Avery
All afternoon, Avery tried to hang on to the moments from lunch that made her feel safe and secure. Ben’s hand covering hers at the table. His kiss to her hair. Even the way his hand fit perfectly in the small of her back made her feel like the world was turning at exactly the right speed. But she couldn’t hold on to those feelings for long before worrying over what would happen when she got home and faced Evelyn.
There was no putting it off—even if she did drag her feet at the grocery store. Landon had homework, and he was itching to get it done so he could watch the latestFlashon the CW. He didn’t even try to get around the “homework first” rule—he just wanted to blow through his math problems and settle in.
For Avery, there would be no settling until the other shoe dropped.
It dropped the minute they walked through the back gate. Evelyn sat on the round, pewter chair, her head bent over this month’s book club selection,Cold Sassy Tree.
“Come on over and give your Grams a hug.” Evelyn held her arms out for Landon. He complied without dragging his feet. She hyped him up on homemade cookies, so it was still cool to hugher. “How’s school?”
Avery headed for the back door, hoping to get inside without having to have this awkward conversation in front of her son.
“Fine. But I have a lot of homework.”
“Well, hustle on in there. I want to talk to your mom for a minute anyway.”
Curses!She ruffled Landon’s hair and stared longingly at the door as he closed it behind him. Resigned, she took the other iron seat. She’d always hated this patio set, but it came with the house when her parents sold it to her and Luke. She’d made Luke have tea parties here and it was part of their childhood, so Luke said they should keep it. She hadn’t the heart to donate it after he passed away.
“How’s your mom?” Evelyn asked.
Avery chewed the inside of her cheek. “She’s doing good. Winning at horseshoes.”
“I miss her. She’s a chatterbox.”
“You can call. She’d love to hear from you.”
“I talked to her a couple days ago.” Evelyn scraped a piece of paintpaint off the table. “She didn’t say anything about you dating again. You sure looked cozy with that guy.”
“We’ve spent some time together.” Dating wasn’t a sin. She’d worked herself up into a tizzy gathering counterarguments and fighting the guilt that came from keeping secrets.
“Were you going to tell me?”
Avery closed her eyes and tapped her finger on the bridge of her nose. “If things got serious.”
Evelyn leaned back in her chair. “Honey, I’ve known you since the day you were born. I watched you and my Luke fall in love before either of you knew what love is.”
Avery gathered her purse into her chest, needing the comfort of holding tight. “I like him.”
A slice of pain flashed over Evelyn’s face. “I loved Luke’s dad like you loved Luke. I spent years looking for that kind of love again, and it just doesn’t happen twice. Luke was—is—your soul mate. He’s the one who will welcome you into heaven. He’s watching over you and Ben every day. I know it.”
Avery rolled her thumb over a button on her coat over and over again. She couldn’t argue with that kind of logic.
“No matter how happy you feel right now, you’ll regret getting in deep with this guy. I was there with Robert. Remember?”
“I remember,” she whispered. Robert had lived down the street from them. He’d courted Evelyn all proper and sweet. Made her feel like opening her heart again. It wasn’t a week after they were married that she found out about his online gambling addiction. He’d burned through the life insurance money and broken her heart in the process. She’d dried her tears and taken to this idea that there was one man made just for her, and he’d passed on.
Avery had bought into the idea, until she met Ben. He awakened feelings in her that Luke never had. Did that make them wrong? “I don’t know. It feels good to be with him.”
“If you can tell me you haven’t felt guilty once, haven’t compared him to Luke, then I’ll shut my trap and won’t say another word.”
Avery clamped her lips shut. She had felt guilty on the plane just before giving herself over to the kiss. She had compared him to Luke on the hike. She’d even spent half of lunch telling Ben about how she and Luke used to collect spiders in jars and feed them flies. And then they’d misplaced a jar and found it under his bed, the lid askew.
“That’s what I thought.” Evelyn stood, leaning on the table with both her hands. “It’s not fair to that man to lead him on.”
“I’m not. I wasn’t,” she protested. She liked Ben, a lot. Maybe even loved him. “He’s got more money than some countries, so I know he’s not after mine.”
“It wasn’t the money I missed.”
