Chapter Ten
Avery ran her fingers through her damp hair then squirted some shampoo into her palm and lathered her head with the too-sweet coconut rinse she always favored. It was the cheap stuff—the kind her mother had always brought home on the rare occasions when she’d gone to the grocery store—and every time Avery smelled it, she was torn between wanting to be reminded of her youthful summers with Holden and feeling the urge to buy something that an adult would actually use.
Sighing, she closed her eyes and tried to think of what she’d do with him today. The past few days had been a whirlwind for sure, and she was already beginning to run out of steam. There were only so many roller rinks or bungee jumping spots in the city, and knowing Holden, he wasn’t going to allow her to hold the reins for much longer.
That look in his eyes—the one that got all soft and thoughtful—was showing up more and more, and a few times, it had seemed like he was on the point of saying something she knew she didn’t want to hear.
Swallowing hard, she rinsed her hair and then stepped from the shower, too distracted to bother with conditioner today. Absently, she glanced at the phone on the corner of the sink and thought about what Myla might be doing. No doubt her friend was snuggled close to her boyfriend or pinning more ideas to her wedding board in Pinterest. She probably had that goofy, lovey-dovey expression on her face, and Lord only knew what her advice to Avery would be. Probably something like “follow your heart” or some other kind of romantic crap.
What if my heart wants to play dead? What then?
She was on the point of sending Myla a message when she put the phone back down again and grabbed her towel instead.
She was making a mountain out of a molehill. Holden hadn’t said or done anything
So they’d slept in the same bed. It wasn’t like they hadn’t done that before.
So his kiss felt more tender than she remembered. A kiss was just a kiss.
And that look he got in his eyes? That could all just be in her head.
She knew the right thing to do, and that was to relax and enjoy these last few days before he left again. So he had a plan? Fine. That didn’t mean he’d asked her to be part of it.
She glanced at the phone again, and it buzzed on the ceramic counter, skittering closer to her toothbrush. Picking it up, she expected to see Myla’s name flash across the screen, but instead it was an email notification.
“Shit,” she murmured, the knot in her stomach tightening. “It’s probably nothing, though.”
She’d checked the damn thing every three seconds for days now, and it still hadn’t been anything from the gallery—not even the polite form letter informing her that she was, in fact, a talentless loser. Odds were, this was just another chain message from her mother letting her know that if she didn’t forward it to twenty-five people, the ghost of an ax murderer was going to ruin all her kitchen appliances.
Sliding her thumb over the message, she glanced at her inbox.
In big, bold letters, there was a message that said Congratulations from the Elemental Gallery of San Diego.
Her heart jumped into her throat and she tapped the screen, her gaze zooming over the words so quickly that she had to read the message three times just to make sure it wasn’t all in her head.
Dear Ms. Forrester,
Thank you for offering your excellent work to our gallery. We would be honored to showcase your talent. While we are normally booked a few months in advance, a sudden cancellation has made it possible for us to offer you the chance to display your photographs in our gallery this weekend. If you would be so kind as to confirm your attendance, we will send along more details.
All the Best,
Gretta
Elemental Gallery, San Diego
Oh. My. God.
There were no words. No words at all.
Taking her silky pink robe from the back of the door, she wrapped it around herself and then stepped into the bedroom, trying to tamp down her excitement. It was stupid, really. Photographers got shown in galleries all the time.
So what if this was her first one?
And so what if half her excitement was due to the fact that Holden was here to share this moment with her? It didn’t mean anything.
He was sitting on the edge of the bed, and she sucked her lips in, unsure how to tell him the big news. He glanced up at her, his own phone in his hand, and then he tossed it aside and turned the full blinding force of his grin on her.
“Hey there,” he said.
“Hey.” She rubbed a towel through her hair, then dropped it to the floor and kicked it for good measure. “Good morning.”
“Good morning. Or afternoon. Sort of lost track of time today.” Holden shrugged.
“That’s okay. You can get back to pulling buses with your bare hands or whatever it is you do for training tomorrow.”
He laughed. “Actually, I have plans for tomorrow. And I hope you do, too.”
“Oh yeah?” That was less than expected. But her plan could wait until they talked. It was fine.
“Yeah.”
Avery stood in front of her dresser and surveyed her sea of makeup before finally selecting a concealer and getting started on her routine.
“My mother just called. She’s going to be in San Diego tomorrow.”
“Oh?” she asked, doing her best not to stab herself in the eye with her eyeliner just thinking about it.
After all, she wasn’t exactly chomping at the bit to hang out with Holden’s family. She was proud of Holden and everything, and she knew he loved his brothers deeply. But one-on-one time with Mr. and Mrs. Killjoy?
No, thank you.
“You don’t want to go,” he said flatly.
“No, it’s not that. It’s, you know, I booked this thing already.”
“Thing?” He cocked an eyebrow.
“Yeah, I booked this thing for us to do. It’s nonrefundable and—”
“What time is this thing?” he asked.
“Um, it’s sort of an all-day event.”
“Is lunch included?”
“And breakfast. And, you know, dinner.”
“Wow, this really does take all day.”
“Yeah. It does.” She unscrewed her mascara and flicked the brush over her lashes, the gears of her mind working double time.
“And you’re not going to tell me what this thing is?” he asked.
“It’s a surprise.”
“Right.” She watched in the mirror as Holden laid back on the pillows behind him and let out a deep sigh. He’d never call her on the lie, not if he thought she really didn’t want to go. And yet…he looked so dejected.
“Does their sudden itch for sun and sand have anything to do with the fact that you’re spending all your precious home time with me?” she asked, smoothing gloss on her lips as she kept watch on him in the mirror.
He sat up a little straighter, the muscle of his bicep pulling as he moved. “They’ve never been the subtle types. But it might be nice to see them.”
“That sounds…it sounds nice. For you to be able to see them again.” She chewed on the inside of her cheek.
“Yeah, but if you’ve got other plans.”
“Oh, come on, you know I don’t have other plans.” She rolled her eyes.
“I’m not going to force you to do something you don’t want to do.”
She turned and met his clear, dark gaze. She knew he was being 100 percent sincere, knew that if she said no right now, she’d never hear about his mother or her visit again. But she’d think about it. After all, she’d kept him from them, refused to be a part of something that clearly meant so much to him.
And if it meant that much…
“Okay, what the hell? Let’s do this.”
“Are you serious?” he asked. “You hate my mother.”
“I didn’t say I was going to be sober. I just said I would do it.”
For you.
She left the last part unspoken, but it still lingered in the air between them.
“Let’s not make this an all-day thing, though, okay? Dinner. It’ll be…fun.” As much fun as the Romanov family had that night they were massacred. Except they got to wear cool Russian hats first. She just had to sit there and let Holden’s mother verbally ice pick her over and over again.
Family.
“You’ve got a deal,” Holden said. Then he got up from the bed and dragged her back to the mattress along with him. “Now, forget your makeup. I’m only going to mess it up anyway.”
He opened her robe, and she breathed him in, torn between hating the idea of tomorrow and loving that she’d get to spend another day with him.