Chapter 36
AVERY
It’s hard to sleep, so instead of going to bed, like Cora and Lila do, I end up trying every new recipe I’ve saved for weeks. It’s only when the sky lightens just before dawn that I glance around me and see I have no more counter space.
But has it helped keep the storm inside me at bay? Not really.
I feel like I’ve been put into a ship and sent out into the ocean without a way to steer, or even paddle—like I’m adrift and hoping for another boat to come save me.
Not that that boat is Max, because I don’t need him to save me.
Even though he’s inspired me to make changes to my business and we shared many good memories the past couple of weeks.
Okay, so he kind of saved me when I was floundering.
Of course, I started to like a guy who was unavailable in more than one way.
I can’t believe I fell for someone who is in a complicated situationship directed by his father.
Did we do anything more than cuddle on the couch? No, but things were progressing, and I wanted them to.
A door opens down the hall, and footsteps come toward me. Why is Lila up at the crack of dawn?
She rubs her eye as she walks in. “Whoa, what happened in here?”
“I went on a baking adventure,” I say.
“You call this an adventure? It looks like an explosion.”
“Why are you awake this early?”
“Because I heard a lot of banging in here all night long, and I finally got up to see what you were doing.”
“I just decided to try out a few new recipes, you know, to see if I can put them in the coffee shop.”
“Avery, this is a problem, not a few new recipes. This is you getting mad about a guy.”
“It’s not,” I say with more force than I should have.
“I don’t believe you,” she says. “I heard you and Mom talking last night. Is he leaving today?”
I raise an eyebrow. “Is who leaving?”
“Come on, Avery. I know that something’s wrong between you and Max. You hung out with him the other night at his apartment. At least we know he’s not a serial killer.”
“But he’s a billionaire, and he’s supposed to be engaged to a woman named Victoria.” The words are out before I can think twice about them.
Lila’s mouth drops open. “Billionaire? And you’re just giving up?”
“Did you miss the part about his life being somewhere else? That he’s got a crazy father who wants him to marry a family friend?”
Cora walks out in a robe, yawning. “What are you all doing up so early?” She turns the corner to the kitchen and stops in her tracks. “Do we have any flour left?”
“Not much,” I say.
“Avery is worried over a guy,” Lila says.
I grimace. “You’re so helpful.”
“Let me get some coffee, and we’ll discuss everything all over again,” Cora says, putting coffee into the machine and letting it brew.
I feel bad since we discussed most of this for a few hours last night. Cora looks even more tired than I’ve seen her in a while. She’s pushing too hard, and I don’t want her to break.
“You should go back to bed,” I say, glancing at the clock on the stove. 4:44 a.m.
“No, because you’re starting to spiral and we need to intervene, right, Lila?”
I fold my arms over my chest. “I’m not spiraling.”
Cora waves to the mounds of baked goods. Lila gives me an innocent look after taking a bite of a cinnamon roll.
“I don’t mind the spiraling when it involves these,” she says, lifting the roll.
Cora and I both laugh. “You are so much like your father,” Cora says. She then turns to me and says, “Start talking.”
“About what?”
She scowls at me. “Just word vomit. Anything that comes to mind is free game.”
“Just don’t start with, ‘When I was a kid,’” Lila says. “We don’t have that kind of time.”
Her quips are easing some of the tightness in my chest. “What is there to say? I told myself not to get attached to a guy who was only here for a short time. Then he was all nice and helpful. He was cute and romantic, holding my hand and…stuff.”
It was a bad ending, but I didn’t want to explain my cuddling with him overnight in his apartment.
“What’s the hang-up?” Cora asks.
“He’s a billionaire, Mom,” Lila says, like that’s the biggest news in the world. “And something about him having a girlfriend.”
She smiles. “I know. We talked about this most of last night. I’m asking why Avery is having a hard time. Explain it again, so we don’t miss a thing.”
“What if,” I begin, pausing to gather my thoughts.
“What if I was just a placeholder? Someone to hang out with because I was here. What if that’s all I’ll ever be?
” Emotion clogs in my throat and tears threaten to fall.
“Gosh, I shouldn’t even be crying over a man.
It’s only been a week,” I say with a laugh, trying to tease.
Cora and Lila aren’t laughing, though.
“More like three,” Lila says.
“You’re not a placeholder, Avery,” Cora says.
I raise an eyebrow. “For Curt, that’s all I was. And Max was happy to spend time with me until it was time for him to leave and go marry Veronica or whatever her name is.”
“Your story isn’t over yet. You can’t give up completely. Do you like Max?”
I stick out my bottom lip a bit and dip my head.
“Do you more than like him?”
“Maybe. But what good is that going to do me if he lives in New York?”
Lila blinks a few times. “He’s a billionaire. Maybe he has a fancy jet or something. He could come and pick you up or send it when you have to attend fancy events.
My chest tightens a bit at that thought. “What if he dictates what I wear like Curt?”
“But what if he gives you one of those fancy black credit cards and books you an appointment with a lady who can give you options of what to wear?”
