, and I’m Gabe. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” I replied, my voice whisper soft. I’d obviously been in the cave too long if one touch from Superman’s … er, I mean, Gabe’s … hand left me feeling like the Kraken was about to be released after being dormant for too long.
“If you’ll take us back to your car, we can take you around to staff parking and get you set up in a cabin.”
At Gabe’s words, I was suddenly struck with a terrifying thought. What if they weren’t actually associated with the camp? What if they were going to lure me away and chop me to bits, or worse? Make me watch The Matrix movies. Don’t get me wrong, I love Keanu Reeves, but The Matrix just didn’t do it for me…
My writer’s brain was at work, thinking up a million different reasons why I was crazy to even be considering getting into a car with these two, when we all turned at the sound of running feet and saw a gorgeous redhead rush down the path and launch herself in Reardon’s arms.
“What’s up, Ass?” she squealed, giving him a bear hug, then pulling back to slap him playfully on the cheek. “I’ve missed your ugly mug.”
“Do you know what it’s like driving eight hours with that much exuberance in the car? God, I thought we’d never get here.”
I turned to see a handsome man, who looked a whole lot like the woman, except his hair was more of a deep auburn, whereas hers was fire-red, walking casually down the same path she’d just burst through.
“You should’ve known better than to try to contain Jazzy for that long,” Reardon said as she jumped from his arms to crash into Gabe’s.
The new arrival noticed me standing off to the side and walked over quietly.
“And who do we have here?” he asked with a kind smile. “I’m Dillon, cousin to those two and twin to the girl with the disposition of a Jack Russell Terrier.”
I laughed at his wit and shook his offered hand.
“Zoey, vagabond and interloper.”
Dillon had a deep laugh that made me smile, and when I turned my head, I was surprised to see Gabe watching us with a frown.
“Hi, Zoey, I’m Jasmine,” the perky redhead said, bouncing over and shocking me when, rather than shaking my hand, she threw her arms around me and gave me a quick, but firm, hug. “Are you staying with us?”
I looked around at the group of freakishly gorgeous, but really nice people, and decided that my earlier worries were due to my wild imagination. I decided to trust that these people were who they said they were, and stay the week to get some work done … but just in case, I’d text my sister to let her know where I was and that if I didn’t check in every night at nine, to send the police.
“Yup, I’m staying.”
Chapter Three ~ Gabe
I fell behind the group as we made our way back to the cabins. Jasmine was talking Zoey’s ear off as they trailed after Reardon and Dillon, who were chatting and laughing as they led the pack.
I’d been surprised when Reardon invited Zoey to stay the week with us, rather than allowing her to head into town. We’d always had a strict policy about bringing dates with us to camp – we didn’t do it. This was the only time we got to be away from our hectic lives and enjoy catching up, and we’d all agreed that until we met the people we wanted to marry, we’d enjoy our time together solo.
Not that having Zoey around would be a hardship. She wasn’t classically beautiful, her face was a little too long, her mouth a little too wide, and the way she kept muttering under her breath and talking to herself made her come off a little zany, but somehow, it all worked for her. And when we’d touched … Bam, I’d felt the sizzle of chemistry run through me.
I usually had a hands-off rule about anyone involved with the camp. Being an ex-pro ballplayer, and the owner of the camp, I’d had plenty of counselors, and mothers, make a play over the years. I wasn’t naïve enough to think their advances had anything to do with me, or the man that I was; all they were worried about was status and dollar signs.
In the past, I’d had no problem taking women up on their offers and showing them a good time, but I didn’t want anything like that touching my camp. This place meant a great deal to me, and I wasn’t going to do anything that would take away from what I was trying to do with the kids.
Technically, however, camp wasn’t in session until next week. And Zoey didn’t seem to have any idea who I was, which was a nice bonus for someone who lived the bulk of their adult life in the spotlight.
I wasn’t sure if anything would happen between us or not, but I needed to have a talk with my cousins and let them know that she was off-limits. We had that spark, and I’d felt a flash of jealousy when I’d seen her laughing with Dillon, so I needed to lay it out in a way that they’d understand.
Besides … I saw her first.
“Do you want to put Zoey in with Serena and I?” Jasmine asked when we got to the cabin she and our cousin always shared, preferring to be together.
I noticed a flash of concern pass over Zoey’s face, and figured she’d been hoping to have a spot to herself, so that she could get her work done. Assuming she wouldn’t want to chance hurting Jasmine’s feelings, I decided to save her by answering, “No, she can have number five. She mentioned needing to get some stuff done, and would probably have a better chance of that without dealing with yours and Serena’s all-night gossip sessions.” I turned to her and felt my chest tighten at her answering smile. “If that’s all right with you…”
“That would be perfect, thanks,” she responded in that sexy, throaty voice, then turned to Jasmine and added, “But I’d love to hang out when I’m not working.”
“Sounds good,” Jasmine responded, not offended in the least. “I can drive you back to your car so that you can bring it over here and get yourself unpacked.”