“What? I didn’t do anything.”
Lily stepped halfway between them and pointed, Spiderman-meme style, as if they were about to be put in detention.
“Listen, both of you.” Her voice boomed. “Try to get along. For Nate’s sake. And mine. Like it or not, you’re an important part of our wedding. Right now, the Coopers are in crisis. Nate doesn’t need your angsty bickering added to his list of worries. Miles, don’t antagonize her. You like to push buttons, and Avery’s are easy to push.”
That seemed unfair, but Avery kept quiet. Teacher Lily made her want to recite her times tables to redeem herself.
“And Avery, I was there for you when you left Trent.” Lily’s voice softened. “Being there for me means acknowledging Nate’s best man. He’s a nice guy and as loyal as they come. Try being friends.”
Avery and Miles both spoke at the same time.
“We are friends,” he said.
“I’ll try,” she groused. They had never been friends. They’d only been more. Until they weren’t.
Miles tilted his head in question. He almost seemed hurt. Avery knew better than to make a promise regarding Miles. Seeing him in those clothes reminded her of how he used to turn his baseball cap backward and pull her into an empty cabin for a kiss. Those stolen kisses often led to exploring every inch of one another before returning to work.
“Let us know if we can do anything to help you and the Coopers,” Miles said to Lily.
Typical of him to charm the teacher.
“I’m glad you offered,” Lily said. “Could one of you take care of the dog until school lets out in June? It’s hard for me to feed and walk him before I leave in the morning.”
“Not me,” Miles said, holding up both hands.
“Nice.” Avery scowled. “Volunteer to help and refuse the ask.”
“That’s not getting along.” Lily shook a finger at Avery. “To be fair, Miles and Casper Cooper share a history of mutual jealousy-fueled hatred.”
“I don’t hate him,” Miles protested. “But I’ll be traveling, and I have my morning TV gig. When I’m here, I’ll be down at the water, whichholds all kinds of temptations for him. And the nights? My house is a construction zone.”
Casper emerged from around the desk, holding the maple-blueberry donut in his mouth. He titled his head back and ate it in one gulp.
“That donut was for Avery.” Miles stepped toward the lakeside door and turned the doorknob. “Avery, my friend, good luck with that menace of a dog. I’m here anytime you want to see the gods. I mean goods.”
He rotated the brim of his cap to the front and winked. Avery needed to avoid these daily doses of his annoying, yet attractive confidence before his backwards baseball cap and the scent of warm pine after an August rain weakened her resolve. She’d find a solid reason to send him back to the City.
Once Miles closed the door, Lily sized her up.
“Avery, are you okay?” she asked. “When I walked in, things seemed awfully tense. I thought you’d moved on. You never ask about him.”
“It’s fine. We’re just getting used to one another.” Avery shrugged. Casper pushed his wet nose under her hand, asking for a head rub. Dogs always made you feel wanted and loved.
“I’ll take care of this sweet boy”—Avery scratched behind his ears—“if you tell me what you want to do for your bachelorette party. Also, I have your wedding invitations ready to proof.”
“Now that Sam’s going to be okay, seeing what you painted for us and catching up sounds nice,” Lily said. “So does food. Want to grab a pizza at Napolitano’s?”
Avery nodded. She had missed Napolitano’s molasses cookies more than those maple-blueberry donuts anyway.
Chapter Four
Miles
Tuesday, May 16
For a Tuesday morning with Monday morning energy, Miles was crushing it. Most people hadn’t begun their workday, but he’d already completed his remote segment on student debt forBright and Early, ordered a pallet of replacement planks for the dock, reached out to an art therapist asking for information about art therapy for bereavement camps, lined up site visits to observe camps in Georgia, Minnesota and Wyoming, and signed up for fall classes at NYU on grant writing and non-profit administration. Next spring, he’d need two more classes to graduate with a master’s in public administration, specializing in non-profit management.
TheBright and Earlyshoot had been a breeze. No subway commute, no studio crew, and no idle time during commercial breaks. Just him, founder of everyone’s favorite personal finance app, sitting in thelodge’s conference room, talking to an America he couldn’t see about rising interest rates and student loans. Miles was more efficient on his own. If only he could work remotely all the time.
