect Imperfections

“Um, yes, and you are?”

The man thrust out a large hand. “Gavin Green. I’m Sullivan’s little brother.”

Little was an operative word. Gavin had to be at least three inches taller than Sullivan and had double the muscle mass. Sullivan was no slouch, from what Ellie could observe, but he had a much leaner body type than the muscle-bound man in front of her.

“Nice to meet you,” she said, accepting his handshake.

“Oh, believe me, the pleasure is all mine.” He motioned for her to come inside. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

She stepped into the house, the loud party noises quieting to a din as Gavin shut the door. “Really?”

“Okay, not a lot, but I know you’re the woman who saved Charlotte’s life.” The cheerful man’s smile slipped. His face took on a serious cast as emotion welled in his eyes. “Thank you. That little girl means the world to a lot of people.”

Ellie choked back the feelings that welled suddenly at Gavin’s heartfelt words, happy to know how loved Charlotte was. “She’s a very special girl.”

Gavin tilted his head, almost identical to the motion she’d seen Sullivan do when he was trying to figure her out. Eerie, but she supposed brothers were similar like that.

“Yeah, she is.”

“Gavin, where’s the tape? I asked you…”

Sullivan’s words died out as he came around the corner and saw them. His gaze focused on her, eyes lighting up, lips tilting in a smile that revealed the dent in his cheek. That was all it took. One smile, that silly dent, and she was a goner. Her heart raced, palm sweating as they gripped the present in her hands.

“Ellie, you came.”

“Yeah, um, sorry I’m late. There was an accident.”

Suddenly he was by her side, hand grasping her arm as he glanced over her with a furrowed brow.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, oh no, not me. I got stuck behind a fender bender. Everyone was okay, from what I could see. It just clogged up the road a bit.”

His smile returned and his hand stayed on her arm. “Good. The party is going full swing in the back. You want to come wish the birthday girl a happy birthday?”

“I’ll just run out to my car and grab that tape you asked for, right Sully?”

She turned her head to see Gavin staring at them, an amused expression on his face.

“Yeah sure, whatever.”

Sullivan didn’t even glance at his brother, his focus solely on her as he placed his hand on her lower back, guiding her to the backyard. A thrill of excitement shot up her spine. She prayed he couldn’t feel her body quiver from his touch. One touch. Just a casual hand on her lower back. Nothing intimate at all. But here she was, a quaking mess of hormones. Cam was right. She needed to get laid if a man’s touch through layers of clothes did this to her.

But it wasn’t just any man’s touch. It was Sullivan’s.

The moment they stepped outside, the noise returned, louder and higher pitched. She’d seen Sullivan’s backyard the few times she’d been over, but she hadn’t spent any time outside. It was lovely. Huge. The lawn was covered in lush, green blades of grass that looked soft enough to tickle your feet if one were to take off their shoes. Large pines were scattered along the back fence, giving the illusion of privacy from the neighbors. Lilac bushes lined one side of the yard. Their sweet, floral smell wafting in the air, mixing with the savory smells coming from the long table set up with what looked like a buffet of finger foods.

Children ran about, laughing, screaming, throwing foam darts and balls at each other. There was a large bouncy castle set up on one side of the yard where half a dozen kids were jumping and falling all over each other. There was also several adults. Parents of the children in attendance, she assumed. The men had on jeans and polos while the women wore sundresses or fancy leggings with silk tunics. Suddenly Ellie felt very out of place. Looking at all these people, it reminded her of the gaping economic status between her and Sullivan.

“I had to invite everyone in Charlotte’s class,” he whispered in her ear. “She didn’t want anyone to feel left out.”

Of course, she didn’t. Because his daughter had one of the biggest hearts Ellie had ever seen.

“Most of the parents stuck around. I barely know half of these people, so don’t leave my side, okay? I need a buffer of protection.”

She turned to face him, finding her smile. “You want me to protect you from the suburbanite hordes? You’re the one who lives here.”

“And you’re the hero who works with animals. Now come on, spout some of those fun animal facts so I don’t have to talk about PTOs or bake sales or whatever the hell the HOA is up in arms about this week.”

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