Going Down Easy (Boys of the Big Easy #1)(34)

That single arched brow made her nipples tingle. Wow. So she was officially horny and into all things Gabe. That was good to know.

So why had she been reading about alligators?

She looked around the rest of the group. This wasn’t just a chance to meet Cooper. This was All The Kids. Did she want to bring Stella and introduce her to everyone? Did she really need to know their kids?

But the answer was clear immediately: yes. She did want to get to know the kids they’d all talked about over the last three weeks. And her daughter was amazing. She’d love coming and meeting new friends and playing games.

And, of course, that meant Stella would meet Cooper. And Addison would meet Cooper. And Gabe would meet Stella. And somehow that felt really . . . dangerous. And complicated. And tempting.

Yes, tempting.

“You and Stella will be here, right?” Bea asked Addison.

She realized that everyone else had already committed while she’d been lost in thought, again wondering what Gabe’s son looked like and what made him laugh and if he ate broccoli and if he was up a million times at night before he finally fell asleep.

“I, um . . .” She looked at Gabe. Like a freaking paper clip to a magnet. “I’m not sure.”

“Oh, you have to,” Roxanne said. “We so want to meet her.”

Everyone else chimed in with their agreement. Even Lindsey said, “These get-togethers are really a lot of fun.”

Addison finally nodded. “Yeah, okay, we’ll be there.”

The enthusiasm from the group warmed her. Until she saw Gabe’s very pleased look.

Well, hell. . What had she done?



Addison was killing him.

He’d been good. He’d been laid-back. He’d decided to just let the support-group meetings be the time he saw her. For now. But it was killing him slowly.

Every time he walked into the community center, he homed in on her like he was a missile. And it took everything in him to keep from stalking over to her, throwing her over his shoulder, and finding the nearest firm surface.

He missed her to his bones. He’d never felt like that about a woman before, and yeah, it was killing him.

“Hey, Corey, I don’t mind staying late tonight and helping clean up,” Gabe heard Addison say. “I have the sitter for a couple more hours. You head on home.”

“I appreciate it, Addison,” Corey told her. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Happy to help.”

“See ya, Gabe!” Corey lifted his hand.

“Have a good one,” Gabe called to the other man.

Gabe continued to stack chairs as Addison crossed to the refreshment table and started putting the cookies into a plastic container.

Caleb, Corey, and he always stayed after and put the community center back together. Austin, Dana, and Lindsey showed up early to arrange the chairs and start the coffee. Roxanne, Bea, and Ashley took turns bringing the cookies. Only Lexi, the youngest member and the one with the fewest resources and two jobs to juggle, didn’t have a specific task. From time to time she did, however, bring in leftover brownies from the restaurant where she worked, and she often lingered after meetings, helping clean up. But everyone knew that was because Caleb was there.

Tonight, however, Caleb had ducked out right away. Gabe had thought that strange, but now that Addison had dismissed Corey, too, Gabe thought perhaps she’d had something to do with getting rid of her new BFF.

Gabe picked up the stack of chairs, returning them to the storage closet. He knew that his jealousy over Caleb’s flirting with Addison was ridiculous. For one, he knew his friend had a hard time reeling in the flirting. It was just Caleb. He’d been a huge playboy before the courts had given him custody of Shay just a year ago, and he sometimes fell back into old habits, forgetting that he now came with a diaper bag and a collection of stuffed cats—Shay’s favorite thing in the whole world. For another, Caleb knew about Gabe’s feelings for Addison and was just giving him a hard time.

Still, seeing another man grinning at her, making her laugh, and complimenting her made Gabe feel uncharacteristically possessive. And, after giving Caleb a firm no in front of everyone, he realized that he didn’t care who knew it.

The door bumped shut behind Corey, leaving Gabe and Addison alone. Neither said anything as they continued to clean up the room. But finally the chairs were all put away, the cookies were stored, and there was nothing to keep them there.

Except wanting to stay.

He stopped in the middle of the room, about ten feet from where she stood by the table. She slowly turned to face him. Gabe tucked his hands in his back pockets and told himself to take it easy. Maybe she’d just felt the need to pitch in for the group. Maybe it had nothing to do with him.

But he knew better.

“Did you decide what you’re going to do about Cooper and the swamp-boat tour?” she asked.

Okay, he hadn’t been expecting that. He shook his head. “Not for sure.”

“He’s still into the alligators, though?”

She was asking about his kid. Gabe wasn’t sure why, but that made his chest feel warm. “He is. When Coop gets into something, he’s all in. At least for a while.”

She nodded but said nothing.

“Does Stella do that? Go all in on stuff?” he asked. He wanted to know about her daughter. He did. He didn’t care if it was pushy. She could choose not to tell him. But he wasn’t going to pretend he wasn’t curious about—or completely captivated by—what Addison’s daughter was like.