Harper stole glances at him as Serena reminded her about how their partnership came to be. He wanted to pull her aside and tell her they didn’t know about their night together, but Serena and Chloe were peppering her with questions.
“How do you know Gavin?” Chloe asked. “Did you know him before you went to LA?”
“We met at a music festival,” Harper said, eyeing him nervously.
“Where? When?” Serena shot a confused look at Gavin. “You’ve been in LA and Gavin has been here except over the holidays.”
“It was before I moved to the Cape,” Gavin explained. “Now, how about you guys give Harper room to breathe. She looks like she could use a beer.”
“Yes!” Chloe exclaimed, and they headed for the cooler.
Gavin grabbed Harper’s arm and lowered his voice as he said, “Don’t worry. Your friends don’t know about our night together. Justin knows we hooked up, but he won’t say anything.”
Her jaw clenched, her eyes trained on the others as they pulled drinks from the cooler. She didn’t look at him as she said, “There’s nothing to tell, right?”
“Don’t be like that,” he said, shocked at her coldness. Had he fabricated their connection? Turned it into something that wasn’t real? “It’s good to see you again.”
She turned those stunning eyes on him and wrenched her arm free. “You never even called, so it’s not that good.”
Harper stalked across the beach to the girls, leaving Gavin to wonder how the hell he was supposed to have called a woman whose real name he hadn’t even known.
“You okay, man?” Justin asked as Gavin sat beside him. “You look shell-shocked, which I totally get now that I know Harper’s the girl you’ve been comparing all others to. But, man, she doesn’t appear happy to see you.”
No, she didn’t, and Gavin was going to find out why if it was the last thing he did.
Chapter Two
“LA WAS AMAZING,” Harper gushed. She sat on a blanket between Chloe and Serena, showing off pictures on her phone, while her friends hung on her every word. “The weather is unbelievable, and the men and women are all gorgeous. It’s a whole different world from here. The people there are refined. Even when they’re dressed down, they possess an air of elegance that makes you want to be them. And there was always a party to go to or a movie premiere being planned…”
Gavin noticed Harper’s laugh wasn’t as carefree as it had been at the festival, and she was purposely avoiding eye contact with him. Her blond hair whipped around her shoulders, and she continually tucked it behind her ear, a nervous habit he remembered fondly. As familiar as she seemed, something about her was different. He couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was, but the woman who was raving about parties and luncheons was not the same woman he’d met that rainy afternoon. That woman had been more interested in walking through a small town, learning the history of the area, and exploring the shops than partying at a festival with rock stars.
Could she have changed that much in ten months?
“What are the studios like?” Chloe asked. “Are they as they appear in movies, with famous people riding around on golf carts? Did you meet a lot of actors?”
“They’re just like that. But actors have handlers, so it wasn’t like I could walk up and ask for an autograph or anything.” Harper’s eyes flicked in Gavin’s direction, and the space between them sizzled.
He hadn’t imagined their connection after all.
Her cheeks pinked up, and she quickly looked away to answer more questions. She flashed her pearly whites, talking animatedly, but she was trying too hard. There was something fake about her actions and even her voice inflection. Was she trying to impress her friends? Impress him? Why would she do either? And why was it bugging him so much?
He ground his teeth together, knowing exactly why. Gavin didn’t like fake people, and the night they’d spent together, there hadn’t been an ounce of fakeness about her. She’d been heartbreakingly honest, so why did it feel like she was hiding something now? Was the stress of keeping the secret about their night together causing her to act like this? Or was there something more? He hated seeing her like this. Why weren’t her girlfriends questioning her behavior? Did they even notice that she was acting strangely?
Damn it. He needed to know what was going on.
“What happens now?” Serena asked. “When do you go back?”
Harper lowered her gaze to the blanket, focusing on her index finger tracing a pattern as she said, “Gosh, I’m not sure. I never realized how much red tape there was in Hollywood. It could be a while.”
