Chapter Twenty-eight #2
Avery laughed. “Why indeed. Wait for me.” He stepped out into thick, swampy heat. People who didn’t believe in climate change needed to spend some time in the District in the summer. It seemed to get hotter every year. Opening the passenger door, he held out a hand for Shelby and helped her out.
She’d worn a cute pink dress with white polka dots and sky-high pink heels and had obviously spent time on her hair and makeup.
On the sly, Avery had asked her sister if they had time for lunch after their appointment, and she’d encouraged him to stay out as long as they wanted.
He planned to break the lunch news to Shelby after their appointment.
Since they had a minute, he rested his hands on her hips and looked down at her. He’d never thought much of the color pink until she’d come into his life with her obsession for it. Now pink reminded him of her, and he loved it. “In case I forgot to say so earlier, you look gorgeous today.”
“You look gorgeous all the time. It’s not fair.”
“Shut up,” he said, smiling as he kissed her.
“It’s true. No woman should have to live with a man who looks as good as you do from the minute you wake up.”
Raising a brow, he said, “Are you saying you don’t want to live with me anymore?”
“Not at all. I’m merely pointing out your unfair advantage.”
“If you could see yourself through my eyes, you’d know you have nothing to feel disadvantaged about. In my opinion, you have all the advantages.”
“And that! The accent, the words, the gorgeous golden eyes, the cheekbones…” She sighed dramatically. “Not fair.”
For the first time since he’d ruined everything, he felt hopeful that they might be able to put their relationship back together. Taking her hand, he led her to the door to Rosemary’s office. “This is where I come to have my soul scrubbed in battery acid.”
Shelby laughed at his description of the therapy. “I’m looking forward to meeting this woman you spend so much time with.”
“You’ll like her.”
Rosemary’s door was propped open, so Avery knocked. He suspected she’d added this hour to her schedule to accommodate them more quickly, and he appreciated that.
“Come in,” she said cheerfully.
After spending her days listening to other people’s problems, he marveled at her cheerfulness. He’d be ready to murder someone. With his hand on the small of Shelby’s back, Avery ushered her in ahead of him.
“Hi there.” Rosemary extended a hand to Shelby. “You must be Shelby. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Likewise.”
“I’m sure Avery has plenty to say about me,” Rosemary said drolly. “He loves every minute he spends with me.”
The comment made them laugh and eased his tension. “You know it,” he said.
“I’m so glad you could come in,” Rosemary said to Shelby.
He could tell that the therapist’s friendliness had put Shelby at ease.
“Thanks for accommodating us on short notice.”
“No problem at all. I understand you’re madly in love with your little Noah.”
“Oh, he’s the best. I waited forever to be a mom, and he’s made the wait well worth it.”
“Congratulations. Enjoy every minute. He’ll grow up so fast.”
“That’s what everyone says.”
“Well, we all know why we’re here, and I want to make sure we get the most out of our hour together, so I’ll cut to the chase. Avery has told me about his mistake, the terrible hurt it’s caused and the ensuing rift between the two of you.”
“Wow,” Shelby said, glancing at him. “She doesn’t mince words.”
“No, she doesn’t.”
Rosemary smiled. “I want to help. What can I do to help you move past this, Shelby?”
“I… I’ve been trying to put it behind me.
Avery… He’s so wonderful with Noah. He loves him so much, which is such a special gift to me—and to Noah.
I’d expected to raise him on my own. When Avery came into my life and said he didn’t care how the baby was conceived…
He said he’d love him no matter where he came from. That’s when I fell in love with him.”
For the first time since that awful day, she took his hand and held on tight to him. His heart contracted with what felt an awful lot like joy. The accompanying swell of emotion had him fearing he might break down.
“Later you found out he’d had complicated feelings for your friend and employer.”
Shelby nodded, the inner light that was so much a part of her dimming. “It hurt me that everyone kept that from me for so long. I felt stupid because I had no idea.”
“Do you believe Avery when he tells you nothing of any consequence ever happened between the two of them because she was happily married when he met her?”
“I know all the parties involved, and I absolutely believe nothing happened. Sam would never be unfaithful to Nick. They’re crazy about each other and don’t care who knows it.”
“They do give off that vibe,” Rosemary agreed. “I’m glad to know it’s authentic.”
“It’s so authentic.”
“Do you understand that this information was kept from you by three people you care about because they care about you and didn’t want to hurt you with information they felt was irrelevant to your relationship with Avery—and with them?”
“It took me some time to understand that, but I do now.”
“We were well past that when I made the huge mistake of saying her name at the worst possible time,” Avery said, grimacing all over again at the thought of that moment. It still made him sick to think about how much pain he’d caused the woman he loved.
