Up by Five (11 page)

She looked around and realized she’d been daydreaming while shuffling.

She never did that. Poker was serious.

“Do you have a fever or something?” Josh asked.

She frowned at her brother. “Would you all go home if I was sick?”

No way. This was Josh. He hadn’t passed up a game of poker since he was sixteen. Ever since he’d learned that he could win candy bars, video games and, in one very memorable instance, a motorcycle. The motorcycle hadn’t run and their mother had put her foot down against it—hard and fast—before he could fix it up, but Josh had been thrilled.

And hooked. From there on out, he took every opportunity to play and the pots had grown and grown.

The problem was, he was good. He won more than he lost. And it fed his compulsion.

“Hell no. That might be our only chance of winning some of our money back,” Jeff said, picking up his cards.

Gabby sighed. The rest of the men in her family weren’t much better. Their love for chips and dip kept them playing and their competitive natures made them take it seriously.

“If she was sick, you’d all get the hell out. Right after you made sure she was okay, right?”

They all looked at Conner. He was frowning. At her brother Josh.

Oh boy. They’d riled the protective big brother. Conner was mostly easygoing and funny but he didn’t joke well about his sisters and their well-being.

Josh gave him a look that said Conner’s question was strange. “Gabby’s always okay.”

“And bitchy when she’s sick,” Grant added.

Conner swung his frown to her oldest brother. “You still make sure she’s okay, though.”

Grant was unconcerned by the hard edge in Conner’s voice. “She doesn’t like fussing.”

“Maybe because none of you fuss,” Conner said. “My sisters can all be bitchy too, but that doesn’t keep me from taking care of them.”

“Hey, we told you, Gabby’s tough. She doesn’t ask for help because she doesn’t
need
help,” Grant said, his smile fading slightly.

She glanced around the table. “You’ve been talking about me?”

“Yeah. Conner here thought someone should check on you in the kitchen when you were cussing so loud,” Lance said.

“We told him that the
last
time someone should go after you is when you’re cussing. Especially in a room that has knives,” Grant told her.

She rolled her eyes.

“You found the Band-Aids on your own,” Conner asked, his gaze dropping to her thumb. She’d sliced it on the sharp edge of the chili can after she’d opened it.

It clearly bothered Conner that she’d been hurt. And that she’d attended to it on her own. She smiled. That was nice. Ridiculous, but nice. She was a paramedic and it was a Band-Aid. “I have some of my own.”

“I’m telling you, she can take care of herself,” Josh said, reaching for more dip. “If you get in her space, she’ll threaten parts of your body that most men are fond of keeping attached.”

Gabby puffed out an irritated breath. Her family made her sound like a ball-buster. And, she supposed, she could be. Sometimes they needed it. She didn’t like them trying to help because they often made things messier and more complicated than if they just stayed out of it. She didn’t like them hovering and fussing either—or she didn’t think she would like it…it’s not like any of them had ever done it—because they sucked at it. And she could put a damned bandage on her own damned finger. But she wasn’t a bitch all the time. She liked to laugh and have fun. She and her brothers had a great time together. They were some of her best friends.

When they weren’t turning on her.

She glared at them, then glanced at Conner. Who was still watching her, but with something new in his eyes. Concern? That was…weird. Then again, if he wanted to kiss her finger to make it better, she wouldn’t stop him. And if he wanted to keep going with the kissing, she wouldn’t stop that either.

Oh boy.

She looked down at her cards. She was being sucked in. She was going to have to be careful here. She was beginning to think she should feel sorry for all the women Conner flirted with. He was potent stuff.

“I’ll look at the cut later,” Conner said, picking up his cards.

She looked up, surprised. It was clearly not a request. “What?”

“Your cut. I’ll look at it later and make sure it’s okay.”

“It’s okay,” she told him.

“I’ll make sure.”

“Con—”

“Ooh boy, you’re brave,” Lance said. “When she had mono and I tried to keep her company, she threw a bowl of soup at me.”

Conner looked at her, clearly amused.

