More Than I Could (21)

“No. Yeah, kind of.” I settle back in my seat, relieved to see a friendly face. “You’re working today, too?”

“Nope. I saw you walk in, so I thought I’d check on ya.”

I motion for him to lean across the table. He does, with a heavy dose of skepticism, and I rub my thumb over his cheek.

“Check your face before you go in public if you’re going to kiss someone with red lipstick.” I grab a tissue and wipe my hand. “Unless you don’t mind. But free tip—women won’t be open to flirting if they think you just got out of bed with someone else.”

Gavin places a hand on his cheek and laughs. “You just might be the best friend I’ve ever had.”

I laugh too.

“So how’d the job go?” he asks. “Are you employed?”

I snort.

His brows pull together. “What’s that about?”

“It turns out that the best friend you’ve ever had is leaving Peachwood Falls tomorrow morning.”

Gavin frowns. I find myself frowning too.

“I don’t understand,” he says, confused.

“It didn’t go well today. The guy I would be working for—coincidentally the same guy from last night, mind you—I don’t think he hates me, necessarily,” I say, scrunching up my face while I think. “But I think he wants to.”

He crosses his arms over his chest and studies me.

“But you know what?” I ask with growing irritation. “That’s on him. I mean, did I poke at him a little? Yeah, probably, but only because he made it easy. And I don’t think he cared, either. But that doesn’t justify his stance that I’m somehow not trustworthy.”

Gavin cocks his head to the side, amused.

“It’s not about that,” I say, the filter to my mouth nowhere to be found. “What is it about? I don’t know. Maybe he has a girlfriend and thinks she’d be uncomfortable with a single woman living with him. That could be it. Maybe it’s a control issue with his mom, and he’s rebelling because she had me show up without his consent.”

Gavin chuckles, his eyes sparkling. “Maybe he’s just a dick.”

“He is a dick.”

I fall back in my seat with a huff.

“So all bets are off?” he asks. “You’ve told them you’re done?”

My shoulders rise and fall.

“What’s that mean?” he asks.

“It means I have, but I haven’t. I mean, I pretty much told Chase, but I haven’t told Maggie yet. I have to call her, but I’m procrastinating.”

Tabitha comes to take my order. Gavin declines anything but takes the opportunity to flirt with the older lady. She blushes but razzes him right back. Their interaction is so wholesome and adorable that it dilutes my irritation—just a little bit.

Once she’s gone, Gavin settles his sights on me again.

“What did you do today?” I ask, needing a reprieve from talking about the Chase issue. “Anything fun?”

“If you call building a fence with my brother fun, then yeah. Also did a little fishing that ended with a hook in my palm because my brother is an asshole.” He holds his hand in the air. A Band-Aid stretches just below his thumb. “That hurt like the dickens.”

“Did you have it looked at? Did it need stitches?”

“Dad closed it with some skin glue stuff. I don’t know. He was in the Army, so he can piece you back together as long as you don’t lose too much blood.”

I wrinkle my nose, making him laugh.

Tabitha sets my drink in front of us and pauses to talk with Gavin again. I watch their interaction. It’s clear why I like him so much. His effortless way about him makes everyone feel comfortable in his presence.

Unlike Chase freaking Marshall.

I swirl my straw around my lemonade and think about my options.

I can go back to Dallas and find a place to rent. God knows I love my mom, but I can’t live with her for long. But where will I work? What will I do for a living? I have no idea. Despite Dallas being my hometown and my mom living there, it no longer feels like home. Being away for over a decade will do that to you. It’s not that I’ve outgrown it or think I need the glitz and glamour of LA or New York. I just don’t fit in Texas. I don’t think I ever really did.

My other option is to keep looking for work in LA or New York, but the idea of moving back to the city doesn’t excite me. Of course, if I must do it to work, I will, but I genuinely feel like that part of my life has passed. The trouble is, I don’t know what part of my life I’m in now.

“What’s that all about?” Gavin asks.

I pull my attention away from my thoughts and to my friend. “What’s what all about?”

“That shrug.”

Did I shrug? “Nothing. I was thinking about what I want out of life.”

“And that is …?”

I don’t even know for sure. “I’d take a cabin in the woods and a million dollars.”

“Come to think of it, I’d take that too.”

Tabitha delivers my grilled cheese with a friendly smile. I decline anything else, and she scurries back toward the kitchen.

“What are you going to do?” Gavin asks, folding his hands in front of him. “Are you gonna call Maggie?”