The last thing in the world he was in the mood for was this game, but it was usually easier just to play along with Lori.
“Dare.” Lord knew, truth wasn’t in the cards tonight, not with Megan sitting too close, looking far too beautiful in the firelight.
Lori gave him a slightly evil grin. “Sing us a campfire song.”
Marcus groaned and held his hands over Nicola’s ears. “Asking Gabe to sing is more like a dare for the rest of us.”
Marcus’s pop-star girlfriend shoved his hands away and smiled at Gabe. “I love it when other people sing.”
Rather than being pissed off at Lori, Gabe decided that, if anything, he should be thanking his sister for the dare. Because after hearing him sing, there was no chance of anything happening with Megan.
He launched into a version of “Home on the Range” that had all the dogs and cats in the neighborhood joining in. At Nicola’s faltering smile he decided to play it up for all it was worth, and soon she had her hands over her ears, too.
Marcus, whose voice was nearly as bad as his, joined in with a god-awful “harmony” and everyone laughed so hard, including Megan, that he forgot for a minute not to stare at her in front of everyone.
Yes, she was a gorgeous woman. But she was also fun and fit perfectly into his family.
Damn it.
Their gazes collided and both of them stopped laughing. She abruptly pushed her chair back. “It’s way past Summer’s bedtime.”
Gabe stood, too. “I’ll drive you both back to the city.”
As they said their goodbyes, he prayed no one would say anything to make Megan uncomfortable about the two of them leaving together.
They were almost back in the house when Zach called out, “Don’t forget to call when you’re up tomorrow, Megan, and I’ll drop by to fix your flat. You’ve got my cell, right?”
Gabe had run up and down hundreds of flights of stairs in zero visibility countless times over the years. But hearing that his brother had already arranged to see Megan again—under the guise of helping her with her car—was what finally had the breath clogging in his chest.
He knew he shouldn’t be getting so upset about it. If he was half the man he liked to think he was, he’d be happy that his brother was finally choosing a nice girl for once. After all, hadn’t he just thought how great she fit in with his brothers and sisters?
But none of that helped the knot in his gut loosen as he and Megan silently headed down to the basement, where they found Summer asleep in front of the old TV. Some of the bigger kids were still up watching a Disney movie, but she was curled up in a ball on the old couch his mother had covered with the same afghan from when he was a kid.
Megan went to scoop her up, but he said, “Let me,” in a low voice that wouldn’t wake Summer, and lifted the little girl off the couch.
As Megan said thank you and goodbye to his mother, he gently laid Summer down upstairs and went to get his truck. When he got back, they were waiting for him on the sidewalk, Summer in her mother’s arms, just as he’d first seen them. Summer wasn’t big for her age, but he knew she had to be heavy for Megan. He quickly jumped out to help get her buckled into the backseat of his truck, using a sweatshirt as a makeshift pillow.
In the dark on the freeway headed back to San Francisco, neither he nor Megan spoke, a repeat of their drive in the opposite direction.
Earlier in the evening he’d been glad for Summer’s constant questions and chatter to fill the space so that he wouldn’t make the mistake of getting closer to Megan. He should be happy about her silence now, too. So then why wasn’t he? Why did he wish he could get to know her better, instead?
Parking in front of her building a while later, he unbuckled Summer and moved to carry her inside Megan’s apartment. This time, as she turned on various lights to help him find his way through the small rooms, he noticed how comfortable her place was. She hadn’t been there two months yet and he knew it was only temporary. Still, he found he liked being there.
Gabe’s house was in a fantastic location with lots of sun and great views from his top floor rooms. But it had never felt like home to him. Not like this did.
“Thanks so much for the ride,” Megan was saying when she’d gently pulled the covers up over her daughter, kissed her cheek, and closed her bedroom door.
In the living room, the lights of the small Christmas tree blinked behind her, lighting her up like an angel. She looked a little nervous. This was the first time they’d ever been alone together. Summer was down for the count. Considering that the little girl hadn’t stirred once during all the transporting from the basement to the car and then to the apartment, he knew she wasn’t getting up any time soon.
“Can I get you a cup of coffee or anything?”
Anyone with a beating heart could have figured out that the offer was made out of politeness, nothing more. He knew what to do. Stick to his M.O. and get the hell away from her. No big conversations. No letting down his guard.
But for all his strength of will, and the tight hold he usually had on his self-control, tonight Gabe couldn’t quite bring himself to go.
Not when he finally had Megan all to himself.
Okay, so he wouldn’t leave just yet. But he’d use the next few minutes as the perfect way to prove that he could control himself around her...and that she wasn’t that much of a temptation.
“Sure,” he said in an easy voice, “coffee sounds great.”
She looked momentarily surprised by his agreement. No doubt because he hadn’t exactly gone out of his way to be friendly with her. Not like Zach or Ryan had at the party.