Page 8 of This Memory (Moose Village #3)

I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my chair. “So, are you still dating Mindy?”

“It’s Cindy, and no, I broke it off a couple weeks ago.”

The waitress walked up with our orders. We’d both gotten the BLT. “Is there anything else I can get you?”

“Ketchup for the fries, please,” Gavin said, as he winked at her.

I watched as her cheeks turned a bright red. “O-of course, yes! I’ll get that right away.”

Watching as she scurried off, I asked Gavin, “Do you do that on purpose just to see their reactions?”

Confused, he asked, “Do what?”

“Please, don’t act all innocent. The whole winking and giving the waitress that smile of yours.”

Gavin laughed. “First, I didn’t even realize I winked at her, and second, what do you mean that smile of mine ?”

I took a bite of my sandwich and glared at him as I chewed. He knew precisely what smile I meant. The one he always used when he wanted to flirt with women. Gavin would never change—ever. He was going to be a helpless flirt until the day he died.

“Don’t play dumb, Gavin. It doesn’t suit you. You know what smile I’m talking about. The one that has probably gotten you laid more times than you can count.”

He sat back and wiped the corner of his mouth. “Your opinion of me is that low?”

I raised a brow. “Surely you’re not suggesting you’re a virgin.”

A muscle twitched in his jaw. He was getting annoyed, and a part of me wanted to pick an argument with him.

I wasn’t sure why. No, that was a lie. I was uneasy about this new friendship thing.

I could keep an asshole version of Gavin out of my mind, but this nicer side of him…

Nice Gavin would be harder to keep at bay.

“No, I’m not.”

Tilting my head, I smirked. “So how many has it been, Gavin? A hundred?”

His brows rose.

“More, huh?”

Reaching behind him, he pulled his wallet from his back pocket and took out some money. He stood, dropped it on the table, and said, “I’ll be at the bar across the street when you’re ready to leave. ”

I let out an incredulous laugh. “I was kidding, Gavin. Sit down and finish your lunch.”

His gaze met mine, and something I couldn’t read passed across his handsome face. “I’ve lost my appetite.”

I watched, shocked, as he walked out of the restaurant—instantly feeling like an utter bitch.

Why had I pushed him? Was it because I really wanted to know? Or was it because I’d needed a reminder that this new friendship would only ever be that…a friendship?

The waitress approached the table, looking at Gavin’s empty seat. “Is everything okay?”

Pulling my eyes from the door Gavin had walked through, I glanced at the woman. “Um, yes. Sorry, he had to leave and handle something. Do you mind bringing a box for his sandwich?”

Gavin had hardly even touched his food.

“One for you, as well?”

Deciding it was best to give Gavin some space, I shook my head. “No, I’ll finish mine.”

After eating my sandwich, I picked up the box of Gavin’s food and left the restaurant. When I stepped outside, I saw the pub across the street and made my way over.

I wasn’t sure what I would find when I walked in, but it certainly wasn’t Gavin sitting at the bar, talking to a beautiful woman with dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing jeans and a black T-shirt…and when she laughed and put her hand on his shoulder, I swore I saw red.

Gavin was smiling, and I was instantly jealous that I didn’t know what the other woman had said or done to make him smile like that. But I could pretty much guarantee she hadn’t basically called him a manwhore, like I’d hinted at earlier .

I pulled my shoulders back, lifted my chin, and walked over to them. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to sit next to Gavin or the woman. I ended up sitting next to the woman.

“Did you make a new friend, Gavin?”

The woman spun on the stool and covered her chest—her very ample chest—with a hand. Her shirt didn’t leave much to the imagination.

“You scared me!” She laughed. Standing, she made her way around the bar. She was drop-dead beautiful. “Can I get you a drink?”

I glanced over to see what Gavin was having. Is he drinking vodka? He’s driving, for fuck’s sake.

“No, thank you, nothing for me.”

She smiled and glanced at Gavin before turning away and unloading glasses from a dishwasher.

Drawing in a calming breath, I faced Gavin. “You’re drinking, so I’ll need to drive us back to Moose Village.”

He twisted the glass in circles on the bar. “It’s water.”

“Oh,” I said softly, as I looked around the empty pub. “Are you ready to head back?”

“Sure.”

He pulled out a twenty and put it on the bar. “Thanks for the ear, Lynn.”

Turning toward him, she smiled warmly. “Anytime, Gavin. Safe trip back to Moose Village.”

When she looked my way, her smile grew wider. “Have a good evening.”

“You too,” I replied, offering an awkward wave. Gavin placed his hand on my lower back and guided me out of the bar. I tried not to notice how my entire body trembled with his touch, or how it made my stomach flip like I was on a roller coaster .

When we left the pub, Gavin dropped his hand and started down the street, where his car was parked.

We drove back to Moose Village in silence.

It was nice, initially, allowing me to settle my thoughts…

but the longer he stayed quiet, the madder I got.

And I knew I had no right to be mad. I was, in fact, jealous. Not mad.

“You looked like you knew that bartender.”

“I have known Lynn for several years. I wasn’t flirting with her if that’s what you’re implying. She wouldn’t be interested even if I was. She bats for the other team.”

“She’s a lesbian?”

He glanced at me. “Why do you sound so surprised?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. She was so pretty, and the way she was touching you, I just assumed.”

“She wasn’t touching me,” he bit back.

Gavin pulled into my driveway and parked the car but didn’t turn it off. I needed to apologize for my behavior.

“Listen, Gavin, I—”

“This isn’t going to work, Brystol.”

Surprised, I asked, “What isn’t going to work?”

He motioned between us. “This whole friend thing. Clearly, you have a very poor opinion of me, and I don’t think that’ll ever change.”

I shook my head, but he kept talking.

“I’ll try and stay out of your way during this pregnancy.”

Before I could even say anything, his phone rang. Cindy’s name popped up on the display. I expected him to decline the call, but he just looked at me.

“Right,” I said as I got out and started down my sidewalk.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid .

How could I possibly have thought we could be friends? I couldn’t move beyond our past. How pathetic on my part.

I typed in the code to my door and opened it. I shut it with force and then leaned back against the surface. Closing my eyes, I slid down to the floor, buried my face in my hands, and cried.