“What’re you doing?” he finally asked.
He stood so close the deep timbre of his voice vibrated against her skin and she fought a shiver. “Updating my notes on the new vegetable varieties I planted this year.”
“Bad year for squash?”
“Which one? There are four genuses of squash: C maxima, C mixta, C moschata and C pepo.”
“That’s what I get for trying to be funny.”
“Squash is no laughing matter. So what’s up?”
“Have you ever done something under…duress and wished you hadn’t?”
That was random. But typical for Gavin. She kept typing. “Like telling a stranger she can live in your house until spring?”
“Funny, Ree. But I’m serious.”
“All right. What did you say under duress? And who’d you say it to?”
“Sierra. And I kinda, sorta, maybe promised…to buy her a car.”
Rielle looked up from her laptop. “Are you kidding me?”
“Ah. No.”
“And you’re telling me this…why? Because you want the parent-to-parent lecture on not rewarding your child’s bad behavior? The girl gets herself arrested and you’re buying her a car?”
“Yeah.” Gavin distractedly scrubbed his hands over the razor stubble on his face.
She squinted at him. He always bounded down in the morning dressed and clean shaven. It was afternoon and he looked like a bum—a hot bum, but nowhere near his usual put together self. “Gavin. Are you okay?”
“I don’t know.” He sighed. “This whole buying her a car business might seem sudden, but I had planned on buying her one in Arizona, I just hadn’t told her. Then all that shit happened with her arrest. So as we’re driving across country, I’m encouraging her to talk to me, and she broke down completely. Crying about her mom leaving and how abandoned she felt, how stupid she felt that her new friends avoided her and her old friends dumped her, and berating herself for letting her grades drop. We were finally really talking about that long overdue emotional stuff…and it just slipped out.”
“It just slipped out,” she repeated slowly. “That you were buying her a car. While she was crying and carrying on about how much her life sucked?”
Gavin bristled. “In my defense, there isn’t public transportation here, unless you count the one-way bus ride in the afternoon. It’s not like I’m buying her a brand new car. It’s used.”
And he wondered why Sierra acted entitled? Rielle focused on the document on the computer screen and scrolled down to the next page.
“What? Aren’t you talking to me now?”
“You don’t need my input. She’s your daughter. You can give her anything she wants.” Literally, since the man was reportedly worth millions—if the conversations she’d heard recently in his office were any indication.
“So you think I’m making a mistake?” Gavin pressed.
“Why does it matter to you what I think?”
Gavin leaned across the counter, forcing her to focus on him. “Because your daughter is a well-adjusted adult, attending grad school on full scholarship. You are an excellent parent and I can learn from you. So help me out here.”
“Laying it on a little thick today, aren’t you?” she said wryly.
“I’m not joking. I need your input. I trust your judgment.”
Good thing he hadn’t flashed her that charming I-get-anything-I-want-because-I’m-a-McKay smile because she hated that type of male manipulation. “Fine. I’ll give you my opinion, just this one time.” Rielle sighed. “Let’s backtrack. Before all that crap happened this summer, were you teaching Sierra to drive?”
“We went out a few times. She learned to park at the mall. We mostly stayed on residential streets. I had her drive on the freeway once and it freaked her out.”
“So she’s never driven on a gravel road.”
“No. Charlie has offered to teach her to drive after school and I’ve agreed because I know he’ll be more patient. Plus, he has the time to spare.”
“That’s good because I doubt she had to deal with adverse road conditions in sunny Arizona. Maybe you should have Charlie give you a few winter driving tips too.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Funny. But what’s your advice?”
“Buy her the car. But park it in the driveway. That’ll be an incentive for her to bring her grades up and stay out of trouble. Riding the bus is good for her socially. Plus, she’ll have a better appreciation when she’s allowed to drive the car on a regular basis.”
Gavin studied her.
“What?”
“You’re so damn smart.” He trailed his palm down the length of her bare arm. “Thank you.”
A tingle started at her nape and traveled to her tailbone. She reacted to Gavin’s unexpected casual affection instinctively, rubbing her fingertips over the dark growth on his cheek. “Ooh, look out. The tycoon is going native. He’s already forgetting to shave.”
“Wrong. I’m out of razors. Since you were a smartass—” Gavin scraped his stubbled cheek up and down her arm until she shrieked, “—you’ll just have to put up with my manly scruff today.”
Oh yeah, I can think of a couple other places you can rub that manly scruff on me.
The way his eyes stayed locked on hers, she swore he’d read her mind.
“You could’ve asked to borrow one from me, roomie,” she teased, “but I’m sure you’re too manly to use a pink razor.”
“Like hell I am. Hand it over. You can watch me shave.”
“Oh, right. I’m out of razors too. I haven’t shaved my legs in a week.” Not that she had a reason to.
“Really?” Gavin rotated her barstool and latched onto her ankle. “Let’s compare, shall we?”
“What are you doing?”
“You felt my stubble; it’s only fair I feel yours.” His blue eyes held a wicked gleam as his palm slowly inched up the outside of her calf.
“This is…” Crazy, sexy, hot. How long had it been since she’d been touched with such teasing sexiness?
Forever. Maybe…never.
“See? I knew you were lying. Your skin is silky smooth.”
Keep going. The hair gets a lot coarser higher up.
His hand stopped at the hem of her skirt. Keeping his eyes on hers, his fingers caressed the skin above her knee. “No hair here.”