“That’s awfully nice, Nate,” Paulson said. “Text me the dates and I’ll see if I can make it. That reminds me, I need to call Miles.”
“Mm-hmm.” Avery nodded.
“But right now, I’ve gotta get back to the City.” Paulson sighed. “I’ll call him next week.”
As the driveway dust from Paulson’s Rivian SUV settled, Miles took Avery’s hand and led her to the lobby. Sam patted his son on the back.
“Dad,” said Nate. “Paulson’s bar idea enables us to be a wedding destination. Guests will love it. With Avery’s marketing and Miles’s website, Montressa’s future gets brighter every day.”
“You’ve got good friends.” Sam smiled. “Each Cooper makes our mark on Montressa. Now it’s your turn. I’m glad to see you breathing new life into it.”
Sam wiped away a tear.
“We owe you both so much.” Nate nodded at Miles and Avery. “What’s next in your plan?”
Miles felt a rush of pride. The Coopers trusted his and Avery’s instincts.
“My friends from CashCache are beta testing the new reservation system,” Miles said. “But the more immediate need is filling thissummer’s vacancies.”
“I know it’s early in the season, but we’re just over half capacity today,” Avery said. “The only cabin booked all summer is the Boathouse.”
“Victoria and I broadcast live from here next week,” Miles said. “That should help.”
“I hope so.” Sam put his hands in his pockets. “It’s so nice of Victoria to come back.”
Avery let out an irritated sigh only Miles seemed to notice. He couldn’t figure out the tension there, especially with half a summer’s worth of reservations at stake. But Avery didn’t understand his distrust of Paulson. They each had people in their lives who didn’t work with their personalities.
“It’s national television.” He squeezed Avery’s hand. “And free advertising worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
“The thing is,” said Avery, “everything with Victoria comes at a price.”
“You’re both right,” Nate said. “But we can put up with a day of diva behavior for that level of exposure.”
Sam fanned his hand at the three of them and chuckled.
“Enough shop talk,” he said. “Let’s go fishing.”
As Nate and Sam headed outside, Miles hung back with Avery. He wanted to let her know how much she mattered to him. He couldn’t sort out his own feelings yet, but she checked off every box he had for the perfect partner.
“I leave for a few days in Minnesota tomorrow, and the camp I’m observing doesn’t allow cell phones.” He picked up a strand of her hair and tugged it. “Dinner tonight?”
She lifted a hand to his stubble and her eyes sparkled like sunlight on water.
“Yep, it’s a date.”
“Dinner at my house isn’t a date. It’s too … every day.” Miles frowned. Nothing he came up with felt special enough. “I want to take you somewhere amazing.”
She wrapped her pinkie around his.
“You already do. I love your every day. Being out on the lake with you. Stargazing on the dock. Eating dinner at your house. Those are the moments I feel most content.”
Relief swept through him. She didn’t want a big show. Avery shook his pinkie and gazed up at him. Her eyes were almost emerald today.
“If we’re going to make this work, we’ll need to share our ‘real worlds’ eventually,” she said. “I want to see your other every day. The one in New York. Meet your friends, see your apartment, maybe go out to dinner or to one of your parties. And I want to take you to my family’s house in Virginia.”
Miles tried to swallow the lump in his chest. It didn’t move. Those were steps to something more permanent, which sounded wonderful and frightening at the same time.
Nate stuck his head in the door. “Miles, let’s go.”
