View With Your Heart: a small town romance (Heart Collection Book 5)

by L. B. Dunbar

  “Pizza-blocked?” Britton laughs, a more genuine sound this time, and I notice her visibly relaxing a little bit.

  “After he went all ninja nephew, he told Gee he’d take him out for pizza, and I felt dismissed.” I pout, and Britton laughs harder. I want her to laugh more often and not be so reserved around me. My hand reaches out and swipes down her arm, and then I quickly retract it despite the energy humming under my palm. I resist as I promised I’d be good, but I accept it will be a difficult promise to keep.

  Take 15

  Scene: A Dark Driveway

  [Britton]

  Gee’s team won their game, and Gavin took us out for pizza as suggested. Gee was ecstatic to have pizza two nights in a row, and I worried once more about attachment to Gavin. He had been asking me all kinds of questions since learning the advice he passed to Gavin was actually Gavin’s originally. He wanted to know more about our friendship and why we hadn’t stayed friends. I didn’t know if it was curiosity because he’d given up his friends when we moved to Elk Lake City or if his concerns ran deeper.

  Theo certainly had planted a seed, at least with me, and while I appreciated his protective stance, it was unwarranted. I am a grown adult. I can figure this out. I just need to get my heart, body, and head in alignment because they each want different things. My heart wants companionship, even if it is only short term, while my body wants all the chemistry I still have with Gavin. Of course, my head is the voice of reason, demanding I rip off the bandage and tell Gavin the truth, knowing it will decide everything for me.

  As each day passes, the hole grows deeper, but I can’t find a way out. Gavin asks to take Gee fishing, and he does it before Gee, so I don’t have a good enough excuse to say no. When I arrive home from the shop on Tuesday night, I find Gee and Gavin making dinner in my house. The scene is heartwarming and heartbreaking in the same breath as it’s a vision of what I’d always hoped would happen and will never be.

  “There’s a pre-wedding party tomorrow night. I swear I don’t know how many times they need to celebrate as there is still a bachelor party on Thursday and the rehearsal dinner on Friday. I’ll be so sick of them by the wedding,” Gavin teases, but he seems to be enjoying himself, reconnecting with his old friend, his brother, and even making a few new friends with the other men who have recently joined his family. Gavin told me about Tricia Carter, and I know of her because Jenna works with Tricia at the high school as they are both teachers. He also told me about Ethan’s history with Ella and how her older stepbrother is now engaged to Pam Carter. To top it off, both sisters are pregnant.

  “Keep that water away from me,” Gavin jokes upon telling me, and I softly chuckle, remembering him saying how he didn’t consider having children. He clarified at some point that not having children had really been his ex-girlfriend’s decision, and he went along with it as he was busy in his own right. He didn’t add whether his mind has changed since their breakup.

  He is so good with Gee, and I have a glimpse of him as a father. He would have made a great dad.

  “Gavin, what did the mama pasta say to the baby pasta?” Gee says.

  I roll my eyes, but Gavin is already laughing. “We’ve been at this for hours,” he mutters to me before addressing Gee.

  “It’s pasta your bedtime.”

  Gee’s mouth falls open as Gavin beats him to the punchline, and Gavin nearly falls out of his seat laughing. I crack up as well as Gee’s been bested.

  All through dinner Gavin has been respectful and physically distant, but when I walk him out to his car, he admits his weakness.

  “God, I fucking want to kiss you, and it’s killing me not to,” he springs on me, and my insides flip flop. He steps close, brushing my hair around my ear and holding his hand on my neck. His thumb rubs over my pulse point, and I swallow. I want him to kiss me too, but I don’t want to keep giving him mixed signals any more than I want him to keep toying with my heart.

  “Maybe just one kiss,” I tell him, thinking he’ll step in for a quick brush of my lips, but I should know better with Gavin. He takes his time to comb his fingers through my hair, brushing more strands behind my ear. Then his fingertips trail down my neck and under my chin. He strokes along my jaw and rubs the pad of his thumb across my lower lip. By the time he leans forward, I’m breathing heavier, desperate to taste him. He leans close but not quite touching yet. Breathing me in, he focuses his eyes on my mouth as his thumb swipes along the lower curve.

