Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Reid
“It’s going to be fun.” Avery squeezed my hand and led me down the sidewalk toward the community gardens and fields where the Sprout n’ Shout was being held, just past the high school.
“Are you trying to convince yourself or me?”
“You, silly.” She spun around and gave me a flash of her gorgeous smile.
I didn’t know whether it was all the time she’d been spending outside lately, or maybe it was all the exercise we were getting inside at night, but whatever it was, Avery looked stunning.
I didn’t think it was possible, but with every day that passed, she was more beautiful. Her skin was tanned, her cheeks just slightly pinked—or maybe that was the flush from the orgasms I’d given her right before leaving the house. She wore her long hair up in a loose twist, fastened with a clip I’d happily discard later so I could see the way her hair fell in curtains when she straddled my lap.
Taken with how amazing she looked, I stopped walking. Avery didn’t. She reached the end of our arms and jerked, but before she could stumble, I pulled her back into my embrace with a quick spin.
Her mouth opened in surprise, but I kissed it away and cupped her cheek.
“What was that for?”
“I just wanted to tell you how pretty you look.”
She laughed and shook her head. “You already told me that.”
“Then let me tell you again.” I kissed her lightly. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, Avery Ly—Walker.” I spoke quickly to cover up the slip, but she’d noticed. Her lips dipped slightly before her smile recovered. “Walker,” I said again. “Of course.”
She hesitated for a moment, before she said, “A name change wasn’t part of the deal, Mr. Lyons.”
She had no idea how being reminded that what we were doing wasn’t real had begun to sting.
Unaware of the dagger in my heart, Avery turned to continue walking, but I couldn’t let it go one more minute without telling her something. Anything about how I was feeling. Talking about feelings or emotions was not something I had any experience with at all, but neither was a fake marriage and that had been working out okay.
More than okay.
It had been working out really damn well.
The last few days with Avery had been amazing. And it wasn’t just the sex, although that had been off-the-charts amazing. Together, we were fire and I couldn’t get enough, evidenced by the fact that I’d almost lost control and taken her right on the front lawn of the inn a few days earlier. I would have, too, if she hadn’t cooled me off when she had.
That was the thing. With Avery, I forgot about the world around me. Hell, I forgot about everything except for her. Because there was nothing else that mattered besides her. And with every minute that passed, it was a feeling that only grew stronger.
Before she could get away, I took a step and reached for her hand, tugging her back toward me one more time. Her eyes were wide with question as she spun to face me.
“Avery. I need to tell you something.”
Instantly, her face shifted to worry. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s fine.” I cupped her cheek with one hand while the other rested on the swell of her hip. “No, it’s better than fine. It’s amazing. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, actually. These last few?—”
“Hey, lovebirds!”
A slap on my back jarred me out of the moment. I spun to kick the ass of the jerk who dared to interrupt me before I told Avery how I felt about her.
“What the—Preston.”
My youngest brother stood on the sidewalk behind us with a shit-eating grin on his face. “Did I interrupt something?”
I filled my lungs with a deep breath, using the time to calm down. It wouldn’t do any good to punch my brother in the face in the middle of the street. No matter how much he deserved it for ruining what could have been a monumental moment between us.
“Yes.”
“No.”
Avery and I spoke at the same time.
She shot me a look before turning to Preston and holding out a hand to him. “Not at all. We were just heading to the Sprout n’ Shout. Are you coming?”
There was no way Preston would be going to a plant festival. If it didn’t involve snowboards in the winter or mountain bikes in the summer, my youngest brother didn’t have the time of day for it.
“I’m sure he’s?—”
“Wouldn’t miss it.” Preston flashed me a cheeky grin.
Yes, I was definitely going to need to remind him who the older brother was.
“Great,” Avery said. “Join us.” She held both her arms out, inviting each of us to take one, which we did, and together, as an awkward threesome, we made our way toward the throngs of people who’d gathered at the end of the street.