26. Owen
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Owen
Will’s steps falter when he swings his office door open, finding Miles and me already inside.
“I guess this is happening now,” he says, more to himself than to us. He rounds his wooden desk, setting his coffee mug down along with his keys and phone.
“So, you finally stopped being a dumbass,” Miles says from where he’s leaning against the bookshelf.
Will’s head snaps up to look at our youngest brother. I think he’s going to snap back, but he shrugs. “I still think I’m being a dumbass, but I can’t stay away from her anymore.”
That’s a sentiment I think all three of us understand with stark clarity.
“Do you want her all to yourself?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
I’m not upset that things finally imploded between the two of them last night. The chemistry between them has been obvious the entire time she’s been in Aspen Springs.
I will, however, do something I’ve never done before and punch my brother in the face if he tries to take what little time I have with her away.
He shakes his head. “No, I don’t.” He runs his fingers through his hair. “I knew you two already had something going on with her. I should have talked to you before…” His voice trails off as his mind clearly drifts back to last night. “It just happened.”
I know all too well how things can just happen when one Avery Davis is concerned.
“I’m not mad,” Miles says. “The tension between you two has been palpable for weeks. It was inevitable something was going to happen.”
Will smiles. “And you didn’t to share this knowledge with me?”
“I figured I’d let you exist for a little longer in your own delusional land where you thought you could resist her and be the ‘hero,’” he says, putting air quotes around the last word.
Will sighs in exasperation. He turns his gaze in my direction. “Are you upset?” he asks, taking in my still closed-off expression.
I let my arms fall to my sides. “No,” I say, shaking my head. There are things I don’t like about this situation with Avery, but it has nothing to do with my brothers’ involvement.
It has everything to do with the fact I can’t even call it a relationship and the looming end date when she will no longer be a part of my life.
“So, this is just for the summer?” Will asks.
“Yeah,” Miles and I both say. “Until she leaves for California,” Miles adds.
There is far less joy in his tone when stating this now versus when we first concocted this plan with Avery. I know he’d never admit it, but he’s starting to develop feelings for her, too.
I say “too” because I’ve had feelings for her for years. It only took one life-changing afternoon in a crowded airport terminal to solidify her place in my heart. Avery is just that caliber of woman.
I am so fucked. A pang slices through my heart at just the thought of her leaving.
“So, if she’s okay with this, we’re all on board?” Will asks, motioning between the three of us.
No. No, I’m definitely not one-hundred-percent okay with all of this, but what am I going to do? I want any fragment of time I can have with her.
If that’s only these last few weeks, then that’s what I’ll take. I’ll deal with the fallout when it comes, just like I always do.
I can’t help the surge of jealousy that rolls through me for the entire state of California.
Fuck me.
With a sigh I feel to my bones, I nod as Miles pulls out his phone. His fingers fly over the keys.
A moment later, my phone sounds with a message in the newly formed group chat with all my brothers and Avery.
Miles : Are you ready for all three of us, gorgeous?
Will groans, his eyes trained on his own phone.
“Really?” I asks, barely containing my eye roll.
“That was the best way to start that conversation?” Will asks, staring at Miles.
“Just wait for it,” Miles says, his smile never faltering.
All three of our phones ping as a new text appears in the group thread.
Avery : I guess the cat’s out of the bag.
Miles : If by “cat” you mean the fact you and Will fucked last night… then yes.
Will and I share an exasperated look but quickly go back to staring at our phones in anticipation of what she’ll say.
Avery : And it was some good fucking.
I love her bluntness.
The words are followed by emoji after emoji detailing exactly what happened. I don’t understand all of it, especially the tree and window emojis.
The look on Will’s face as he takes in the tiny pictures that continually pop up on his screen show he’s fallen deeper than he realizes.
Will : Noted… rebel.
An eye roll emoji pops up, which makes me laugh quietly.
There aren’t many women who are willing to go toe to toe with Will and stand up to him when he’s being hardheaded. I’m pretty sure that’s why none of his past relationships have lasted longer than a few months.
But Avery is ready to take him on step for step.
Avery : Owen?????? Are you there, too? Or do I need to send Search and Rescue out to find you?
Miles and Will both start laughing. I can’t help but smile as I type out a reply.
Me : I’m here, angel.
Me : That wouldn’t really work, though. I am Search and Rescue.
Avery : Ahh… He speaks. Not just being the creeper in the corner anymore.
This makes me laugh, too, along with my brothers. Somehow, she’s found a way to be the perfect fit for each of us.
Now we just need to savor these next few weeks, so those memories will last long after she’s gone.
I internally smack myself because I already know there’s no way in hell that’s ever going to happen. Whether it was one day, one week, or one year, no length of time would ever be enough with Avery.