She rolled her eyes. “You came in, plopped down on my couch and started changing the channel,” she told Lance. “And wouldn’t stop after I told you to.”

“You could have caused burns that would have haunted me all my life,” Lance said.

The soup had been cold by the time she’d thrown it. And the bowl had been plastic. And had missed him by several feet.

Conner shook his head. “You must not know anything about women.”

Gabby snorted. “That’s an understatement.”

“Gabby’s not really a
woman
,” Lance said, rearranging the cards in his hand.

Gabby met Conner’s gaze and immediately felt warmer from the way he was looking at her. She definitely felt like a woman when Conner was around. She felt like freaking
basking
in being a woman when he looked at her like that.

She had to shake that off. She was on the verge of babbling and batting her eyes again.

“And
you
know a lot about women?” Steve asked Conner.

“Raised four of ’em,” he said with a shrug.

Gabby laughed. “And that makes you an expert?”

“Well, his sisters are definitely
women
,” Josh said.

Conner raised an eyebrow and managed to look very intimidating with only that.

Josh shrugged. “It’s true.”

Gabby waited to see if Conner would argue. It was true. His four sisters were beautiful, smart, fun, successful and had men wrapped around their little fingers. Even the ones they weren’t married to. But wow, those girls had landed some awesome guys who were so obviously crazy about them that it made everyone in their presence yearn for a little of it.

Conner needed some of that.

“I’m not saying it’s easy to understand women,” Conner said. “It takes work. But if you care, you can figure them out.”

Grant leaned forward, out of his casual, card-playing posture. “We care about Gabby. We try to stay out of her way because that’s what she wants.”

“You sure about that?” Conner asked evenly,
not
leaning out of his casual posture.

“I’m sure,” Grant said firmly. “I’ve known her kind of a long time, Dixon. You don’t need to give me advice on my sister.”

“No advice,” Conner said, tapping his cards against the table. “Hell, guys who aren’t related to her should be thrilled that you guys are what she’s used to. Makes us look a lot better.”

Grant glared at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means if
this
is what she’s used to, it wouldn’t take much for a guy to impress her.”

Gabby frowned. “Hey.” But then she felt like smiling. Conner was sticking up for her? Wow. But she kept her frown. Conner was sticking up for her to her family. They were going to be around long after he’d moved on.

Conner glanced at her. “Women, even the independent, feisty ones, like to be paid attention to. With the right kind of attention.”

“What kind of attention are you talking about, Dixon?” Grant asked, clearly suspicious.

Gabby kicked Grant under the table.

But Josh was frowning at Conner too. “I sure as hell hope the attention you’re giving your sisters is different than the attention you’re giving Gabby.”

Gabby huffed out a breath. Idiots, all of them.

“Very different types of attention,” Conner said easily.

Her gaze snapped to his.

“Oh really?” Grant asked.

“Okay.” Gabby clapped her hands together. She had to stop this testosterone war. This was stupid. “Let’s see who knows me…and women in general, better.”

She headed to the bathroom she was using and grabbed some items. She knew her brothers and cousin would crash and burn on this contest, but it was better than them all yelling at each other and someone saying something unfortunate. Like that he’d kissed her in the master bath just a little while ago.

Returning to the living room, she found six men drinking beer and acting annoyed. She swept all the chips away from the middle of the table and set three hair accessories in the center—a hair straightener, a ponytail holder and a can of mousse that helped create soft curls when she was in the mood.

“What does each of these mean?”

“I’m sorry?” Grant asked.

“The hair stuff. You’ve seen all of it, right? So what’s the difference? What do they mean?”

The guys stared at the items she’d put down like they were rare relics from an ancient civilization.

“You use that for ponytails,” Lance said pointing to the elastic band.

“Yes,” she said. “But what does it
mean
?”

They all looked at one another. Finally Grant focused on Conner. “Well?”

“You’re going for practical or running late,” he said. “Women pull their hair back when it will be in the way or when they don’t have time to do more with it.”