In that instant, he knew something was definitely wrong. The Harper he knew wasn’t a gosh, I’m not sure kind of woman. She was confident, direct, and when he’d met her, she was overly knowledgeable about the festival’s history and the background of the artists who were performing. She’d done her homework, despite having decided to attend only a few days before her spur-of-the-moment adventure.
“Now that we have the scoop on your trip, I want to know what’s happening here.” Chloe pointed between Gavin and Harper. “Between you and Gavin.”
If anything, having their affair scrutinized would only make Harper more uncomfortable.
“I’d like to find that out myself,” Gavin said as he pushed to his feet, heading for Harper, unwilling to allow anyone to make her more uncomfortable or let her play more games. They’d shared an incredible night, and he wasn’t about to let her forget how great it was. “What do you say, Harp? Let’s catch up.” He took Harper’s arm and lifted her to her feet.
Serena eyed them curiously, and Gavin wondered if she’d figured out that Harper was the woman he’d told her about.
“What are you doing?” Harper whispered harshly.
Gavin turned his face away from the others and said, “Getting some answers. You might be able to fool everyone else, but I’m not buying those fake smiles you’re doling out.” He grabbed her purse and said, “We’re going for a walk. Don’t wait around. This might take a while.”
Harper’s jaw dropped open.
Drake began strumming the tune to “Wrecking Ball.” Their friend’s curious comments carried in the air as Gavin led Harper away from the group.
“I DON’T KNOW what you think you’re doing, but a guy who doesn’t call after everything we did together doesn’t deserve my attention.” Harper tried to sound annoyed, but she couldn’t hide how breathless she felt, and she hoped Gavin didn’t notice. She might be taking a hiatus from men at the moment, but that didn’t mean she was immune to Gavin Wheeler’s good looks, his charm, or the memories of how all her inhibitions had fallen away when she was in his arms. Dragging her along a beach wasn’t exactly charming, but the fact that he’d seen through her smoke and mirrors when the friends who had known her for years hadn’t noticed was definitely…something.
He looked at her out of the corner of his wily green eyes and said, “Do I look like Houdini to you? How the hell would I have gotten your number when I didn’t even have your name right? Which, by the way, you could have clued me in on. I’ve been fantasizing about Parker when it should have been Harper.”
“Like that would have made a difference? I can’t imagine you name your spank-bank inspirations.”
He released her arm, slowing his pace without saying another word. She glanced over her shoulder, surprised to see how far they’d walked. The bonfire was merely a blur in the distance. After a long silence, Gavin stopped walking and moved in front of her, so she had no choice but to look at him.
All her womanly parts sparked to life, remembering the hungry touches, the thoughtful whispers, and the steamy, toe-curling kisses from the tall, handsome man before her. His brown hair was tousled from the wind, standing up in sexy little spikes, just as it had the morning she’d snuck out of their room at the bed-and-breakfast where they’d spent the night together. The other festivalgoers slept in tents and vans on the festival grounds. But not Gavin. He had a room at the Wy
steria Inn, a cute B and B walking distance from the festival. He’d said he liked creature comforts and that had made Harper even more attracted to him. While she was an earthy gal who enjoyed being outside, she’d gone to the festival with her younger brother, Colton, and the idea of sleeping in his van hadn’t appealed to her. But they’d both thought she’d needed to cut loose for once in her life, and the festival was her foray into doing just that. She was going to LA, after all, and as Colton had pointed out, Little Miss Straitlaced needed a little experience before heading to the other side of the country. She hadn’t expected Colton to abandon her so quickly. But he was a huge fan of Axsel Montgomery, the lead singer in the band Inferno, and shortly after they’d arrived, Colton had gone Axsel stalking. Harper had been ready to head into town and do some shopping when she’d met Gavin.
What had followed was her first and only one-night stand.
It was the best night of her life.
Until it was over.