  It feels like the universe is holding its breath. The moon is brighter. The stars shift. Crickets sing a song of seduction.

  “You still taste the same to me,” he whispers. “But I’d love to know if you taste the same in other places.”

  I gasp at the directness, and my open mouth gives him the invitation to close the distance. With his mouth against mine, the night explodes around me. His tongue undresses me, and my mouth melts under his. Wetness pools in other places, and I’m desperate to press against him, seek friction, and relieve the pressure that’s rebuilt triple-fold since Saturday evening. I want him to touch me again.

  His mouth does all the touching, though, while his fingers hold my head. He takes and takes, drawing out the kiss until I want to scream for his hands to move to other places on my body. When he finally pulls away, I follow him, eager to keep our connection, and he chuckles softly. Keeping my eyes closed, I hum, savoring the kiss a little longer despite breaking apart.

  “Wow,” he mutters.

  “Uh-huh,” I groan as I slowly open my eyes.

  “I figure if I only got one kiss, I should make it a good one,” he teases. Regardless of the dark night and the darkness of his eyes, they sparkle with mirth. He knows I’m turned on by him, attracted to him, but I fight the desire to lunge forward. I want to wrap my entire body around his, but rationale kicks in again.

  “Gavin, I need to—”

  The screen door squeaks open and slams back, and we both turn to find Theo exiting the house.

  “Headed out again,” he mutters, keeping his head down.

  “Where are you going?” I question, not wanting to make an issue of his social life but still curious.

  “Just out,” he says, stopping without looking up at me.

  “Theo?” I question, wondering what’s going on with him. He was quiet all through dinner, hardly addressing Gavin.

  “She asked you a question, man,” Gavin finally interjects as Theo doesn’t answer me.

  “You’re not my dad, man, so don’t.”

  “Theo,” I gasp, stepping away from Gavin and turning more directly for my teenage nephew.

  “That’s right, kid. I’m not your dad, so don’t be a prick.” Gavin’s message contains more.

  “I’m not a kid,” Theo snaps back, and I’m wondering if something else is bothering him. Maybe something happened with his dad.

  “Then don’t act like it,” Gavin snaps back, and I’m surprised at the tone he takes.

  “Yeah, then don’t be a dick.”

  “Hey,” Gavin and I say at the same time.

  “Apologize,” I demand of Theo. This isn’t like him.

  “Sorry,” Theo says, but it’s more a snort. “Can I go now?”

  “You still haven’t said where?” I remind him.

  “Just down the street.”

  I nod, and Theo quickly struts to the end of my drive.

  I turn back to Gavin. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what that’s all about.”

  “He’s just worried about you.” Is it true? Why does Theo think he needs to protect me? Does he see something I don’t? I want to dismiss Theo as a kid, but I know he’s wiser than most despite his seventeen years. He’s so much like me, feeling like he’s all alone at his age.

  “Is he dating one of my nieces?” Gavin asks, and I shrug. I have no idea about his young love life. I only know he’s social.

  “Which one would he date?” I question.

  “Meghan’s only fifteen, but soon to be a sophomore. Madiso
n just graduated, so she’s off to college in a few weeks. It could be either one, I suppose.” Gavin narrows his eyes at the spot where Theo disappeared.

  “Are you upset?”

  Gavin shakes his head. “Nah, but I should be, right? I should know more about my nieces.” He sighs, swiping a hand through his hair. “I should know so much more about my entire family.” His head lowers, guilt filling his voice.

  “Maybe you should visit more often,” I suggest, and his eyes slowly lift for mine.

  “Maybe I should.” He weakly grins. “Would you like that if I visited again?” His smile grows, but something in his words doesn’t settle well. Still, I don’t wish to argue with him, so I tease him instead.

  “Would I be your girl every time you returned?” A bit of curiosity exists in my jest. Would Gavin return here? Would I be his Michigan girl? Would I fill his time every visit? I don’t like that thought of being some secret across the country from his everyday life.

  Gavin reaches out for my hair, brushing it back and pausing against my neck. His eyes follow the motion before he looks up at me.

