Just Friends (22 page)

As a last resort, Gavin looked at his
sister-in-law. “Daniella, help me out here. Cyrus will listen to
you.”

Daniella clasped her hands below her
protruding belly. “I agree with your family, Gavin. There’s
absolutely no reason for you to leave. You should stay.”

“I don’t care what you do to occupy your
time,” Cyrus said, clearly still riled up. “Learn to play the piano
or the guitar or something. It’s up to you, but whatever you do,
you’ll be doing it from Seattle. At my wife’s suggestion, I tried
the flies-with-honey approach, and it didn’t work. So now I’m
telling you, you’re not leaving. I’m going to make sure our pilots
know you’re not allowed to use any of the family aircraft, and
Mother’s driver will report to me and let me know—”

“As usual, you’re being an over-the-top
control freak,” Gavin fumed.

“And I will make sure that the house manager
knows if a hired car or taxi or any unfamiliar vehicle pulls up to
the gates, they should not be allowed onto the property.”

Gavin glared at his older brother. “Are you
serious? You’re going to hold me hostage?”

“If that’s what it takes. You don’t want to
take care of yourself, then I will.”

“I’m not a child!”

“Then stop acting like one!” Cyrus shouted.
They all went silent, and tension, thick and heavy as evening fog,
weighed in the air. Cyrus never spoke above a certain decibel. When
he continued, his voice had mellowed to a quieter level, but waves
of anger still rolled off him. “This isn’t a joke, Gavin. Every
time you have an accident after one of your ridiculous stunts, we
have to sit here and pretend that it’s okay. That you’ll be fine.
You broke your leg in three places. You have bruised ribs and tore
up your ankle. It could have been much worse. You could have broken
your neck. You could have been killed on that cliff.”

Gavin stared down at the floor, his chest
heaving in quiet anger. But he didn’t respond to Cyrus, because
like Trenton, he had to know Cyrus was right. He raced cars, had
been skysurfing, BASE jumping, and tackling the waves off
Australia’s turbulent East Coast. As an adrenalin junkie, his
participation in extreme sports had resulted in varying degrees of
disasters over the years, yet nothing was off limits.

Cyrus flipped his wrist and looked at the
time. He straightened his tie. “Daniella and I have a party to
attend.” He sounded tired. “If we stay here any longer, we’re going
to be late. The three of you can deal with him. I’m done.” He
placed his hand to the small of his wife’s back.

“Good night,” Daniella said.

They all murmured their goodbyes as the
couple left the room.

“What are you going to do?” Ivy asked
quietly. “You’re being ridiculous. You know that, don’t you?”

“
I’m
being ridiculous? Did you hear
what our lord and master said?” Gavin shot her a dark look. “I’m an
adult. If I want to leave, I should be able to. I should call the
police and tell them I’m being held against my will.”

“You won’t do that,” Trenton said.

Gavin sighed heavily and let his head fall
backward. He let out a growl. “No, I won’t. So I guess I’m stuck
here.” He rested his head in his hand.

Ivy crossed her arms, her expression holding
sadness. “I thought for sure you’d stay a few weeks after my
engagement party, but you left after only a few days. Is it so
terrible for you to be here?”

Trenton understood why Ivy was so upset. She
and Gavin were twins and used to be extremely close—so close they
even coordinated their Halloween costumes. He distinctly remembered
a party where they’d dressed as the Wonder Twins and another when
they’d dressed as Batman and Robin.

“No. It’s not so terrible for me to be here,”
Gavin said in a weary voice.

A glimmer of a smile crossed Ivy’s lips.
“Stay for a while. Relax.”

“Relax. Yeah. I’ll try to do that.”

“I’ll see if I can get some entertainment for
you,” Trenton offered.

Gavin perked up and smiled slyly. “Would this
happen to be female entertainment?”

“Of course.”

His eyes lit up. “Does she have a fat ass and
big boobs?”

“Of course. I know what you like.”

Both men chuckled knowingly.

“Oh goodness.” Ivy rolled her eyes. “That’s
my cue to leave.” She leaned down to give her brother a hug. When
she stood up, she was smiling. “This isn’t exactly the condition I
wanted you in, but I’m glad you’re back for a while, so I’ll take
you any way I can get you. Bye, Trent. Bye, Xavier.” She waved on
her way out.

