I’m supposed to be helping, not standing around like a fool. Springing into action, I take the box from Avery and carry it to the truck bed. She returns to the house, and I follow, taking the steps two at a time.
The house smells of lemon polish and the lavender-scented pouches I know Daisy leaves dotted around. Boxes line the hallway, and Avery picks up another, handing it to me. My fingers brush against hers as I take it. Our eyes lock, and her pupils dilate a fraction. She felt it too, that current that passed between us.
Avery clears her throat, turning her attention to the box closest to her. “Thank you for helping. Mama went a bit overboard when I told her about Autumn’s place. She pulled out all sorts of things from storage. I’m not even sure what’s in half of these boxes.”
I chuckle, following her to the truck because that sounds exactly like the Mrs. Daisy I knew and loved.
We fall into an easy rhythm until the back of my truck is packed up and we’re on the road to her new home.
It takes four trips, with Autumn’s help, to get everything into the apartment from the truck. It’s small, but it suits Avery. Light filters in through the big front windows in the living room. I can picture her on the couch, strumming her guitar as the sun pours in, casting a golden glow over her.
The thought sends a wave of anxiety through me, and I suck in a breath, forcing the feeling away. It has no place here. But will I ever get back to feeling how I used to at the thought of her music? Will the pride ever return, or will I always have fear in my chest at the thought of her choosing it over me again?
I set the last box down inside the living room. Autumn had to go back to the coffee shop for the lunchtime rush, so it’s just the two of us, and I’ve been turning over the words in my mind again and again. How do I even broach the subject? How do I ask her on a date without screwing it up?
“That’s it,” I say, pulling a cloth from my pocket and wiping the sweat from the back of my neck.
Avery looks around at the boxes stacked around the room. She stuffs her hands in her back pockets and worries her bottom lip. It’s been torture walking up the stairs behind her all morning. The gentle sway of her hips and the rounded curve of her ass have left me in a perpetual state of arousal. But I’ll have to sort that out later. It’s definitely a me problem, and she has enough going on with her move to have to deal with me too.
“Thank you for your help today. You didn’t have to, so I really appreciate it.”
I shrug, looking away from her. “You’d do the same for me.”
She lets out a soft laugh. “Would I?”
“Yeah, you would.” I grin because we both know I’m right.
We fall quiet, the silence stretching between us much like it did earlier in the day, except this time, it’s a little less awkward.
Avery dips her chin, before looking up at me from under her lashes. “I need to go grocery shopping. I’m starving.”
“Want company?” I ask, internally scolding myself as soon as the words are spoken.Company with what, Grayson?I’m trying to ask her out for dinner or lunch, not grocery shopping.
Her eyes snap to mine, a groove forming between her brows. “For groceries?”
I lick my lips, an easy grin spilling across my face. “Sure. But I also meant for a meal. With me.”
She blinks once, twice, three times, like she’s trying to process what I’ve just said, and it’s not quite computing. Her gaze jumps to the boxes stacked behind me, then back to my face. There’s a pause, like she’s weighing up the risks of what I’m asking and trying to decide if it’s worth it. “Like… a date?”
Slowly, I close the gap between us, giving her time to move away, but she doesn’t. I cup her cheek, stroking the apple with my thumb. She leans into my palm like it’s second nature. Like she missed my touch. “Yeah, Ave. No barns or truck cabs, just you and me, getting to know these versions of ourselves. It doesn’t have to mean anything if we don’t want it to. We’re both consenting adults who clearly can’t keep their hands off each other, so why not?”
Avery’s gaze darts around my face, like she’s looking for any sign that what I’m saying might not be true. She won’t find anything. I’m all in with her; I always have been.
As I wait for her answer, the reality that she might say no threatens to break something inside me. I won’t push her if that is her decision though; too much has passed between us for me to do that.
It feels like an eternity before she lets out a breath that sounds like relief. “Okay.”
The word is barely audible, but I’m silently screaming with delight. There was a time when she would have said yes to anything I asked without a second thought, and maybe this version of her is more cautious. But damn if it doesn’t feel like this could be the start of something real.
Keeping my cool, because I really need her to be sure, I ask, “Yeah?”
A smile curves her lips, soft but a little unsure. “Yeah.”
Dipping my head, I dust my lips over hers before putting some space between us. If I take any more, I know I won’t be able to stop myself.
Everything isn’t fixed between us, but this is a step in the right direction, and I’ll be damned if I’ll blur it with sex. No matter how much I crave her.
Walking backward toward the door with an idea forming in my mind, I say, “Saturday. Noon. Wear something you can ride a horse in.”
