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“Fortunately for you, yes.”
“Drinks on me when we’re back in a week.”
“I’m going to hold you to that, because I could be planning the best wedding ever and you’re sending me home right now.”
Frankie laughed. “The best wedding ever will still be there, waiting for you when you get back after the break. Speaking of after the break…we need to talk about Gavin.”
Subtle as a brick, my friend.
Ginny gritted her teeth. “Do we really?”
“Yes. Because both of you spent the entire party pointedly ignoring each other and I don’t fucking like it.”
“You’re the worst.”
“You love me.”
“Happy holidays! Bye, Frankie.” Ginny sighed as Frankie yelledgoodbyeand then hung up. She stared at the wall across from her and groaned loudly, hating that despite trying her best to play it cool, her frustrations with Gavin were pretty evident.
Stella and Frankie were right, though. She needed to deal with his situation and understand what happened all those years ago. Dragging her bag over her shoulder, Ginny walked out of her office, turning off the lights as she went. On her phone, she googled the Rhodes Pet Shelter and saved the address.
With one last look around the office, Ginny flipped the last few lights off and stepped into the elevator. She would meet with Gavin, clear the air and then move on with her life. Not even his gorgeous bedroom eyes and his naturally messy hair could distract her from this mission.
She hoped.
CHAPTER3
JANUARY
After the Christmas party,he hadn’t seen Nia. Except in his dreams. Dreams that were basically a replay of the last summer they shared together. Dreams that woke him up angry. He was so tired of attempting to navigate what his dreams were telling him, because as far as Gavin was concerned, there was no hope for them.God, even thinking her name is pissing me the fuck off.
After all, she’d picked someone else. He would not put himself through that again.
One heartbreak per lifetime was his limit.
Gavin loved his friends and he was beyond happy that all of them had found their partners. But standing on that rooftop, watching them hug and laugh and kiss to ring in the new year had been reallyhard. Jackson deserved someone as beautiful, sassy and hilarious as Oleander. Frankie’s loud and boisterous personality, combined with that incredible beauty was the perfect match for Milo. The relationship he didn’t see coming was the one between Everleigh and Lachlan, but when they’d walked into the party together, he got it. They balanced each other out and were disgustingly beautiful together too.
Which left him alone and mopey and Gavin didn’t want to bring the mood down. So before the clock struck midnight, he took himself home.Shewas on his mind, making him wonder what she was doing and who she was spending the evening with. It was an unwelcome thought and Gavin had proceeded to knock back half a bottle of dark rum while fireworks exploded across the city.
Except, the rum didn’t help him sleep. If anything, it sent him into a drunk dream spiral that kept him tossing and turning until the sun came up. Gavin was used to getting through days on little sleep, but this combination of no sleep and thoughts of Nia were not his idea of fun. Then he made the mistake of spending the first day of the year with his family, including his infuriating older brothers.
He’d shown up late, mostly because he tried to get in a nap, and after hugging his parents and tickling Arlo as he squealed, Gavin settled on the couch with his dog curled up beside him. The night before, as he was knocking back copious amounts of alcohol, his Aussie Shepherd, Cedar, had watched him with concern. Even now, lying down beside him, he could feel Cedar’s eyes fixed on him.
“Take a walk with me,” Graham said as he walked through the main room and when Gavin shook his head, his gruff older brother scowled. “I wasn’tasking.”
Gavin got to his feet, leaving Cedar on the couch, and followed Graham through the kitchen. He hoped that sending his parents ‘help me’ eyes would make them do something, except they just shook their heads and returned to playing with Arlo.Traitors. Grabbing beers from the fridge, he stepped out into the backyard and found his brothers lounging in the pergola his father had built years ago.
So, this is an intervention.
Setting the beers on the table, Gavin huffed. “I don’t want to talk about her.”
“Tough shit,” Simon told him, reaching for a bottle as he gestured to the empty chair with his other hand. “Sit your ass down.”
With one more frustrated glance around the table, Gavin sat down and grabbed a beer for himself. To anyone else, it would look like the Rhodes brothers were just chilling on this winter afternoon. But to Gavin, it looked like they were preparing for battle of some kind. When his eyes met Spencer’s, he wondered just how much his brother had known about Nia’s presence in Wildes.
“We—” Noah started, gesturing to the brothers, “—think you should meet Nia and talk to her.”
“Ginny,” Spencer mumbled.Hehasbeen keeping this from me. Brother of the year.
