Change of Heart (8 page)

Gage looked back at Leah. That smile he’d hoped to see on her face again lit her eyes as she selected several toys for Puma and Lynx. He was hoping it was a sign that she was going to let her guard down today. In fact, she actually looked like she was having fun. Right now, she wasn’t worried about the fact that it was his money. She was focused on the joy of buying something special for the kittens, and it made him swell with pride a little that he could be the one to coax that smile from her. Even if it was via two fluffy, rambunctious kittens.

“A
RE YOU KIDDING
me?” Leah gasped as she stared at the register when their cashier totaled the purchases.

Gage chuckled and handed over his card, bumping her with his hip. “Hush, it’s for Puma and Lynx. Let me spoil them.”

Leah bit the inside corner of her lip. Gage said “them,” but the look he gave her said something different. His eyes were shimmering with delight, and a wide smile split his face. Everything about his body language said he was doing this for her, not the kittens, and she wasn’t sure how it made her feel.

On one hand, it was exciting. She’d never had a man want to do anything for her.
To
her, but never
for
her, and she was surprised at the way it made her feel—protected, cared for, and like she mattered for a change. His eyes didn’t look at her with lust but with a warmth that set her at ease. Being around Gage had the same effect on her as a glass of red wine and a warm bubble bath, and she found herself wanting to slip into the depths of the feeling, to find out what else might be different about Gage.

On the other hand, that feeling was exactly why he was dangerous. No other man had ever made her feel that way, and she wasn’t about to let down her guard and chance drowning in the river of self-loathing that would follow giving in. Men like him were used to getting their way, using their money to make sure their demands were met. She’d seen it too often when she was younger. Hell, she’d used it to her own advantage before Nicole showed her a better way. She wasn’t about to let this rich playboy con her, or drag her back to the dredges of who she’d once been. This was probably his MO—to set her at ease, buying her things and then demanding payment later—and she wasn’t about to be a conquest for anyone ever again.

If he wanted to spend money on the kittens, she’d let him. But she wasn’t going to be indebted to him any longer than she needed to be. She needed to pay him back for the car and the groceries as soon as she possibly could.

“You okay?” His question dragged her back to the present, and she looked up to see the concern in his deep chocolate eyes.

“Yeah, why?”

“I don’t know. You got this faraway look in your eyes, like you were thinking about something. Like you’re upset.”

She plucked the bag of cat toys from his hands. “I’m fine. Let’s just get finished and get to the auto shop.”

He frowned for a moment then let a grin split his lips. “Well, you might not be hungry, but I’m ravenous, so I’m having breakfast first.”

“Okay but if we hurry up at the grocery store and Dave’s, we can get back to the ranch and just eat there.”

You in your place and me in mine.

“Or we could just go eat and then get groceries. And since I drove, you’re at my mercy.” He gave her a playful wink.

That was exactly the problem, and since he was the one paying for her car, she really had no choice but to follow his lead. She didn’t like being at anyone’s mercy, especially this man who insisted on making her feel things she’d shut herself off from feeling after Nicole died.

Leah sighed loudly and pushed her way past him. “Fine, let’s just get this over with, then.”

He followed her out the door. “Leah, are you this friendly with everyone, or am I just one of the lucky ones?” She rolled her eyes at him and he chuckled. “So, the lucky
one.
”

Gage pushed the cart out to his car and loaded their bags into the trunk. He paused, looking from the cat tree to the car and back again. The cat tree was at least a foot too wide to fit sideways in the trunk, and she waited to see what he was going to do.

“Didn’t exactly plan that one out, did you, genius?”

“Ye of little faith,” he said as he opened the passenger door and bent into the car. “There.” He smiled at her broadly. “You think you have me all figured out, don’t you, Leah? But I’m full of surprises.”

“I’m sure you are.”

She was trying to sound patronizing, but it was almost like he’d been reading her earlier thoughts. The fact was, just when she thought she had a handle on him, he would do something that would throw her for a loop. And she didn’t like it, not one bit.

Leah watched his biceps strain against the seam of his shirt as he slid the heavy item into the car. She tried to ignore the flash of desire that was threatening to burst in her. Leah forced herself to tamp it down quickly. Lust was for the weak, and she wasn’t pathetic.

“There.” Gage shut the door, then the trunk, and locked the car. He ran a hand over his flat stomach. “I’m wasting away. Let’s eat.”

