Chapter Nineteen
Avery
Avery unzipped her wet suit and toweled off as she stood on the beach next to the dock.
Bright and Early’s opening, featuring her water-skiing, had gone well.
Despite the stress of jumping the wake one-handed while wearing a microphone, she managed to smile while saying the show’s famous tagline, “Wake up! It’s Bright and Early in Maine.
” Usually they said “America,” but this was a special episode.
She slipped into the sauna, changed into warm sweats and Birkenstocks, and took the path to the lodge, hoping to catch Sam’s live segment during the show’s second half hour.
She checked her phone to find it ablaze with notifications.
The Easton family chat was busy this morning.
They’d all watched her open the show and loved it.
In some ways, she’d begun a new chapter with Miles three days earlier in Portland.
That night, at the boutique seaside inn he’d taken her to, they’d spent an hour coordinating calendars and setting aside time to be together.
Their shared calendar looked tidy all laid out on her iPad.
It felt like a big step from ten years ago when distance alone made him not want to try.
Despite everything going well, Avery couldn’t help but put their relationship under her own microscope.
He’d taken a big step and called her his girlfriend.
She should be content, but every time he mentioned the fundraiser in New York, he didn’t invite her.
She knew he wouldn’t take someone else, but the lack of an invitation without an explanation felt like he was holding back.
She’d let her mind get carried away, picking out dresses on her phone when bored, only to remind herself she wasn’t going.
Sam’s interview began as she arrived at the lodge. Avery tiptoed across the porch and stood next to Lily, behind the crew. They exchanged a quiet smile and watched the monitors.
Sam sat near the railing, fidgeting under all the lights with the lake sparkling behind him.
Victoria knew how to make her guests comfortable, especially those with no prior TV experience.
She asked about the lake, and his face lit up as he described Montressa as the most peaceful place he knew of to rest a weary soul.
Peace was the last thing Avery had felt with Bright and Early’s crew on site.
Ever since Victoria had checked in, she’d treated Avery as her personal concierge.
Despite her low-key on-air personality, Victoria issued diva-level requests every twenty minutes.
The extra cases of three different bottled waters hadn’t placated her.
Neither had the French-milled soap or the sea salt candle.
Victoria only drank one kind of champagne. Montressa served Moet, but Avery had to fetch a bottle of Veuve Clicquot and a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Brut Rosé because visiting Montressa put Victoria in the mood for summer, and summer called for pink bubbles.
Thankfully, one of the housekeeping staff was in Portland and picked up a skincare fridge, which Avery learned was a tiny bathroom refrigerator made especially for beauty products.
“I’m doing Montressa a favor.” Victoria had lifted a hand to her heart. “Once you try it, you’ll understand why every cabin needs one. I’ll leave mine so you can have it when I leave.”
“So magnanimous of you,” Avery muttered to herself when she’d finally trudged back down the stairs of Victoria’s cabin for the umpteenth time. The skincare fridge wasn’t Victoria’s to give away anyway. Montressa had purchased it.
When Avery’s phone pinged well after dinner last night, she’d immediately regretted ever having given Victoria her number.
The Queen, as Avery and Lily called her, requested a higher-thread-count bathrobe and a security guard, despite there being no danger to her safety.
Luke, a bellhop who played football and lacrosse at Winslow College, was thrilled to take the job because, it’s Victoria Evans!
The robe request had felt aggressive. Montressa’s new robes were made from a plush, sustainable bamboo fiber.
So Avery had firmly said they didn’t have an alternative, which ended the texts.
When she’d promised Nate she’d ski the show open, it hadn’t occurred to Avery that if she wanted to watch the taping, she’d be standing in the lodge with wet hair, among the made-up and camera-ready.
She looked around at the crew. Everyone else was dry and not in sweats.
This experience rivaled the time in middle school when she’d arrived at Mary Kaitlyn Smyth’s Halloween party to find she was the only one wearing a costume.
She felt a tap on her shoulder the second Sam’s segment finished.
“Avery.” Nate pulled her out of her thoughts. “I’m up next, and Lily is biased. She calls me a hottie no matter what I wear. How do I look?”
He had on a Montressa polo and a wide grin, his golden hair combed into place. That rugged, handsome, friendly outdoorsman vibe so many men tried to emulate came naturally to Nate.
“Great. Like Thor, if he managed a lodge and went fishing in his spare time.” She patted his arm. “You’ve got this.”
