Chapter Six
Miles
After six busy days and five restless nights in New York capped off with a delayed flight and a bumpy landing in Portland, Miles wanted to apologize. He hoped the small gift he’d brought Avery adequately conveyed his regret for telling her who not to date. At the very least, she would use it.
He’d spent a good few days in New York, sleeping in Hayes and Anna Catherine’s guest room so as not to bother the Coopers, who were staying Miles’s apartment.
Hayes had set up a meeting with the grief therapy team at NYU, and they’d walked out excited about their camp.
The visit coincided with the premiere of Hayes’s new action movie, Counterblow, which Miles attended solo.
He only wanted one person on his arm these days, and how best to apologize to her had been on his mind the whole evening, even when the audience had cheered at his cameo.
Inside the lodge’s front door, Casper sniffed every inch of Miles’s pants, his tail wagging wildly.
“Hey boy, you okay?” Miles asked after Casper whimpered. And then Miles realized he’d been wearing these pants when he had visited Sam the day before. The poor dog missed his best friend. At least Casper had Avery loving on him. Lucky dog.
Once Casper calmed down, Miles searched for Avery. As he placed the gift bag at the empty front desk, he heard rustling from the back office. Miles started through the door at the same time Avery walked out. They collided, and she let out a yelp.
“Miles, you scared me!” Her hand clutched her chest in shock.
“I didn’t mean to startle you.” He held up his hands in surrender. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” Avery took a couple of deep breaths and leaned back against the doorframe. “I thought you were in New York.”
“Just got back.” He settled against the opposite side of the door frame.
“I saw Sam yesterday. He felt good enough to beat me at chess and backgammon. But Nate’s emotionally fried, so I burned some frequent flyer points and got Lily a ticket to New York tomorrow for Memorial Day weekend. He needs her.”
“Thank you. I talked to her last night, and she misses him. She hasn’t seen Nate since she dropped the Coopers off at the jet you chartered. They’ve been so scared and stressed. How are you doing?” Avery asked, reaching across the doorway to squeeze his arm.
A buzz jolted through him, and he could have sworn she felt it too, because her eyes jumped to her hand on his sweater. They were standing so close, he could smell that mysterious flower perfume of hers.
“I’m worried about them all, but especially Nate,” he sighed. “He’s shouldering too much. He’ll be okay, but it’s hard to see your friends struggle. And I’m realizing how much he worried about me while my mom was sick. I want to fix everything for him, and I can’t.”
“He knows you’re there for him and I’m sure that’s a great comfort.” Avery tilted her head and smiled. “I’ll drive Lily to the airport. I can stop at Marden’s on the way back and tackle everyone’s list.”
He thought for a second about offering to come with her. Maybe she had softened after hearing how much she had meant to him. But they weren’t ready to spend a day running errands together yet.
“Listen, I want to apologize,” he said. “I had no right to tell you who to date. Paulson gets under my skin. He’s everything I hated about my time at Yale and in New York, wrapped up in one human.”
Miles ran his hand down his face. “It’s not my place to make demands on you. I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.” Avery nodded.
He cocked his head toward the front desk. “I brought an apology gift from the Big Apple.”
She walked to the desk, examined the white bag with red letters, and smirked. “You brought me an apology gift … from CVS?”
“Yeah.” He rested a shoulder against the doorframe. “I’ve got a three-foot-long receipt to prove it.”
“CVS has this thing called an app.” She winked. “You load it on your phone, and it magically sends you digital receipts.”
Seeing Avery’s playful side felt like a big shift. Maybe spilling his guts the other day hadn’t been such a bad thing. Miles struggled to keep from grinning. Her eyes sparkled when she flirted. It took everything in him to stay firmly planted in the doorframe and act naturally.
“I’ll have to look into this, what did you call it? An app?”
“It saves paper, Mr. Carbon Footprint.”
“An ironic sentiment, coming from the girl who made a fortune selling paper.”
Avery giggled and Miles knew he was on the brink hearing that laugh he loved.
“When I play rock-paper-scissors, I always choose paper,” she said.
“Then we will end in a tie. I choose paper to honor the industry of my home state,” he said. He couldn’t help but marvel at the silly things they had in common. “Down East, we play rock-paper-chainsaw, because … lumberjacks.”
“Ooh, an added level of danger.”