Leah shook her head at him and walked ahead to the diner. A bell tinkled over the door, announcing their entrance, and a waitress called from across the room for her to sit anywhere, informing Leah she’d be right there. Leah deliberately picked the only empty booth in the middle of the busiest section of the diner. She hoped it would be too loud for them to even try to hold a conversation. They could just hurry up and finish eating, so she could return to the safety of her little house on the ranch and send Gage home.

“Here?” Gage asked, sliding into the booth seat across from her.

“Does it matter?”

“I guess not.” He watched her closely. “Relax, Leah. Are you always this tense?”

“Are you always this nosy?”

He laughed, a deep rich sound that vibrated through her, making her nerve endings sizzle. “This isn’t me being nosy. I’m just afraid you might have an anxiety attack, and I want to be prepared to handle it.”

She glared across the table at him. “I’m fine,” she repeated for the umpteenth time since meeting him, grateful for the sudden appearance of their waitress.

“Hey Gage, about time you came back in.” The woman had at least ten years on Gage, but he greeted her with a wide smile as she slid menus onto the table. “I heard rumors that you were back in town. Business or pleasure?”

The woman’s voice was a seductive purr, and Leah didn’t miss the wink she shot Gage. She wondered if this was the type of reaction he’d expected to receive from her. If so, he’d better settle in for a long wait.

“Visiting with Dylan and Julia, but I also have business in San Francisco, if I can ever motivate myself to leave town long enough to get there.” His gaze fell on Leah as the waitress set two coffee cups in front of them. “This is Leah’s first time into the Rusty Nail. She’s going to be working out at Jessie’s place.”

Leah half-expected a catty glare from the waitress but was greeted with a warm laugh instead. “Are you the doctor Jessie’s been bragging about? She was in yesterday to pick up some burgers and couldn’t stop talking about you.”

“I . . . well . . . ” Leah wasn’t sure how to respond. No one around here reacted the way she expected them to, making her wonder if she was the odd one.

“I’m Jillian, and my husband, Craig, works the grill. Since this is your first time here, don’t even bother with menus. I’ll have Craig whip you up his specialty—biscuits and gravy. Sound good?” She poured steaming coffee the color of tar into the mugs. The bitter scent of the brew wafted up to her, and she almost cringed.

“I’m up for it if Leah is.” Gage lifted his eyebrows in question.

She caught a glimpse of Gage’s grin, his eyes twinkling, and she saw the challenge in them. Anything smothered in gravy didn’t sound too appetizing, but Jillian seemed so excited for her to try it, and Gage looked so sure she wouldn’t that she wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction by saying no.

“Sure. I’d love some biscuits and gravy.” She met Gage’s gaze with a daring one of her own. “I’ve never had it, so I can’t wait.”

As Jillian took their order to the kitchen, Gage leaned forward. “I hope you like pepper.”

“It’s okay, why?”

“Because Craig’s biscuits and gravy have more pepper than any I’ve ever tasted. Delicious, but whoa.”

“Now you tell me?” Gage shrugged innocently as she let out a heavy sigh. “You’re exasperating. Do you realize that?”

“I do.” He picked up his coffee and leaned against the back of the booth, giving her a quick wink. “But you love it.”

“No, I don’t,” she argued. “You think that because other women fall victim to that charming smile and those stupid dimples, that they can’t see right through this act of yours. You’re just a spoiled little rich boy who thinks he can just take whatever he decides he wants. Well, I’m not going to be a part of your harem.”

She hadn’t planned to go off on him, but his comment had lit a fuse inside her and she hadn’t been able to snuff it before her mouth ran away. Gage’s smile immediately faded, his eyes clouding as he clenched his jaw and looked out the window. The hurt she could see in his eyes stopped her tirade cold. She might as well have thrown ice water into his face. Now that she’d blasted him with every negative thought she’d had about him today, her mouth didn’t seem nearly as inclined to come up with an apology.

G
AGE WAS DONE
being Leah’s punching bag, finished taking whatever crap she wanted to cast his direction. He’d done everything in his power to be nice to her, but this infuriating woman seemed inclined to only see what she wanted to. He took a deep breath, trying to control the feelings of hurt, disbelief, and anger that seemed to take turns rising to the surface. He would just seem to get one emotion under control when another would take over, and none were content to completely release the hold on him.

