Page 6 of Say Yes

“Why do you say that?”

Trying to refrain from making another scene, she wiggled her wrist free of his hold and sat down. She wished she’d kept her mouth shut, but now he was waiting for an explanation.

No way did she want Gavin to know just how fascinated she was with him, or the extent of her emotions. She’d suffered such enormous guilt when her feelings toward him had turned…lecherous. She’d never suffered sexual frustration in her life, but when it hit, it really hit. Like a tsunami.

It was doubly difficult because her feelings for Gavin had begun as respect and friendship. More than anyone else, more than Ted or any other man she’d known, even more than her parents, Gavin made her feel accepted and liked. She was comfortable around him. She supposed it was only natural that her fertile mind had started to meander into forbidden topics. So she’d felt guilty.

Right up until she came home and found Ted in bed with Gavin’s girlfriend. Ex-girlfriend, she reminded herself. And then all hell had broken loose. Or, to be more accurate, she’d broken loose, reacting like a demented ogress.

Gavin was watching her, and she had to tell him something. Trying to pick her words carefully, she said, “Karen told me once, when I’d first moved in, that you weren’t the marrying kind. She claimed you liked a lot of—” she cleared her throat “—variety. She was bragging, because you supposedly cared enough about her to ask her to move in. She said you wanted only the best.”

Gavin didn’t react the way she expected over the invasion of privacy. He seemed intrigued, and his cocky grin spread wide over his face. “You discussed me with Karen?” At her noncommittal shrug, he propped his elbows on the table, laced his fingers together, and leaned toward her. “What else did she say to you?”

“Oh, this and that.” Actually, thanks to Karen, she knew things about Gavin she shouldn’t have known, intimate details that made it more than difficult to be around him, and twice as tough to control her imagination.

At least she didn’t have to worry about guilt anymore, since she was now free. And alone. She didn’t even miss Ted, which was almost sad since she’d once been engaged to him. But long before she’d caught him with Karen, she’d had doubts about marrying him. He didn’t have the same respect for marriage, didn’t have the same commitment that she did. To her, marriage meant a lifetime, not until the convenience wore off. Few people seemed able to suffer that small stipulation. Her parents hadn’t understood. Neither had Ted.

So along with shedding Ted, she’d rid herself of the idea of marriage. She’d simply given up. Obviously there was something about her that made a long-term commitment impossible. She’d come to the conclusion she needed something shorter term.

Like a blazing, red-hot affair.

She glanced up at Gavin, afraid he might be able to read her mind. But no, he just looked thoughtful. She sighed. Such a gorgeous man, so proud and confident, sometimes arrogant, always fair. But Gavin was more a fantasy man, the perfect male to manifest in a dream, with the reality a million miles away.

Yet…they were both single now, and he was sitting right there in her kitchen chair, wearing nothing more than damp jean shorts and a healthy dose of male charisma, insisting they should be friends, which could possibly mean…what? Sara blinked, realizing she’d been quiet too long while contemplating short-term, sizzling, erotic plans.

His wicked grin had turned smug. “So you talked about this and that, meaning…?”

The best defense was a good offense, and she was tired of acting like a ninny. “Gavin, are you actually fishing for compliments?”

“Would you give me any?”

“No.” She grinned at his feigned hurt, feeling some of the old camaraderie return. “You certainly don’t need me to bolster your ego. You surely know how attractive you are.”

He went perfectly still, and his voice turned husky and suggestive. “You really think so?”

She pulled a wry face. “I’m not blind, Gavin. And you don’t wear humility worth a darn.”

“You never acted the least bit interested. Whenever we talked, it was about the house, or what you intended to do to the yard.” He lowered his brows over his dark brown eyes. “Or about your upcoming wedding.” He said the last in a disgusted tone, as if the very idea turned his stomach.

“I was engaged! Did you expect me to flirt with you?” Besides, she thought, even after she’d gotten rid of Ted, she knew she wasn’t in Gavin’s league, not by a long shot. Where he was tall, dark, gorgeous—basically perfect—she was basically plain. Her dark curly hair was always unruly, her eyes a medium shade of blue. There was nothing remarkable about her, other than her slightly crooked front tooth, which certainly didn’t fall under the category of sexually appealing traits. She was a very ordinary woman, and he was an extraordinary man.

So why was he here?

Gavin came to his feet, pacing away from her, then back again. He seemed unsettled and she didn’t know what to expect. Then he stopped before her.

Crossing his arms over his bare chest and staring down at her, he said, “So we’re both available now, right?”

“Uh…”

“And you’ve already admitted you like me.”

Had she actually come right out and said that? She didn’t think so. It wasn’t likely she’d take another chance on rejection. “I’ve always liked you, Gavin. You’re a nice guy, and you’re unbelievably talented…”

“There, you see.” He nodded, apparently more than satisfied with her comments.

“But—”

“No buts.” He shocked the rest of her thoughts right out of her head when he gripped either side of her chair and leaned down until their noses almost touched. His voice emerged whisper soft, his eyes staring into hers. “I like you, too, Sara. And I want to see you.”

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