Giving In To Love (Strong Brothers 2)

"Yeah. I don't know why you're wasting your time doing marketing work. You could be the next Cassatt or O'Keefe." He reached over towards a passing server and grabbed a glass of champagne, and then thrusted at me. "Here, you need a drink, and we can toast to this magnificent work."

Every artist wanted to hear that their work was magnificent and brilliant, but a part of me wondered if maybe Gavin wasn't rubbing it on a bit thick. He really was a nice person and I appreciated his effort to make me feel more comfortable as people gawked and judged my work.

"By the way you look fantastic." His eyes scanned me from my head all the way down to my strappy hot pink heels and then back up again. He hadn't looked at me like that since the day we'd met, and for a moment I wondered if maybe he was being a little bit more than a friendly colleague.

"Thank you, Gavin. I appreciate all the praise and support."

He clicked his glass with mine and took a sip of the golden bubbly. Then he looked at the art again, but I had the sense that he wasn't really seeing it. His head dropped down for a moment and then he turned to me.

"The thing is, I enjoy working under you…" He shook his head. "That's not coming out right." He took another breath and tried again. "The thing is that I like you, and I was wondering if maybe at some point you'd want to go out for some coffee or something."

Oh dear, he does like me. I liked him too, although only in a friendly way. Even if it weren't for my situation with Hunter, Gavin would never be more than a friend to me. With that said, the situation with Hunter did give me an out that wouldn't be a lie.

“That is so sweet Gavin. But I'm actually sort of involved with somebody right now."

He gave me an affable smile as a blush came to his cheeks. I felt for the poor guy because it wasn't easy to put oneself out there and be vulnerable to people. This gallery showing, with all my artwork, much of it that exposed my thoughts and feelings about the world, made me feel vulnerable, so I knew exactly how difficult it had been for him.

“Well, I'm not surprised that you're seeing somebody. I hope he's really good to you, Nat."

"He is." I said, even though I was pretty sure that my relationship with Hunter wasn't something Gavin would constitute as being good for me.

It seemed to me the conversation was done, except all of a sudden there was an immense dark presence standing just behind Gavin and me. I turned to look and saw Hunter, his eyes fierce as he stared down at Gavin.

"Hey Mr. Strong, this is great showing here, isn’t it?" Gavin said, somewhat oblivious to Hunter's mood. Although Gavin's eyes narrowed a little bit and he looked from Hunter to me and then it was as if dawning came to him.

"Gavin, would you excuse me and Hunter for a moment?"

"Yeah, sure. And again, great job Natalie." With that Gavin rushed off.

I glared at Hunter. “What is wrong with you?"

He leaned in closer, his eyes scanning the room as if he was gauging if people could hear us. His hands had been shoved in his pockets, but he pulled one out and put it under my elbow and began to escort me to the back of the gallery. "We've got to talk."

"Now?"

He was tugging me on so quickly, I practically had to trot, which wasn't easy to do in high heels. He pulled me into a back corner away from everyone at the event.

"I’m keeping an eye on you as it's clear that Gavin has a thing for you. I already warned him —"

"Warned him?"

"It’s not appropriate for him to ogle you like that."

I had to laugh. Was he totally oblivious to what was between us? But I decided not to bring that up. Instead, I was more curious about why he cared whether Gavin was ogling me or not. I would've thought maybe it was a relief. Especially the day he ran off so quickly after having sex, I often got the sense that he worried that things between us might grow into something more than friends with benefits and he was clear as day that that would never happen. So, having another man take interest in me seemed like something Hunter would encourage.

"What does it matter to you anyway? This thing between us is just casual,” I said.

He stepped close to me. So close I could feel the heat and energy radiating off of him. He didn't touch me, but that didn't mean I didn't feel like his body was enveloping mine.

He leaned down until his lips were a whisper away from mine. "There's nothing casual about us." Then his mouth consumed mine. Any snarky retort I might have had, was lost as I sank into the taste and heat of him.

17

Hunter

For so many years I lived my life on an even keel. No major storms. Just smooth sailing all the way.

But over the course of the last few weeks, my emotions had been on a roller coaster ride. Most of the dips had been terrifying. Hearing that my father had been in an accident, immediately sent me back to when I was a child hearing about my mother's death.