“It’s like they’ve never met Declan.” Avery holds up her palms in a “what the hell” gesture. “He doesn’t see me that way. He actively dislikes me…although, the other night he did make sure I got home safe. I guess that time we were cool.”
I’m speechless. I’m the one who sent Declan to walk her back to her dorm. Which she knows. What she doesn’t know is that I had to talk him into it. In the end, he only did it to keep me from having to get near her. The memory helps cool my blood a bit. I hate the idea of Dec with Avery, but not because it’s Declan. I’ve never been able to stand the thought of anyone other than me touching her.
“She’s Ri all over,” my grandfather warns in a whisper, like a devil on my shoulder. “Ethan never knew how to handle your mother, and she slipped right through his fingers.”
Avery rubs her eyes, smudging the smokiness under her lids, oblivious to our side conversation. She shakes her head as if she’s trying to clear it.
If I spend another second imagining her with Declan, I may put my fist through the wall. Time for a change of subject. “You need to eat something, Avery.”
Pops opens the oven and removes the pie. The crusted potato peaks are golden and perfect.
“Yes, I do need to eat.” Avery’s fingertips press against her lips as if to lock her words away. “Can I just be alone a few minutes? I need that, too.”
“Sure,” I say, studying her as she tries to sit primly. When the steaming food is plated, I deliver it to her. “It’s hot,” I warn. “Give it a second.”
Once she’s settled and focused on her food and her phone, I return to the counter island where I can have a quiet word with my grandfather.
He stands there, shrewdly assessing me. In a very low voice, he says, “She’s after talking about your friend Declan, is she?”
My nod is curt. This isn’t a conversation we need to have.
“The heir to billions?” Pops shrugs his gray brows. “That would suit the new wife, I’d imagine. And Ethan, too. No problem withthosefamily ties.”
“Whatever.” Declan’s family has plenty of skeletons. His are just the high society variety.
Pops pulls out a bar stool and sits at the island, then takes a bite of the pie and smiles down at it. “She’s a rare talent, my lovely widow is.” His sharp gaze cuts to the table where Avery’s temple is propped against her palm. “Now that one. You said, ‘whatever.’ Why’s that? You’re planning to stand by and watch her go? Like father, like son?”
“Avery and I are not married. We’re not even a thing. I brought her here because I’m doing her a favor.”
“Since when is it a favor to bring a girl here?” His green eyes bore into me, revealing the same eyes and the same knowing expression I face in the mirror every day.
“Someone’s stalking her. She’s scared.”
A dark expression passes over his face as he leans forward. “What will you do about it?”
“When I find him, you can imagine what I’ll do.”
He leans back and licks his fork, then nods, looking satisfied. “So this is an opportunity with her. Your strength and her gratitude is a good combination.”
I nod.
Pops washes down the shepherd’s pie with milk. He raises the carton in offering, but I shake my head. He pours a second glass and nods in Avery’s direction.
I take it and set it on the table near her plate.
When I return to him, he asks in a low voice, “Why aren’t you and she a thing already? What do you think is wrong with her?”
“She’s got a problem mother for one.”
“Because the woman took one look at you and thought that, given the chance, you’d eat her pretty little daughter alive? I call that smart.” He taps a finger on the counter. “Little Sheri outplayed you. She got her hooks into Ethan, and he did not have the stones to back her down when she wanted him to betray you. Don’t blameherfor that.”
My grandfather heard the police were summoned to our house. I had no choice but to share some details with him, and at the time, his anger was nearly a match for my own. As someone who always spots an opportunity, he used it as a lever to get into my life in a way he’d never been before.
“Sheri’s unhinged,” I say coolly. “But I don’t blame her for the things Ethan does. He lets women get the best of him. He’s a killer in the courtroom, but that’s it.”
The old man points at me for emphasis and nods. “This one, Avery, I peg her as a good girl. Is she?”
“Seems like it. Most of the time.”