Gabby was a little impressed. “Very good. The ponytail holder means I’m focused on work and don’t want to mess with my hair. Or, if I’m not at work, I’m having a lazy or sloppy day. I might not feel good, or maybe I just want to relax and kick back. It means I’m comfortable with you and am okay with you seeing me without my hair done.”

“That’s a lot from one little ponytail,” Lance said.

She shrugged. “What can I say, it’s how it is. Can you figure the other stuff out?”

No one, including Conner, said anything.

“No idea?” she asked Conner.

He gave up with a shake of his head. But he was smiling.

She picked up the mousse. “I use this to make my hair curl. It’s soft and sexy that way. Wearing it like that means I’m feeling feminine and want you to notice me that way.”

“I would
never
notice you that way,” Josh said.

She frowned at him. “I know. And I never wear my hair curly around you, do I?”

He seemed to be thinking about that.

She shook her head and picked up the straightener. “I wear ponytails or buns at work to keep my hair out of the way. But for everyday when I’m not at work or if I’m going out after work, I use this to straighten it. It’s easier to do than make it curl. When I wear it down and straight, it means I’m good, confident, things are routine and normal. If you’re around,” she said, directing the comment to Conner, “it means I’m not trying to impress you, but I’m trying to look nice.”

Grant simply sighed.

She grinned and picked up three bottles of nail polish. “Red, purple or black means I’m feeling daring, sexy, like going out and having fun,” she said holding up a bottle of purple.

“You said
sexy
again,” Lance pointed out.

“And I never wear any of these colors around you guys.”

“So, how are we supposed to know that’s what those colors mean?” Josh asked.

“You couldn’t make an educated guess?”

He rolled his eyes.

Conner took the light-pink polish from her. “Okay, I’m guessing this means you’re feeling soft and romantic. You would wear that on a date.”

She smiled. He was right about men paying attention to women. It did feel nice.

“And this?” she asked, holding up clear polish.

“Everyday. Nothing flashy, just basic.”

This came from Grant. Gabby looked at her brother with surprise. “Nice.”

He gave Conner a smug grin.

“Okay, this should be easy,” she said. She started to hold up a pair of cotton panties, then realized she was about to show them to her brothers. Her different types of underwear all meant different occasions and moods too, but she hadn’t thought that fully through before bringing them out here. “Uh, never mind.” She tucked it behind her back.

Conner leaned to look. “Everyday, practical, simple.”

She looked down at him and couldn’t help her smile. “Right.” She dropped the underwear and then stood on them so no one else would see her panties.

Conner leaned again. “Relaxing at home, end of the day, feeling comfortable and maybe a little playful?”

“I’m not holding anything,” she said.

“I know.” He gave her a wink.

She felt her eyes widen. “Commando is playful?”

“Depends on who you’re expecting to come over later, I guess.”

Grant cleared his throat.

Josh flat out said, “Knock it off.”

Conner shrugged. “I win that one too.”

“You only knew a few of those other things,” Lance pointed out.

“Okay, how about this?” Conner asked. “If she’s eating cereal for dinner it means she’s had a long day at work and didn’t want to cook, but she’s trying to eat something a little better than delivery pizza. If she makes asparagus, salmon and rice—things are going well, she’s feeling good about herself and is eating healthy. Protein bars—feeling fat. Chocolate cookies—dough or baked—something isn’t going well, a breakup, something at work, fight with a friend…something. Leftover Chinese food—been really busy, some work project or something, trying to juggle a new boyfriend and work…needed something fast that she could eat while she worked. Leftover pasta—left over from a date where she didn’t want to overeat but it was delicious and now that he’s not there she can eat the rest.”

There was a long silence after his recitation. Gabby knew she was staring at him.

“Wow,” Josh finally said. He looked at Gabby. “How close is he?”

“It’s scary really.”

Conner grinned and took a drink of beer.

Gabby’s uncles laughed and got up for refills of food.

Lance shook his head. “I’m gonna need a pen and some paper and for both of you to start over from the beginning.”

It was two hours later before anyone left, but thankfully when they did, they all left at once.