“So, I’m sorry for dragging you off like that, but…” Gavin said, jarring her from her thoughts.
Crap. She’d totally zoned out and had no idea what he’d said.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“What? Fine. Why? I was just thinking.”
He slipped his hands into the pockets of his black zip-up sweatshirt, studying her face. “Look, Harper, I don’t know what’s going on with you right now, or what that was all about back there, but it feels like something is off.”
She sure hadn’t had trouble talking the night they’d met. Or doing anything else, including dirty things she’d never thought she’d do with a man.
“I’m sure you think I’m crazy,” he said, “because I don’t know you that well, but you can talk to me. Whether you’re over what we had or not, you have to admit that we had an intense connection, and it stuck with me.”
She stood up a little straighter, as touched by his thoughtfulness as she was annoyed with herself for liking it. She crossed her arms, needing a barrier between the warm and enticing memories swirling inside her head and the man who’d caused them.
“If that’s true, then why didn’t you call me? I left you my number.”
“You did? Where? I never saw it.”
“Come on, Gavin. Can’t you be more original than that? Just say you weren’t interested in anything more than that night. It’s what we agreed on anyway. But if you’re looking for another, I told you I’m not a one-night-stand girl.”
“You want original? How’s this?” He stepped closer, his expression serious. “You blew me away that night, and not just because the sex was out of this world. But you, Harper. The woman I met that night was unlike any other person I know. If there had been a chance in hell that I could have seen you again, I’d have sold my fucking soul to do it. But Parker left before I even woke up. Parker, the woman who didn’t really exist, never gave me a chance to take her to breakfast and ask for her number.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs. The honesty in his eyes and his voice made her heart take notice, just as it had the first night. She swallowed hard, unable to think fast enough to respond before he spoke again.
“Tell me you didn’t feel it, too,” he challenged.
I did feel it! I tried not to, but I did.
After everything she’d been through in Los Angeles, she didn’t want to put herself out there again. She’d already lied to her friends, which she’d never done before, and she was avoiding her family because her life was such a mess. She didn’t need to get tangled up in something that would probably end badly, no matter how hot, manly, and earnest Gavin was. Instead of responding to his challenge, she said, “I wrote down my number and put it in the front zipper pocket of your suitcase.”
His jaw tightened, and his gaze drifted out over the water as a small smile lifted his lips. He met her gaze and said, “I don’t suppose you’d believe me if I told you I never looked there. Does anyone even use those pockets? You can’t fit anything in them.”
A laugh came out before she had time to process her thoughts, and that laugh earned one of his, which was deep and rumbly and so real she wanted to capture the happy sound to replay it later. He was right; those pockets were awful. She didn’t even know why they made them or why she thought that was the one place it wouldn’t get overlooked.
“That’s the trouble. I do believe you,” she confessed. “You would have known my real name if you’d seen it. I put my real name on the paper with my phone number. Sorry about the whole Parker thing, by the way. When you mistook my name, I figured I should go along with it to remain in a mysterious one-night-stand persona. And then, when I wanted to correct you, so many hours had passed, I just let it go. But it doesn’t matter now. You have no idea what I’ve been through. I am not someone you want to get involved with.”
“How about you tell me what you’ve been through and let me decide for myself?” He touched her arm, his green eyes turning softer, urging her to let down her walls.
The wind carried his aftershave. It was a scent she’d never forgotten in all the months since she’d seen him. He smelled as honest as he spoke, which was odd in regard to a scent, but deeply reassuring. His aftershave smelled like him—potent yet understated, stable and trustworthy. He didn’t need the pomp and circumstance that many men did, or to put on a facade to toughen him up in the eyes of others. He was confident in his own skin, the way Harper used to be in hers.
“You’re kidding, right? Nobody wants to hear someone else’s troubles.”
