Pistol Whipped - Ashley Bostock Page 0,2

I’m fine. I was just thinking about things going on at work. That’s all. Have you been to the shooting range lately?”

Her eyebrows rose and she shrugged her shoulder. “Okay. I won’t ask anymore. You can set the chair down. Thanks. Oh, and yeah, Brandi and I went two days ago. They have these hot pink paper targets now. It was fun.”

She stood up and began putting away her paint supplies. She took her brush to the sink and began rinsing it off. Logan put the lid on her paint can and set the empty cup she had filled with paint into the sink, watching the turquoise color the water as it swirled down the drain.

“What are you doing tonight? Going to the shooting range?” He teased. For a woman who’d gone through the trouble of getting a license to carry a concealed weapon, she took it pretty seriously. He was sure there were people out there who got one and never learned to shoot, but not Gabriella.

“No, I’m not. Why? What are you doing?”

“Do you and Brandi want to come with us tonight? You can be my buffer.”

“Did you just roll your eyes? Logan, if you don’t like her, why are you wasting your time with her? Why are you wasting her time?” She looked at him pointedly.

“I’m not wasting anyone’s time. We’re enjoying each other’s company. She just…wants me too much sometimes. You know what? Forget it. Why are we talking about this?”

“She wants you too much? Really? Is that what guys really think when women want attention? All we want is attention and reciprocity, Logan. Since I’m your best bud you should know all of this already. I can’t believe you think that.” She swatted at his arm. “That is terrible. Poor Lucy.”

“Not poor Lucy. Seriously. She calls and sends me texts all of the time, sends me pictures you don’t want to see—trust me. It’s not giving her attention that bothers me, it’s that she is so desperate sometimes.”

“Logan! Then ditch her. Don’t be the guy that strings her along only to break her heart. That’s not you.”

“I’m not stringing her along, Cinderella. She knows exactly what I want. And right now, she gives it to me.”

Gabriella’s eyes popped open. “Are you talking about sex? Oh gosh, I should have known.” She stepped away from the sink and looked at him. He suppressed his grin as she rolled her eyes, “that sex was all this was about.”

His hand came out and in his age-old gesture, he squeezed her cheek. “Don’t tell me you and Brody haven’t had sex yet and that’s not what your relationship is about. Not even a little? He, too, is a guy, Gabbie.”

Her cheeks went to a light pink and she threw her head back. “It’s Cody, first of all, even though I refer to him as ‘the chef’ sometimes, and second of all, well, we haven’t really gotten to that point yet.” She bent her head down, clearly embarrassed. “Close, but not close enough. I just…he just…well, there hasn’t been an opportunity.”

Now he felt like a major butthead. She was obviously bothered by the fact that Cody wasn’t interested in her enough to want to initiate sex. He had rubbed it in her face like everyone wanted it. Which made him wonder exactly why this guy wasn’t into it? Gabbie was quite breathtaking and she oozed sex appeal, whether she knew it or not. Come to think of it, Logan wasn’t sure which bothered him more: the fact that the guy didn’t want to sleep with her or the fact that the guy could be sleeping with her if he so chose. Logan let that thought drift away and responded truthfully. “Don’t worry, he will. He will find the opportunity. Guaran-fucking-teed.”

As he watched Gabriella finish cleaning up, he couldn’t help but wonder whom this guy was. Did he not see a good thing when it was standing right in front of him? More importantly, and Logan tried to ignore this thought, but could the chef’s loss ever be Logan’s gain? Would Logan ever have enough balls to find out?

Chapter Two

Gabriella grew up poor. Her mother and father could never hold a job for longer than three months, at best. Mostly, it was her father who would get some fly-by-night job and work long enough to earn a few paychecks—at least enough to spend the evenings at the bar. Her mother mostly stayed at home with Gabriella and her younger sister, Genevieve.