Kade winced. “Fuck, I thought that was over.”
So had Avery, but come to think of it, that’s when Gage stopped drinking to relax and started getting hammered.
“It was. It is. Unless he can convince her otherwise, which fuck knows why he’d want to when we have Grecian pussy waiting for us.”
“Wait.” Just short of taking a drink from the crystal flute of champagne, Kade lowered his drink. “Does that mean he’s backing out on Greece like Bryce?”
“Guess it depends on how it goes.” Blaze sighed, then narrowed his gaze on Avery and Maverick. “I just hope you pussies remove the sticks from your asses before we hit Greece next weekend, cuz right now, you’re wrecking my vibe.”
Avery hadn’t thought about the trip since the night he’d come home late after closing the Whitaker deal. Not much anyway. And when he did, he pushed those thoughts aside because he didn’t like where they took him.
His phone vibrated again.
“Fuck this.” He glanced at Blaze. “Tell Linc I’ll be back later.”
“What am I, his fucking secretary?” His gaze lit on something over Avery’s shoulder. “Tell him yourself.”
Avery turned around as Linc joined them, a thick white envelope in his hand. He handed it to Avery. “All it needs is a signature.”
“Thanks for this.” Avery slipped the envelope into his inside coat pocket next to his donation for the museum. “Gotta go.”
Avery headed straight for the passageway Jo had taken.
Maverick fell into step beside him. “Thought I’d catch up with Bryce.”
More like checking up on Olivia. But Avery didn’t have to get into that. The sooner he located Jo, the sooner he could shut down the uneasy feeling that she was in trouble.
Instead, he found Hilary exiting the ladies’ room.
“Avery,” she called out as she sashayed toward him, pushing her tits out and batting her caterpillar eyelashes.
He didn’t have time for this either. Nor the interest. He was tempted to pretend he didn’t hear her, but he’d been meaning to set things straight with her, and he owed her an apology. Now seemed as good a time as any if he made it fast.
Hilary sidled closer to Avery and trailed a long, pink fingernail down his shirt. He caught her wrist just before her finger jumped the button at the V of his jacket.
“If you’re worried about your girlfriend, she’s playing roulette with her friends. She’ll never know if we slip away for a while.”
“When was that?”
“Just a few minutes ago.”
Relief loosened some of the tension in Avery’s gut. He wouldn’t be satisfied, though, until he laid eyes on her, but the problem in front of him had to be dealt with sooner or later. No time like the present.
He gave Maverick a go-ahead nod. “I’ll catch up in a minute.”
As soon as they were alone, Hilary leaned into him, mashing her tits against his chest. “Looks like it’s just me and you.”
Avery released her and retreated a few steps. “We need to talk.”
“If that’s what you want to call it, we can talk as many times as you like.” The seductive gleam in her eyes burned brighter as she advanced. Her perfume rose to choke him.
“Listen to me.” Avery didn’t want to hurt her, but he needed to be clear. “I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea, but I’m…”
…with Jo now.
That wasn’t an apology. That was an excuse. Not even that because he wasn’t reallywithJo. They had the rest of the week, but then she’d go her way and he’d leave for Santorini.
An ache coiled in his chest as it hit him again how little time they had left. Which was why he’d tried not to think about it. Instead, he’d done his best to make every moment with her count.
