The Heartbreaker Series: Books 1-3 by Evan Grace Page A

up the box of thigh highs I want and make my way back to the register. When I get back, I see Jill carrying all of the bags. I toss the thigh highs on the counter.
    “What are you doing? I still have to pay for those,” I say to Jill.
    She starts walking toward the door. I’m so confused right now. What’s she doing? Are we shoplifters now? “Jill, seriously! Have you lost your mind? I have to pay for those.”
    Finally, when we’re outside the store, she stops and turns to face me. “Don’t be mad, but I might have mentioned to my brother that we were shopping for work clothes for you. He may have handed me his debit card and he may have told me to pay for whatever you needed.”
    I’m shocked. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know why he’d do something like that, but I intend to find out. I know where I’m going as soon as I drop Jill off.
    “Well, I’ll have to thank him.” We climb inside my car. “Why would he do something like that?”
    Twenty minutes later, I pull up at Jill’s place and drop her off. I don’t bother calling or texting him. I just drive straight to Gabe’s house.
    When I pull in his driveway, I’m again intimidated by the size of his home. The place is huge but beautiful. I climb out of the car, make my way up the steps, and ring the doorbell. I almost turn and leave when the door opens. I can’t help but drink in the sight of him. He’s in basketball shorts and no shirt. His hair is pulled back and he’s all sweaty. I start to second-guess my coming here until he smiles that sexy smile at me.
    He steps back and I enter and try not to stare at his sweaty body. I’m going to ignore the urge to lick the sweat off his chest. I stop in his living room, but I don’t sit down. When he enters the room, I take a deep breath and stutter, “Why did you pay for my clothes? I have money.”
    “I’m sure you do have money. I wasn’t implying you didn’t. I just wanted to get you a graduation gift.”
    He walks away from me and goes to the kitchen. I hear him tinkering around and get pissed. I stomp in the kitchen after him.
    “You can’t just say that and walk away. Why would you spend that kind of money on me? You hardly know me.” I don’t get it. “Oh, and thank you. I’ll be paying you back.”
    He stalks toward me and I stare dumbly at his chest. He stops right in front of me. “For one, you’re welcome. You can try to pay me back, but I won’t take it. Two, it’s my money and I wanted to do something for you. I like you, Jasmine. I want to get to know you better.” He cups the back of my neck. “I’ve told you I feel this pull toward you and we’re going to see where this goes.”
    “You are really freaking bossy. You know that, right?” He pulls me toward him, kisses my lips, and then lets me go.
    “I’m going to jump in the shower. Grab a drink and sit out by the pool. I’ll take you to dinner.”
    Seconds later, I hear his footsteps on the stairs. There’s no sense in denying the fact that I want to stay because I do. I grab a beer from his refrigerator, grab my sunglasses, and head out to the pool. I slip off my sandals and stick my feet in the water, sighing happily.
    I stare across the pool and see a couple of butterflies flying around what looks to be a Japanese aster. The orange and black butterflies stand out amongst the white flowers. I take a sip of my beer, savoring the slight taste of lime on my tongue. I don’t drink beer a lot, but when I do, it’s usually Bud Light Lime.
    I kick my legs in the water and watch the water splash around. I take another healthy swallow. Gabe walks toward me in khaki shorts and a t-shirt that is stretched tight across his wide chest. He sits down next to me, grabs my beer, and drinks half of it down. I stare at his Adam’s apple and watch as it bobs up and down.
    He stands up and holds his hand out to me. I grab my sandals and get up. “So, where are we going?” I ask as we walk into the house.
    “There’s