Page 83 of Pretty Relentless

I grin down at the device in my hand as images of chocolate and strawberries and a very naked Gavin enter my mind. Before I can suggest hecome over for a while, he shoots me another message.

Gavin:I’m still out at Logan’s cabin finishing up the flooring. Wanna come out and keep me company?

Logan had called Gavin on Friday, hiring him to install a new pine floor before the baby arrives. Logan actually asked him if he could start it Sunday, since he has a couple of big jobs coming up. He wanted to squeeze it in before he has to help build a new addition on a house.

Me:Are you sure? I can just go home and hang out there.

Gavin:No way. I’d much prefer your company.

Me:All right then. I’ll head out.

Gavin:See you soon, beautiful.

Smiling, I slip my phone into the cupholder and head toward the Bluff Preserves where Logan’s cabin is housed. The sun is starting to set, but there’s still plenty of light yet. The days are getting longer as we approach March, and as much as I enjoy the different seasons of weather we have in Wisconsin, I’m ready for spring.

I pull onto the road that leads to the cabin, passing a few vehicles. February is a great time at the Bluff. Yes, it’s cold, but the lake is still frozen for ice fishing, and it’s a prime time to snowmobile, if that’s your thing. Most of the cabins are always rented, even in the winter, for long weekend getaways.

A string of snowmobiles pass me just as I’m turning into Logan’s driveway, each one waving as they go. There’s something magical about this place. Whether you’re a summer or a winter person, there’s always plenty to do at the park.

I stop my vehicle beside Gavin’s work truck and climb out. Movement catches out of the corner of my eye, and when I glance up at the porch, I find him standing there. He’s wearing well-worn jeans with knee pads and a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He looks positively edible and makes my mouth water.

Reaching up, he grabs the rafter above his head. The motion causes his shirt to tighten over his arms, and while I’ve never been big on appearances, the sight of Gavin with his corded muscles and killer smile makes my thighs clench.

“Get up here and kiss me.”

My heart squeezes in my chest. My smile is automatic. My legs carry me quickly up the stairs and into his waiting arms. The kiss is electric. Everything fades away. The birds chirping, the snowmobiles running nearby, the world around us. It all just disappears until it’s only him and me left.

Nothing else matters.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Gavin

“Hi, Daddy,” Annabelle says the moment I answer the phone.

“Hello, my beautiful daughter. How was school?” I ask, sitting in my recliner while I wait for Ava to get here. She had to stay after school for a bit today, which delayed her arrival for dinner. So, I’m showered up and ready to go when she gets here.

“It was good. Miss Rutledge tripped over a desk leg though and almost fell.”

My heart skips a beat. “She did? Is she okay?”

“Yeah,” Annabelle replies with a little giggle. “She was giggling afterward. She caught herself on the desk in front of the one she tripped over.”

“Hmm,” I reply, already making a plan to give her a massage later. “Anything else exciting happen at school?”

“Well, David dropped his lunch tray in his lap and had to wear wet pants until his mom could bring him another pair.”

“That sucks,” I reply.

“And we got to have extra recess time in the gym because the internet went out and Miss Rutledge couldn’t print the math worksheet.”

“I was always in favor of extra recess,” I confess.

“How was work?” she asks.

“Good. Max and I finished up the floor in Logan’s cabin. Tomorrow we get to start framing up an addition.”

“Did you give his girlfriend back her sweater?”

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