Ginger grew serious really quickly. “Look, I get it. You’ve never had an ego, and you’ve never seen how beautiful you really are. But you need to cut that shit out. You’re hot as hell, and any man would be lucky if you chose him to sleep with.”
“She’s right,” Margo said, “you’re down yourself a lot these days. It breaks my heart when you do it.”
I rolled over onto my stomach. “I just pride myself on other things rather than how I look. I’m intelligent. I have common sense. I know how to keep a conversation going. I’m a hard worker. I cook a damn good casserole. I know how to make fresh bread.”
“You can bake up a storm,” Ginger said.
“And you decorate like a fiend for the holidays. I love that shit,” Margo added.
“See?” I asked as I rolled back over. “I’ve got other things I love about myself. I don’t need to start tooting my own horn on how I look, too.”
“Well, just know you’re gorgeous,” Margo said.
“Uh-huh. And Gavin would be lucky as hell to have you if that’s what you wanted,” Ginger said.
The screen of my phone lit up and caught my eye, so I pulled it away from my face. I put the girls on speakerphone while they chatted back and forth about coming over and helping me pack “go bags” for staying over at Gavin’s. I resisted the urge to laugh at them as I navigated to the text that lit up my home screen, but it was from a number I didn’t recognize.
“You there, Eva?” Margo asked.
“Got a text, hold on,” I said mindlessly.
And to my shock, it was from Gavin.
Gavin: Since tomorrow’s Saturday, and you mentioned you don’t work weekends at the spa, would you care to get together with Asia and me tomorrow for lunch? It’ll give you more time to help the two of you get comfortable.
A smile tore across my face as I quickly responded, letting him know that I’d be more than happy to accompany them to lunch. I asked him for the time and place, then turned my attention back to my two best friends chatting up a storm without me.
And I was glad, too, that they weren’t attempting to add me into the current conversation. I was too busy wrangling the excitement bubbling through my veins.
The last thing I needed to do was get attached like this. Gavin was hot, but he wasn’t anything more than that. In fact, he was about to be my boss. So, any issues or lingering lust I had for him had to be tossed out the window come Monday morning. Thankfully, I had the weekend to prepare and clear my head as best as possible. Though, I wasn’t sure how much good that would do me.
“Girl, you good?” Ginger asked.
Her voice ripped me out of my trance. “What time is it? I suddenly feel exhausted.”
I heard them both shuffling around before Margo cursed. “Fucking hell, it’s almost one in the morning.”
My eyes widened. “Wait. What?”
Ginger blew a raspberry into the phone. “I needed to be in bed a couple of hours ago. Why do you guys always keep me up with your nonsense?”
Margo and I responded in unison. “Our nonsense?”
Ginger barked with laughter. “Okay, I get how weird that is now.”
Margo groaned. “Well, it’s time for this old broad to head to bed. And you should enjoy your last weekend of freedom before you start working your life away, Eva.”
I decided to keep the weekend plans to myself. “You got that right. I’m heading to bed. I love you guys.”
“Love you, too,” Ginger said.
“Kiss, kiss,” Margo said.
Then, we all hung up the phone, and I lay there, staring at my ceiling, trying my best to fight the excitement crawling through my veins.
7
Gavin
