57. Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter fifty-seven
Adair
I heard Peter’s phone ding and felt him move, but I wasn’t ready to be fully awake yet. It wasn’t until he let out two deep sighs that I shifted so I could see his face. “What’s got you thinking so hard over there?”
Peter glanced down and smirked at me. “Ryan was asking if you wanted to eat with anyone for dinner.”
I let out a sigh. “Yes…”
“But?”
“But I don’t think I can handle being around a ton of people right now.”
He moved to his lay on his side and faced me. “Who do you want there?”
I opened and closed my mouth and had to take a minute to think. “You and Lynette for sure.”
Peter nodded. “Okay. What about Lukas and Lianne?”
A smile appeared on my face. “Yeah. Them, too.”
“What about Quinn and Ben?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at how quickly the dinner guest list tripled. “It just turned into a full family dinner, didn’t it?”
He shrugged. “Only if that’s what you want. I know it would delight Lynette to no end, but that doesn’t mean you have to do it.”
I sat up and nodded. “I want to. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy. We could have turkey sandwiches for all I care.”
Peter glanced at the door and then back at me. “Would you like to go to Lynette’s office and ask her if she’d like to have dinner with you?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Where is Lynette’s office these days?”
“Well, she’s Lianne’s second, so she’s in…. Oh, shit.” His eyes went wide in panic. “She’s in what used to be Liam’s office. We don’t have to go in there if you don’t want to.”
A soft laugh came out. “Actually, it was one of the few places in this house I haven’t been in.
” When Peter’s mouth dropped open, I nodded.
“I know, right? I’ve been in Mr. Agosti’s office, the conference room, and the lounge, but I’ve never been inside of Liam’s office.
I’d only ever gotten as far as the door. ”
“What in the hell was wrong with that man?”
I full out laughed in response to Peter’s candid comment. “There’s not enough time left in the day to cover that list. Regardless, I would love to ask Lynette if we could have a family dinner.”
We had gotten out of bed, and I was opening the door as Lynette was raising her hand to knock. “Well, this is good timing.”
A huge smile appeared on her face. “It is. How are you feeling, my dear?”
“Better after getting some more sleep. I was actually on my way to ask you something.”
She nodded. “Would it happen to have something to do with dinner?”
“Yes. I’d like to eat with the family.”
Lynette’s eyes went wide. “Family meaning me and all my children?”
I chuckled. “Well, your biological ones for now, and their spouses. Well, and Peter, too.”
“Of course.” The joy radiating off the woman before me was infectious. “Do you have any requests?”
I wrapped my arms around myself and let out a nervous breath. “I’d love to have some chicken and dumplings, but that doesn’t have to be tonight. Like I was telling Peter, easy comfort food is fine. I’d be happy with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.”
Lynette shook her head at me. “Sandwiches? Really? Adair, do you think I’d do that to you on your first night here? Absolutely not. Chicken and dumplings won’t take me long to make at all. Would you like to sit in the living room or the lounge while you wait?”
My conversation with Quinn about the fireplace popped into my head. “The living room.”
The older woman’s eyes twinkled. “I’m sure Ryan or Peter would love to get a cozy little fire going for you, too.”
“That would be fantastic.”
A few minutes later, I was curled up on the couch when Ryan came in, smirking. I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why do I have a feeling you’re up to no good?”
He crossed his arms over his chest and grinned a little wider. “Because I’ve got a surprise for you, if you’re feeling up for it.”
My grip tightened on the pillow in my lap. “What kind of surprise?”
Ryan gestured to the open spot next to me on the couch. “May I?” When I nodded, he sat down. “Do you remember Avery O’Hara?”
A smile appeared on my face. “Do I ever! She was brought on to be my guard for…” I trailed off and my smile dropped. She helped save my life that day.
“For… what?” Peter grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze.
Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“She was going to be my personal full-time guard after Liam and I got married. Even though she had no obligation, she took it upon herself to start training me in basic self-defense right away.” The words came out in a quiet rush.
“You and Avery had a good working relationship, though, right?” Suddenly, Ryan looked nervous.
Visions of my self-defense lessons popped into my head for a moment, and I grinned. “Absolutely.”
“She lit up when I asked her about you.”
I gasped. “What? Why would you do that?”
Ryan held his hands up. “Lynette told me I could talk to her about you.”
All I could do was blink. “Avery is here?”
He nodded. “Oh yeah. Would you like to see her?”
