Page 40 of Born to Make You Smile

Finally, I somewhat composed myself. “Are you seriously dressed as the killer rabbit of Caerbannog?”

“I am,” he muttered with a chuckle, looking proud with his hands on his hips.

He was definitely taking his obsession withMonty Python and the Holy Grailto the next level. Being the evil bunny was so obscure. I couldn’t stop laughing at how crazy he was.

He took the fangs from his mouth. “Well, look at you, Grace. The tooth fairy! You look phenomenal. I love it!”

“At your service, Dr. Brinley.” I did a twirl, followed by an elegant drawn-out bow. “I have a feeling it will be a busy night for me.”

He chuckled.

“Where are Michelle and Hunter?” I asked, peering around the house.

Gavin frowned and removed his ears. “It’s just going to be the four of us tonight.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” I said with disappointment, hiding my elation.

“Actually, Michelle and I are no longer together. I um...” He released a breath. “I broke it off a few nights ago.”

I looked at him with sympathy. “I’m very sorry to hear that.”

To be honest, I wasn’t sure how to feel. Half of me was pleased Michelle was out the picture. The other half was saddened that his relationship had failed. A relationship that held actual promise of a future. It wasn’t as if he and I could ever be together in any sort of romantic way. Now he was alone. Without a life partner. Again.

“It’s fine, love. No reason to be upset,” he said, clearly noticing my fallen disposition. “We had a talk and realized we weren’t on the same page. In the end, our parting was all fairly amicable. As amicable as a breakup can be.”

I peered at him, tilting my head. “I just want you to be happy.”

“I am happy.” A warm smile crept over his lips. “Very,veryhappy.”

***

After the sun went down, I escorted the girls around the neighborhood to trick-or-treat while Gavin stayed back to handout candy. He definitely wasn’t one of those dentists who handed out toothpaste or brushes for Halloween.Let them enjoy the bloody treats, for crying out loud,he’d say.

The weather wasn’t too cold. Only a light jacket was required on top of the costumes, which didn’t meddle with their appearance too much. Mackenzie was a princess, and Charlotte was a witch. Charlotte claimed it was her last time out trick-or-treating as she felt she was getting too old to go house to house. I told her she would never be too old. Even I had parents handing out candy to me. Either mistaking me for a trick-or-treater or because they felt sorry for me as an escort. Regardless, I accepted the treats with a smile.

When we returned, the girls went to the family room and dumped out their bags. I gathered up Mackenzie's Twizzlers, which I knew she didn’t care for, and brought them to Gavin, who was seated in the living room on the sofa by the bay window, watching something on his phone.

“Look what I snatched for you.” I laid out the packs of Gavin's favorite candy on the coffee table before him, and he stood next to me.

“Why, thank you, love, but I much prefer humans. You know, I might seem harmless, but I’m actually quite dangerous. I have something of a vicious streak, as they say.” He put his ears back on his head and leaned in close to me. “I’ll tear you to pieces.”

The way the words came out of his mouth were so growly and suggestive, it filled me with tingles. Then he mockingly attacked me, nuzzling his face into my neck with a snarl. The contact was so unexpected I squealed, then giggled profusely, trying to ignore the fact that my lower body became flush and heavy.

“Jeeysus Chroist!” I exclaimed. A reference to the scene of the movie after the rabbit attacks.

Gavin boomed with laughter, tipping forward. He laughed so hard that his ears fell to the floor. He leaned into me, holdingmy shoulder for support, all while I howled along with him, my hands on his chest.

The air shifted as our laughter stopped. We continued to hold one another, our faces so close. Every inch of my body tingled and pulsed, craving more contact. I glanced at his blotchy red mouth, and despite the makeup on his face, I really wanted to kiss him. His Adam’s apple bobbed, then he inched closer.

Holy shit. He was going to kiss me. We were going to kiss. This was actually happening.

A surge of heat struck my core so forcefully I thought I’d explode.

“What’s going on in here?” shouted Charlotte as she entered the living room. “What's so funny?”

We immediately pulled apart. I shifted and adjusted my costume. Gavin picked up his bunny ears from the floor.

“Your dad’s costume,” I said to her, winded. My heart beat so fast I could hardly breathe. “He’s really getting into character.”

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