Chapter Three #2
Avery found herself unable to stop staring at the photo of Miles—all sinew and sin. She tried to convince herself it was anger blooming in her stomach, but anger didn’t tingle in her thighs. Her cheeks flushed at how quickly her search had spiraled. She knew better than to explore this rabbit hole.
Beside the front desk, the lakeside door opened.
Miles stepped inside and rotated his baseball cap backward.
Feeling caught, she quickly closed the laptop and spun the office chair to another part of the desk, hoping to appear like she’d been doing something else.
After he left, she’d exit the page and clear the search history.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hi.” She smiled at him, doing her best not to appear guilty.
“Lily here yet? I got a text she wants to meet with us.”
Avery lifted her phone and saw the text as a second message popped up.
Lily: Running late. Be there soon.
“She’s late.” Avery rolled her eyes, annoyed Lily might be giving them more time together on purpose. Lily had sent a text earlier asking Avery to “be nice” next time she saw Miles. Avery hadn’t replied. She wondered if Miles got the same text. He damn well should have.
Miles drummed his fingers on the desk and surveyed the open lobby.
“This place never changes, does it?” His scan of the room landed on the reservation board. He pointed at it. “Please tell me that’s here for nostalgia.”
Avery swiveled her chair toward the board.
“Nope. They appear to be using it.” She kept her gaze on the board to avoid the inevitable swoon of seeing Miles in a backward baseball cap. “There’s no online reservation platform on their computer.”
He reached across the desk and picked up the laptop.
“No,” she yelped. “I already checked.”
“I trust you.” He leveled her with a soft stare. “But maybe it’s in a hidden folder. The Coopers aren’t exactly tech savvy. I am.”
“I am too, and I already checked.” She reached for the laptop a second too late. He had opened it.
She didn’t have to see the screen to know he’d discovered a very alluring photo of himself in the surf. Miles lifted his head slowly, a self-important grin lighting up his face.
Avery’s body temperature rose to near fever level with embarrassment. Even her fingers blushed red. She shielded her eyes and shook her head. This was a nightmare. She wished she could make him go away. Forever.
He hit what had to be the back button.
“Avery Easton,” he said slowly. “Were you googling me?”
An obnoxious question, given the answer was staring at him.
“Yes,” she said. “I, um… It was the first time. I’ve never done it.”
“The first time, right.” He let out a self-satisfied snort.
She sat up straighter, determined not to let him get the better of her.
“Don’t pretend you’re innocent,” she said. “You’re remarkably up-to-date on me. I’ve avoided you all this time. Sure, I caught little updates here and there, but I didn’t have the big picture and… Can we not do this now? I mean, seeing each other again is hard enough.”
Embarrassment got the better of her. She swiveled the chair away from him. Her situation gave new meaning to wanting to crawl out of your own skin.
“If you want to see me shirtless, ask,” he said. “I’m a nice guy. I’d do that for you.”
Avery covered her eyes again, hoping he’d disappear. She felt certain he’d flashed his Inferno smirk again.
“Please don’t make this worse,” she half-begged, half-groaned. “Can you leave? Please?”
Silence, footsteps, and the once-familiar scent of warm pine after an August rain.
Miles smelled so good, she imagined him after a shower, a white towel wrapped around his waist. The abs from that football photo.
Warm skin, a little damp. He used to jump in bed with her after his post-run shower and snuggle into her. What a wonderful way to wake up.
Her chair spun a quarter turn. She peered through her fingers, took a deep breath, and dropped her hands.
There was Miles, on one knee, concern filling his chestnut eyes.
Avery’s breath hitched. That backward baseball cap.
He no longer resembled his red carpet Google search results. He looked like he had that summer.
“Hey,” he whispered. “Don’t be upset. It’s funny.”
Avery rolled her eyes. She wasn’t a cafeteria. He couldn’t pick whatever emotion he wanted.
“Do you know how many times I’ve googled you?” he whispered, as if he understood. “I’ve never—”
Montressa’s back door blew open, and in walked Lily. Miles stood and his arms fell straight down his sides, as if he’d done something he’d been warned about.
Avery sighed through gritted teeth before standing to greet Lily. He’d never what? Maybe he’d never googled her, or maybe he had. She wanted to know.
“Great news.” Lily opened her arms. “Sam’s out of surgery and doing well. He’s going to be okay.”
Miles hugged Lily, their shoulders dropping with the release of their collective worry. Lily hugged Avery next. As the two friends separated, Lily assessed Avery with a furrowed brow.
