He answered, and Hayes and Anna Catherine lit up his screen. Baby Lennox sat on Hayes’s lap, facing the camera.
“Hey, baby girl, I’ve missed you,” Miles cooed. Lennox screamed in surprise at the sight of him and tried to grab the phone, but she lacked the necessary dexterity.
Miles moved his face off-camera and then back into view. “Peek-a-boo!”
He did it again and again, delighting Lennox, who cooed and giggled. A tree bough swung aside, and Avery stepped under the magnificent pine. A blush warmed his face.
“I thought you were playing peek-a-boo with me.” She giggled.
He felt his entire face and chest light up at the sight of her. She’d showered, and her damp hair had started to curl; Miles’s favorite look.
“Come here. I want you to meet my friends,” he said.
Avery nestled beside him. He wrapped his arm around her and her heavenly floral vapor greeted him.
“Hayes, Anna Catherine, and Lennox.” He pulled Avery into the frame. “Meet Avery.”
Anna Catherine’s jaw dropped as if she were the one meeting a celebrity.
“Avery, you exist.” Hayes’s big-screen voice hummed. “We’re so happy to meet you.”
“OMG.” Avery gaped at Miles with wide eyes and pointed at the phone. “He sounds like he does in the movies.”
“We can’t wait to meet you in person next weekend.” Anna Catherine wriggled on screen, overly giddy with excitement.
“And you too. I mean me. I mean, I can’t wait to meet y’all.” Her Southern accent signaled she was starstruck. Miles ran his thumb in a circle on her shoulder blade, hoping she wasn’t feeling put on the spot.
“Oh my goodness.” Avery palmed her face. “Let me start over. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
It sounded smoother. She’d be fine. Anna and Hayes were used to bringing conversations with fans down to a normal energy level. He’d witnessed it a thousand times.
Miles kissed her temple and Anna Catherine squealed. From there, he lost control of the conversation. Anna had so many questions for Avery. Hayes and Miles smiled as the two women prattled on about Lennox, fashion, why babies loved cell phones, and how much Anna loved the Peppered Page.
Miles envisioned Avery and Anna Catherine becoming friends and sharing secrets; ones that didn’t involve him and some that did. The two couples could do things together, like go to farmers markets and concerts. Nothing would make him happier.
But that little voice inside him kept telling him he’d lose her.
He cringed, hoping no one saw his rising anxiety. Having her beside him would be less overwhelming if he could get past the fear that losing her would be unbearable. Rationally,it was an unrealistic thought—one that shouldn’t prevent him from moving forward with the relationship.
He wasn’t sure he could ever love without this paralyzing fear. In hindsight, it had surfaced their first summer, after Avery said she loved him. He hadn’t said it back, but not because he didn’t love her. He’dfeared what loving her could mean.
He hadn’t said “I love you” to anyone since his mother’s death because he and his mother had said it so many times in her last days, the words took on a new meaning.I love youcame to meanGoodbye. Forever.
Seeing Hayes on FaceTime made Miles wish he could confess his fears to someone who understood heartbreaking, permanent loss. Nate tried to understand, but couldn’t relate. Miles’s father was inaccessible on the Appalachian Trail. After years of his father dropping subtle and not-so-subtle hints, Lily’s mom had finally agreed to hike the trail this spring. Miles didn’t want his problems to ruin their good time. That left Hayes, the one person who had lived almost the same story. But asking Hayes to reopen his wounds felt unfair.
This anxiety made no sense when something he had always wanted was going so well, but he worried Avery might rethink her decision to take him back if he admitted the dark thoughts roiling through him. He needed to keep things light and happy this early in their rekindling. Maintain the just-got-back-together bliss. Take her on that incredible date he had yet to plan.
Anna Catherine and Avery wrapped up and everyone said goodbye, with Hayes asking to visit the corporate retreat when he came in a couple of weeks and maybe make an offer.
“Your friends are so nice,” Avery said after they hung up, nuzzling a kiss into his neck.
“You’re easy to like.” He leaned into her kiss and let the spark pulsing through him remind him of what made Avery so special. He could face his fears later. First, he needed to take her out. So many times they lost count.
Crunching gravel interrupted their kiss. A familiar black Rivian SUV pulled into the circle. Avery’s elbow nudged Miles in the ribs as a pair of black and red Air Jordans hit the ground. Paulson.
He better not be coming on the fishing trip with Sam, Miles thought.
Avery gripped Miles’s leg. Whenever she touched his thigh, it made him feel simultaneously strong and needed. And hard. Thankfully, the boughs of the tree hid them well.
