A Taylor-Made Life (5 page)

“Really? I love RPGs.” She laid her
fork down and focused on his face. “So which one of the games did
you create?”

Her honest question and wide-eyed
enthusiasm about his favorite subject opened a well of excitement,
and information gushed from him. “The first game I developed was
Turion
. Then
LAION
was the update to it.
Rist
is probably the most complicated game I’ve developed. I actually
got the idea from a dream.” He took a drink and stared at her
reaction over the rim of his glass.

“I can’t believe you created
LAION
! That’s my favorite game. I have Master Procurement
status. I’m an Apprentice Entailer with Shekinah
Powers.”

“Really? Shekinah Powers are the most
versatile, but, for brute force, I play with Rhema
Magery.”

She gave him a sideways glance. “Yeah.
The Mages are the only ones who can consistently kick my butt. But
usually I hold my own. I have the third Amulet.”

“Then you must play quite a bit?”
Genuinely impressed with her knowledge and skill, he shook his head
and smiled. The third Amulet?
LAION
wasn’t the easiest game
to master. Who was this girl?

She finished chewing her bite. “I
started playing in the hospital and found I had a knack for
it.”

“With that status, I’d guess you’re
in…what—the top five percent of all players?”

“Top three. I have the high score in
The Havens and third highest in The Underworking.”

He laughed and shook his head. “That’s
better than me.”

She blushed a sweet pink that reached
into his heart and squeezed. “Better than
you
? Don’t you
have secret cheats you can use to beat the game?”

“Not in
LAION
. But that one
isn’t my favorite. It’s a little too commercial for me.”

“What
? It’s totally the best.
How can you say that? The Havens is awesome, and the way you can
trade procurements for powers is brilliant.”

Her eyes glittered with amazement.
Pride welled in his chest. Most women were impressed with his
money. Not Taylor.
She’s not a woman
, he chided himself. He
glanced over at Maureen who smiled approvingly. Then he turned his
attention back to her. “Don’t get me wrong. I like
LAION
.
It’s a fun concept. It’s just not my favorite.”

“Okay, then which one
is
your
favorite?” She dipped her head to take a hefty fork of salad and
looked from eyes that sparkled as she chewed the crunchy
bite.

A little bit of dressing dotted the
corner of her mouth, and he suppressed the urge to wipe it away.
“
CROG
.”

Her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped
in surprise. “You created
CROG
? That’s my best game.” Then
she grinned. “But it’s kind of too easy.”

She knew
CROG
? That game was
his heart. He’d spent years developing it. “I made it simple but
not
easy,
and I placed secrets in hidden places that lead to
new dimensions.” He frowned at the memory of his recent loss. “Only
one other player in the world has found the entrance
to—”

“Pandalas?”

“Yeah. How did—” The room spun on a
tilted axis, and even though he was looking at the same scene,
everything he saw was different. “You’re
cheetdeath20
?”

She grinned and nodded. “Are you
Ogger16?

He narrowed his eyes and frowned.
“
Ogger19
.”

“Nineteen. Right.” She dropped her
gaze, and smiled sheepishly.

What a little
minx!

This young woman was going to get him
in trouble. He smiled at her and bit into another piece of steak,
barely registering the savory flavor of the well-prepared meal. The
devil in him could feel a rematch coming on.

Maureen’s voice cut into their
conversation. “Gavin, where does your family live?”

Muscles in his neck tensed. The warmth
of the moment slid from his heart. “My dad lives in St. Louis. I
don’t know where my mother is. I don’t speak to either of them.” He
stared into his plate as he took another bite.

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. Who’s
been with you during your illness?” Kindness laced the woman’s
voice.

He smoothed out the napkin in his lap.
“I hired nurses to come in and help.”

The room chilled. The sun had set, and
the hair on his arms rose with the dropping temperature. He
finished the last of his steak.

Maureen looked intently at him as if
she could see right through his chest into his empty heart. “I
meant, to support you. Didn’t you have any family or friends who
stayed with you?”

He shook his head and tried to sound
upbeat. “No. I didn’t really need help. I could still do most
things myself. I went through a year of Interferon treatment and
six months of relatively mild clinical trials. I didn’t even lose
my hair.”

A soft hand squeezed his arm. The
tension ebbed away and warmth returned. Taylor smiled. “Interferon
sucks donkey dicks.”

“Taylor!”

“Well, I’m sorry, Dad, but it does. It
was the worst. I felt like I had the flu for a month. I can’t even
imagine feeling like that for an entire year.”

Gavin chuckled at her vulgar but
accurate account. He covered her hand with his. “With all due
respect, John, she’s right. It does suck.”

They continued the meal and the
pleasant conversation, but a kinship had already developed.
Admiration and sadness welled up for the young woman who sat next
to him. Too bad they didn’t have more time...for
everything.

Taylor kept stealing glances at him.
His ego puffed up like Maureen’s homemade dinner rolls. Fascination
for her cornered him and wouldn’t let him out. He and Taylor had an
amazing amount of things in common, and her girl-next-door charm
floored him. When she flashed those dimples, his resistance fell
faster than an exploding thermal pod. He probably should be scared
shitless, but being with her disarmed him so easily, he couldn’t
feel anything but happy.

Maureen stood from the table and began
clearing their empty plates. “Would anyone care for
dessert?”

He rubbed his already full
mid-section, but never one to refuse a chance to feed his sweet
tooth, he had to ask, “What are we having?”

The woman’s eyes twinkled. “You have
your choice of banana pudding or chocolate pie, both
homemade.”

His mouth watered. God, he hadn’t had
homemade dessert in so long, he might have to devour it all
himself. “Mmm. How am I supposed to pick between those two
options?”

