Avery gave him a small smile and handed the photo strip back to Owen. “Ok,” he said. He leaned forward to grab his backpack and opened the door. “Can we measure how tall I am now?”
Owen climbed out of the truck and slid the photo strip into his wallet for safekeeping instead of the visor, where it could fall out again. He met Avery at the door and let them inside. Kids were resilient and could move on so easily. It still surprised Owen, no matter how long he was a parent.
“Go put your stuff away, andthen we’ll measure.”
“Can we also order pizza for dinner?”
Owen smiled, expecting a request like that. “Sure.”
“Yes,” Avery grinned. “Are you going to do whatever I want because you’re glad to have me home again?”
Owen shook his head. Summer influenced him way too much. “Within reason,” Owen said, arching an eyebrow at him. “Now go put your stuff away.”
After an evening of pizza, video games, and a negotiation over bedtimes, Owen got Avery in bed at a decent hour. He settled on the couch to call Ava. Based on his confrontation with Tori that morning and the texts he’d gotten from both Summer and Matt demanding to know what was going on with Ava, he knew they had a mess to sort through.
His updated contact photo for her brought a smile to his face. He couldn’t resist taking a picture of her in that red sundress on the Fourth of July, her hair a mess of curls, her lips pouty and red.
“Hey,” she greeted. Her cheer sounded strained through the phone.
“Hey, Birdie. Is everything okay? You sound off.”
“Just what every woman wants to hear.” She sighed. “Summer knows about us, and she’s pissed at me. I’ve never had a fight like this before with her.”
Owen ran a hand through his hair, pulling the tie out of his bun with his fidgeting. “Yeah, she sent me a few messages today. Matt too. The whole, nosy town knows about our date, apparently. I haven’t talked to either of them yet. Wanted to get Avery settled at home.”
“How is Avery? Did you guys have a good night? I know you’re glad to have him home.”
Owen smiled at that. Having her at the house last night had filled the gaping absence Avery left behind. Now if only he could get all three of them under the same roof. Permanently.
I gotta slow down. That is not taking it one step at a time.
“He’s good. Grew half an inch since I saw him last. Bedtime went easier than I expected, though we had a few rounds of negotiation about the time going forward.”
“And what was the consensus?”
“He gets an extra half hour for the rest of summer. The kid made some strong points. I think he’s been learning the art of negotiation from his aunt,” he said.
Ava laughed. “Sounds about right.”
Owen steeled himself for what he needed to share with Ava next. He hoped she understood. “I have something to tell you,” he said. “It was a mistake, and I honestly forgot about it after everything that happened the last few days between us.”
“Okay,” Ava dragged out the word. “Way to bury the lead, Owen. Please, just tell me.”
“I agreed to take Tori Wells on a date. A fake date.”
Ava sucked in a breath. “Wait, who the hell is Tori?”
“You’ve probably seen her around town. Red hair, red lips, red heels. She’s the chairman of the Historical Society.”
Ava hummed. “Yup, I’ve seen her. And why did you agree to take her on a date?” Her tone dripping in disapproval.
“She was blocking some work I needed done on the building and the only way she’d give her approval was if I took her on a date to make her ex-husband jealous.”
“Why you?”
Owen paused before telling the full story. “We hooked up a while back. I think she hoped it would be more than one night.” He held his breath, waiting for her response.
“Uh-huh. So, you’re telling me this woman is extorting you after a one-night stand that happened months ago?”
