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The doorbell chimed.
Brooked stopped pacing and stared at the door.He’s here.On the other side of her front door. Why on earth had she invited him over? She could’ve sent him an email with the contract or something, or even just texted him. He didn’t have to come to her house. There were other ways.
The doorbell chimed again. Taking a deep breath, she rubbed her suddenly clammy hands against her jeans before she opened the door. He turned to look at her, his light brown hair windblown, his blue eyes filled with a light that had her knees do that silly wobbling thing again.
“Brooke. You mentioned a contract?”
She opened the door wider. This had been such a bad idea. They were all alone; Connor was still at school. What had she been thinking, for crying out loud? She hadn’t been thinking, that was the problem. At least not clearly. She still had brain fog after last night’s scrumptious kisses... Oh, damn, she shouldn’t be thinking about last night’s kisses!
“If you keep looking at me like that, I’ll have to kiss you again,” Gavin said, his voice hoarse.
Face flaming, she turned away and marched toward the kitchen. She’d been staring at his mouth. The same mouth that had kissed her last night. The mouth she’d been dreaming about throughout the night.
The “contract” she’d been working on since the crack of dawn was lying on the table, and she quickly picked it up. “No kissing... Look, it’s point number one.”
Gavin took the piece of paper from her and leaned against the kitchen cupboard. He began reading what she’d typed.
He was here, in her house, and all she could think about was how his lips had felt against her, how perfectly she’d fitted against his body, how...
Inhaling slowly, she tried to calm down her wayward thoughts. Damn, this had to be one of the stupidest things she’d ever done, and that was saying a lot. She tended to do silly things—her mind was mostly on her paintings and not on everyday things. But this particular, everyday thing, she should have given it more thought. Much more thought.
Before either one of them could speak, someone knocked on the front door. The next minute she heard her mother. “Anybody home? Brooke? Is Gavin’s car still...?” Her mother appeared in the kitchen door, wearing one of her Pilates outfits.
Her gaze moved between the two of them. Her mouth fell open, her eyes widened, and then she clapped her hands. “Oh, you two! I knew if you spent time together, you’d realize you were absolutely meant for each other. I had to come and see for myself. I had just driven into town when Cynthia Higgins called me. Gavin’s car was still in front of Brooke’s house, she told me. I couldn’t believe it. Of course, I mean, you keep insisting you’re just friends, but look at the two of you!”
Brooke groaned out loud. “Mom...”
But before Brooke could utter another word, Gavin had moved closer and put his arm around her. “We were going to announce it tonight with a dinner at a restaurant, but yes, we’re together. And you’re absolutely right. Last night we realized we’re much more than just friends. You want to tell her, babe?”
Brooke stiffened.Babe?Where did that come from? But with her mother’s gaze following them as if she was watching a tennis match, Brooke couldn’t say or do anything else but smile. “We’ve...” What on earth was she supposed to say?
Gavin kissed her temple. “Don’t be shy, babe. Surely you can tell your mother?”
He was enjoying this—look at his grin.Well, two could play this game. She slid her hand up his torso, and batting her eyelashes, she looked up at him. “He kissed me, Mom. A toe-curling one, I must add. So what was a girl to do but kiss him back?”
Gavin’s eyes narrowed slightly, but below her fingers his heart was hammering away like a freight train. Mmm, not nearly so calm and collected as he would have her thinking.
Her mother sighed, clearly in rapture. “Oh, how romantic!”
“And does he know how to kiss?” Brooke sighed dramatically and let her fingers glide ever so slightly over Gavin’s bottom lip.
As he inhaled softly, his eyes darkened. She caught her breath and quickly dropped her hand. Oh, my. Her only thought had been to punish him for blurting out their relationship to her mother, of all people. They still had things to discuss, a contract to sign. The last thing she wanted to do was to unleash more sexual tension, but now she could swear the air around them was literally vibrating.
She gave a cursory glance around her. Where was the contract?
Tears were streaming down her mom’s face. “Oh, my darling girl, I’m so, so happy for you!” She threw her arms around them both. “I knew it, I knew it,” she repeated over and over.
“Okay, Mom, stop crying, please?” Brooke felt awful. Lying had never done anyone any good. Her mother would be devastated when they eventually had to tell her they were breaking up.
“Happy tears, my dear girl, happy tears!” Her mom already had her phone out, the tears forgotten. “I have to go. I can’t wait to tell Charlie and Lindsay! Our usual restaurant? At seven?”
But she wasn’t really interested in any answers; she was already heading toward the front door, her phone against her ear.
The moment Brooke heard the front door close behind her mother, she rounded on Gavin. “See what you’ve done? Before night falls, she’s going to have our whole wedding planned out, mark my words. You’re going to be paying for the flowers and a wedding cake, and she’ll have you buy a ring before you know what hit you.”
She began pacing again. “We haven’t thought this through. Oh, I like your kisses, toe-curling as I’ve said, but what about Connor? He’s desperate for a father figure in his life, and he already likes you. How will he handle our fake relationship? What do we tell him and what happens when we break up?” Out of breath, she finally stopped pacing and looked at Gavin.
He was staring at her.
