Chapter 26 Tanner #2
“Yes?” Avery spun a little too quickly to face him.
“Take the purse with you or I’ll give it to Bel.”
For a moment he wasn’t sure if she’d take the bait, and a scowl returned to scrunch her eyebrows. “You wouldn’t.”
With a one-shouldered shrug, Tanner winked. “Try me.”
Though she clamped her lips, Avery’s mouth quivered and she snagged the tote bag from the middle of the table.
“She’s not having my purse,” she said darkly, sweeping toward the bifold doors.
Bracing his arms against the front edge of the sink with a hoarse laugh, Tanner dragged in a deep breath. The champagne bubbles in his lungs went straight to his head.
He’d been right before. Being friends with Avery was likely gonna kill him.
But what a way to go.
Tanner wasn’t the only one invested in the situation.
“Any progress with the ‘Wooing of Avery Delgado,’ dude?”
When Tanner stopped by to pick up Sam and Kash on his way to the bar, Sam didn’t even wait to pull the door of the Escalade closed behind him before he launched in. And his use of quotation marks was irrefutable.
“Maybe a small hint of some,” Tanner said, “but I’m fumbling around like an idiot. She’s different than the women I’ve dated before.”
In the passenger seat, Kash stretched out his legs. “Perhaps that’s not a bad thing.”
“She’s got major trust issues.”
Sam snorted. “With a father like Joseph Delgado, who’d blame her. My dad says he slept with the female half of the town council when he was mayor. That’s gonna leave scars.”
“They say trust is built with consistency,” said Kash sagely. “If you’re serious about a relationship with Avery, your best bet is to keep showing up. Keep proving that you’re trustworthy.”
“I’d listen to him if I were you. He reads all the good magazines,” Sam quipped, leaning forward in his seat to fix Tanner with a stare. “You are serious, aren’t you? Because if you’re not, you should leave her alone and do casual with someone else.”
Tanner pulled into the parking lot of the Rusty Barrel and rubbed at his chest. “I’ve never been more fucking serious in my life,” he admitted.
They found Avery chatting with Bel and Gemma—both perched on stools and already clutching drinks. Drew and Leo, away over the other side of a surprisingly quiet bar area, were playing pool.
“Easy night for you,” said Sam, looking around. “Don’t often see it this empty in here.”
“With any luck it’ll stay that way.” Avery met Tanner’s eyes and there were heated coils of turbulence twisting through the blue.
“It’s not down to luck. I asked the Bar Fairy to keep it chilled tonight.” Swirling the ice in her drink with satisfaction, Bel took a sizable gulp of something vibrantly red. “I’m not in the mood for screaming to make myself heard.”
“The Bar Fairy?” Tanner raised a quizzical eyebrow.
“She’s like the Stop Light Fairy and the Parking Lot Fairy but less car-focused,” Bel said.
“What . . . ?” He paused, not even sure how to continue.
With a half-smile, Avery shook her head. “I wouldn’t even go there,” she advised. “Her brain does some weird shit in her out-of-work hours. Just think of it as a form of manifestation.”
Since Sam and Kash insisted on buying the first round, Tanner pulled up a stool next to Bel. Avery served their drinks and then went to help another customer further along the bar.
“I know something happened at her mom’s the other night,” he said quietly, close to Bel’s ear, while the guys fell into conversation with another Pine Springs local. “Is everything alright there?”
Blowing out a sigh, Bel wrinkled her nose.
“Poor Violet—she freaked herself out so bad.” Flicking a quick glance to make sure Avery was still busy down the other end of the bar, she leaned in a little closer.
“Look, Avery probably won’t tell you herself, but this kind of thing happens regularly.
Except this time it involved the police—although it turned out to be no big deal.
Usually it’s a more low-key ‘emergency’ that needs Avery’s help almost every week.
Often just maintenance. Small things here and there.
Her mom has too much time on her hands and no one else to call. Really, she just wants the company.”
Tanner’s stomach tightened. This wasn’t what he’d imagined when Avery had mentioned some trouble at her mom’s. Casting about for the right next question, he asked, “Doesn’t she have friends?”
“Avery’s pushed until she’s blue in the face, but her mom won’t put herself out there. It would make a huge difference if she got out more. Instead, she shuts herself up in the house and wallows in the past.” Bel grimaced. “It would drive anyone nuts.”