“I’m out, too,” Xavier said.

“Where are you going?” Gavin asked.

“Mind your business.” Xavier walked out with
a smirk on his face.

Gavin waited until he and Trenton were alone.
With a twinkle in his eyes, he said, “Speaking of fat asses…how’s
Alannah?”

“Don’t start.”

Gavin chuckled. “I won’t, I won’t. I know
that’s your girl now. About time, too. I can’t believe how long the
two of you were doing the friend thing.”

“Yeah…well, sometimes you can’t see what’s
right under your nose.”

“True. So is it serious? You’re off the
market?”

Trenton nodded.

“Damn.”

Trenton laughed at his brother’s raised
eyebrows.

“Who’ll be my partner in crime now?”

“You’ll have to find somebody else. I’m not
screwing this up.”

“Good for you. She’s a good woman.”

“Speaking of which, I better get out of here.
I haven’t seen her in a week, and she’s meeting me at my place
later.” He clapped Gavin on the shoulder and his brother winced in
pain. “Sorry about that. Stay out of trouble.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

She should have written a list.

Alannah reviewed the items in her hand basket
at Aldi’s Market, a Seattle-based specialty grocer. The owner, a
French Arab from Morocco, imported a huge selection of gourmet
foods. On any given night, there may be tastings for the latest
imported Argentinean wines accompanied by a selection of artisanal
cheeses. Tonight she’d sampled the caviar and foie gras, but her
basket contained the fixings for dinner—organic chicken, fresh
herbs, heavy cream, cheese, and pasta.

Angel was at the kennel, so Alannah could
stay the night and all day tomorrow with Trenton. He had dinner
covered tonight with an order from The Best Thai Restaurant. They
could go out to dinner tomorrow, but she wanted to spend a lazy
Sunday afternoon with him, and had an idea for a chicken dish she
was certain he’d enjoy.

“I guess that’s all I need,” she murmured to
herself.

On the way to the cashiers, she saw a man in
the aisle. Stocky, average height, and with a circle beard. As she
neared he looked up, eyes narrowing when they rested on her. She
kept moving and had passed him when he spoke.

“Hey. You’re Trenton Johnson’s girlfriend,
right?”

Alannah paused and turned to look at the
stranger. Since she didn’t know this person or his motives, she was
immediately cautious. “Something like that.”

He laughed. “Don’t be coy. Trenton makes it
very obvious that you are not to be messed with. Stay away. Hands
off.” He held up both hands, palms facing outward.

“Really?” He was staking claims like
that?

“Yeah. I’m Steve, by the way.” He extended
his hand.

They shook hands. “Alannah.”

“I know who you are. Everybody knows who you
are.” He looked her up and down in a decidedly non-friendly
way.

Alannah slid her hand from his. “Well, it was
nice to—”

“Trenton didn’t want me asking about
you—didn’t even want me looking at you. He almost chewed my head
off over you.”

“Oh. He can be a little…protective.”

“That was three months ago. He’s probably
even worse now.”

Alannah frowned. “Three months ago? You must
have the time wrong.” That would have been June, and she and
Trenton had only become a couple in July.

“No, ma’am, I’m not mistaken. You probably
didn’t see me, but it was one night when he played at The
Underground. I never saw the performance because he had me kicked
out.”

“Are you sure?” They weren’t together then,
but the last time Trenton had played at the club had been in
June.

“Oh I’m sure, sweetheart. You had on a red
minidress. You looked nice. Real nice.”

Alannah had the distinct impression this guy
didn’t understand the concept of boundaries. Still, what he said
didn’t make sense. “And Trenton told you he and I were together?
Back in June?”

“Oh yeah. After I paid you a compliment, he
said I should keep my eyes to myself—or something along those
lines. I couldn’t believe the brother went off like that just for
looking. But my friend, Julian, explained later that he’s always
been that way about you.”

Alannah couldn’t believe what she was
hearing. “Always?”

“You didn’t know? Your man does not play,
sweetheart. Brothers know to stay the hell away from you. If you
want to stay out of trouble, you stay the hell away from Trenton
Johnson’s woman.” Steve rubbed his chin and looked her up and down
again. “Makes me wonder why he feels he has to stand guard like
that.”

