Avery never underestimated the appeal of a handsome man. He might be a mess, but he wasn’t oblivious to a good-looking guy when he saw one.
Like Linc. Who was straight and hadn’t asked Avery out on a date, but was still nice enough to invite him to hang out like they could just be buddies, even if Avery would have to learn how to stop yearning from afar.
Jesus. Was he yearning now? Hadn’t he learned his lesson last year, when he’d spent a month reading signals into every smile from Oliver that turned out to be nothing more than professional courtesy? Avery needed to pull himself together.
When the tea was steeped, he stood, hands wrapped around a mug and said, “Tell Uncle Theo I’m sorry.”
“You?” She scoffed. “Why should you apologize? You’re not the pig-headed dinosaur who won’t listen.”
Whoa.He’d never heard her say anything against her husband in the last eleven years.
“No, it’s my fault. I pushed too hard. It’s his business. I need to trust he’s doing what’s best. If I don’t, then—” The words were harder to say than he’d expected. “Maybe I should be looking for a job somewhere else.”
She had him wrapped up in her arms before he’d even finished speaking. “Oh, honey. You know it’s not like that. He loves you. We both do.”
“I know.”
“He would never want you to leave.”
“I know.” He closed his eyes. They had come for him. For three nights, he’d been too ashamed to reach out to anyone, sure his whole family had forsaken him. And then Theo and Brenda had appeared, almost from nowhere, and held him close and cried, and they’d brought him home and kept him safe.
“Am I...” a deep voice said behind them. “Am I interrupting something?”
Avery untangled himself from his aunt in a second, practically climbing over the counter. “No! Hi! You’re here. You’re—”
“Sorry,” Linc said. “The door was open.”
“Oh, of course. No problem. We were—”We were hugging it out to help me deal with my abandonment issues.
“I should get going. I didn’t realize you had company.” Brenda’s smile was sly, and it made him flush.
“We’re not dating. He’s just taking me out for a drink.”
The kitchen plunged into silence. Linc’s eyes were wide. Aunt Brenda’s mouth hung open. Avery’s face was so hot it could melt wax.
“Um,” Linc said.
“I mean—”
“Of course.” She kissed his cheek. “Don’t stay out too late.”
Linc and Avery stared at each other, the creepy crawly feeling under Avery’s skin growing with every second, as they listened to the sound of Aunt Brenda’s feet on the stairs.
“Bye, boys,” she called from the exterior door, then left.
The faucet dripped in the kitchen.
“So...” Avery said.
Linc said, “Your mom seems nice.”
“My who?”
Linc jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Your mom? Seems nice. She looks exactly like you.”
Avery’s chest squeezed. “Thanks.”
Linc opened his mouth, like he could tell he’d said something wrong, but Avery grabbed his keys off the counter and pushed toward the door. “Ready to go?”
