“It’s just silly.”
“I’m sure it’s not.”
I pressed my lips together, trying to decide if I was actually going to show her.
I hadn’t shown anyone this. Not a single soul.
Avery swung her leg over my hips and settled on top of me, planting her hands on my chest. Waves of blue shifted forward as she looked down at me, her brow raising.
“Spill,” she said. “Tell me your secrets, my darling, brooding man.”
I snorted, but an ease rushed over me that I hadn’t felt in a long time. I realized I was comfortable with her. Although the idea of showing her something I enjoyed—something I’d kept a secret for so long—made me nervous.
“When I used to visit in the summers, it was hard, because my dad and I never got along,” I said. “I think everyone in Whynot was aware of our problems. He was a mean bastard.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“It’s okay. I’ve worked through my grief with him. A lot of therapy and a lot of time away. But here’s the thing, Avery. When I was here, your dad stepped in, and your family always gave me a second home. There was one summer when I was fifteen, and Austin and I had started getting into trouble here and there. The night before, we’d gone around town and hit people’s mailboxes.”
“Oh my god, I remember that,” she said. “Austin got grounded.”
“He got grounded and I was so fucking scared my dad was going to hear about it from yours. But instead, your dad took me outside and gave me a stern talking to. My ears were fucking red by the time he finished. Then he gave me a camera and told me ‘do something useful and go take pictures of a cactus heart. I need it for a reference.’”
Avery grinned. “That was a pretty good impersonation.”
I smiled as I thought about how mad I’d been. Mr. Whynot had been so blunt and direct, and the thought of taking pictures had felt so stupid at the time.
“I was such an angry teen. I told him he was being a dick. Taking pictures was stupid. No one wanted photographs of anything. His art was stupid. I said so many mean things, and he didn’t bat an eye. He shoved the camera in my hands and told me to take a walk. Never threatened to tell my dad on me. Never threatened to kick me out. He was stern, but he was never mean. I don’t think that man had a mean bone in his body.”
My throat burned and Avery’s expression softened, her eyes glossing with tears.
“I ended up staying outside until the sun set. I took so many pictures. They were all bad, I’m sure. I took pictures of cacti and lizards and the sky and random shit all around town. I can’t paint or draw to save my life, but photography makes me happy. Your dad changed my life that day.”
I swallowed down the sadness I felt in knowing he was gone.
“Part of the reason I wanted to visit him when I got in town was because photography became my hobby over the years. I don’t know if I’m any good, but I wanted to thank him. It’s something I never talk about or show people because it’s always been just for me, but it’s kept me grounded amid all the other career stuff. Being in the hockey world has changed my life for the better in so many ways, but I think having this for myself kept me from turning into too much of an ass. I’ve seen it happen to so many guys—it all goes to their head, and then they ruin their lives.” I paused, mulling over the fact that I’d literally just walked out the door on my career. “Well, maybe I have ruined my life now, I don’t know. But what I do know is that your dad changed me. And I’ll be forever grateful to him.”
Avery sniffled and I reached up, thumbing away a tear as it fell.
“That’s how he was,” she whispered. “Always helping people. Always bringing them together. And don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t perfect. Austin, Dallas, and I have spent the last two years cleaning up some of the financial messes he left behind. But he’s part of the reason I’m an artist.”
“He’s part of the reason Whynot felt like a home to me,” I murmured.
But now, Mateo and Avery were starting to make it feel that way too.
Avery grabbed hold of my wrist and brought my hand to her lips, kissing the inside of my palm with a gentleness that made everything in my world turn upside down.
There was something different about me when I was with her.
Content.
She made me feel content.
She settled all the wild storms in my heart and quieted the rush of thoughts. She made me forget about all of my worries and the weight on my shoulders that held me down.
Avery wiped her eyes and shook her head. “All right. No more tears. I just had some of the best sex I’ve ever had, and don’t want to be digging into big feelings.”
I raised a brow. “Best sex, huh?”
