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She reached out and placed her hand on his forehead. The innocent touch set his skin on fire. “You don’t feel warm. Are you feeling okay? Have you spent too much time in the sun? Maybe you should go sit in the shade and have some cold water. Or maybe you should go for a quick swim.”
He might not feel warm on the outside, but internally he was burning up. “We’re here. We might as well have fun.”
Leah shifted back and gave him a quick visual once-over. “Who are you and what have you done with the real Gavin Kincaid?” she asked with suspicion.
“Locked him in the closet. I’m his smarter and handsomer twin.”
She grinned, causing the dimple in her right cheek to appear. “If that’s the case, I’ll tell Curt we’ll be over tomorrow before your double gets free and spoils all our fun.”
Chapter Three
When she’d come outside earlier and spotted Gavin and Curt talking, she’d cursed her rotten luck. She liked her mom’s friend, Lucy Clark, but the woman loved to talk about her grandchildren. Most of the time, Leah didn’t mind hearing about them or seeing the proud grandmother’s latest pictures. Today had been a different story.
Although Curt didn’t take the protective big brother role quite as far as her cousins did, he’d been known to interrogate her dates, and since she’d brought him along today, Curt and probably everyone else here would assume there was more between her and Gavin than mere friendship.
Rather than risk having a family member ask Gavin anything about their relationship and make him uncomfortable, she’d stayed next to him ever since joining him on the beach over two hours ago. But in desperate need of a bathroom break, she left him talking to Courtney and Juliette. Of all of her cousins there, Leah trusted them the most to behave themselves while she was gone.
“Hey, I’ve been looking for you.”
Curt’s statement brought her to a standstill when she came out of the bathroom. “You found me.” Unfortunately, she mentally added.
She loved her brother, but at the moment she didn’t want to stand around and have a long heart-to-heart. “I just needed a quick bathroom break.”
She tried to walk past him before he started up a real conversation and kept her inside any longer than necessary. He grabbed her hand though, forcing her to stop.
“No need to rush. Gavin can take care of himself.” Releasing her hand, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. He wore a serious expression, and she suspected he’d decided it was time to be the protective older brother.
“I wasn’t rushing because of him. It’s a beautiful day, and I want to enjoy it. Shouldn’t you be outside doing the same with Taylor and Reese?”
Curt’s left eyebrow inched up. The tiny gesture annoyed Leah to no end as usual. She couldn’t say why it did, but it did.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to get involved with your ex-boyfriend’s brother?”
Yep, he was putting on his big brother cap this afternoon. “Harry and Gavin are half brothers. They have different mothers.” She intentionally avoided answering his question simply to annoy him. After all, annoying one’s brother was in the little sister job description.
“Minor technicality and you know it, Leah. Harry proved he’s just like his father. I’d say there’s a good chance Gavin is too,” Curt said before she could set him straight. “I don’t want you to get hurt again.”
Why did I ever tell him? Thanks to her big mouth, Curt knew that both Harry and Benedict, her boyfriend before Harry, had cheated on her.
“We’re not together, so relax. Gavin and I are just good friends.” While she appreciated Curt’s concern, she wanted him to know it wasn’t necessary. “But even if we were, Gavin’s the exact opposite of Harry in every way imaginable.” She started walking and hoped he dropp
ed the subject. “Come on, let’s head back out.”
Curt fell into step next to her. “Not buying it, sis.”
Right now she didn’t care if he believed her or not. She and Gavin knew the truth. She opened the door and stepped out onto the lower deck. The scent of whatever was on the grill immediately caught her attention and her stomach rumbled. She ate in some of the best restaurants on a regular basis, yet there was something about food cooked on a grill that got her every time.
“You’ve never brought a friend, male or female, to any of Mom’s parties,” he continued, obviously not ready to drop the matter. “Only guys you’re involved with. Something is up between you two.”
Ignoring Curt, Leah searched the gathering for Gavin and her cousins, because they weren’t standing where she left them. Had they walked down to the water? With lunch being served, the beach would be less crowded.
She headed for the stairs then stopped abruptly. “Seriously!”
Of all the men present, Tasha Marshall had to be talking to Gavin. Leah had known Tasha, the daughter of close family friends, forever. Despite the closeness of the two families, she’d never considered Tasha a friend. Rather she thought of her as an immature annoyance that showed up at a lot of family functions with one thing in mind: catching an unmarried Sherbrooke male. It didn’t really seem to matter which one either. For years she’d chased after Leah’s cousin Jake. When he got married, she proceeded to go after Trent, followed by first Gray and then Derek. Actually, she’d even tried to buy Derek at a bachelor auction the Helping Hands Foundation held as a fundraiser. With all three of them happily married now as well, Leah had assumed Tasha would turn her attention to either Curt or her cousin Alec, since Brett was rarely around. Judging by how close Tasha was standing to Gavin and the fact she kept touching his arm, she’d decided to branch out.
“What’s wrong?” Curt asked, dropping the subject of her and Gavin’s relationship for the moment.
“That,” she hissed and gestured in the general direction of Tasha and Gavin.
