“Harvey,” Gavin said. “What the hell, man?”

“Wait,” Harvey said. He was dressed in a worn leather vest over a flannel shirt, faded jeans, and a pair of brown boots. He had a stick in his hand and he used it to poke at the squirrel.

“Don’t hurt it,” I said, getting up, relieved that Gavin seemed to know him.

Harvey chased the squirrel a few steps and tried to nudge it with the stick. “I just want my can back.”

I quickly took off my coat. “Here, use this.”

Gavin took my coat and tossed it on the squirrel. Then he scooped the whole thing up in a bundle in his arms.

Harvey raised the stick over his head and for a second, I thought he was going to hit the squirrel—or Gavin. But he rested it on his shoulder and tilted his head.

“Don’t bite me,” Gavin said as he gently unfolded my coat, looking for the squirrel. “I’m trying to help, little bro.”

He moved a sleeve aside, exposing the top of the can.

“There it is,” Harvey shouted.

Gavin jerked the bundle away. “I got it, I got it.” He crouched down and lifted the can, then set my coat and the squirrel down on the ground.

The squirrel rubbed its little paws over its face a few times, then scampered off into the woods.

Gavin let out a long breath and handed the can to Harvey. “What was that about?”

“He stole my can.” Harvey held it up and pointed an accusatory finger in the direction the squirrel had gone.

“Yeah, they do that,” Gavin said with a laugh. “You okay?”

Harvey brushed off his vest. “I’m all right now. Sorry if I scared you, miss…”

“Skylar,” I said. “Skylar Stanley.”

“Do you need a ride back to town?” Gavin asked.

“No, now that I got my can back, I’m fine.” He tipped his old hat to me and gave me a crooked smile. “Nice to meet you, Miss Stanley.”

Bewildered, I watched him happily clutch the rusty can to his chest and walk away, into the woods.

“Did that really just happen?” I asked.

“I didn’t plan that part, I swear.” Gavin grabbed my coat and shook off the dirt. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

He held my coat while I slipped it on, then pulled my hair out from the back. The brush of his fingers felt good on my skin.

“You know, Harvey kind of reminds me of one of your characters. The drifter.”

“You read that book?”

“Yeah. It’s amazing. I totally thought he was going to be the killer. You had me completely fooled.”

I stared at him, wondering how many more times he was going to say or do something that tugged on my heart like that. Because if he did, it might start becoming a problem.

Just friends, Skylar. We’re just friends.

“I’m glad you liked it.”

But he gave me that smile again—the one that was all sweet brown eyes and dimples—and I had a feeling my heart was in trouble.

31

Skylar

There were several cars already outside Cara’s house when I arrived. She’d invited me to a watch party, although I wasn’t sure what we were going to be watching. I’d texted Gavin to see if he was going, and he’d said yes. Knowing he’d be there made me want to go, despite my usual avoidance of parties or other gatherings where I didn’t know people very well.

Or even sometimes when I did.

Now that I was here, my anxiety was telling me this was a mistake. What if I started talking about my characters like they were real people? I’d done that at a cocktail party once and it had been mortifying. Or maybe I’d start spewing morbid facts about the rate of corpse decay as it related to determining time of death like I had last Thanksgiving with Cullen’s family.

Not good.

But Gavin was here, and it was impossible to resist an opportunity to be with him.

I got out and marched up to the door, knocking before I could turn back into a mouse and dart away.

Cara answered, dressed in a gorgeous black and white off-the-shoulder blouse, black pants, and bright pink heels. Her hair was down and she smiled, her deep red lips parting over perfect white teeth.

“There you are. I’m glad you could make it.”

I nervously tucked my hair behind my ear and glanced down at my clothes. Under my coat, I’d worn a t-shirt that said careful or I’ll put you in my novel, and a pair of jeans. “Thanks. Am I under-dressed?”

She looked me up and down. “Not at all. You’re adorable. This is totally casual, so you’re fine.”

“Okay.”

I followed her inside and gazed in awe at her house. It was gorgeous. Big windows showcased a view of the river and the furniture looked both pretty and comfortable. A man in a white coat worked in the kitchen, and there was a bar set up, complete with a bartender mixing drinks.

“I’ll take your coat,” Cara said, and before I knew what was happening, she was already sliding it off.

“Thank you.”

Music played in the background, and I was surprised to realize I knew everyone here. Evan and Fiona, Asher and Grace. Levi stood talking with Grace and Fiona while Logan stood with a beer, looking mildly uncomfortable.

Gavin stood next to the kitchen island, chatting with the chef. As soon as I walked in, his eyes swung to me and his face broke into a smile.

My heart fluttered and my breath caught in my throat. Why did he have to be so gorgeous? It was quite unfair to people trying not to make fools of themselves at a party.

That was me. I was people.

He walked over with a beer in his hand. Thankfully, he was dressed similarly to me, in a t-shirt and jeans. It made me feel more comfortable. “Hey, Sky.”

“Hey. Is that a chef in the kitchen?”

“Yeah. Cara does that. She likes to throw parties, and they’re always catered with an open bar. Even on a random Thursday.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, they’re fun. Even Logan comes, although he always says he isn’t going to. This one’s kind of small, though. I wonder if she invited anyone else.”

“What’s going on with Logan and Cara anyway?”

Glancing at his brother, he shrugged. “I don’t know how it started, but they either hate each other or…”

I nodded, catching his meaning. “Yeah, seems that way.”

That reminded me, I hadn’t asked Ginny about her breakfast date with Logan the other day. I wondered if she’d seen him again this week.

“By the way, are you busy tomorrow?” he asked.

“I don’t think so.”

He grinned. “Awesome.”

“Are you going to tell me why?”

“Not yet. But trust me, it’ll be fun.”

“I have no doubt.”

Cara breezed around the room, smiling and chatting. Logan moved whenever she got close to him, as if enforcing a minimum distance requirement. She went to the bar and a moment later, came over with a glass of champagne.

“Here you go.”

I took the glass. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure. Help yourself to the food. It’s just heavy hors d’oeuvres tonight.”