“He’s going to ask Paige to marry him soon,” she said, stealing a cucumber slice off the cutting board.
Gavin grabbed a slice for himself before checking on the steak tips. “Your cousin told you that?” If and when he proposed, he wouldn’t announce it to anyone beforehand—not even to his twin sister, and he told Vivian a lot.
She shook her head and reached for another cucumber. “Scott refused to answer me when I asked. But when I watch them together, I can just tell. They’re perfect for each other, and they’ve been living together for a while.”
At one time, he’d thought Amber was the one for him. They’d even shared an apartment for almost a year, but eventually the things they wanted in life came between them. Except for the information Leah had shared, he didn’t know anything about her cousin’s relationship. But he did know that until the guy bought a ring and proposed, anything could happen.
Rather than share his sentiments, he said, “Scott has a son, doesn’t he?”
“Cooper turned—”
The sound of an old-fashioned telephone ringing cut Leah off.
“Can you see who the caller is?” He’d left the cell phone on the counter across the kitchen, and he didn’t want to stop working unless necessary.
Vivian had left a message earlier in the week, wanting to know how things had gone over Fourth of July weekend. He’d never gotten around to calling her back. With Leah sitting across from him, he wasn’t going to answer any of her questions now either. So if it was his twin, she could leave another message, and he’d call her when he got a chance. Harry didn’t call often, but he occasionally reached out on the weekends. Gavin sure as hell didn’t want to talk to him tonight.
Grabbing the phone, Leah checked the screen. “It’s your dad.” She returned with the device and held it toward him.
Unless indisposed, he rarely blew off calls from either of his parents. “I’ll keep it short,” he promised before answering the call.
Determining whether the call from Gavin’s dad pertained to work or family from his responses was impossible. Rather than speak in complete sentences, Gavin answered with a series of noes with a few yeses thrown in. She’d heard friends have more in-depth conversations with their pets. Never mind pets, she had more interesting conversations with herself sometimes.
“Say hi to Kerry and Piper. I’ll see you on Monday.” He ended the call and returned to the salad he’d started putting together.
Gavin didn’t get calls from his dad often, or if he did, it was never when they were together. “Everything okay?”
He dried the green pepper he’d washed and then sliced it in half. “Dad wanted to know if I’d heard from Harry. They were supposed to play tennis this afternoon, but he never showed up.”
As far as she was concerned, Harry Kincaid ranked just slightly above pond scum. Still, she hoped nothing had happened to him. Pond scum or not, he was Gavin’s half brother. “Your dad’s worried about him?”
They might all be adults, but if either she or one of her brothers didn’t show up when they were expected, both her parents would be concerned.
“Annoyed. Harry pulls this kind of stuff too often for Dad to worry.” Gavin removed the seeds from inside the pepper before cutting it into cubes. “He’s probably with his girlfriend and couldn’t be bothered to call Dad. He doesn’t have much consideration for anyone. He never has.”
Once again she wondered why she’d stayed with Harry for as long as she had. Sure, he could be charming, but he had a lot of bad habits. Some of them he’d managed to keep hidden until near the end of their relationship. Others she’d picked up on right away, but she’d been willing to overlook them because she’d kept telling herself Tory, her cousin and best friend, wouldn’t consider Harry a friend if he was a bad guy. It wasn’t until after Leah ended the relationship that she learned Tory had introduced them because her fiancé and Harry were close friends. Correction, Tory’s former fiancé; Luke and Tory had parted ways the previous month.
“Milan will get tired of him fast,” she predicted.
A picture of the supermodel and Harry leaving a New York hotel had popped up on a popular internet site she visited. Although Leah wouldn’t call the supermodel a close friend, they knew each other. But even if they didn’t, Leah was familiar with the woman’s reputation. Regardless of whether the man she was dating was a famous athlete or even an A-list actor, she never stayed with them for long.
“Had a similar thought when I saw they were together,” Gavin responded. “And I don’t care.”
She watched him open a bottle of red wine before removing the potatoes from the oven. “Milan and her sister Brooklyn remind me of you and Harry.”
He tossed a skeptical look her way as he took down two glasses. “I’m not sure I want to know how.”
Leah might consider Milan a mere acquaintance, but she’d known Brooklyn even before she became a Sherbrooke the previous year. “They have almost nothing in common and don’t share much of a family resemblance. Just like you and Harry.”
“Can’t disagree with you there,” he said. “The dining room will be more comfortable. If you bring in the wine, I’ll take care of everything else.”
Located at the rear of the condo, the dining room had windows stretching from the floor to the ceiling. While the room was tastefully furnished, it usually lacked any warmth or personality. This evening was a different story.
A small centerpiece of flowers occupied the middle of the table. White taper candles stood on either side of it. Napkins folded to resemble fans sat inches from the silverware.
Setting down the wine and the glasses, she moved to pull out the chair closest to her. She didn’t get a chance to do anything else.
After setting two dinner plates on the table, Gavin’s hands came down over hers and his chest brushed against her back. “Let me,” he said, his voice a caress that did crazy things to her insides.