Page 9 of Tangled Up In You

“What does ‘in my hole’ mean?” she asked.

The grim set to his expression broke as he laughed. “Darlin’, I’ll tell you later. Let’s go.” He took her hand then and picked up the pace.

It was a confident, protective move that made her smile. And the way he called herdarlin’made her whole body tingle.

His brother shouted after him. “That’s your problem! You always think the rules don’t apply to you! Like you’re better than everyone else!”

Gavin kept walking, kept holding her hand. And soon,toosoon, they were on her street.

“Sorry about that,” he said and released her. “My brother is a bastard. There’s no other word for it. Hopefully, you can ignore him like I do. Though, I’ll admit I’ve had a lifetime of practice and so have quite the head start.”

She laughed, but there was something in his expression that gave her pause. His brother wasn’t just an annoyance, there was more to it. The thing he’d said about Gavin thinking he was better than others came back to her. It was what Gavin had told her when they first met. She realized that he’d probably heard that quite a few times and had mirrored it without even realizing it.

“That must be hard, not getting along with your brother?” she suggested.

He shrugged reflexively.

“I don’t have any siblings,” she continued. “I always wished I had a little sister. Someone to take care of and play with.”

Something flickered in his eyes, turning them dark and troubled. Without thinking, she reached for his hand.

“What did I say? Are you okay?”

He pulled away from her grasp and tried to smile. “Of course.” Taking a deep breath, he turned to the house where they’d stopped. “This is it, right? How is it living with people you don’t know?”

“Um, they’re nice. I’d met them once before when they were visiting with my parents in California to go over the expansion here. They’re busy. Not really around much. So, it’s kind of like I’m still home.” She laughed to try to distract from this confession.

“Ah, then you’re better off than me. I live with people I know but they’re not very nice,” he said with a bitter laugh.

She furrowed her eyebrows. “Even your parents?”

Another dismissive shrug from him. “My da and I don’t see eye to eye all that much.”

“And your mom?”

He hesitated and she got the feeling he was deciding what exactly he would say.

Finally, he confessed, “I lost my Ma when I was seven.”

She could see the pain of that loss in his tortured expression. An ache spread through her chest at the way he still grieved after all these years. This brief time together allowed her to see another side to him. Before, he’d come off as alternately combative, charming, and confident. But it was in their shared moments of silence and the personal things he’d confessed to her that she recognized the vulnerability he tried to hide beneath his otherwise animated personality. It drew her to him even more. It made her want to protect him.

Moving closer to him, she said, “Oh, Gavin, I’m so very sorry.”

When she reached for his hand once again, he didn’t pull away. After a moment, he relaxed and she unconsciously used the pad of her thumb to make slow, sweeping movements over his inner wrist. It was an instinct to soothe him from his upset and it seemed to be working. She could see the hurt in his eyes start to fade.

“That you, McManus?”

The voice calling out came from across the street. Gavin released her hand and they both stepped away from each other as if caught. He turned to the boy and waved.

“Aye, it is. What’s the craic, O’Leary?”

“Nothing much. Oh, but are yous going to The Basement on Saturday?”

“Is your cousin at the bar?”

“He is.”

“But, like, for real this time?”

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