Malice (29 page)

“Here!” Julia said frantically. Her hand disappeared inside of her purse. She whipped out a packet of wet wipes and proffered one to Gabe.

He took one, surprised at himself. Yet not quite able to touch his food when there was the possibility he may inadvertently contaminated it with fecal matter, of all God forsaken things.

“Thanks,” he said dryly. He scrubbed each offensive finger clean.

Ava bit her lip to hold back an amused smile. Gabe looked at her in disbelief. She gave him a lighthearted shrug. Then she used a napkin to grip the ketchup bottle before squeezing some into her own basket.

“That’s how it’s done,” she said with a smirk.

Julia wore a look of immense relief. She was grateful that no one would be ingesting hazardous substances while sitting at her table. “Okay then. I’m running to the girls’ room to wash my hands and you know…”

Ava thought Gabe looked relieved to see her go.

He turned to Ava and leaned in to her, as if asking something confidential. Her heart swirled as the smell of his cologne wafted her way.

“Seriously,” he wondered, “she’s always like this? And it’s not just me? Because I have to say, I feel like that girl hates me and she doesn’t even know me.”

“She just takes a little getting used to but honestly, she
is
always like this. She worries a lot. About everything. I can guarantee that she just covered the seat in toilet paper. She’ll flush with her foot. Use a paper towel to turn the faucets on and off and another one to open the door. It’s a dangerous world that Julia lives in.” She said this with a teasing, flirty smile.

“Dangerous? More like crazy,” he scoffed. 

“I have to admit that knowing her has made me feel much safer. I’m sure I’ve reduced my risk of contracting e coli by at least ninety-nine percent,” she joked. She scooped out some of her malt and took a bite.

“Those look good,” Gabe said, eyeing up the girls’ ice-cream. “I should’ve gotten one.”

“You can have some of mine,” Ava offered. She slid it toward him. The malts were huge. She truly did not need to eat the whole thing herself. “Or not. Is that weird? I mean, since we pretty much just met? Julia’s probably going to come out of the bathroom and give us a lecture on germs and infectious diseases or something.”

Gabe just grinned at her as he took the spoon from her hand and helped himself to her dessert.

***

“You’re supposed to keep me updated,” Rafe said as he stormed into the guest house. “Did things go well?”

“Of course they went well,” Gabe scoffed. He was stretched out on the couch. He kept his eyes on the television, not bothering to look at his brother. He’d chosen to stay in the guest house because he treasured his privacy. Also, because he and Rafe were under strict orders from their father to not kill each other. He was quite literally speaking when he made this request. They loathed each other and it did not please him that Rafe was invading his space.

“What, precisely, does that mean? Did you get her phone number? Do you have a date planned?” Rafe demanded when it became clear Gabe was not going to offer up any information unless he was forced to do so.

“No and no.” Despite his request that Ava show him around, he neglected to get her number. She had looked slightly disappointed and hesitant when they’d said goodbye. A sure sign, Gabe was convinced, that he’d left her wanting more.

Of him.

“I need you to find out where I can catch up to her next. Not that dump they were at tonight. The malts were fantastic but the place was a hole.” Gabe’s eyes never left the television.

Rafe stepped in front of him and shut it off. “I’ll track her down for you one more time. After that, you’re going to need to step it up. So far, I’m the one doing all of the work. Would you like to report to Father that you’ve only made contact twice with no further plans in place?”

“I
couldn’t
make contact before now. Remember the cuts on my face? The ones I
didn’t
have only a few hours later?” Gabe reminded him. He was unwilling to take any unnecessary blame.

“That excuses the past few weeks. It doesn’t excuse tonight,” Rafe insisted.

“Tonight, I left her lusting after me,” Gabe said with a smirk.

“Are you sure?” Rafe questioned.

“You have your talents, I have mine. There’s no doubt,” Gabe assured him.

“So which way does this chick blow?” Rafe asked.

“What?”

“Is she a total prude or is she the good girl totally gone wild?”

“I don’t know. She’s just
nice
,” Gabe said, mentally gagging on the word. He’d expected to hate the time he had to spend with Ava. The only thing he found he hated was that wretched girl, Julia. If she hadn’t been there the evening would’ve qualified as more than tolerable, perhaps even enjoyable. In the future, he planned on avoiding that girl at all costs. As it was, she’d sat in the booth, burning holes in his back with her imperious glare while Gabe had let Ava beat him at a game of darts. At least he
thought
he’d let her win. He wasn’t quite sure because toward the end, he tried to catch up and couldn’t quite manage to do so.

He had, however, totally annihilated her when they played a game of pool.

“You should’ve left her with plans for a date,” Rafe scolded him.

“I don’t do dating,” Gabe grumbled. “I’ve never actually dated a girl in my life. It’s too much work.”

“Just tell her she’s pretty, open the door for her, bring her to fancy restaurants and buy her things. How hard can
that
be?” Rafe scoffed.

“Dating is complicated and confusing with way too much potential for things to go wrong. I’ve decided we’re just going to be buddies instead.
Pals
,” he sarcastically clarified. “I’m the new guy in town in need of a friend to show him around. Dating leads to crap like meeting her parents and trying to keep her happy.”

“Did Father approve this?” Rafe asked.

He shrugged. “I didn’t ask but you have to admit it’s a good idea. It’s a
better
idea. We’ll still have constant access to her. I’m not boyfriend material. I have a lot better chance at pulling the friend thing off if I try. I’ll throw in some flirting to keep her feeling flattered.”

Gabe clenched his teeth, debating if he should admit his weakness to his brother. He finally decided this particular problem wasn’t something he could use against him.

“It’s not just that. She grabbed my wrist tonight and it was all I could do not to snap it right back out of her hand. She has this
thing
around her neck.”

“A thing?”

“Yeah, you know, a…”

“What?” Rafe demanded.

“A cross.”