41. Avery
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Avery
Everyone needs to move . I might hate running on a normal day, but that’s all I want to do right now. I want to sprint as fast as my heeled feet will carry me.
Finally, the crowd parts enough for them to come back into view. They’re standing near the side of the bleachers. Owen is holding Lyla up, while her head bobs from side to side, looking for me.
I wiggle my way through everyone until there’s nothing but open space between us. I take off. I might be in heels, but I fly.
Miles is standing the closest, so I make a beeline for him. He holds his arms out at his sides as I launch myself into him.
He lets out a grunt as my body collides with his. His arms wind around my back as he swings me around in a circle.
“You did it,” he says with a huge smile on his face.
“Yeah,” I get out as he sets me back on my feet. I’m glad he doesn’t let me go, though. I’m nowhere near ready for his arms to be anywhere other than wrapped around me.
He leans down and kisses me. I kiss him back for a second before pulling back. I realize there is a set of little eyes locked on us right now.
“Lyla,” I whisper into the breath of space between us.
“She knows.” He shakes his head. “I’m pretty sure she’s always known.”
I huff out a little laugh, turning to look at her out of the corner of my eye. She’s standing between her other two uncles, smiling as she hops from one foot to the other.
I turn my eyes back to Miles. “I guess you should kiss me, then.”
“I guess I should.” He tightens his hold on my back and brings his lips down to mine. His head is tilted to the side, avoiding my cap. He pulls away, kissing the corner of my mouth. “I think Lyla’s going to throw a fit if she doesn't get to say hi soon.”
I laugh, stepping away from him. I crouch down, holding out my arms as I look at Lyla. She gives me the cutest fucking grin ever before running into my arms.
A piece of my heart settles for the first time in days, having her here in my arms again.
“You look really pretty,” she says, running her fingers through my curled hair.
“So do you,” I say. She looks adorable in her yellow sundress.
Her small finger taps the edge of my cap. “This hat is funny,” she says, giggling, “but it’s cool, too.”
“Do you want to wear it?”
Her eyes light up. “Yes!”
I do my best to take it off without fucking up my hair too much. It’s a little big on her head, but I get it to fit over her brown curls.
“Perfect.” I lean in, pressing a kiss against her cheek.
Seeing her with the cap on makes me realize how badly I want to be there for her when she graduates years from now. I want to be on the sidelines cheering her on every day, for the big milestones and the small ones, too.
I just want the honor of being a part of her life and seeing her grow into the wonderful young lady I know she’s going to become.
I stand up, trying to blink back my tears. I try to smooth my hair down, hoping it doesn’t look too crazy.
“You look beautiful,” Owen says. My eyes connect with his, and all the air leaves my lungs on a heavy exhale.
His hands slide into my hair and his mouth descends on mine in the next breath. My fingers grip the sides of his dress shirt. He kisses me like it’s the first time he’s been able to breathe in far too long.
Our foreheads meet when we pull back for air. “I missed you,” I whisper.
“Not nearly as much as I missed you, angel.”
I want to tell him that I don’t think that’s possible, but the look in his eyes stops me from uttering the words. Three other words are burning a hole in my tongue, begging to be set free.
I don’t say them, though. They’re here, and that means more than they’ll even know. I still have no idea what the future looks like, so for now I’ll keep them to myself.
He takes a long deep inhale, seeming to breathe me in before stepping back. I want to move back into his arms, but there’s one more Kingston brother I desperately need to see.
I turn and lock eyes with dark blue depths. I fall against Will’s chest, inhaling his spicy scent with hints of cinnamon and ginger. “You guys are here.”
“Yeah, baby, we’re here,” he says, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.
Thank fuck he’s so strong because I’m squeezing the shit out of him.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he whispers against my hair.
“No?”
“No.”
“How?” I ask, not able to formulate the rest of the words that probably need to accompany that single word. Luckily, he understands what I’m asking.
“This is a big day for you, and you’re a part of our family. There was nowhere else any of us wanted to be today other than here cheering you on.”
A few tears fall from my eyes onto his shirt.
