Deadly Ties by Jaycee Clark

day before, he opened the door for her, making certain she was in before he shut it. Hopefully, he wouldn’t pick up on her mention of Charles.
    He’d leave it alone. She could have been talking about anyone. And why should he care? He wouldn’t. Leather groaned and sighed as he slid into the driver’s seat.
    “Charles?” he casually asked as they pulled out of the parking lot.
    But she caught the slight tension in his voice, noticed he wasn’t exactly smiling now.
    Instead of answering him, she just shook her head and grinned. “Where are we going to eat?” “Charles?” He was stubborn.
    Two could play this game. “I was sorta thinking Mexican or maybe one of those bar and grill places with great salads.”

     
    * * * *
     
    “Here we are,” Gavin said, ushering her through the door of a brownstone. The glass and wooden door opened and the inner air wrapped its cool arms around them, welcoming and inviting from the heat outside. Dark woods and leathers greeted, multicolored glass lamps dulled
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    the light on the wooden tables. The noise here was muted and quiet, an old jazz tune played on the air. “Hope this is all right. Lots of choices and it’s not too far from where we were.”
    Taylor smiled at him. “It’s fine. Perfect.”
    The hostess grabbed a couple of menus and led them to a table. Gavin’s hand dropped from her elbow to the small of her back, almost possessive, and the breath caught in the back of her throat. What was this? A friendly lunch? Or a date?
    Gavin felt her slight tension when his hand went to her back. He hadn’t meant to do that, it just seemed like the most natural thing. Hadn’t even thought about it, to tell the truth. They stopped at a walled in booth and Taylor slid into one side, he in the other. A slight furrow between her brows wasn’t lost on him.
    Nothing was lost on him, when it concerned Taylor.
    He’d noticed the edginess when he’d first called her name, replaced by a smile. He also noticed her almost nervousness, not to mention she’d ignored his question about Charles. Who the hell was Charles? Some guy from Texas, obviously.
    And why did he care? It wasn’t like he and Taylor were even dating, for God’s sake.
    But where Taylor was concerned, Gavin found himself not only thinking about her, but also wondering how she was, what she was doing. Hell, the woman kept him up half the damn night. Thoughts of her dancing through his head. Maybe that was where this protectiveness was stemming from. Yeah, friendship. They were friends, of sorts. Weren’t they? Did he want to be friends with her? She kept him on his toes, aggravated him half the time. So where did that leave him? Who was Charles?
    “Today’s salad sounds great. What are you getting?” she asked him.
    Today’s salad? What? Gavin shook off his thoughts.
    “I have no idea, probably what I always get when I’m here.” He popped his menu open, stared at the all the letters, prices and words, and didn’t comprehend a damn thing.
    Taylor ordered the coconut shrimp salad and since that actually sounded good to him, he got one too.
    He watched the muscles move in the long column of her white throat as she swallowed the cool drink of her tea. And thoughts of kissing that pale skin just below her chin flashed into his brain.
    Friends? Yeah, right.
    She leaned her bare elbows up on the table. The white sleeveless shirt buttoned down the front, and as the top two buttons of her shirt were undone, he couldn’t help but get a glimpse of white lace as she shifted. Damn.
    “So tell me about your family, Gavin.”
    He cleared his throat. “You met Mom. And Aiden”
    “Hmm. What does your brother do?”
    “Aiden? He runs the hotels.” Gavin didn’t want to talk about his family. “You know lots about me, and I know very little about you. Seems kind of one-sided to me.”
    “Is that right?” Cinnamon brows rose above those dark eyes of hers. “And how do you figure that?”

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    “Well, you know