26. Chapter 26
Avery
I really don’t want to go to this family party.
Now that the day is here, dread has pooled in my stomach, leaving me queasy.
But I don’t have a choice. I told my mom I would go, and after everything she and Grandma Sue did to help me cancel wedding plans after Eric and I broke up, I owe them both some of my focus.
And my grandma sent me a text twenty minutes ago telling me how excited she was to see me, complete with her signature text send-off of Cordially, Grandma Sue .
She’s adorable.
But my head is not in the right space for dealing with my family’s judgment, especially with my focus constantly being pulled to the things Benson told me as we sat in my oversized chair this morning. Things I haven’t been able to talk to him about because we both had another busy day.
Which is why Benson finds me face-down on the floor in my office and practicing breathing exercises I found on the internet. Supposedly they will give me the motivation to go to the party with my head held high, but so far they’re only making me lightheaded.
“Whoa,” Benson says, and I lose count of the seconds I’ve been holding my breath. “Rough day?”
“No,” I grumble. Which is true. Busy as it was, today was pretty standard and uneventful. “Not yet.”
“Dare I ask?”
I roll over so I’m no longer breathing in the musty smell of carpet that doesn’t get cleaned often enough. “Kaden’s party is tonight.”
“Ah.” Benson offers me a sympathetic grimace as he leans against the door frame. “You could always fake an illness. That usually works for me.”
I snort. “Teenage Avery did that so often that my mother doesn’t believe me when I claim to be sick.”
“Oo, adventurous Avery was also rebellious? Color me intrigued.” He steps into the office, and then suddenly he’s lying next to me and taking my hand. It’s dumb, lying on a floor like this, but I love the way he didn’t hesitate to join me. “Is it really going to be that bad?”
“Definitely. Maybe. Probably not.” I blow my breath out in a huff and sit up, keeping my hand in Benson’s. “It’s been a while since I went to a family party like this because I’ve always had the excuse of being too busy with work.”
Benson sits up too. “What if I come with you?”
His question is so out of the blue that I can only gape at him as my mind tries to process what he said. “What?”
He nods, eyes still on our hands. “I can go with you. Offer support, be a distraction, cause a ruckus. Anything you need.”
Be still my heart. Does he mean that? After all his efforts to keep a boundary between us, it’s difficult to think a family party is the sort of thing he’ll willingly go to. Then again, this man fell asleep with me last night and very much looked like he didn’t want to leave, so maybe…
Maybe something has changed.
Tilting my head to the side, I ask a question that’s not even close to what I really want to ask. “How would you cause a ruckus?”
He grins. “Burst into random karaoke, loudly complain about the food, excessively compliment your dad’s hairpiece?”
I reach over and smack his chest. “My dad doesn’t have a hairpiece!”
“That’s exactly why it would cause a ruckus.” Benson lifts our clasped hands and rests them on his knee, a thoughtful look on his face. “I can’t promise to be a perfect party guest, but I’ll go with you, Ave. If you want me to.”
Of course I want him to. If he hasn’t figured out by now that I am extremely interested in spending as much time with him as I can, then I don’t know what else I can do. At this point, the ball is in his court, and I’m ready. Ready and waiting.
“That would be amazing,” I tell him. “We don’t have to stay for long. You can be my excuse to leave if things get dicey.”
He chuckles. “I doubt your family can be any worse than mine. I’ll be fine.”
I’m glad he’s confident, because I’m not.
But rather than worry about my relationships with my family, I try to focus on the fact that he offered to come to a family party, which is very much a boyfriend sort of thing to do.
Dani’s text was risky, but it might have had some influence.
Or maybe Benson’s decided he’s done resisting me at every turn.
“You wore me down” isn’t the most romantic way to get into a relationship, but I’ll take what I can get.
Grandma Sue is the one to greet us at the door, and she immediately zeros in on Benson, taking him in from head to toe with keen eyes. “Hello there.”
This was a bad idea, but it’s too late now. “Grandma, this is my friend, Benson. Benson, this is my Grandma Sue.”
Benson breaks out his best friendly smile and holds out a hand, and when Grandma Sue takes it, he wraps his other hand around it so he’s holding her with both. “I’ve heard so many good things about you from your granddaughters, and it’s an honor to finally meet you.”
I narrow my eyes at him, silently warning him that he’s laying it on a bit thick.