“You look hot, babe.” Lily kissed Nate.
“See,” Nate shrugged at Avery. Their wedding was going to be so much fun.
“All right, everyone,” one of the producers shouted. “Next segment is in the lobby, with Nate Cooper.”
The crew moved equipment while the show paused for the local news and weather.
Avery left Nate and Lily in the lobby near the hearth and headed to the bathroom to neaten her wet hair just as Miles strode through the back door.
His navy fisherman’s sweater perfectly alluded to the sculpture underneath, but his jeans still hung from his hips as if he hadn’t tried very hard.
“Hey you,” he said.
“Hey,” Avery said. “Isn’t your segment on the dock?”
“Ayuh, but I wanted to tell you that everyone says that was our best show open ever.” Miles ripped off his Velcro watchband and wrapped his digital watch around her wrist. “I’m entrusting this to you. The producers insist I wear a smartwatch so viewers can see I’m a techie.”
It was a tiny thing, but his warm watch on her wrist made her feel chosen. She recognized it as the same watch he’d worn in college. Most girlfriends would replace a beat-up watch with a new one, but Avery knew he used this watch to time his runs. It was sacred to him.
“You’re the prettiest one here. Lucky me,” Miles whispered as he kissed her forehead. “I’m off to get made up.”
Avery didn’t think Miles needed enhancing, but she nodded anyway.
He pointed at her and clicked his tongue as he walked through the conference room door, now embellished with a Sharpie-scribbled sign that read Hair and Makeup.
Avery had posted a photo of it on Montressa’s Social media profiles earlier in the day with the caption, Ready for our close-up. Are you watching Bright and Early?
A cheer erupted as Miles entered the room.
“The hair and makeup crew never greet me like that.” Victoria pouted as she walked out of the hair and makeup room with a cell phone attached to her ear. The haggard production assistant in her wake held two additional phones, both showing hold screens.
“Nate, your father was perfect. I’m doing you next. By the fireplace.” Victoria pointed and continued her conversation. “This is non-negotiable, Charles. Call me back when they’ve agreed.”
She hung up and grabbed the other phone out of her assistant’s hand. “Hello? Yes. Yes. No.”
By the time she finished, the next caller had given up.
“I told you to keep them on the phone,” Victoria chided her quivering assistant.
“Avery, get me a Montressa polo.” Victoria’s command was more of a bark.
“I want to be on brand for my nostalgia piece with Nate. They’ll be running a photo of me wearing mine from that summer.
I am still an extra small, unless you have extra-extra small.
That robe you brought me last night was way too big. ”
Avery left to find a shirt, and Lily accompanied her.
“She’s driving me insane,” Avery said through gritted teeth. “I’ve brought her French milled soap, a special candle, three types of bottled water, champagne we don’t carry, and a special refrigerator for her skin creams. Nothing satisfies her.”
“That’s a whole spa.” Lily giggled. “No wonder she texted me asking for a robe last night. Nate had a cabin steward take one over.”
Avery’s jaw dropped open. “I wonder if that was before or after she asked me for one and I told her to use the one in her cabin. Please help me through this day!”
“As soon as those trucks pull out, you and I are hitting the water,” Lily said.
“Wes used the air compressor to inflate our floats. Yours is definitely a loon, but I’m not sure about mine.
Is it a deer? Is it a moose? Is it a doose?
We can debate this and other hot topics on our way out to Lone Pine Island. ”
Avery laughed. Lily always brightened the mood.
Back in the lobby, Miles returned from makeup, tissue stuck in his neckline for touchups before he went live on the dock. Victoria stopped him and ran her hands over his pecs.
“Just getting some lint off,” she said, and smiled at him. “So, who’s your date for the fundraiser?”
“No comment.” He scowled at Victoria.
“Off the record?” She picked another piece of invisible lint off his shoulder.
“Victoria, private life, private. You know this.” Miles’s face transformed into a bed of chiseled rock.
“Look at you, so cute when you’re mad. I’m going solo.” She smoothed a hand down his arm. “Now get to the dock for your segment.”
Miles didn’t budge. As Victoria interviewed Nate, Avery wondered if Paulson was going to the fundraiser. If he showed up, someone should introduce him to Victoria. Miles wouldn’t do that for Paulson. If Avery were there, she would finagle a meeting so Paulson could get her out of his system.