“I want to hear yours, Harper. You left your entire life behind the weekend we met, and you moved across the country for an impressive adventure. I’ve heard all about that from your friends. Now I know our night together was the springboard to all those changes, and you managed to keep all those life changes and how you felt about them under wraps that whole night. Do you realize how brave you are? You’re impressive as hell. You didn’t seem like a woman who rattled easily, but something got to you, and I want to hear what it was.”
“I don’t feel very brave or impressive at the moment. I’m actually feeling pretty inadequate.”
“All the more reason to talk it out.”
She summoned the bravery he saw in her and said, “Can we walk while we talk?”
As they started to stroll along the shore again, he put his hand on her lower back and said, “You’re shivering.”
It was May, which meant comfortable breezy days and chilly nights, but she was more nervous than cold. Gavin shrugged off his sweatshirt and put it around her shoulders, leaving him in a snug gray Henley. Her mind went straight to what the muscles outlined by the fabric felt like.
“Thanks,” she said, trying to change the direction of her thoughts. “You sure you want to hear this?”
He nodded with the playful smile that had first won her over. “Yes, I do.”
“It’s crazy, you’ll never believe it, and you can’t tell anyone.”
“You sure do like your privacy.”
“Is that a problem?”
He shook his head, holding her gaze. “No, sweetheart. I like mine, too.”
“Okay.” She inhaled a calming breath and said, “It started when I met you. Remember how I told you that I’d never had a one-night stand before?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “That was true. I’m not a fling girl, but my younger brother suggested a no-strings-attached night would make me less uptight, more open to new experiences. And I know brothers don’t usually suggest those things. My older brother would kill us both if he knew. But since my sister, Jana, used to only have flings and she fell in love and married one of them, I figured I’d give it a shot. Jana and Hunter are so happy together, it’s like they were made for each other.”
“Whoa, I know a Hunter and a Jana. How many Hunter and Jana’s can there be? Hunter owns Grunter’s Ironworks. Is that them?”
She should have figured he knew them since he knew the rest of her friends. “Yes.”
“I met them one night w
hen I was with Justin at Undercover. It really is a small world. I had no idea Jana was your sister. Hell, I didn’t even think you—Harper—really existed. Your friends think the world of you, by the way. And now I know why, Parker,” he said with a lift of his brows. “Wait, that means I know your older brother, Brock, too, right?”
“Yes. He owns the boxing club in Eastham.” Eastham was a neighboring town.
“Ah, the pieces of the Parker aka Harper puzzle are all coming together. And Colton, the one who owns Undercover?”
“Colton’s my younger brother. He’s the one who took me to the festival and convinced me to do the whole no-strings thing.”
Gavin’s face turned serious again. “The one who left you alone? Selfishly, I’m glad he took off because I got to have you all to myself that night, but you could have ended up with a dirtbag. I’ve got to have a talk with him.”
“No, please don’t,” she said, feeling way too good about his protectiveness. “That was my fault. I told him I’d be fine if he went off to stalk the guy he was there to see.”
“The lead singer of Inferno. I remember you telling me that.”
“How do you remember? You were pretty drunk.”
“Nah,” he said coyly. “I’d had a few, but I acted drunker than I was.”
“Why would you do that?” She wasn’t a big drinker, and she’d probably dumped more beer on the ground as they danced than she’d actually drank. She was glad they were walking, because she couldn’t stop smiling and she probably looked like a fool. That was how it had been that first day, too. He’d instantly eased her discomfort with his candor and kindness. And those eyes. God, his eyes. They said trust me, and she had, just as she was now.
“Because you were all, ‘This is a one-time thing,’ and I didn’t want to get weird about it and scare you off. Clingy guys suck.”
“Somehow I don’t think you’re a clingy guy. So why did you really do it?”
He flashed that boyish smile again. “It was easier to pretend I was drunk and concentrate on that than to let you see how much I liked being with you. I hadn’t expected to have feelings for you that were bigger than a one-time thing.”
Bayside Romance (Bayside Summers Book 5) Page 2