Chapter Sixteen #2
Anna Catherine and Avery wrapped up and everyone said goodbye, with Hayes asking to visit the corporate retreat when he came in a couple of weeks and maybe make an offer.
“Your friends are so nice,” Avery said after they hung up, nuzzling a kiss into his neck.
“You’re easy to like.” He leaned into her kiss and let the spark pulsing through him remind him of what made Avery so special. He could face his fears later. First, he needed to take her out. So many times they lost count.
Crunching gravel interrupted their kiss. A familiar black Rivian SUV pulled into the circle. Avery’s elbow nudged Miles in the ribs as a pair of black and red Air Jordans hit the ground. Paulson.
He better not be coming on the fishing trip with Sam, Miles thought.
Avery gripped Miles’s leg. Whenever she touched his thigh, it made him feel simultaneously strong and needed. And hard. Thankfully, the boughs of the tree hid them well.
Paulson entered the lodge and greeted Nate as the door swung shut.
“What’s he doing here?” Miles asked.
Avery ran her teeth over her lower lip as if she knew something. “Didn’t he call you? He promised to call you.”
“Why would he call me?”
“Carter Hotels was the other party interested in the corporate retreat, but they decided to pass,” she said. “He said he’d call and let you know, so you could lower your offer.”
Miles wondered if Paulson’s change of heart was a trap.
Maybe Paulson still wanted the retreat and had counted on Avery telling Miles in hopes he’d lower his offer, allowing Carter Hotels to buy the property without competition.
That would be pretty slimy, even for Paulson.
Carter Hotels could outbid anyone. Miles needed to be careful.
He rarely called in favors, but maybe he should ask some local friends to dig around and find out.
Jeanette heard a lot of gossip at the diner.
“Paulson wants to open a small fishing lodge near a river.” Avery’s green eyes widened. “What if he tries to buy Montressa? We should go in.”
“Sweetheart, Nate can handle it and it’s not our decision to make,” Miles said, trying to sound reassuring. “He knows about Paulson. And he’d never sell Montressa.”
Avery leaned her head onto his shoulder, sending an ease through him. An ease she didn’t seem to feel. She picked at a hangnail and jiggled a leg.
“He promised to call you,” she said.
There was nothing they could do about whatever motivated Paulson not to call, and Miles didn’t want to get into it. She needed a distraction. He said the first thing that came to his mind.
“They’re putting in the backsplash today. All the guys on the crew love the milk bottle caps.”
The leg kept jiggling.
“I can’t wait to see it,” she said. “Which reminds me. Will you show me how to make your mom’s macaroni and cheese?”
“Ayuh.” He brushed a thumb along her hairline. His mother would have loved hearing her ask how to make her prized recipe.
They waited silently for a minute, half hidden under the giant pine, drinking in the balsam breeze.
“Speaking of dinner,” she said. “You need something other than a kitchen table made of sawhorses and plywood. You also need a couch, a rug, and bedroom furniture.”
“Maybe I should make a list.” He winked.
“Well, I’m never gonna tell someone not to make a list.” She giggled and the bouncing leg slowed to a stop.
Shopping for furniture wasn’t a special outing, but Portland had furniture stores and romantic date potential.
They could shop and have lunch at the same lobster shack where the spark had ignited that summer.
Afterward, they’d drive up the coast and stay in the nicest suite at a waterfront boutique hotel.
It felt like a natural progression and not too much, too fast.
“Decorating is overwhelming. But you’re so good at it.” He cleared his throat. “Will you help me find furniture? We could—”
The front door to the lodge opened, and Paulson and Nate stood under the portico with Sam. Everyone shook hands.
“That didn’t take long,” Avery whispered as she gripped Miles’s thigh again.
“Thank you both,” Paulson said. “I’m excited to help with your new bar. I have some other ideas too, for later.”
“We’ll gladly pay you for your time,” Nate said.
“Unnecessary.” Paulson studied the lodge. “This is a special place. I admire what you and your father have here.”
Miles was certain Paulson wanted something. He’d catch up with Nate on the boat.
