Page 22 of This Memory
His brows rose.
“More, huh?”
Reaching behind him, he pulled his wallet from his back pocket and took out some money. He stood, dropped it on the table, and said, “I’ll be at the bar across the street when you’re ready to leave.”
I let out an incredulous laugh. “I was kidding, Gavin. Sit down and finish your lunch.”
His gaze met mine, and something I couldn’t read passed across his handsome face. “I’ve lost my appetite.”
I watched, shocked, as he walked out of the restaurant—instantly feeling like an utter bitch.
Why had I pushed him? Was it because I really wanted to know? Or was it because I’d needed a reminder that this new friendship would only ever be that…a friendship?
The waitress approached the table, looking at Gavin’s empty seat. “Is everything okay?”
Pulling my eyes from the door Gavin had walked through, I glanced at the woman. “Um, yes. Sorry, he had to leave and handle something. Do you mind bringing a box for his sandwich?”
Gavin had hardly even touched his food.
“One for you, as well?”
Deciding it was best to give Gavin some space, I shook my head. “No, I’ll finish mine.”
After eating my sandwich, I picked up the box of Gavin’s food and left the restaurant. When I stepped outside, I saw the pub across the street and made my way over.
I wasn’t sure what I would find when I walked in, but it certainly wasn’t Gavin sitting at the bar, talking to a beautiful woman with dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing jeans and a black T-shirt…and when she laughed and put her hand on his shoulder, I swore I saw red.
Gavin was smiling, and I was instantly jealous that I didn’t know what the other woman had said or done to make him smile like that. But I could pretty much guarantee she hadn’t basically called him a manwhore, like I’d hinted at earlier.
I pulled my shoulders back, lifted my chin, and walked over to them. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to sit next to Gavin or the woman. I ended up sitting next to the woman.
“Did you make a new friend, Gavin?”
The woman spun on the stool and covered her chest—her very ample chest—with a hand. Her shirt didn’t leave much to the imagination.
“You scared me!” She laughed. Standing, she made her way around the bar. She was drop-dead beautiful. “Can I get you a drink?”
I glanced over to see what Gavin was having.Is he drinking vodka? He’s driving, for fuck’s sake.
“No, thank you, nothing for me.”
She smiled and glanced at Gavin before turning away and unloading glasses from a dishwasher.
Drawing in a calming breath, I faced Gavin. “You’re drinking, so I’ll need to drive us back to Moose Village.”
He twisted the glass in circles on the bar. “It’s water.”
“Oh,” I said softly, as I looked around the empty pub. “Are you ready to head back?”
“Sure.”
He pulled out a twenty and put it on the bar. “Thanks for the ear, Lynn.”
Turning toward him, she smiled warmly. “Anytime, Gavin. Safe trip back to Moose Village.”
When she looked my way, her smile grew wider. “Have a good evening.”
“You too,” I replied, offering an awkward wave. Gavin placed his hand on my lower back and guided me out of the bar. I tried not to notice how my entire body trembled with his touch, or how it made my stomach flip like I was on a roller coaster.