“Your face is red. Did he upset you?” She pointed at Miles.
Avery hoped Miles would save her from further embarrassment by not mentioning the googling to Lily.
“It was nothing.” Avery rubbed Lily’s arm. “Silly things.”
Over Lily’s shoulder, Avery noticed the breeze had nudged the door to the circular drive open a crack and snagged the opportunity for a break from her friend’s inquiry.
As she walked over to shut it, a wet, black nose peeked around the edge of the doorframe and Sam Cooper’s snow-white golden retriever came into view.
Upon seeing Avery, his tail beat against the door.
His eyes had aged in the last ten years, but his puppy enthusiasm remained.
“Aw, Casper.” She leaned down, welcoming the wet kisses on her face. “You remember me.”
Casper placed a paw on her arm and whined. He pranced over to the front desk to sniff where Avery had been sitting. Lily was still assessing her with a furrowed brow and set jaw.
“Miles,” Lily said.
He’d returned to the front desk, his attention buried in the computer. The quick movement of his fingers on the trackpad, clicking and scrolling, probably searching for a reservation system. His brow furrowed deeper with each failed folder.
“Miles Magrum.”
His head jerked up at the sound of Lily’s terse teacher’s voice.
“What? I didn’t do anything.”
Lily stepped halfway between them and pointed, Spiderman-meme style, as if they were about to be put in detention.
“Listen, both of you.” Her voice boomed.
“Try to get along. For Nate’s sake. And mine.
Like it or not, you’re an important part of our wedding.
Right now, the Coopers are in crisis. Nate doesn’t need your angsty bickering added to his list of worries.
Miles, don’t antagonize her. You like to push buttons, and Avery’s are easy to push. ”
That seemed unfair, but Avery kept quiet. Teacher Lily made her want to recite her times tables to redeem herself.
“And Avery, I was there for you when you left Trent.” Lily’s voice softened. “Being there for me means acknowledging Nate’s best man. He’s a nice guy and as loyal as they come. Try being friends.”
Avery and Miles both spoke at the same time.
“We are friends,” he said.
“I’ll try,” she groused. They had never been friends. They’d only been more. Until they weren’t.
Miles tilted his head in question. He almost seemed hurt.
Avery knew better than to make a promise regarding Miles.
Seeing him in those clothes reminded her of how he used to turn his baseball cap backward and pull her into an empty cabin for a kiss.
Those stolen kisses often led to exploring every inch of one another before returning to work.
“Let us know if we can do anything to help you and the Coopers,” Miles said to Lily.
Typical of him to charm the teacher.
“I’m glad you offered,” Lily said. “Could one of you take care of the dog until school lets out in June? It’s hard for me to feed and walk him before I leave in the morning.”
“Not me,” Miles said, holding up both hands.
“Nice.” Avery scowled. “Volunteer to help and refuse the ask.”
“That’s not getting along.” Lily shook a finger at Avery. “To be fair, Miles and Casper Cooper share a history of mutual jealousy-fueled hatred.”
“I don’t hate him,” Miles protested. “But I’ll be traveling, and I have my morning TV gig. When I’m here, I’ll be down at the water, which holds all kinds of temptations for him. And the nights? My house is a construction zone.”
Casper emerged from around the desk, holding the maple-blueberry donut in his mouth. He titled his head back and ate it in one gulp.
“That donut was for Avery.” Miles stepped toward the lakeside door and turned the doorknob. “Avery, my friend, good luck with that menace of a dog. I’m here anytime you want to see the gods. I mean goods.”
He rotated the brim of his cap to the front and winked. Avery needed to avoid these daily doses of his annoying, yet attractive confidence before his backwards baseball cap and the scent of warm pine after an August rain weakened her resolve. She’d find a solid reason to send him back to the City.
Once Miles closed the door, Lily sized her up.
“Avery, are you okay?” she asked. “When I walked in, things seemed awfully tense. I thought you’d moved on. You never ask about him.”
“It’s fine. We’re just getting used to one another.” Avery shrugged. Casper pushed his wet nose under her hand, asking for a head rub. Dogs always made you feel wanted and loved.
“I’ll take care of this sweet boy”—Avery scratched behind his ears—“if you tell me what you want to do for your bachelorette party. Also, I have your wedding invitations ready to proof.”
“Now that Sam’s going to be okay, seeing what you painted for us and catching up sounds nice,” Lily said. “So does food. Want to grab a pizza at Napolitano’s?”
Avery nodded. She had missed Napolitano’s molasses cookies more than those maple-blueberry donuts anyway.