“She’d been in Scotland for a while, last I checked. Which was years ago, by the way. She probably has a dozen bards and swaddles them in green and blue tartans,” he said in his best Scottish accent. “I think she moved to Africa after that. But let’s get back to you.”
Ben hopped out of the cart before it came to a complete stop. Quin was up first, so Ben hung back with the caddies, watching as Quin chipped it onto the green, a foot away from the cup.
Ben was up. “There’s not much to say. She wasn’t emotionally available.”
“So you’re just going to step back?”
“What choice do I have?” He lined up his shot and sank the putt. “Her husbanddied.”
Quin stared at the hole. “I don’t know what to tell you.”
“Exactly.” Ben tucked the ball into his pocket and passed the putter to his caddy. He couldn’t force Avery to be ready for love. He couldn’t make her be a part of his family. “It just sucks. You know? Anyway, I look at the situation, I’m unable to move. I can’t go forward with a relationship without her on board. I can’t go back to being just friends—not like we were ever just friends. We went from enemies right to romantic interests.”
“I’m hearing what you’re saying, but I’m not hearing what’s in your heart.”
Rarely did Quin get this serious with him. They gave each other a hard time. They pushed one another to be brilliant in their respective fields. But when it came to feelings of the heart, they didn’t share. So it surprised him that Quin would even broach the subject. But what surprised him more was that he wanted to share his feelings.
“I love her.” He lifted his shoulders, sayingI’m hopeless and I know itin one movement.
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” He was. Not only for himself, but for Savannah too. So far, he’d been able to put off her requests to spend more time with Avery and Landon, but he wouldn’t be able to do that forever. As much as his heart ached for Avery, it also hurt for his daughter.
Breakups truly sucked.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Avery
Avery stared at the computer screen, the numbers in front of her a background to the thoughts traipsing through her head like disorganized ushers. None of them knew where they were going, and they weren’t even sure where they were coming from.
“Earth to Avery.” Claire waved her hand in front of Avery’s face.
She blinked several times and took a breath, not even realizing that she hadn’t breathed deeply in a while. “Man, I zoned out there.”
Claire’s mouth bowed in sympathy. “I know you’ve got your reasons for doing what you did, but girl, you have got to pull yourself together.”
“I know.” Avery scrubbed her face.
They worked for a few minutes, each typing away at their respective tasks. There was more going on inside Claire’s head than the lunch count, though. She continually glanced at Avery out of the corner of her eye. It wasn’t long before she worked up the courage to broach the subject that was eating away at her. “Do you want to know what I think?”
Avery grinned, trying to change the subject. “That Chris Hemsworth should be our commencement speaker?”
“That!And that you’re in love with the guy.”
“With Chris? Who isn’t?” Avery fanned her face.
“No!” Claire laughed. “With Ben.”
She shook her head. “It’s not love. I’ve had true love, and this was different.”
“Different how?” Claire demanded.
“Umm, it was like …” She grasped for words. Why did they all leave her when it came to Ben? “… going off the drop on a roller coaster. My stomach would lift up and my heart would beat so fast.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And I wouldn’t be able to think clearly sometimes. Like he scrambled my brains with a touch. With Luke, it was comforting, warm, and there was trust for eons.”
