Chapter 21
AVERY
On a Thursday morning, I got the surprise of my life when I opened my Etsy inbox. I had a message from Sophia. Why had she even tracked me down? I was using my legal name as a seller, so I guess it wasn’t rocket science to find me. Just shocking that she’d want to.
Avery, hey, what a quaint shop you've got here. I'm glad I found you. I'm throwing an opening party for my new store in New York. I've decided to put myself out there. You're welcome to come.
She listed her website in the signature.
For a few seconds, I couldn't breathe. I blinked rapidly.
Am I seeing wrong? Is this for real? She stole all the money from the company to fund her own business?
With a shaky hand, I opened the website. I couldn't believe she'd done it. She was selling designer shoes—and jewelry. I bit my lip, clicking on the Event page. The official opening party was in two weeks.
I was too stunned to think. Here I was trying to rebuild my life from scratch, and there she was, financing everything with the money she took from my business.
My God, is life ever fair?
No, no, no. I can't go down that route. It won't help anything.
I took a deep breath, but I was shaking.
When stuff like this happened, I liked to remind myself of everything I had and all the good things that had happened to me.
Mom was healthy. I’d reconnected with Sam.
I'd found my passion for handmade jewelry.
I had plenty of things to be happy about and grateful for.
But I couldn't let this go. Sophia was literally rubbing this in my face, so I made a split-second decision. I was going to attend her stupid party. She obviously wanted to pour salt in the wound, but I bet she didn’t expect me to actually go.
Not in a million years. I wasn't the one in the wrong here, and I had no reason to hide. I had all the reason to call her out, and I sure as shit was going to do that. I’d made a stupid mistake, and I owned up to it, but that didn't mean I would let her simply get away with everything.
Besides, I had another reason for wanting to attend. I needed to warn her potential business partners about her. I couldn’t live with myself if I simply sat back and let her scam someone else.
I stood up, shaking out my legs and my hands. I was jittery, and I had too much adrenaline to sit down and continue working.
Fuck this.
Fuck Sophia.
This isn't fair. It isn't right.
I couldn't calm down, but I still had to finish this jewelry set and get it to the post office.
Taking a few deep breaths, I pulled myself together. I could make a voodoo doll or imagine all the ways I could make her pay after I finished and shipped the order. I wanted my new clients to feel like they were special and could count on me to deliver on time.
Grudgingly, I sat down and then plugged in my earbuds, playing relaxing nature sounds. I chose one with a waterfall. Thirty seconds later, I realized Zen music wasn't going to help me, so I opened Spotify to the newest hits.
Yep, that's it. Blasting Taylor Swift and Adele in my eardrums was doing the trick.
I finished the jewelry an hour later. It was gorgeous—a mix of gold and silver with pearls as the centerpiece.
It was the most beautiful wedding jewelry I’d seen.
I packed the pieces in a beautiful pink box that I'd also ordered off Etsy—I liked supporting other small businesses.
Once the box was ready, I practically ran to the post office, which was only open for another half hour.
Knowing I was doing everything by myself gave me a sense of accomplishment. I didn’t have to rely on anyone again. But could I scale this up? Was it financially viable? I didn't really need much to live on, but I wanted to have a healthy nest egg just in case Mom got sick again.
I was out of breath by the time I stepped inside the post office. The clerk was mildly annoyed that I came in ten minutes before closing time, but he processed my order, and I was on my way a couple minutes later.
I walked back home at a slow pace, still out of breath from my sprint. My thoughts circled back to Sophia. I truly couldn’t believe her audacity.
To my astonishment, when I arrived at the loft, Sam was already there, leaning on the kitchen counter and drinking a glass of water.
"Hi, beautiful. Where were you?"
"I went to the post office to ship my order."
"What's wrong? You look tense."
I rolled my shoulders, attempting to smile. "Picked up on that, huh?"
"Yeah." He narrowed his eyes.
"What?"
"I was going to take you out today."
"Where?"
"That's the thing. I haven't decided. Reese was determined to give me some input."
He came to me, taking off my beanie and my jacket. I always liked that he did that. His real intent was just to touch me, but I didn't mind. Not one bit. I loved the possessiveness of his actions.
"She suggested a ride on the Centennial Wheel," he continued. "Apparently it’s got some glass-bottomed gondolas. Or we could do a tour of Michigan Avenue by horse."
I wrinkled my nose.
He chuckled. "But none of those things felt like you."