“We have something we want to talk to you about,” he says.
I lean my head back to gaze up at him.
He must see the apprehension in my eyes because he says, “It’s a good thing, I promise.”
Air whooshes from my lungs in relief. “It’s really loud in here. Do you want to go outside?”
The sun went down about an hour ago, so it shouldn’t be too hot anymore.
He grabs my hand. “Lead the way, graduate.”
I grin at him before turning to lead them out the doors. We walk for a few minutes away from all the people congregating outside of the gym.
There’s a small alcove of trees tucked on the side of one of the lecture halls that was always my favorite place to escape between classes during my undergrad.
Lyla plops down between Miles and Owen on the grass. I unzip my gown, shrugging it off my shoulders.
I turn to find all three of my guys staring at me with wide eyes.
“What?” I ask, eyes darting down to look at my dress.
“You look stunning,” Will says.
“Oh… thank you.” A blush creeps over my cheeks.
“I think I still like the jean shorts and T-shirt look more, but wow,” Miles says.
Lyla turns to glare at him. “I told her she looked pretty first.”
I laugh as I take off my heels and sit on the grass. My gown is draped over my lap so I can sit a little more comfortably without flashing my panties to anyone who might walk by.
They are very cute black, lacy panties, but not everyone needs to see them. I mean… maybe the guys could see them, but…
Time and place… Right.
“You win this one… I guess,” Miles says, playfully nudging Lyla’s shoulder. She rolls her eyes but smiles at him.
“So, what did you guys want to talk to me about?” I ask.
I don’t know why I’m nervous. Will told me it was a good thing. Plus, they flew halfway across the country to be here. That has to be a good sign.
Right?
It’s going to be fine.
“Before we get to that, there’s something we wanted you to know,” Will says from where he sat down beside me.
“Okay,” I say. My voice is breathy and barely audible.
Will stares into my soul when he says, “I love you, Avery.”
The breath I’m taking stutters to a stop. It isn’t that this is absurd information; I’ve seen it in his eyes over and over again these last few weeks. It’s just different hearing the words fall from his perfect lips.
“I love you, too,” I tell him.
He leans over, pressing a soft kiss to my temple.
“I love you, too,” Lyla says louder than is necessary for how close we’re all sitting.
“I love you back, Lyles.”
“Really?” she asks. Her eyes light up, big and wide.
“Of course I love you. How could anyone not love you?” I ask.
She bolts toward me, sitting in my lap and wrapping her arms around my neck. The graduation cap falls back from the motion, tumbling to the grass. I laugh, holding her just as tightly.
“I don’t know how I’m supposed to follow that, but I love you, too, gorgeous,” Miles says.
I smile at him over Lyla’s shoulder. Grabbing her waist, I lift her onto Will’s lap. Then I crawl over until I’m kneeling right in front of Miles.
“Well… that’s good because I kind of love you,” I tell him.
“Kind of?” His forehead scrunches together, like he’s offended by my word choice.
“No, not kind of. I definitely love you... a whole bunch.”
“Good,” he says, moving onto his knees in front of me, so he’s several inches taller than me.
His hands move to both sides of my face. He kisses the tip of my nose and then my lips. He leans in and whispers in my ear, so only I can hear him.
“I want to see you crawl to me like that again sometime when you’re naked and aching for me.”
“Mmm…” I lean in closer to his ear. “Good thing I’m always aching for you.”
He growls against my neck, making shivers race up my spine. “You can’t say shit like that when Lyla’s around, and I have to behave.”
My forehead lands on his shoulder as I start to laugh.
“I really wish I knew what they were laughing about,” I hear Lyla groan from behind us. Will quietly mumbles something to her, but I can’t make it out.
I’m still laughing and too focused on the man I’m leaning against. Miles pulls back, giving me one last kiss.
“Come here, angel,” Owen says, holding out his hand for me.
I slide my hand into his and scootch my way toward him until I’m settled sideways on his lap.
“Hey,” I say.
“Hey,” he says, running a finger down the side of my face.