He shook his head. “I’m glad you aren’t my therapist because you make some wild assumptions.”

“Am I wrong?” She didn’t sound worried in the slightest that she might be. In fact, she sounded downright cocky in her supposition.

“You couldn’t be farther from the truth. My brother and I grew up broke as shit with a father who’d rather drink than be around us. When he was, we wished he wasn’t. He’d just find a reason to beat one of us anyway, so we were better off with him gone. Even before he disappeared for good, it was up to Dylan and me to take care of Mom.”

He saw the guilt flicker in her eyes as she looked into her coffee mug, unwilling to meet his gaze. She couldn’t have possibly known about his childhood, but it pissed him off that she hadn’t even tried to see past the man in front of her.

“Dylan joined the military and paid for anything I couldn’t get financial aid to cover in college, so I made sure to use my degree to get us out of the mess we were in.” He looked out the window again and took a sip of his coffee, surprised the brew tasted less bitter than his anger. “And you’re going to sit there and fault me for rising beyond the crappy circumstances I had growing up because I made a good life afterward? Should I do the same to you?”

“I didn’t know,” she said, refusing to look at him.

“No, you didn’t, and you didn’t bother to ask. You’re so busy judging me that you actually know absolutely nothing about me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It doesn’t even matter. I’ve been busting my ass to try to be a friend to you, but you don’t want one. You want to be an island, be one.” He tugged his wallet from his back pocket and dropped a twenty on the table. “I’ll go pay for your car repairs and you can head back whenever you want.”

He rose to leave but felt her fingers tremble against his forearm and he looked down. Heat radiated up his arms from her touch.

“I said, I’m sorry. I really am.” She shook her head and brushed her bangs back from her face with one hand. “I don’t know why I . . . I’m sorry,” she finished with a whisper.

Gage slid back into the booth but leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Is it something I did? Because I already apologized about the comment I made. It really was about the car.”

“No.” Leah ran a hand over her eyes, sweeping her hair back. “I just . . . I haven’t had a lot of good experiences with men.”

When she lifted her gaze to meet his, he could see the honesty in the amber depths. And fear. There seemed to be far more that she could tell him, but she was still holding back. Then the panic was gone, disappearing as she cleared her throat. “That’s still no excuse to take it out on you. I shouldn’t have said those things. I apologize.”

Gage wasn’t letting her off that easily. He leaned forward, his forearms pressing against the cool Formica tabletop as he reached for her still trembling hand. “I told you before, I might not be a therapist, but I’m a great listener if you ever want to talk.”

She slid her hand from his grasp. “Gage, I’m here to do a job, that’s all. I don’t want you to—”

He laughed, cutting her off. “What? Get the wrong idea? Leah, you’ve made it perfectly clear, even if I was attracted to you, you have no interest. I’m not dense. Hello, one-sixty IQ, remember?” He smiled sadly as he leaned into the back cushion and reached for his coffee, tipping the cup her direction. “But you can have friends. That is a
thing
you know.”

“Friends?” She didn’t look convinced.

Gage raised a hand, trying to keep a straight face. “I, Gage Granger, solemnly swear, that I am only interested in being a friend to one Miss Leah McCarran.”

Jillian chose that moment to return bearing two giant plates of biscuits and gravy in her arms. “Well, that’s just a crying shame.” She looked from one to the other and gave Gage a wink. “You’re missing out then, Gage, because she’s a beauty.”

Gage didn’t miss the way a blush crept over Leah’s cheeks, staining them pink. Jillian wasn’t wrong. Leah was beautiful. But something, or someone, had hurt her and the scars were deep. He wasn’t even sure she realized the full depth of them. However, she’d made it abundantly clear, she didn’t want help, not from him. Not with this or anything else.

But he couldn’t help teasing her, either. “Don’t blame me, Jillie. I have eyes. She’s the one rejecting me.” Gage waved a finger at Leah, across the table.

Jillian turned toward Leah then back to him with a broad grin, her eyes lighting up. “Yeah, darlin’, I’m sure she’s breaking your heart. Your regular pickup lines aren’t going to work on her. That just means this one has a brain in her head and you need to work harder to impress her.”

Leah laughed, out loud, for the first time since they’d met. It was a husky sound, relaxing and inviting, warming his insides, heating his blood, and Gage felt desire pool in him, curling slowly within him and spreading outward as he watched her eyes light with merriment.