“No.”

“Come on, bro. The scooter I took from Nature’s Basket ran out of batteries and—”

“Do you have an actual problem, or a Gavin problem?”

“An actual Gavin problem.”

“I have to get back to work.”

“But Evan—”

He ended the call.

“Such a dick,” I muttered.

Logan was on duty, so he was no help. I didn’t know what Asher was doing today. Probably coaching. But Levi was off. I didn’t really want to call Levi. He’d give me a harder time than Evan. But I was kind of out of options, so angry twin it was.

“Yeah?” he answered.

“Hey, bro. I have an issue.”

“What?”

“So you know how I’m hanging out with Skylar and showing her around town?”

“No…”

“Yes you do, I told you. Anyway, I borrowed one of the scooter cart things from Nature’s Basket and it kind of ran out of batteries and I’m on the other side of town and can’t get it back to return it. And I really need to return it. I left a note saying I would.”

“Jesus, Gav.”

“Can you come get us?”

“Why the hell did you take a scooter from Nature’s Basket?”

“Because I have a broken leg.”

He was quiet for a long moment. “Where are you?”

“Caboose.”

“Fine.”

“Don’t hang up yet.”

“Why?”

“You should probably bring a ramp. To get the scooter in the back of your SUV.”

“Why do you always do shit like this?”

“Like what?”

He groaned. “Skylar is stuck with you?”

“Yeah.”

“Fine. But I’m only coming down there because of her.”

“Whatever works, bro.”

He ended the call and I slid my phone back in my pocket. “Problem solved. Levi’s on the way.”

We hung out in the Caboose parking lot waiting for Levi. It didn’t take long for him to get here. He parked next to me and shot me a glare when he got out of his blue SUV.

I introduced Skylar to Levi and he said a polite hello. I knew the only reason he wasn’t giving me more shit was because she was here. He opened the back and pulled out a piece of plywood to use as a ramp.

Levi ran inside and got Hank, the Caboose owner, to come help him push the scooter into the back of his SUV. They got it loaded up—it fit, but only just—and I thanked him. Skylar stood off to the side, looking adorably nervous.

A woman pushing a stroller down the sidewalk slowed as she passed. I glanced at her, but looked away. It was Annika Haven, and I was highly conditioned to ignore her, and any other female Haven. I liked a challenge, and okay, sometimes I set my sights on a girl mostly because I couldn’t have her—case in point, every teacher I’d ever crushed on. But going against the feud? That was different. Even I didn’t like danger that much.

Besides, Annika had a kid. That was way too much adulting for me.

I caught Levi watching her. Not that I blamed him. Even though she was a Haven, Annika was hot.

I was loyal, not blind.

But I was still going to give him shit about staring at her. I was the youngest. Giving my big brothers shit was my place in the world.

I leaned close and lowered my voice. “Bro, I know she’s a total MILF, but you should probably stop eye fucking her out in the open.”

He whipped around to face me, rage burning hot in his eyes. It occurred to me that maybe I shouldn’t push him too hard, considering I couldn’t fight back if he decided to tackle me.

“Shut your mouth, Gav.” The warning in his tone was unmistakable.

I liked giving him shit, but not too much shit. After all, he had come down here to help me out.

“Just messing with you.” I clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks again for coming. I’m pretty sure Skylar is strong enough to push the scooter back to the store, but that would have been hard on my ego.” I winked at her.

“Whatever. You owe me.”

“I totally do.”

Levi drove us over to Nature’s Basket. The manager, Ed Michaelson, came out and helped us get it out of the SUV. He’d gotten my note.

He rolled his eyes at me, but I was pretty sure we were cool.

After Levi left, I gave Skylar a ride back to the Steaming Mug where she’d left her car. I probably could have just let her out and gone home, but it was hard to tear myself away from her. So I got out and walked with her to where she’d parked, about a block from the coffee shop.

“Thanks for hanging out with me today,” I said.

“You’re welcome. Thanks for the tour.”

“Anytime.”

She smiled back and for a second, I got caught in her dark eyes.

Fuck, she was beautiful.

That no I was holding onto really wanted to switch sides and become a yes.

Go for it, Gav. Chase her. See if you can catch this one. It’ll be fun.

It would be fun.

My eyes dropped to her mouth. I bet kissing her would feel amazing. And the way she was looking at me, with her chin tilted up, she’d probably let me.

But I couldn’t ignore the buzzing in the back of my brain, telling me to back off. It was like standing at the top of the slope looking down at the wildfire, and knowing it was going to turn.

So I pulled my gaze from her lips, tempting as they were.

“Have a good night,” I said. “I’ll text you?”

“Yeah. That would be great.”

Walking away from her was harder than it should have been. If she’d been any other girl, I wouldn’t have left her there. I’d have gone for it.

But she was Skylar Stanley, so that wasn’t going to happen.

11

Skylar

My fingers rested on the keyboard, unmoving. I traced the familiar ridges on the F and J keys with the tips of my index fingers while I gazed out the window.

Lips. Full, soft lips. What would it be like to be kissed by those lips? Would he be rough, or gentle? Or maybe a delicious mix of both?

What would it feel like to be kissed by someone who really wanted to kiss me?

Sucking in a quick breath, I blinked at the screen. I’d written those words. God, what was wrong with me? I quickly backspaced to get rid of the errant sentence. I was supposed to be writing about a serial killer, not a woman pondering the nature of a man’s kiss.

But after hanging out with Gavin yesterday, I was having a hard time thinking about anything else.

My mind kept drifting to the way he’d looked at my mouth when we were saying goodbye. That subtle dip of his attention had sent a cascade of tingles across my skin. Just thinking about it now gave me a twinge of pressure between my legs. And it wasn’t the embarrassing hypersensitivity-induced arousal that tended to hit me at inopportune times. This was different.

Had he been thinking about kissing me? What would I have done if he had? If his mouth had followed his gaze and dropped to connect with mine. Would I have kissed him back?

I would have. Eagerly. And I didn’t know how to feel about that.

Wanting to be kissed by a guy I barely knew was not normal Skylar behavior. I was firmly a take-it-slow and play-it-safe kind of person. I didn’t open up to people easily, emotionally or physically. When I’d first started dating Cullen, I’d thought he was a good fit for me primarily because he was so patient. He hadn’t pressured me to get physical with him right away. It had felt as if he were giving me time and space to get to know him first—time that I’d needed.