He simply chuckles and squeezes Grandma Sue’s hand before letting her go.
Then his gaze moves past her to the gathering of people down the hall, and something lights up behind his eyes, like he has never been more excited for something in his life.
I’m glad he’s eager to go deeper into the house, because I certainly am not.
“Come in, come in!” Grandma Sue says, ushering us down the hall to the living room. “Look who’s here!”
“Great,” I grumble under my breath. This would have been so much easier if I had been able to slowly mingle at my own pace. But no, I have the attention of Grandpa Tom and all of my aunts and uncles as Grandma Sue’s announcement stops all conversation.
“Avery!” Mom is the first to say anything, rushing forward to pull me into a hug, though it’s awkward because I have Poppy’s gift for Kaden tucked under my arm. “So glad you’re here.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I smile at my dad behind her; he’s a little too focused on Benson to give me a real greeting. Not that I blame him. I didn’t tell anyone I was bringing someone with me. “Um, this is Benson. He’s my…” My what? Coworker? Friend? Soulmate who refuses to accept the truth?
“I’ve been helping Avery with scaling her company,” Benson says, answering my question for me as he shakes first my mom’s hand, then my dad’s. “Your daughter has built something incredible.”
Mom considers him for a moment before turning her attention back to me, tucking some hair behind my ear. “Avery, sweetie, you look tired. Have you been sleeping well enough?”
This is not the kind of conversation I want to have in front of the whole family, so I smile and shrug. “I’m fine. Uh, I have a present for Kaden from Poppy.”
The crowd of aunts and uncles parts like the Red Sea, giving me a view of my cousin as he paces the den while on the phone.
He simultaneously looks like the little kid who so annoyed all of us girls and the recent Harvard grad that he is.
He seems way too young to be wearing such a fancy suit, and I have no idea what could be so important that he would be on the phone during his own party.
“He looks like a tool,” Benson mutters so only I can hear.
I snort a laugh and try to cover it up with a cough. Benson isn’t wrong, and Kaden’s trendy haircut and extremely sharp jawline don’t help his case. He must have fit right in with the other bros at Harvard.
Eager to get this part over with, I work my way down the open space and come to a stop a few steps from Kaden, though he hasn’t noticed me yet. I wait for a few seconds, then clear my throat.
He stops, his eyebrows furrowed in a scowl, and looks at me for a long moment before recognition sets in. “I’ll call you back later, okay?” he says into the phone, then slips it into his pocket and tilts his head at me. “Hi?” It’s almost a question, like he’s confused about why I’m here.
I’m confused too, buddy. “Uh, congratulations,” I tell him.
He folds his arms. “Thanks?” Again, it comes out as a question. It’s like he has no idea why I’m talking to him because I’m too far beneath him to even bother.
Could this get any more awkward? Yes, because I have no idea what Poppy thought to get him, and this could get messy. “Uh, Poppy wanted me to give this to you.” I hold out the box and wince in anticipation.
Wrinkling his nose at the crystal attached to the ribbon on top, he seems as wary as I am as he takes the box and runs his finger beneath the tape holding it closed.
He slowly lifts the lid, tensing as he reveals…
a bag. A really nice leather messenger bag with the initials K.H.
engraved in one corner. Kaden’s whole expression shifts to surprise, his eyebrows high as he touches the letters.
“This is cool,” he says after a moment and looks up at me.
I shrug, too surprised by the thoughtfulness of the gift to know what to say.
Why was Poppy so secretive about this? I guess I misjudged her, just like she thought her mom would, and now I get why Benson thinks I need to talk to her and get to know her better.
I should probably ask her about the random guy she’s been texting. See if that’s still a thing.
But I’ll save that for tomorrow.
Glancing behind me, I can’t help but smile when I see Benson deep in conversation with my dad, who is way more animated than he ever was with Eric.
A couple of my aunts and an uncle are hovering nearby, like they want to be part of the conversation too as Benson regales the room with all the work I’ve been doing to build Rose & Quill.
“So your company’s doing well?” Kaden asks.
Hopefully my shock isn’t written all over my face when I look at him again. I didn’t realize he knew about R&Q. “It’s going a little crazy, but in a good way. We’re growing a lot thanks to Dani’s book.”
“I read it. It’s good.” Kaden glances over my shoulder at Benson. “He looks cooler than your last boyfriend.”