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“Thatgood,” answered Gavin. Hesmiled.
“Okay, now I want to know more.” Brielle seemed riveted. And Lilac needed to know what was up,too.
Gavin shrugged. “My roommates have a date here almost every night.” He paused to count on his hands. “Okay, between them, there’s been a guy here everynight.”
“You must be getting a lot of sleep with all that… activity,” said Brielle,wincing.
Gavin looked like he was about to vomit. “Yeah, well… One of their ‘dates’ decided to hang on my couch with me before heading off to thebedroom.”
Brielle’s nose wrinkled. “Please tell me you didn’t hook up with someone yourfriend brought over tobang.”
Pretending to be shocked, Lilac gasped before giggling. Everything was so funny to her this evening. She wondered if it might have anything to do with the few glasses of Pinot Grigio she’d had withdinner.
But Lilac knew Brielle ought to know better when it came to Gavin. Since when did he ever “hook up” with someone after onedate?
Gavin lifted one hand and then the other, pretending to “weigh” his options. “Is it really so bad if he didn’t make it to the bedroom and decided to take me out for coffeeinstead?”
Still, Lilac couldn’t help teasing him about it. “Aw, coffee. Not a drink. Not the bedroom, but coffee…Sure.”
“I don’t exactly have a bedroom to invite a guy to,” said Gavin before lowering his voice. “Until I settle in permanently, I have to entice a guy to invite me back to hisplace.”
Laughing, Lilac clapped. “So innocent, thisone.”
“Besides,” said Gavin, rubbing a finger over his cheek, where a five o’clock shadow had taken root, “I’m not a one-night-stand kind of guy. So excuse me if I wanted to get to know him a littlebetter.”
Brielle seemed flustered. “How’s the job, though? Think you’ll have an offer by the end of thesummer?”
Lilac shook her head as Gavin’s face fell.Poor guy. “I don’t know if I want an offer. I’m thinking of this as a resume-booster and hitting the classifieds in a few weeks to see if I can find something else in Chicago.” He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. “Otherwise, I’m just out ofhere.”
“Oh, but what about coffee guy?” asked Lilac in an obnoxiously sweetvoice.
“Shut it,” replied Gavin, but he looked like he might crack a smile. Lilac loved seeing him so happy. It was too soon to tell if this would last, but he needed a pick-me-up like a little romance after all those texts he’d exchanged withLilac.
“Why?” asked Brielle, not up for teasing. She and Lilac didn’t often tease each other. “I thought you were really excited about workingthere.”
“His boss is a huuuuugggeee asshole,” said Lilac. “Like, we’ve been having a competition for whose boss is the bigger asshole allweek.”
Gavin pointed right through the screen at her face. “No, you win that, hands-down. If Gabriel starts grabbing my ass, maybe there’ll be an actual comparison.” He paused, contemplating what he’d said. “No, even then, you’d win. I don’t know if Gabriel is married or not, but at least he’shot.”
Lilac gasped. “Ohmy god, you never told me he washot!” Maybe it was just the wine, but that changed things, didn’t it? Gruff, strict, and hot…Yummy.
“Anyway,” said Gavin, clearly not agreeing that changed things at all. “Bri, you’ve barely told us what’s up with you. How’s your weekbeen?”
Something strange flashed over Brielle’s face. “Not much going on. I’ve been cleaning. I’ve applied for a few jobs. My sister and mom are at each other’s throats just about every day.” She shrugged. “I…Well…”
Lilac hugged a decorative pillow she’d grabbed from the chair matching hers to the side of the desk. “Oo, please tell me this is boy-related.”
Gavin brought a finger to his lips and said, “Shush!” as Brielle squirmed in her seat.Bingo.
“Itis!” saidLilac.
“Not really,” said Brielle. “I mean, this guy I clean for is kind of super sort ofgorgeous.”
Gavin looked like he’d have to check the dictionary for that description. “‘Kind of super sort of gorgeous…’” He chuckled. “That’s even better than the compliments you first paid Daniel when he caught yourinterest.”
Brielle crossed her arms and pouted sourly. “Don’t remindme.”
“Details, details!” demanded Lilac, pounding a fist against herpillow.