"They're not," I replied, giddy that he knew me so well.
"Besides, I didn’t want this gorgeous ass to freeze in a carriage.” He paused before adding, "Come on, tell me what happened. Then I'll make new plans based on that."
"Sophia messaged me on Etsy today. She's opening a new store in New York with my money."
“Fuck!" Sam exclaimed.
"My thoughts exactly."
"Declan told me something about it.”
I quirked a brow. “He did?”
“Yeah. I asked if he looked over your contract with her, and he said there’s nothing he can do about it. He also said to keep an eye on her business once she opens it. Maybe there will be something there he can use to get your money back.”
"She just wants to rub it in my face, thinks she can walk all over me, but she can't. So I want to go to the opening party. It's in two weeks."
Sam looked at me intently. "Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"You're bold. I like that."
I smiled sheepishly. "I like it too. I didn’t know I had it in me."
"Can you take a plus-one?"
My eyes widened. “You want to come with me?"
"Hell yes. I want to be right beside you, babe."
"Hey, having you as my arm candy will be a plus for me too. You’re definitely coming," I said with a grin.
"And now I know what we'll do. I'll take you out on a date while we’re in New York."
"That sounds fabulous. I've never been. Ah, there are so many places in the world I'd like to see."
"Like where?" He touched the side of my face and put a hand at the small of my back, pressing me into him.
"I'd really like to see Paris one day. I wasn't just saying that to Kimberly to make conversation."
"I'll take you anywhere you want, babe."
I sighed. "You mean that, don't you?"
"Hell yes. Now that you're mine again, I plan to spoil you all the time. Now, tell me about your day."
“I finished a beautiful set of jewelry, and I can't wait for my customer to get it. I hope they're happy. I'm really digging this, but I’m not used to the pace. It's very different.”
“I’ve always liked that about you, even in high school.”
"What exactly?"
"Your mom couldn't buy you the prom dress you wanted. You definitely didn’t want me to buy the prom dress you wanted. So you waitressed, despite all the pressure from preparing for exams."
I shrugged. "I wanted the dress, and I needed to make it happen without imposing on anyone else. In some ways, we’re very much alike.
We both go for what we want. I think you're very brave for traveling to countries that are so different from ours.
Do you think it influenced your goals of opening a pro bono clinic? "
"Definitely. I never thought about it before joining Doctors Without Borders. It shaped many of my thoughts and beliefs."
His eyes were unfocused for a few seconds, as if he were lost in a memory.
I was immensely happy that he'd spoken about it openly with me, that he wanted me to know. He trusted me.
“I’d like to ask you something… and for you to answer. Why did you leave all those years ago? Why didn’t you want me by your side?”
I blinked, suddenly feeling as if my eyes were starting to burn.
“It’s not that I didn’t want you there… but I thought it wasn’t fair to you, you know?
To ask you to go through all that with me.
I think I was afraid you’d fall out of love with me if you had to witness all the hardships that come with the disease.
I didn’t want to keep you from reaching for your dreams. I wanted you by my side, Sam.
Don’t ever think I didn’t. Does that make sense? ”
He nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”
“What else do you want to know?”
“Nothing. That’s the closure I needed.”
My chest felt lighter. I smiled at him, biting my lower lip. "And about tonight," I said, "I have an idea."
"I'm all ears."
"We’ll stay home, and I’ll take care of you for a change and spoil you and cover you in kisses."
His blue eyes seemed brighter. "I like where this is going. Where are you starting?"
Taking his hand, I led him to the couch, then pushed him down on it. He looked at me hungrily. I climbed into his lap, putting my legs on either side of his thighs and kneeling.
"Where should I start?" I purred.
"Wherever you want, babe."
"No, tonight you get to pick your favorites."
His eyes flashed, and he wiggled his eyebrows.
I pinched his shoulder. "You are such a guy."
"What? You asked me to pick my favorite."
"That's right. My fault entirely," I said, moving a bit farther away and opening the button of his jeans.
With a flash, I realized I wanted to do this my whole life.
Love him and take care of him and… well, let myself be loved.
If I was being honest, that wasn't something I did easily, and I really didn't know why, or if there even was a reason.
But I'd fallen hard for Sam all those years ago and again now, and I wasn't afraid.
Life was simply too good, and we were fighting our demons together. I could finally let myself hope that this could last forever. That we'd come home to each other like this and talk, kiss, hug, spoil each other with delicious food, and, of course, sexy times.