“Avery and I have talked a lot about that event,” Rosemary said. “We’ve rehashed it from every possible angle, and I’ve tried to help him see that sometimes our brain behaves in ways that make no sense. For instance, did you know that Sam reminds him of a woman he loved when he was in college?”
Stunned, Shelby looked at him. “No, I didn’t know that. You’ve never told me…”
“I never told anyone until Rosemary got it out of me.”
“Who was she?” Shelby asked.
God, this hurt, even after all this time.
“Her name was Jennifer. We met at a dance when I was at the Citadel. She went to a local high school in Charleston. I was crazy about her from the minute I met her, and she felt the same way. Every time I saw her, my feelings for her multiplied until she was the most important part of my life. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried to have a girlfriend while attending a military college.
Over time, she got tired of waiting for me to be free to see her, and she moved on with someone who had time for her.
When we broke up… That was the closest I ever came to leaving school.
My parents got involved with the school counselor and they got me through it, but it was the first real crisis I ever had. ”
“And Sam reminds you of her?”
“I’d never made the connection until Rosemary connected the dots for me, but Sam does bear a striking resemblance to Jennifer. I never realized it because I worked so hard to bury all thoughts of Jennifer that I didn’t make the connection. But once Rosemary did, a lot of things made sense to me.”
“Wow,” Shelby said. “That’s…”
“It’s crazy, darlin’. I know it is. I’ve always known this thing I had for Sam was ridiculous, but it was like I couldn’t control it even when I knew I had to. Rosemary thinks that was driven by the unfinished business I had with Jennifer more than anything directly to do with Sam.”
“I like that theory a whole lot better than you having a secret burning love for my friend and boss.”
“I do, too.”
“Do you know whatever became of Jennifer?”
“I don’t, and I don’t want to know. I have no interest in anyone but the woman who’s going to be my wife, if she’ll still have me after the mistakes I’ve made.
” A few weeks ago, it would’ve been impossible for him to say something so intimate in front of Rosemary, but she no longer felt like a stranger.
She’d helped him to make sense of a lot of crap, and he was grateful to her for that.
He hadn’t thought about Jennifer or the devastation he’d experienced when their relationship ended in years. Rosemary had asked him to describe her, and after he did, she’d said, “You could’ve been describing our second lady.” That had been the ultimate lightning rod moment for him.
“Shelby?” Rosemary said after a long silence. “How do you feel about what Avery said?”
“I… I want the same thing he does. I want to be married to him. I want him to formally adopt Noah. I want us to raise him together and maybe, if we’re super lucky, we’ll have another baby that belongs to both of us from the beginning.”
That was the first time he’d heard her say she wanted him to adopt Noah.
His heart ached with love for her. “Noah has belonged to both of us from the beginning,” he said, “and I’d love nothing more than to formally adopt him.
” He put his arm around her and kissed her temple, fairly shaking from the relief of hearing her say she still wanted the same things he did.
“You’ve made great progress today, but if you’re amenable I’d like to continue to see you both to make sure we’ve laid a strong foundation for your life together.”
“That’s fine with me.” Avery would always be thankful to Rosemary for helping him put his life back together.
“Me, too,” Shelby said. “Whatever it takes.”
They left a few minutes later and went down the stairs holding hands. Outside, Avery said, “Go ahead and check your phone. I know you’re dying to.”
“Only a little.” She pulled the pink bedazzled monstrosity from her pink purse, her face lighting up with joy. “Look.”
Ginger had sent a selfie of herself with a sleeping Noah in her arms.
“Has he grown since we left? Tell me the truth.”
“I’ll tell you the truth, darlin’. You’re losing it.”
“What a way to go,” she said with a happy sigh as she gazed at the baby like she hadn’t seen him in a year.
“I asked Ginger if we could go to lunch after our appointment, and she said to take our time. Do you think you could relax enough to enjoy a meal with your fiancé?”
Shelby bit her lip. “I could, but there’s something else I’d much rather do.”
“Name it.”
She dropped the phone into her purse, took a step closer to him and put her arms around his waist, looking up at him with the big expressive eyes that had looked at him with such adoration until it had gone so very wrong.
For the first time since that dreadful day, she looked at him the way she used to.
He wanted to drop to his knees and give thanks to whatever higher power had made it possible for her to forgive him.
“I want to go home and be alone with my sexy fiancé.” She punctuated her words with kisses to his neck and jaw. “If he can take the afternoon off, that is.”
Avery turned his head ever so slightly, enough to bring his lips into contact with hers. “Your fiancé can think of nothing else in this world he’d rather do than take an afternoon off to spend with you.”