I got him a cookie out of the container, then took a seat and slid my tea over to my spot. I glanced at him, wishing I could think of something to say. But all I could seem to think about was his mouth and what it would feel like to kiss him.

His gaze moved to my lips, just for a second, but it was enough to make my heart flutter again.

“Sky, how’s the book coming?” he asked. “Are you still blocked?”

Blocked. Distracted by you. Maybe both. “Yeah, still struggling.”

“Man, that’s rough. I’m sure you’ll figure it out, though.”

“Thanks. Do you know when you get to go back to work?”

“When I get the cast off. Hopefully the doctor will put me in one of those boot things. Then I’ll at least be able to walk and I can be on light duty.”

“You must be looking forward to it.”

“Yeah, I am.” His eyes held mine again and for a second, I forgot anyone else was here. “So, I came over to see if you wanted to go for a walk down by the river, but since you’re busy, maybe we could do that another time?”

My gaze flicked to Ginny—she wiggled her eyebrows at me—then back to Gavin. “That sounds great.”

“Okay. I should quit bugging you. You two probably want to hang out.” He got to his feet and leaned on his crutches. “Nice to meet you, Ginny.”

“You too.”

“See you, Sky. I’ll text you.”

He walked down the hallway and I followed so I could open the door for him. He gave me another smile as he walked out the door.

I went back to the kitchen feeling a little dazed.

Ginny’s eyes were huge. “Oh my god. Oh. My. God. You admitted he was hot, but I was not prepared for that.”

“He is, isn’t he?” I sank down onto my chair.

“And he’s super into you.”

“What? No he’s not.”

“Are you blind? Yes, he is.”

“He could just as easily be into you.”

She laughed. “Oh honey. He’s not. Trust me. He wasn’t rude or anything, but you were the only one in the room.”

“I guess.”

“And he calls you Sky? How cute is that? Even the asshole-who-shall-no-longer-be-named didn’t call you Sky.”

I did like it when he called me Sky. It seemed like an obvious nickname, but everyone in my life had always called me Skylar. The way Sky sounded on Gavin’s lips…

His lips on my neck. And his tongue. He licks my skin like I’m dessert and he wants to spoil every meal—

Ginny tilted her head. “Hey, sweetie. You still here?”

I blinked, coming back to myself. “Sorry.”

“More dead bodies appearing in that head of yours?”

“No. I mean, yes.”

“You’re such a liar.”

“I know.”

“He’s hot as sin. There’s nothing wrong with imagining what it would be like to have him put out your fire.”

I laughed. “I wasn’t—”

She cut me off with a look.

“Fine, I was. But I have to get that out of my head.”

“Why?” She put up a hand. “I know, you just got out of a long-term relationship and everybody says rebounds are bad. Just for the record, I disagree with that, as long as you’re not trying to replace an ex with just any warm body. If you happen to meet someone shortly after a breakup, and you have actual chemistry, it doesn’t mean you have to blow them off because you haven’t gone through some arbitrary period of mourning.”

“I’m just not sure if I’m ready.”

“That’s fair too. There’s also nothing wrong with having a little fun with a hot firefighter. It doesn’t have to be serious.”

I laughed again. “You’re implying that having a little fun with Gavin is even an option. I have no reason to believe he sees me like that.”

“That’s because you’re in denial.” She took a casual sip of tea.

“No, I’m not.”

“That’s exactly what a person in denial would say.”

“Okay fine, I’ll be honest. I’m attracted to him. And I don’t mean I think he’s nice-looking and a coffee date would be pleasant. I mean every time I’m around him, and even when I’m not, I can’t stop thinking about all the dirty things I want him to do to me.” My cheeks flushed hot. “I can’t believe I just said that out loud. Even to you.”

“You can always admit those things to me. What are best friends for?”

“Yeah. You know me, I embarrass too easily.”

“Skylar. Stop apologizing for being who you are. You’re reserved and you like quiet places and you blush at the mere mention of dick. I love all those things about you.”

“Thanks.” I paused for a moment. “Gavin scares me.”

“I bet he does.” She took a sip of her tea. “Do you want my advice?”

“Absolutely.”

“Don’t stress about it. Just let things unfold and see what happens. Maybe you guys will stay friends. But he also dropped by just to see you, so I still say he’s into you.”

I wrapped my hands around the warm mug. I had a lot of feelings about all this, but maybe Ginny was right. I had enough going on in my life, I didn’t need to stress about how I felt about Gavin Bailey—or how he felt about me.

As for what to do about the increasingly dirty daydreams? That was another story.

12

Gavin

My stomach was so full it was making me sleepy. I stretched out my broken leg, leaned back in my chair, and crossed my arms. The conversation at Gram’s big farmhouse table drifted past me. I was too drowsy to pay close attention to what everyone was talking about.

It was Tuesday, which meant Bailey family dinner. And a too-full-to-function Gavin. But Gram had made pork chops and potatoes, so who could blame me for stuffing my face? Her cooking was the best.

Asher and Grace sat across from me, and Fiona and Evan were on my left. Levi and Logan were both off duty tonight, so they were here too. And Gram sat in her usual spot.

If any more of us brought someone home, Gram was going to need a bigger table.

Not that it was likely. Logan didn’t exactly date girls you brought home to meet your family. And Levi didn’t date at all, as far as I knew. Or if he did, he kept quiet about it.

What was Skylar doing tonight?

That was a weird thought to have out of nowhere.

I peeked at my phone just in case she’d texted me. She hadn’t, which was oddly disappointing, since I wasn’t expecting her to. But I hadn’t seen her today and I was kind of bummed about that.

Actually, I was a lot bummed about that.

But her friend was in town, so she was busy.

And okay, I was kind of pouting because I’d been hoping to do something with her today.

“So are we going to talk about it, or just pretend it isn’t today?” Asher asked.

His question got my attention, because like everyone else in this room—with the possible exception of Fiona, unless Evan had told her—I knew exactly what he was talking about.