I open my mouth to beat him to what I think he’s about to tell me, but he silences me with a gentle finger pressed against my lips. I kiss the pad of his finger before he lets it fall to my thigh.
“I’ve loved you for a long time, Avery. A piece of me fell for you in that airport years ago.”
Same.
“Then, every time those memories would pass through my mind, I fell a little more. By the time you landed back into my life, I was already halfway there. Now, there isn’t a single piece of me that isn’t completely in love with you.”
I blink slowly, a single tear falling.
“I’m in love with you, too, Owen. I think we both knew what we found in each other was something special. It just wasn’t the right time for us,” I say, my fingers playing with the short hairs at the back of his neck. “I think it is now, though. At least, I hope it is.”
“It is, angel.” His large hand cups the side of my head, bringing me in for a kiss that brands my soul.
I’m his… theirs.
I still don’t know how this is going to work out, but I’m certain this kind of love has to find a way.
Owen turns me around on his lap, so my back is against his chest. All five of us seem to take a deep breath at the same time.
“Do you want to go to California for your internship?” Owen asks, breaking the silence.
“No,” I say without any hesitation.
“Is that because you don’t want to leave or because the job isn’t really something you want to do?” Will asks.
“Both,” I say, and he nods, like he assumed that much.
I don’t know how they figured out the internship wasn’t something I wanted to pursue anymore. My money is on Lyla, though.
“We found another job that we think would be perfect for you,” Miles says.
“What’s that?” I ask, sitting up a little straighter.
A grin crosses Miles’s face. “Well… someone decided they’re going to run against Kevin Sheridan in the upcoming election for mayor.”
“About time,” I mumble, which makes Miles smile more.
“It’s going to be a short campaign because November is only a few months away,” Owen says.
I nod in understanding.
Will says, “We thought you would be the perfect person to run a strong enough campaign to get them elected and make sure Kevin doesn’t get back into office.”
“Really?” I ask, half-shocked.
They all nod, even Lyla.
“Who’s running?” I ask. I wholeheartedly want to do this, but I can’t design a campaign for someone I can’t trust to do what’s best for the town I’ve grown to love.
“Why don’t we call them? They can tell you themselves,” Miles says, pulling out his phone.
They’re all being sneaky with their pronoun usage, so I don’t even know if this mystery candidate is male or female.
Miles holds the phone out in front of his face, obviously video calling someone.
“Hey,” a familiar female voice says from his phone. “Are you with her?”
Miles nods, then turns the phone to face me.
Hadley’s smiling face comes into view. “Hey, girl. Congrats on graduating.”
“Thank you,” I say, smiling back at her. I tilt my head to the side. “So, you want to be mayor?”
An almost shy smile crosses her face. “Yeah, I do. It wasn’t anything I ever saw for myself, but I really think I could help this town. I still want to run my photography studio, but I want this, too.”
I hear the sincerity in every word she says. She loves Aspen Springs even more than I do. She’s lived there her whole life.
“So… do you think you can help me beat him?”
A confident smile tilts up the corners of my mouth. “I think we’d make a good team.”
“The best team,” Lyla exclaims.
“Exactly,” Hadley says excitedly. Her face grows a little more serious. “You’re game? You want to do this?”
I take a minute to really think about it. Do I want to run a campaign for someone to beat the current mayor? Yes . Do I want to build a campaign for Hadley? Also, yes. Do I want to stay in Aspen Springs? Hell yes!
All answers are pointing in the same direction.
“Yes,” I say with a nod.
“Then the job’s yours. We’ll talk more when you get home.”
Home.
That really is what Aspen Springs has become this summer. It’s my home. There are so many little things that have made it feel this way, but mainly because of these four people who have become my family.
“Sounds good. We’ll talk soon,” I tell her. Everyone says their goodbyes before Miles hangs up.
“So, you’re going to stay?” Lyla asks. Her voice is more tentative than it normally is.
“If you guys will have me,” I say.
Owen’s arms tighten around my waist. “We aren’t letting you get away this time. You’re ours.”
A warm fuzzy feeling builds in my heart, spreading through my whole body.
Love. This is exactly what love is supposed to feel like.