“Wait,” said Nate. “I’m having a bachelor party canoe trip on the Kennebec River the last week of July. It’s me, Miles, Hayes Preston, and some of my friends from high school and college. Join us.”
Miles’s chest sank. While it was Nate’s party, Miles wished he’d had some input. People in large groups jockeyed for position. Paulson made everything about himself. He’d be loud and insufferable.
Avery must have sensed his frustration because she swatted his knee and whispered, “Be kind.”
“That’s awfully nice, Nate,” Paulson said. “Text me the dates and I’ll see if I can make it. That reminds me, I need to call Miles.”
“Mm-hmm.” Avery nodded.
“But right now, I’ve gotta get back to the City.” Paulson sighed. “I’ll call him next week.”
As the driveway dust from Paulson’s Rivian SUV settled, Miles took Avery’s hand and led her to the lobby. Sam patted his son on the back.
“Dad,” said Nate. “Paulson’s bar idea enables us to be a wedding destination. Guests will love it. With Avery’s marketing and Miles’s website, Montressa’s future gets brighter every day.”
“You’ve got good friends.” Sam smiled. “Each Cooper makes our mark on Montressa. Now it’s your turn. I’m glad to see you breathing new life into it.”
Sam wiped away a tear.
“We owe you both so much.” Nate nodded at Miles and Avery. “What’s next in your plan?”
Miles felt a rush of pride. The Coopers trusted his and Avery’s instincts.
“My friends from CashCache are beta testing the new reservation system,” Miles said. “But the more immediate need is filling this summer’s vacancies.”
“I know it’s early in the season, but we’re just over half capacity today,” Avery said. “The only cabin booked all summer is the Boathouse.”
“Victoria and I broadcast live from here next week,” Miles said. “That should help.”
“I hope so.” Sam put his hands in his pockets. “It’s so nice of Victoria to come back.”
Avery let out an irritated sigh only Miles seemed to notice. He couldn’t figure out the tension there, especially with half a summer’s worth of reservations at stake. But Avery didn’t understand his distrust of Paulson. They each had people in their lives who didn’t work with their personalities.
“It’s national television.” He squeezed Avery’s hand. “And free advertising worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
“The thing is,” said Avery, “everything with Victoria comes at a price.”
“You’re both right,” Nate said. “But we can put up with a day of diva behavior for that level of exposure.”
Sam fanned his hand at the three of them and chuckled.
“Enough shop talk,” he said. “Let’s go fishing.”
As Nate and Sam headed outside, Miles hung back with Avery. He wanted to let her know how much she mattered to him. He couldn’t sort out his own feelings yet, but she checked off every box he had for the perfect partner.
“I leave for a few days in Minnesota tomorrow, and the camp I’m observing doesn’t allow cell phones.” He picked up a strand of her hair and tugged it. “Dinner tonight?”
She lifted a hand to his stubble and her eyes sparkled like sunlight on water.
“Yep, it’s a date.”
“Dinner at my house isn’t a date. It’s too … every day.” Miles frowned. Nothing he came up with felt special enough. “I want to take you somewhere amazing.”
She wrapped her pinkie around his.
“You already do. I love your every day. Being out on the lake with you. Stargazing on the dock. Eating dinner at your house. Those are the moments I feel most content.”
Relief swept through him. She didn’t want a big show. Avery shook his pinkie and gazed up at him. Her eyes were almost emerald today.
“If we’re going to make this work, we’ll need to share our ‘real worlds’ eventually,” she said.
“I want to see your other every day. The one in New York. Meet your friends, see your apartment, maybe go out to dinner or to one of your parties. And I want to take you to my family’s house in Virginia. ”
Miles tried to swallow the lump in his chest. It didn’t move. Those were steps to something more permanent, which sounded wonderful and frightening at the same time.
Nate stuck his head in the door. “Miles, let’s go.”
Avery dropped his pinky and kissed him with lips that felt warmer than the sun. He’d wished for that kiss on every birthday candle, found penny, and errant eyelash for the last ten years. Fears aside, he knew he wanted to be with her forever. He needed to figure out how to get himself there.
As he walked to the dock, the only thought running through his mind was not to mess anything up. Not this time. Not ever.