Temptation Trails (The Haven Brothers #3)

“Really?”

She nodded. “He did. His loyalty is unmatched. Plus, he’s a great dad and a well-respected deputy.”

“That’s the thing, it’s all too perfect. Things like this don’t work out for me. The other shoe always drops.”

“It sounds like Garrett is exactly what you need. Besides, sometimes the best thing comes along when we least expect it.”

“Is that what happened with you and Zachary?”

“You could say that.” She fluffed out my hair. “Let’s get you dry, then I’ll finish up.”

She blow dried my hair and I loved how she made it so shiny. It already looked so much healthier. And despite the fact that I’d unintentionally told her too much—best orgasm I’d ever had?—it had felt good to tell someone.

Starting over in a new place was hard.

Before I paid, she gave me her number and suggested we get together sometime. I loved that idea and hoped she meant it. Starting a new relationship was great, but the way I’d babbled to her reminded me I probably needed to try a little harder to make some friends.

I left, feeling pretty, and not quite skipped down the sidewalk back to my car. I got to the parking lot behind the bakery and paused. Something red and shiny caught my eye. It was a gift bag, hanging from the driver’s side mirror of my car.

My first thought was Garrett. Had he left me a surprise gift?

The bag was glossy, a dark red background with lighter red hearts that caught the sunlight. It looked like the sort of thing you saw in stores around Valentine’s Day. And it seemed a tiny bit odd. Maybe a touch too on the nose for a guy like Garrett Haven.

Then again, despite the fact that I’d happily let him take me up against a wall, and again on my couch, I didn’t really know him all that well. Not yet. Maybe gift giving was one of his love languages.

I untied the string holding the bag to the mirror. There wasn’t any tissue paper or other filler, and I pulled out a brown teddy bear with a bright red ribbon around its neck.

Huh.

I checked the bag for a note, but didn’t find anything. There wasn’t anything attached to the bear, not even a little scribble on the tag. And no sign of a note or card on the ground, either.

The bear was kind of cute, if you liked that sort of thing. I didn’t want to be ungrateful. If Garrett had thought I’d enjoy a stuffed animal, I absolutely appreciated it. But it looked a bit worn, as if it wasn’t brand new. With a tickle of apprehension in my stomach, I brought the bear to my nose and sniffed. It had a hint of mustiness to it. Definitely wasn’t new.

I glanced around again, wondering if the gift giver was watching me. It couldn’t have been Garrett. Could it?

If it had been, I was going to start questioning some very big choices I’d recently made. Particularly the one involving a wall and a lack of underwear.

I dropped the bear back in the gift bag, got in my car, and locked the doors. It felt weird to stand in the open air with that thing. But I had to know. I dug my phone out of my purse and called Garrett.

“Hey, Harper.”

“Hi. You’re probably working and I’m so sorry to bug you. But… did you leave a gift on my car?”

“No. What is it?”

“A teddy bear.”

He hesitated, as if he were as confused as I was. “There was a teddy bear on your car?”

“It was in a gift bag hanging from the side mirror. Whoever it was, they didn’t leave a note. I wonder if it was a mistake and they put it on the wrong car.”

“Okay, walk me through it. Did you discover the bag just now?”

“Yes.”

“What were you doing before that? Did you just leave the bakery?”

“No, I went to the salon and got a haircut.”