They broke off then because Avery returned and Tanner lost himself in watching the ease of her movements as she dried and replaced clean glasses, wiped down surfaces, and changed one of the optics.
Even with the central air conditioning, it was humid inside the Barrel.
And the outfit she’d chosen to work in—denim shorts and a yellow tee, with her fiery hair pulled up into a ponytail—had Tanner almost swallowing his tongue.
The whole look was such a throwback to the girl he’d known at Pine Springs High and fantasized about every night for a whole year.
Fuck, how had this happened? He’d never been this gone for a woman before.
She was honest about her feelings and upfront about her boundaries—however much he might wish he could breach them. There was no messing around, no pretense.
She’d always seen him exactly as he was—not a kid with no money or status when they were young, not just a famous face or a money bank now. Her acceptance had always been golden.
He realized there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for her in return.
If he hadn’t been watching so closely, Tanner might have missed Avery’s reaction to the message she got on her phone.
She was between customers when he saw her dig in her back pocket and pull out her cell.
There was curiosity on her face as she swiped with her finger but it shuttered into something far harder to read.
Surprise? Not a good one, if so.
Was that concern? Tanner couldn’t tell.
Maybe there was another problem with her mom.
Avery scrolled with a few jerky flicks of her thumb, and he was just about to push to his feet and ask her if things were OK when Dougie Taggart and Luke Farley caught her attention at the other end of the bar.
Putting her phone away, she reached for a glass and he reminded himself that she had a right to privacy.
Sam’s elbow in his ribs was Tanner’s first hint that he’d missed something. They were all watching him watch Avery; he felt the flush climb the back of his neck.
“Gemma asked if you’re looking forward to the wedding.” His buddy’s grin hinted that the question might have come a handful of times.
“What’s not to love about a wedding?” Tanner raised the bottle of beer to his mouth.
In all honesty, he’d barely remembered it was less than two weeks away.
That meant Dex would be flying over soon.
It would be good to catch up with his brother again, even though it hadn’t been long since his own UK trip. He knew his mom would love that, too.
Joined first by Leo and Drew, who’d finished up their pool game, and then Avery during a lull in orders, they continued to chat about the wedding.
“Sav’s found a good one there. I think Griff’s even more excited about getting married than she is.” When Bel drained her glass, Avery reached for it automatically. “We were exchanging monster smut recommendations at the Bach Bash—”
Leo choked on his beer. “You and Griff?”
“Me and Sav. The boy’s enlightened but not quite that enlightened,” said Bel. “Anyway, Johnnie asked Griff if he minded Savannah reading that sort of shit and Griff said there’s nothing sexier than a woman who knows what she likes.”
Tanner watched a gentle smile curve Avery’s lips, temporarily banishing the frown from her brow.
“He’s not wrong,” Drew chipped in as he reached for his beer. “It’s all about having confidence in your relationship. Why should I care who bangs in Bel’s books if I’m the one she wants to bang at home?”
“So beautifully said.” Bel pretended to wipe away a tear. “My boyfriend, the poet.”
Avery’s eyes met Tanner’s and she snorted.
“So, what I’m hearing is that the secret to a happy relationship is monster smut,” said Leo. “That’s really good to know.”
Her body angled toward him, Gemma seemed to hang on Leo’s words and Tanner could almost hear her wondering if she should put in a request at the library.
“Monster smut and only fight when you’re naked,” suggested Sam with total sincerity.
“Separate tubes of toothpaste aren’t a bad idea either,” added Kash.
“And no swiping the batteries from the gamepad,” said Drew. “That’s fucking annoying.”
“Monster smut, nudity, toothpaste, and no stealing, unless you think you can get away with it.” Bel ticked each one off on her fingers. “And they say relationship counseling is hard.”
“Maybe we could bracket the above under ‘open communication and understanding’?” Avery sighed. “That way we could stop saying ‘monster smut’ and sound like we’re having an emotionally mature discussion.”
Flashing her a wicked grin, Tanner leaned closer. “Now where would be the fun in that?”
The dusting of freckles on her cheekbones was so pretty that it did no good at all for the tightness of his pants—and replaying their kiss in his head didn’t help much either.
He was only vaguely aware of the footsteps behind him, and that made it all the more of a shock when Paige Harris’s voice cut through the background music with shrill venom.
“Good to know you’re as much of a disruptive little bitch as always, Avery.”