He thought about replying he liked a little danger, but she reached into the bag and pulled out the case of lip balm.
Her deep, honest, belly laugh filled the room.
Miles’s heart jumped at the realization that all he wanted for the rest of their lives was to be the person who made her eyes sparkle like they were now.
“I think of you every time I’m at a CVS checkout,” he said. “There’s always a case of them by the register.”
He lifted his arm above his head and leaned a forearm against the side of the door frame, resting his hand on the top edge.
Anna Catherine had made him practice this pose earlier in the week, calling it swoon worthy because it conveyed his interest while lengthening his body.
She’d proclaimed the door jamb lean a rom-com hero signature pose.
Miles found it unnatural, and wildly uncomfortable, but he wasn’t about to throw away its potential for magic.
“After Casper, I figured you needed backups,” he said. “You used to lose lip balms all the time. And hair ties.”
“Thank you.” Avery pulled out a tube, opened it, ran the balm over her lips, and broke into a satisfied smile. “I don’t care if it’s from CVS. This is the most thoughtful gift you could’ve brought me.”
“I’m glad you like it,” he said. As he held her stare, a warmth filled him.
Finally, a relaxed moment. It felt welcome, almost perfect.
He would’ve asked anyone else to go get coffee in hopes it turned into a date, but he needed to take this slowly, even though it seemed like Avery might say yes. Maybe the door jamb lean worked.
He shifted in the doorframe, and cool air hit his abdomen. Seriously, his arm might fall asleep up there.
She leaned against the desk and playfully pointed a finger at him. “I can’t believe you, with all of your model girlfriends, were jealous.”
“Um, well, I wouldn’t refer to them as girlfriends. It’s more like I went on some dates. None of them reached girlfriend status.” Miles scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. “Wait, how did you know who I’ve dated?”
Avery’s blushing, guilty face had to be one of the best things he’d seen all week.
“Oh, that’s right, I caught you googling me.” He opened his mouth wide to feign shock.
“That’s not the point, Miles!” Her newly dewy lips twisted. “Are you saying you didn’t sleep with any of them? Not one?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that.” He raised an eyebrow. “Definitely more than one.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, flattened her mouth, and stared out the window at the lake. Her pout was cute, but he didn’t want to sound like the player everyone labeled him as. Especially to her.
“Look, I know my life appears glamorous,” he said.
“I don’t go to many parties, but I get photographed when I do.
Friends have premieres or charities have galas.
It sounds fun, but being in a big room with a lot of beautiful people can feel far lonelier than being by yourself.
When seven people are sitting at a table set for eight, that empty chair speaks volumes.
If I bring a date, people don’t try to set me up with their coworker, sister, or friend, or worse, offer me an invitation to join some exclusive celebrity dating app. ”
“Oh, Miles,” she moaned and wiped away a fake tear, “you win the pity party.”
“I’m not asking for pity. My life feels, I don’t know, empty?
” He readjusted himself in the doorframe.
As an only child of only children, Miles should be used to being by himself.
But sometimes it felt awkward, and not just at parties in the City.
He loved this lake, but it could be isolating out there on the point, in his red A-frame.
“Montressa is kind of lonely with no staff around,” she said, as if she had read his mind. “Lily’s busy with the end of the school year. I’m trying to make myself useful whenever I can, but at night, there’s nothing to do here. I’ve binged so many shows I may finish Netflix.”
She scanned the series of Post-its on the wall. Miles stepped out of the doorway and planted himself next to her. Avery’s warm shoulder brushed his upper arm.
“A couple nights ago, I fell asleep watching Bride Wars and had nightmare about the reservation board,” she said.
Miles had never seen Bride Wars. It sounded like a reality show, but if it caused nightmares, it must be a horror film.
“In my dream, instead of double-booking the Plaza at the same time as my best friend Kate Hudson, I double-booked Montressa’s entire summer.” Avery let out a laugh. “I kept saying we needed a new system, but Nate wouldn’t listen to me.”
Miles surveyed the board, chewing the inside of his cheek. “It’s a wonder they don’t double-book more often.”
“I don’t think there have been many opportunities lately. I’ve taken one reservation since I arrived two weeks ago.” She frowned. “People don’t know about Montressa. Here I am complaining about having nothing to do at night, but it’s peaceful and beautiful.”