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“Are you okay?” she asked and he mumbled something.
She looked at Gunner and he had a sad expression on his face. Her heart instantly ached. He was concerned over Garrett.
“Did you do something to your leg?” she asked as she slowed down to walk with him.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just stiff from the bleachers.” He kind of snapped at her. She placed her hand over her belly to stop the sensation of intimidation. He was pissed off.
“Yeah, bleachers are never comfortable. We should bring some of those padded seats with us. My butt always hurts after sitting in bleachers for a long time,” she blurted out as Gunner opened the truck door. She was trying to figure out how the heck she was going to climb into the truck. She turned to grab on to the door and lifted her foot to place on the side rail.
“Your butt looks perfect to me,” Gunner whispered then lifted her by her waist up into the front seat.
She felt her cheeks blush as she scooted into the center of the seat. He made it obvious that he didn’t want her to climb into the back seat so she remained in the middle.
Garrett took a few seconds to stretch his legs.
“We can wait a little if you need some more time. The football players haven’t even gotten out of the locker rooms yet,” she suggested.
“No. I’m fine,” he said firmly and she clasped her hands on her lap.
Gunner looked at her and winked as he slowly ran the palm of his hand across her belly as he reached for the seat belt. Their gazes locked and his lips were mere inches from her own.
Right before he buckled her in, he whispered, “I’d really like to kiss you right now.” She swallowed hard. She would like that, too, but dared not verbalize the stupid decision. This could only lead to more pain. Men hurt and she was a poor judgment of character.
She lowered her eyes and stared at her lap.
“Gunner, I’m not ready for—” she began to say when his fingertips moved under her chin and raised her face toward him.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I don’t know why you’re so scared of me and my brothers, but the three o
f us are fixin’ to change your mind and make you see that we want you.” She was shocked at his proclamation, but then his lips gently touched hers and on cue her eyes closed as she absorbed their first kiss, the scent of his cologne, the feel of his large hand on her waist, and his fingers moved away from her chin and toward her neck. He cupped her head and deepened the kiss as she reached up and held his muscular forearms. The man knew how to kiss, and dammit, her panties were soaked.
As he softly released her lips he smiled at her.
“Very nice, and sweeter than I imagined. You ready now, darling?” he asked her as she touched her fingertips to her lips and nodded her head. That was some kiss. A kiss she would surely remember for some time.
As Gunner started the truck and headed out of the parking lot, Garrett moved his hand over her knee and kept it there.
Gia thought that she was going to faint from the sexual tension in the air. In this close proximity, practically wedged between two very big men, she felt so petite, feminine, and of course fragile. That feeling of fragility was playing havoc on her thoughts until they started talking. Before long, they were sharing some information about their lives and she shared very little about her life in New York and was sure to not say anything about Antonio. It was at that moment that she realized how embarrassed she was for getting involved with such a man to begin with. She had been lonely and had met one jerk after the next at work in the agency in New York.
“So you handle the actual art designs? That’s really cool,” Gunner said.
“Do you do it all with computer software or actually freehand the artwork first?” Garrett asked and she was glad for the comfortable topic. She explained about her love of art and hope to one day be able to focus on working on her paintings and mosaics.
“Hey, you didn’t do that scene in Julia’s nursery, did you?” Gunner asked and she smiled.
“I did. When did you see that?”
“Oh, just a few weeks ago when we hung out watching football on Sunday. That is amazing work, Gia.”
“Thank you.”
“How come you don’t show your paintings in a gallery or something? There are some awesome ones in the city and of course in Dallas, too,” Garrett said.
“My heart really isn’t into it,” she admitted.
“Why is that, darling?” Garrett asked and she turned to look at him. She already felt that special sensation deep inside for Garrett. He was likable but also seemed sad and alone. She had an overwhelming feeling of need to help him somehow. But how could she? She had her own deep sadness and fears.
“I had some bad times in my life, that’s all. I moved out here to clear my head.”