“I want both,” Taylor piped up,
looking over at him, hairless eyebrows raised in
inquiry.

“I’ll take both, too.” He tilted his
head toward her and whispered, “Thank you. You spared me an
impossible task.”

“Mom made them for me. They’re my
favorites.” She whispered back.

She stood from her chair, waiting
until he rose, then followed him into the family room and took a
seat on the sofa. He sat next to her, a respectable arm’s length
away, but everything in him sensed her there.

John asked more questions about the
business, inquiring about the origins of the company. Gavin told
him how they began in a small apartment in St. Louis, developing
games on an old Dell. He appeared interested in how Gavin had
formed TME, listening intently.

Although money rarely crossed his mind
these days, Gavin knew from experience it was the first thing
people thought of when they met him—how much money he had. Though
this man hadn’t asked, Gavin threw the guy a bone and suggested
John call Rick to set up a meeting with any employees who might be
interested in financial services. Based on the look in John’s eyes,
that one meeting could earn him enough to retire. Gavin smiled. He
hoped it would.

Maureen handed them each a plate of
dessert and a fork. Vaguely aware that the conversation continued,
Gavin engrossed himself in eating his.

Jesus God!
The banana pudding
melted in smooth, creamy trails over his tongue.

Taylor glanced at him. Apparently,
he’d been making some slightly inappropriate sounds. Her face
flushed. So did his.

He gave her a half-grin. “Sorry. I
really like sweets.”

“No kidding.” She stretched out her
hand with a mixed bite of pie and pudding. “Here, you have to try
them together.” She held the treat to his lips.

Gavin shot a gaze to her dad, who’d
frozen in his chair with a comical
I-want-to-kill-him-but-he-might-be-my-meal-ticket glare.

“C’mon. Try it.”

How was he supposed say no to those
dimples? He looked from her to the fork she poked at
him.

Screw it.

It was a bite of food—dessert at that.
He took the offering.

The flavors blended in blissful
harmony. “Mmm....”

The hint of creamy chocolate and the
fruity smoothness of bananas merged into a taste all their own,
complimenting each other in rich decadence that bordered on sinful.
Taylor slowly pulled the fork from his mouth.

He opened his eyes as he finished the
bite, not realizing he’d closed them. A bright, gray gaze stared at
him with more passion than a seventeen-year-old should possess. His
heart pounded. The last bit of sweet indulgence slid down. As if
she’d been right there in his mouth too, her tongue darted out and
licked her bottom lip. Fire surged through his body, especially
lower down.

Shit
.

He looked away and caught Maureen
staring with a blank expression that told him she was unable to
process what she’d witnessed.

Goddammit
.

Taking a big swig of iced tea, he
tried to even his breathing.

Taylor bit her pouty bottom lip then
asked, “So, was it good for you?”

Iced tea spewed from his
mouth.

* * * *

Gavin watched in amusement as Maureen
tried to tell a story but kept getting interrupted by the other two
who seemed hell-bent on rattling the poor woman. Finally, she gave
up, and Taylor finished for her, saying, “You’re telling it
wrong.”

Sometimes in unison or in tandem, the
close-knit family spoke about the previous holidays and their crazy
relatives. They told of their days in the hospital and all the
people they’d met. They finished each other’s sentences and lightly
teased each other. Even John joined in their silly antics. Watching
the ease of conversation and their love for one another filled
Gavin with longing for something that had been missing.

Glancing at his watch, he sighed,
“Ten-thirty already. I still need to check into my hotel.” He stood
from the cushioned sofa. Taylor’s mouth fell. He smiled and winked
at her. “I’ll see you tomorrow, right, cheetdeath20?”

She shot him a sideways glance. “I’m
counting on it, Ogger16.”

He growled. The little devil was
taunting him.

He suspected she knew exactly how her
comment and her recent victory sat with him, she grinned and stood.
“I’ll walk you out.”

His heart beat sped a little. He
stepped to John and firmly shook his hand. “It was a pleasure to
meet you. Thank you for opening your home.”

“We’re glad you came,
Gavin.”

Turning to Maureen, he held out his
hand. She looked at it, frowned, and then pulled him into a
motherly hug that rendered him speechless. No one had hugged him
since…he couldn’t remember the last time. She held on tight, and
like his mother always had, waited for him to let go first.
Embarrassingly, his voice broke, and he couldn’t hold her gaze.
“Thank you, Maureen. The meal and the company were the best I’ve
had in a long while.”

Taylor bounced along, following him to
the door, which he opened wide to allow her ahead of him. He
stepped out and closed it behind them.

She looped her arm around his and
brushed against him as they walked to the rental. “I had a great
time.”

The feel of her next to him was
intimate. A gentle, casual gesture that reminded him of how alone
he’d be when he left.

He stopped and leaned against the
black SUV, not willing to go yet. “Are you disappointed?” He smiled
and studied her response.

Even in the dark, he saw her cheeks
flush, and she shook her head. “Are you?”

“Not at all. I’m pleasantly
surprised.” He looked down at the concrete drive, crossed one leg
over the other, and then cleared his voice. “But Taylor, I don’t
want to mislead you in any way. We can be friends…nothing
more.”

She grabbed his hand and lightly laced
their fingers, looking up shyly with hooded-eyes. “Then I guess I
have my work cut out for me to win your heart in three
days.”

Her sweetness ran like hot fudge over
ice cream, but he couldn’t allow himself to indulge. “It’s not
about winning hearts. You stole mine the minute I saw you, but
there can’t be anything more than friendship between us. Do you
understand?”