“Where do you come up with this stuff?” Cora asks, shaking her head.
I wave my hands in the air, as if it will help me focus better. “We’re getting way ahead of ourselves. He’s got to go back at some point, and I’m not leaving Penrose.”
“I don’t think Max wants to leave.”
Cora and I turn to her. “What do you mean?” I ask.
“Well, Ashley and I were just bringing back the bikes after our bike ride, and I heard you talking to Max.”
I didn’t even see her there. That goes to show how oblivious I can be.
“It’s not right to eavesdrop, Lila,” Cora says, giving her daughter a stern look. “But if it helps this situation, you might as well spill what you know.” She walks over and pours herself a cup of coffee and takes a long sip.
“I didn’t catch everything. Avery, you left, and Max and his dad kept talking.
There was a lot that I couldn’t hear from where I was, but there was a part about Max saying he liked it here.
His dad asked if you were the reason for him wanting to stay.
Max said something about you not being the reason he ran, but a reason why he would stay. ”
I can feel my heartbeat up into my ears.
The kitchen falls silent except for the hum of the refrigerator.
Cora blinks slowly. “Well,” she says at last. “That feels emotionally significant.”
I let out a breath somewhere between a laugh and a groan and press both hands against the counter. “He barely knows me.”
Lila snorts softly. “Men have crossed oceans for less.”
“What are you going to do?” Cora asks before taking another sip of coffee.
“I’m going to get ready and open the coffee shop.”
Cora shakes her head. “I didn’t mean literally. I mean about Max.”
“She’s going to avoid him,” Lila says, inspecting her nails.
“I don’t even know if he’s still in town, you guys. And if Max is serious about staying, he needs to act like someone building a life—not someone hiding from one.”
“I need an Avery translation, please,” Lila says, turning to her mother.
I don’t give her a chance to explain. “I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing. If Penrose Beach is where he wants to create a life, then we can see where things go. But I don’t want to be the backup, the one who’s convenient because I’m where he’s hiding.”
Lila and Cora are quiet.
My phone rings, the sound shrill this early in the morning. It’s a number I don’t recognize, so I silence it and pick up a slightly warm cookie, taking a bite. I’m going to have to take a load of the baked goods downstairs, so I don’t eat my weight in them.
The phone rings again.
“Maybe you should answer,” Cora says. “If it’s the same number, someone could be hurt?” Proof she can’t always turn off the nurse in her.
I answer the call. “Hello?”
“Is this Avery Parker?” a deeper voice asks.
“Who is asking?”
“This is Wolfgang Bauer.”
My stomach drops, and I pull the phone away and mouth. “It’s Max’s father.”
“Why are you calling me this early?” I ask.
“Because I was hoping we could come to an arrangement. You see, my son is currently in a state of transition. From everything he’s told me, I understand that you may be unintentionally complicating that process. I’m willing to pay.”
My hand tightens on the phone. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
He exhales, the sound exaggerated, like he’s gathering a forced patience. “You are not from his world. I’m not trying to be rude, just blunt. There are many things about Max’s life that aren’t easy. As a partner, you’d be subjected to criticism and judgment.”
Shaking my head, I say, “I’m sorry, sir. We aren’t even officially dating.”
But then his words hit me. “As a partner” means Max must’ve said something to allude to our relationship, even if we haven’t discussed it.
“It would be best—for both of you—if you step back before this becomes more difficult than it needs to be.”
“Obviously you’re worried about me if you have to call this early in the morning to warn me.” I let the words hang there, punctuated by the silence that follows.
“I am all about control, Ms. Parker. I know when to push buttons and when to move the pieces so I win.”
“And what about Max?” I ask.
“I don’t understand the question.”
“You move him like a chess piece? Tell me, then, is he the king?”
There’s a small chuckle, and Mr. Bauer continues. “Max is a knight. Powerful, yes. But only when moved correctly.”
A shiver runs down my spine. How can a father talk about his son that way?
“What do you gain by controlling him?” I start pacing in the kitchen, trying to rid myself of the anxiety pulling at my chest.
“Power. Stability. Knowing that the future of the company will continue to run well. As I said,” Wolfgang continues evenly, “this is not personal. It is structural.”
My brows pull together. “You’re talking about your son like he’s a—”
“—a responsibility,” he finishes for me without hesitation. “One I take seriously.”
Another pause follows, lighter this time, like the conversation has already been completed in his mind.
He says a number that would clear every debt the Parker sisters have and then some.
“I trust you understand what I’m asking, Ms. Parker.”
It isn’t a question.
“No.” The word comes out shaky, not because I’m scared, but because I’m furious that he’s trying to blackmail me into staying away from his son.
“Then you didn’t think about it long enough.”
“Time won’t change anything. I won’t be bought.”
I open my mouth to say more, but there’s nothing left to push against—only silence.
The line goes dead.
“What was that?” Cora asks.
I close my eyes and try to calm the flood of panic running through me. “A bribe.”