  “I wish we’d stayed in touch when we were younger. I could have seen you every summer.” The lie is sweet, but Gavin didn’t come back once he left. He stayed in California, and I know this because I returned the following summer to find him gone forever like he wanted to be.”

  I sadly smile, recognizing we can’t turn back time, only move forward.

  “Come to the party with me tomorrow?”

  “Gavin,” I shake my head, tipping it forward, and he pulls me into him.

  “I want to see you as much as I can while I’m here.”

  And what about when you go? However, I know the truth. He’ll leave because he doesn’t want to be here. Adventure awaits his future once again, and my future is firmly planted right here.

  Take 16

  Scene: Emily and Jess’s Backyard

  [Gavin]

  When I went fishing with Gee, he opened up to me a bit more about his dad, telling me how he was closer to his mother because his dad was strict. To me, it sounded like something a typical kid at his age might say of a parent, but he mentioned again how his father was gone a lot before he was sick. My curiosity about Britton and her relationship with her husband continues.

  Dinner hadn’t been my plan, but Gee and I were having a good time fishing. It’d been ages since I went. I remember doing it with my father when I was a kid, probably younger than Gee, but as I eventually had sports throughout the summer and there was always the farm to tend, I grew out of fishing. Gee didn’t have much patience and chattered away quite a bit. The day passed with jokes and stories. The rowboat wasn’t the same one Leo had owned, but it was almost as decrepit as that old one, and I didn’t like the seam of it, slowly seeping water.

  Worried about Gee’s safety, I decide to buy Gee a new boat before I leave town.

  The idea of leaving weighs heavy on my shoulders with each passing hour. I don’t want to like being back in my small town, but I do in some incremental ways. It’s been great to reconnect with Ethan and Jess, and the party at Jess’s house will be another reminder of all I’ve been missing in family and friends. Then there is Britton and my question as we stood in her driveway. Would she let me come visit her? Would she like to see me again? Could we stay in touch this time?

  Britton finally agrees to attend the party at Jess’s house. Gee is invited, as well as the Carter and Scott clans share young cousins, and Holden will be in attendance. For now, Jess and Emily only have his daughter Katie. Jess’s first wife had been a bitch and undeserving of motherhood after what she did to her child. I haven’t interacted much with Emily, but Jess is smitten with her, and I’m so happy for every one of them.

  Britton also says she’ll meet me at the party as Gee has baseball practice. Arriving at Jess and Emily’s house, hugs are passed out, and backs slapped as I greet Jess and his future wife. Tom and Karyn are already present with Holden, who immediately asks if Gee and he can go to town for the weekly street fair on Main Street once Gee arrives.

  As if on cue, Britton and Gee turn the corner of Jess’s house and step into the backyard. My breath catches at the sight of Britton. In a yellow T-shirt and complementary patterned skirt with her blond hair, she’s a vision of sunshine. Her slight tan enhances her blue eyes, which land on me as soon as she sees me. Her smile is bright as well, and my knees almost give out. She’s breathtaking in such a natural way.

  “Mom,” Holden drones, and I turn to my nephew, begging his mother for time.

  “One hour,” Karyn tells her son.

  “Two,” he argues.

  “One and a half,” she acquiesces, and Tom chuckles at his son when Holden agrees.

  “Dude, I need to teach you the art of negotiation.”

  As Holden turns to Gee, Karyn teases Tom. “Your art of negotiation is like stick figure drawing, so I don’t think he’ll learn much from you.”

  Tom gives his wife a pinched smile, and I watch Karyn’s eyes follow her husband as he walks away. Turning my head to Britton, she notices the same thing I did.

  “Looks like trouble in paradise,” I joke.

  Britton shrugs. “It happens. Couples fight.”

  I wonder if she fought with her husband, but I don’t ask. She won’t tell me. Ironically Zoey and I didn’t fight much. She’d pout for days if I did something wrong. I’d apologize, unknowing what I’d done, and we’d be back to rights. However, our relationship never was right when I compare it to Britton. Despite her wall, she’s still fun to be around, and I saw her relax more when we had dinner with Gee two nights in a row. I could feel her watching me during those meals, but it was more than the physical attraction between us. It’s like she’s trying to figure me out. She doesn’t know what to think of me as I am now, and that leaves her questioning herself. If she’d only admit she wants me, I’d give her the moon and more.

