Avery smiled. “I’d be honored to hear you sing.”
Avery sat in the audience as Anna sang her favorite song fromThe Secret Garden. Anna’s a cappella rendition prickled every hair on Avery’s arm, so she gave Anna a standing ovation, whistles, and a few shouts of “bravo!” It might have been the stage lights, but Anna glowed, as if she’d just worked out.
“Take a bow,” Avery yelled.
“Thank you for indulging me.” Anna tilted her head back toward the building after they walked outside. “Ever since Lennox arrived, I’ve been a little lost myself. Being on stage just now, something clicked. I want to go back to my roots. I’m going to start auditioning for plays.”
“Do. Please share what I just witnessed with the world.” Avery smiled. “But first, blueberry everything and puffins.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Miles
Tuesday, July 25 - New York, New York
Miles walked off set and down the back hallway to his dressing room. Day two of “Building Your Nest Egg at Any Age” had just wrapped. Today’s guests were empty nesters, Sara Beth and Jeff, an overly friendly couple from Atlanta who wore matching shirts and wide grins. They’d managed to send two children to college but were behind on saving for retirement. The segment had gone well, although the overly flirty Sara Beth had grabbed Miles’s biceps several times.
Every time Sara Beth said “y’all,” Miles felt a pang in his gut as he thought of Avery. The past two nights, he’d replayed the moments before and after the fundraiser more times than a HazMat with the newly dropped Hazel Matheson album. He’d examined every nuance, and it all came down to his silence. As much as he hated to admit it,Miles hadn’t gone to find her at the party. He’d found it easier talk to people alone, which saved him the stress of working her into the conversation. Avery deserved a pass for not sticking by his side that night.
He wanted to explain what roiled through him every time he grabbed his chest, but that needed to be said face-to-face. Avery had texted him a photo of her blueberry Lemon Drop martini last night. Her focus today was Lily and the puffins, as it should be.
He’d join the hosts out on the plaza in a few minutes for the last segment. After that, he had a Zoom with tomorrow’s guest, a woman his age who’d almost paid off her debts using the CashCache app and needed advice on how to start saving. This was his favorite financial challenge, because nothing compared to the feeling of conquering your debt.
Miles nimbly maneuvered around the dog crates crowding theBright and Earlyhallway. This week was National Pet Adoption Week, and Victoria had partnered with FLOP—For the Love of Pups—a local rescue, for a special series. All week, the on-air personalities played with pets awaiting adoption during the show’s closing minutes. At the end of the previous day’s show, Miles brought out an older dog who loved to play fetch. Someone in the crowd had adopted him while the segment aired. Victoria had closed the show while wiping away happy tears.
Miles wanted to duck into his dressing room for a minute of downtime. The banter leading into commercial sometimes wore down his social battery, and a few minutes alone helped him recharge so he could be vibrant and engaging on air. Ahead in the hallway, Paulson leaned against the wall outside Victoria’s dressing room, holding a tiny white puppy. Miles was still sore over Paulson occupying so much of Avery’s time at the party, but he smiled because Paulson’s donation meant they could buy the retreat.
“Hey, Miles,” Paulson called.
“Paulson.” Miles walked over and gave Paulson a fist bump.
“Vic wants me to adopt this pup.” He held the puppy to his nose. “What do you think?”
Seeing Paulson here could only mean one thing. Avery’s introduction had worked. Miles could’ve done it a year ago, and he felt bad for denying Paulson the beaming grin on his face. Paulson was already calling her “Vic,” visiting her at work, and considering adopting a dog for her. After three days.Bright and Earlyhad done a segment on insta-love once. This scenario checked all the boxes.
“He’s awfully cute.” Miles smiled as the puppy licked Paulson’s nose. “And I think he likes you.”
“I bet he likes to fish,” Paulson said.
Any situation involving an endless supply of food sounded like a dog’s dream, but Miles kept that to himself. A sanitation worker had found the dog when dumping out a trash can. Paulson had already vastly improved this puppy’s life.
“Thank you so much for your support on Saturday.” Miles scratched the puppy’s head. “It meant a lot.”
A blush rose in Paulson’s cheeks. “You don’t need to thank me.” He settled the puppy on his arm and rubbed its ears. “As someone who’s essentially lost a parent, I appreciate the difference Camp Luciole will make in people’s lives. Which reminds me, I’ve been meaning to call you.”
Ah, the famous phone call. Miles pressed his lips into a line, wondering what was so important that Avery had mentioned it, yet so trivial Paulson had let it wait for almost a month.
“Avery said you were going to call me a while back,” Miles said.
“Sorry.” Paulson glanced at the puppy. “I could lie and blame my reluctance on being busy, but honestly, Miles, you intimidate the hell out of me.”
If Miles had been drinking water, he’d have done a spit take. Paulson had never seemed intimidated by anyone. In college, Paulson toldextravagant stories and took his friends on ridiculous spring break trips, like sailing the Carter yacht in the Seychelles. Miles had assumed Paulson never included him because Paulson found Miles beneath him. But Miles ran track and couldn’t have gone on spring break anyway.
“I intimidate you?” He paused between each word. The puppy gave Miles a sleepy side-eye reminiscent of Casper, and Miles wondered why some dogs seemed to read him the wrong way.
“Yeah.” Paulson smiled. “Don’t you get that a lot? You never open up, at least not with me. No matter what I do, I seem to irritate you.”
He had a point. Miles often gave one-word responses to Paulson’s questions. The semester after Miles’s mother died, Paulson had gone beyond the usual condolences and attempted to talk to Miles about his grief. And maybe there had been good intentions, but it felt intrusive when all Miles wanted was to dissociate. He couldn’t carry Paulson’s pain too, which made him feel inadequate as a friend. Miles had gone to great lengths to avoid Paulson ever since, which was intimidating, rude, and unfriendly.