I looked past Ryan, half-expecting to see her walking down the hallway toward me. “I would, very much, actually.”
Letting out a relieved breath, he pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped on the screen. After his phone buzzed, Ryan chuckled. “She doesn’t believe me, but she’s on her way.”
Nerves exploded in my stomach, but this time, it was mostly excitement. Not only had Avery immediately made me a priority from the day we met, but she was also one of the few people Liam and Susan feared. Before I could ruminate on it too long, a familiar female voice rang through the air.
“Ryan Montgomery Smith, I swear on my precious Alex’s life if you are pulling a fast one on me, I’m not even sure Ellen could stop me from using you as a punching bag this time.”
My eyes went wide as I stared at the man in question. “This time? What did you do to my Avery?”
He shook his head and grimaced slightly. “A story for another time.”
I leaned forward, grinning widely as I locked eyes on the other woman I credited for keeping me alive. Some of those very self-defense lessons were what bought me time to escape my death. “Is it some new protocol to threaten your co-workers?”
My tall, muscular, almost bodyguard froze in place at the entrance of the living room, eyes wide. She still had black-brown hair, but it was shorter than the last time I saw it, and it looked like the side had been clipped short. It suited her. “Victoria?”
I nodded and stood up. “In the flesh.”
Avery, uncharacteristically, rushed toward me, wrapped me in a tight hug, picked me up like I weighed nothing, and spun me around. “Holy shit! It’s actually you! I thought I was going to have to kick Ryan’s ass. Oh my god, how are you?”
Laughter spilled out, and I clung to her until my feet were back on the ground. “I’m so much better now.”
She took my face in her hands and studied it intently, and there were tears in her blue eyes. “You’re really here… in front of me… alive.” Her voice cracked on the last word.
“I am. And partly thanks to you.”
Avery’s eyes somehow went wider. “What? How? The last I saw of you was Derek scooping you up and running out of that house.”
I swallowed hard, hating the torment she must have lived with, and nodded. “I know we’d only been working together for a few months, but the training we snuck in, especially the self-defense, is likely one of the reasons I lived through the attack.”
A tear slipped out and rolled down Avery’s cheek as the joy in her eyes morphed into a mix of guilt and rage. “Victoria, what happened after? Where did you go?”
How much am I supposed to tell her? Allowed to tell her? “I’m not sure what I’m allowed to share yet, but I was kept safe. Well, as safe as possible.”
Avery nodded before releasing my face and pulling in for another hug. “Lynette gave me a few loaded secrets of my own to keep safe. Now that you’re back, I want to be your guard. I refuse to let anyone lay a finger on you again.”
I hugged her tighter, overwhelmed with gratitude at her whispered words. “You’ll have to share that honor and responsibility with Peter.”
She leaned back and nodded as she looked at him and then back at me. “Glad to be on the team.” After letting out a sigh and wiping the tears from her face, Avery smiled again. “What are you doing tonight?”
“Lynette is making chicken and dumplings. Peter and I are hanging out in here until dinner is ready.”
“And Ryan?” She shot him a wry look. “Are you part of these dinner plans?”
He stared at her, eyes wide in surprise, and then shook his head. “No. Ellen and I are going out.”
Avery snort laughed. “Oh, so you do remember how to woo your fiance. Good. Glad to hear it.”
The immediate tension that popped up made me glance at Ryan. “Does this have anything to do with the story for another time?”
He let out a deep sigh. “Yep, and before Avery spills it, I’m going to get ready, so I’m not late for my date.”
As he left the room, Avery turned around and shouted, “I’ll be checking in with Ellen tomorrow.”
He spun around and glared at her. “How about you worry about your partner and I’ll worry about mine?”
She blew him a kiss. “Sure thing, sweetie.”
Ryan flipped her off and headed off to his room.
I couldn’t help the laugh that came out. “Oh my god, this was everything I needed.”
“Oh? How so?”
I looked at Peter, who had asked the question. “For everything that has changed since I had to leave, it’s so nice seeing things are still very much the same.” I shook my head and laughed again before realizing something Ryan said. “Wait. Avery, are you dating someone?”
An enormous smile appeared on her face. “Yeah. Alex and I have been together officially for about six months. Let me show you a picture of them.” Avery pulled out her phone and, after tapping on the screen a few times, turned the screen and showed me a picture of her with her arm around a stunning woman with burgundy red hair, dark blue eyes, and at least one sleeve of tattoos.
“This is my firecracker. They are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I cannot wait for you to meet them.”