The lustful look in his eyes made her skin
crawl. “I better go.”

“Nice talking to you. Tell your man I said
hi.”

Alannah rushed down the aisle toward the
front of the store, knowing the entire time Steve watched her walk
away.

And knowing that she had to confront
Trenton.

****

Alannah sat in Trenton’s living room,
waiting. Five minutes ago he had texted that he was five minutes
away. She’d already unpacked the groceries and spent time reviewing
the conversation with Steve in her head. Nothing he had said made
any sense.

The door opened and she rose to greet
Trenton.

He came in wearing dark slacks and a white
button-down shirt, and dropped his suitcase and carry-on against
the wall. “Honey, I’m home.”

He danced over, his sexy hips moving from
side to side and that adorable, lopsided smile lifting the right
corner of his mouth. He held up a plastic sack in his hand. “Look
at what I got,” he said, waving it in front of her. “He threw in
extra basil rolls. That dude loves you. He’s lucky I’m not a
jealous man and I know you’re all mine.” He leaned down and pulled
her into a kiss.

A week apart had left Alannah thirsting for
his touch. She lifted her lips and almost succumbed to the warmth
of his embrace and the flavor of his mouth, but she held back.

Trenton lifted his head. “What’s wrong?”

She licked her lips, a little afraid of the
outcome of the conversation. “You said you’re not a jealous
man.”

“Well, I am a little bit, but I know he
doesn’t mean any harm.” He grinned and went into the kitchen.
“Guess who won the gold medallion in the specialty beer category at
the festival?”

“Johnson Brewing Company?” She stared down at
her hands, summoning the courage to confront him.

“That’s right. Hey, you want to eat first or
have smoking-hot-I-missed-Trenton sex first? I’m leaving the
decision up to you, but I strongly recommend option number
two.”

Alannah went to stand in the entryway of the
kitchen. “So if he meant harm, you would…what?”

Trenton pulled a bottle of water from the
refrigerator. “What are we talking about?”

“Aat, at The Best Thai Restaurant. You said
you know he doesn’t mean any harm, but what if he did? What would
you do?”

“Nothing. I feel like you’re leading up to
something. Like I’m being baited.” He tipped the bottle back and
took a big gulp.

“You’re right. Why play around, when I should
come right out and ask you.” They looked at each other from across
the room, and Alannah pushed past the knots in her stomach. “Have
the regulars at The Underground always thought I was your
girlfriend?”

He stared blankly at her, and she could
almost see him thinking, wondering what to admit or deny. “Why are
you asking me that?” Her question required a simple yes or no, and
the fact that he didn’t reply with either actually provided an
answer. He didn’t even act shocked or surprised or deny.

“I saw this guy at Aldi’s. His name is
Steve.”

“Steve who?”

“I don’t know his last name. He said he’d
been to The Underground and mentioned Julian. I guess he’s a friend
of yours—”

“He’s not my friend.” His face cemented into
an emotionless mask.

“I guess not, since you had him kicked out of
the club.” Alannah kept her eyes on him, watching every movement of
his eyes and body. “Did you tell men at the club to stay away from
me?”

He set the bottle of water on the counter and
scrubbed a hand across his jaw. “Not really. Not in so many
words.”

“So why did he get that impression, Trent? He
said it’s
always
been that way.”

Trenton cursed softly and took a deep breath.
“I never actually told anyone to stay away from you—well, except
him. I guess…I let everybody else think whatever they wanted.”

Her heart beat faster. “Which was…?”

“Lana—”

“Which was?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “That you
were off limits. That there was something going on between us.”

Her lips parted in shock. “Wow. And they
thought that because we were always together.”

“I guess.” He shrugged.

“You guess? So let me get this straight, all
along these people think I’m your girlfriend, but you go to the
club and pick up women right under my nose? You made me look like a
brainless twit. The kind of woman who’ll put up with anything.
Heck, the kind of women I’ve warned you to avoid but you can’t seem
to get enough of.”

“It’s not as bad as you think,” Trenton said
quietly.

“Yes it is! All this time, no one talked to
me because they thought I was with you. Even that night, when I had
my hair done and a brand new outfit, you knew and you didn’t say
anything? You were scaring men away from me?”