AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Seven
Hallie rested one hand on the wheel and the other on the stick shift between them. Her nails were short but manicured with a slightly transparent, shell-colored nail polish. Her clothing was professional and monochromatic yet inexplicably sexy.
He couldn’t fathom why she’d decided to blend in with the woodwork when she was so damn interesting. Unpacking the parcel that was Hallie Banks was a hell of a lot more fun than he would have imagined.
She squealed as the car jerked under them, her laughter contagious. She wasn’t going the speed limit, but held the wheel like she was breaking the sound barrier. This car should have shot off like a cannon considering the horsepower under the hood. She was driving like she was chauffeuring a little old lady to a salon appointment.
“How’d you decide to go into management?” he asked, genuinely curious.
Her eyebrows lifted—both of them—but she didn’t take her eyes off the road. “I’m naturally organized. And Hannah is naturally talented.”
“Seems like your mother or your father would’ve taken that on.” He didn’t know much about the Banks sisters’ parents, only that they weren’t around much.
“Mom and Dad are avid travelers. They’ve always been on the move. Gram raised Hannah and me from the time we were five years old. Mom and Dad call and visit as often as possible, but we never lacked for anything considering Gram had our backs.”
He hadn’t known any of that. He was mildly alarmed. His parents were very involved in their children’s lives. The Sutherland sons hadn’t gone into commercial real estate, but it hadn’t stopped Travis and Dana Sutherland from offering unsolicited advice.
“Gram taught us how to be smart in the industry. She encouraged us to follow our hearts. Hannah had a natural love for singing and music and was always performing. I’m more of a behind-the-scenes girl.”
“You’re crazy smart, you mean.”
She didn’t deny it, but she did laugh. “You’re one to talk, Mr. Music Lawyer. I can’t make out half the words in the contracts I’m handed.”
“That’s purposeful. Lawyers make a lot of money translating for you layfolk.” He was only half kidding. Most contracts were purposefully confusing. It just so happened he liked legal speak. He was good at it. When he realized not many people were, he saw an opening to make a damn good living.
“Well, I’ve always found you very impressive.”
He sat a little taller. It wasn’t like Hallie to compliment him, and maybe he needed the reminder more than he would’ve thought. Sometimes he felt lost in the sea of his brothers, with Luke manning the hottest nightspots in town, Cash being a world-renowned country music superstar and Will running a legendary recording studio in Beaumont Bay. And they weren’t succeeding only professionally. Each of his brothers had landed a smart, funny, gorgeous woman and would soon start their own families. Their lots in life weren’t anything Gavin had aspired to before, but he couldn’t help feeling as if he was behind in a race he’d never entered.
He could totally relate to Hallie feeling as if she wasn’t reaching the high bar Hannah had set.
“What took you so long to sign more clients?” he asked.
“Not all of us can be overachievers,” she said, her assessment of him nearly the opposite of the one he’d just made about himself. “I wanted to make sure I wasn’t shorting Hannah before I took on someone else. Taking care of clients is like taking care of children, I imagine. I don’t want one of them to get less attention than the other.”
Like Hallie had with Hannah? He was newly regretting mistaking her for her twin.
“That night at The Cheshire,” he started.
“I should have corrected you.”
“Yeah, but I was the one who jumped to the conclusion you were Hannah based on the color of your dress.” But now that she’d mentioned it... “Why didn’t you correct me?”
“I didn’t want to embarrass you.” She flexed her hands, resting at the ten o’clock and two o’clock positions on the steering wheel.
“You didn’t want to embarrass me,” he repeated, not buying the excuse.
“I was on my way out anyway. I didn’t know you were going to launch into a tirade about me.”
He dropped his head back on the seat rest. “It wasn’t a tirade.”
“I know. In hindsight, I needed to hear it. Presley agreed with you and told me I should consider loosening up. You’re both right. I don’t let myself have fun.”
“Which is why you’re here with me today,” he said, happy to change the subject. He’d rather not revisit the moment he’d been insulting at worst, insensitive at best. They approached the very definition of a back road, its edges lined with tall grass beneath an overhang of orange-and-yellow-leaved trees. “Turn right.”
She stepped on the brakes and sent a wary glance down the dirt and gravel lane. “Here?”
He didn’t hesitate. “Here.”