  “You look beautiful,” I say a bit breathless, giving away the effect she has on me.

  “Thank you.” She tips her head and wraps her hair over her ear in that way, and I want to lean in and kiss her exposed neck.

  “Let me introduce you to everyone.” As I introduce Britton to the gang, Emily jumps up to give Britton a hug.

  “I love the summer herbal blend. It’s my favorite,” Emily states. Britton turns to me and explains.

  “Emily is a regular at TeasMe!. She sits in my shop to write some days.”

  Glancing at Emily, I wait for an explanation. “I’ve been working on a book about my grandmother. This was her house.” She smiles with pride up at the house that’s been here for generations. Her grandmother, Elizabeth, was famous but I don’t remember how.

  “Although I have an office, it’s nice to get out of the house sometimes.” As Katie runs out the back door of the screened-in porch and it slams, Emily flinches. “And sometimes it’s just too noisy to be here.”

  Jess walks up to her and slips an arm around her shoulders. He presses a kiss to her temple, and Emily smiles before looking up at him.

  “But you don’t really mind the noise,” he teases.

  “I don’t mind the noise, no,” she adds, still gazing at him. There’s a story here as Jess’s daughter didn’t talk for years.

  “So, the big day is Saturday,” Britton interjects. “Congratulations.”

  “Yes. Are you coming with Gavin?” Emily asks, eyes moving from Brit to me and back. Britton chuckles.

  “Well, that would be awkward to answer if he hadn’t asked me.” I’m almost holding my breath as she hasn’t accepted my invitation. I’m surprised she agreed to attend this party, but Gee wore on her as I mentioned that it was for families.

  “So, you’re coming,” Emily presses as if the decision is made, and Britton looks up at me.

  “I’m coming.” Her voice drops before she glances back at Emily. “I’ll just need to find a sitter for Gee.”

  “Bring him. It’s fine.” Emily waves a hand, and Je
ss turns to look at her.

  “You know the reception really is supposed to have a limit,” he teases. “I think she’s invited the entire town.”

  “I haven’t. It’s just that we have spots to spare. My sister is here with her five boys, and they could use the company.”

  At the mention of her sister, I notice a woman holding a baby no more than one sitting next to Jess’s mother, Mary, and a group of boys wrestling near them on the grass. Katie’s close to the mix but not mingling in with their roughhousing.

  “That’s Grace and her crew.” Emily laughs.

  Ethan and Ella arrive with my parents. Tricia and her man, Leon, show up with Leon’s younger sister named Lys and a kid named Levi Walker that I only know is the younger brother of her ex-husband. Finally, Pam Carter arrives with her guy, Jacob.

  Britton seems to know more of them than she thought she would, and I marvel once more at how well they know her when no one ever mentioned her to me. I’ve missed out on years with her. We hadn’t kept in touch after that fateful weekend. We hadn’t even exchanged phone numbers as we’d spent every second inside that hotel room. What a fool I’d been.

  “Hey, can I borrow you a second?” I ask, slipping my hand down her arm and tugging her toward the house. We’re outside in the warmth of an early August evening, but I need a second of privacy with her. I don’t have to worry about Gee, as he’s raced off with Holden, and Theo won’t be attending tonight as he has to work a slightly later shift for the adventure shop.

  Britton excuses herself and follows me, allowing my hand to slip to her fingers and lead her inside. We enter through the screened-in porch and step into the dining room directly off it. The house is smallish, so I round the staircase, finding the only spot hidden from the view of the backyard.

  “What’s going on?” Britton questions once we stop, and I look from side to side, making certain the staircase blocks us.

  “This.” My hands slip into her hair, and I tug her to me, landing my lips on hers. I take my time to savor her mouth. Her hands grip my biceps at first, but as the kiss heats, her palms move up my arms, over my shoulders, and into my hair. I tilt her head, and the kiss deepens. God, I’ve missed her during the day, and the feeling reminds me of when we were kids. I’d have to work, and she would hang out at her uncle’s. I’d think about her all day, counting down the minutes until I could see her.