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“Those are never going away. Which is the biggest problem.”
Jackson chuckled. “So you didn’t get her out of your system.”
“Not even close,” Gavin muttered, because of course his plan backfired. Of course he was now even more addicted to the taste and feel of Ginny. And if that wasn’t enough, he was also avoiding her.I’m doing such a good job of adulting.
“My therapist would tell you that’s an avoidance tactic and it doesn’t benefit anyone.”
“Please thank your therapist for that very obvious bit of information,” Gavin drawled, because evenheknew that he was avoiding talking about the real stuff with Ginny. And there was so much shit for them to wade through. He just kept making terrible decisions for both of them.
“Boys,” Bronte said as she walked over, nodding at Jackson and Milo. “I need to borrow the boss for a bit.”
Gavin smiled at his friends. “Let’s catch up when all of this is over, when I’m not so…”
“Tightly wound?” Milo said as Jackson added, “Stupidly in love?”
“Fuck you both very much. Thanks for coming.” They clinked glasses and grinned at each other before Gavin followed Bronte through the crowd. He stopped to shake hands with a few more people, introducing them to Bronte before making up excuses that he was needed for this and that.
When they got far away from the guests, Gavin leaned in to whisper to Bronte, “Are you taking me somewhere you can kill me without getting caught?”
Bronte scoffed and led the way behind the stage and gently pushed Gavin into a chair. “Youdolook extremely stressed and I thought I was helping you escape.”
Gavin laughed and nodded. “Thanks.”
“Is everything okay with you and Ginny?”
“No.” The word came out too fast and in a whisper, but he wasn’t ready for Bronte to also get all up in his business about the two of them just yet. “Honestly? I don’t know.”
“Okay. You should probably practice your speech. If you need anything, call me.”
“Bronte.” She stopped mid-turn, her beautiful blue dress swishing around her legs and Gavin smiled at her. “Thank you. For putting up with me these last few weeks and for not pushing me on this whole Ginny thing.”
“You’re most welcome,” she said with a grin and then kissed his forehead before walking away, leaving Gavin alone with his thoughts.
He finished his drink and set the glass down before pulling out his phone where he’d typed up his speech a few days ago. Ginny had helped him figure out all the things he needed to address, and then he’d written something, but Gavin wasn’t good at public speaking or speeches. So knowing how to craft sentences and thank people for emptying their pockets or being there for him and the shelter was hard. Ginny had told him that he needed to speak from the heart, his parents had said the same thing. But all of them were professionals at doing this. Gavin talked a big game, but when he was so in his head, he struggled to stand tall and be confident like he was most of the time.
“Thank you all for coming out tonight,” Gavin started, frowning at his phone as he pushed to his feet and slowly paced. “The Rhodes Pet Shelter has been…no,ismy passion project. That’s stupid.” Rubbing his jaw, Gavin tipped his head back and closed his eyes as he tried again. “Everyone here knows my family and you know that we take our love for animals very seriously. So obviously I wanted to be a vet like my dad and older brothers, but…nope, that’s too many words.”
“That was perfect,” her sultry voice interrupted him and Gavin straightened up, his eyes falling on Ginny. She smiled, dimples popping, as she walked towards him, drawing his attention to her bare legs. She was wearing a black dress with long sheer sleeves and a low neck that accentuated her ample and gorgeous chest. And his heart clenched at how beautiful she looked.
Gavin looked her over again, heart racing as his gaze settled on her lightly made up face. “Damn.”
CHAPTER16
Ginny tiltedher head in acknowledgement of his compliment, because sheknewthat she looked incredible. She’d bought the black dress just for the event. The sweetheart neckline accentuated her breasts, with a high cinched waist and then flowed down to her knees. The sheer sleeves were a tease, showing her arms, but not entirely. She’d paired the dress with her red heels, adding a pop of color to her ensemble. And her hair was loose around her shoulders with diamond drop earrings adding a little sparkle.
“That was a good way to start the speech, make it fun and personal. Anecdotes always get people interested.”
He nodded and almost like he was forcing his eyes away, Gavin dropped his attention back to his phone. Ginny took that opportunity to look him over. Like her, he was wearing all black and the pants hugged his strong thighs, tapering down to shiny black shoes. Smiling at how snug the jacket was, Ginny was sure that members of the audience would definitely be drawn to Gavin’s physical strength. He’d trimmed his beard, but it still clung to his jaw tight like it could not be parted from the man. And for a change, his hair was combed back, a few rogue strands falling over his forehead. Ginny’s fingers itched to push them back.
They also itched toretraceevery inch of the man standing in front of her.
“Can we get Bronte to do this instead?”
Ginny laughed at the frustration in his voice. “It’s called theRhodesPet Shelter, so no, we can’t get Bronte to do this. Come on, you were so sure about this speech the other day.”
“Then I saw the number of people attending and freaked the fuck out.”
“You should get your friends to spread out in the ballroom and speak tothem, that way, you’ll forget about everyone else in the room.”
