CHAPTER 28

There were only two ways into the Inn’s foyer from the outside. Three, if Avery counted the dining room cut-through, which was kind of cheating since it just involved a one-room detour. Still, it was one more path she needed to consider in her mission to avoid Theo. Luckily, he seemed to be keeping mostly to his room. She’d be fine as long as she didn’t have to see him. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him—he’d made his position pretty clear—but that she didn’t trust herself. If she wasn’t careful, she’d fall back into bed with him without thinking through the consequences. Then they’d go through the same rigmarole again when he left. And he would leave—she was still certain of that. As tempting as Theo was, she knew she needed to muddle through her own sorry issues alone and she was nowhere close to working through them.

Just then, her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and answered.

“Hello?”

“Ms. Newbridge, this is Theresa Vasquez at FFCS returning your call.” Oh, damn. She’d forgotten all about the call she’d placed on Saturday. So much had happened since then and she wasn’t terribly enthusiastic about meeting anyone new. Still, she couldn’t be rude.

“Oh, Ms. Vasquez. Thank you for getting back to me.”

“Actually, I should be thanking you. I’ve heard some great things about you from Julie Kensington. Might I be able to tempt you in for a chat?”

“Ah, sure.” She owed it to Julie to follow through.

“I’m available this afternoon at three-thirty, if you’re free.”

“That’s fine.” She’d have just enough time after tea service to get to FFCS.

“Great. Just ask for me at the front desk.”

“All right. I’ll see you later.”

Avery put the phone back in her pocket and groaned. At least she wouldn’t have to change. She was wearing a slim skirt and blouse, and she knew she looked presentable. And she was wearing her hair up in a neat twist, just in case she happened to see Theo. She’d come to associate wearing her hair down with him. For him.

Well, she wasn’t his anymore. She wasn’t anybody’s.

Theo shoved his chair back from his desk. He wanted to smash his damn laptop. Throw it against the wall and watch it shatter. It would be satisfying. It would be cathartic.

It would be stupid.

Weeks of work destroyed because he couldn’t figure out how to deal with beautiful, stubborn, frustrating Avery Newbridge. Why couldn’t she trust him? Why couldn’t she see him as clearly as he saw her?

Theo sighed and glanced around the Historical Society. God, he was right back where he’d started. He’d stalled out, big time. Forget finishing the first quarter of the book by the end of January. At the rate he was going, he’d be lucky to finish the next chapter.

The last few days had been disastrous. He’d completely fallen off a ledge. No inspiration. No research, and definitely no writing.

Who was he kidding? They hadn’t just been disastrous because of work. He missed Avery and he was man enough to admit it.

Why had he given her an ultimatum? He’d pushed too hard and she’d skittered away. Damn it. He slammed his fist down onto a huge old registry. Dust flew up in the air as he shook his fist, chagrined. Bran would kill him if he made a dent in anything, let alone destroyed it. He needed to get out of here before he did some real damage.

He yanked his coat on so hard he almost tore the seam and stepped out into the chill afternoon. He was furious, and not just at the whole stupid situation. He was furious with himself.

He’d thought he was doing her a favor on Saturday night by telling her how it was. But in the cold light of day, he’d had the chance to think through what had happened. Just because he knew he was a changed man didn’t mean that she did. He could talk all he wanted, but until he proved himself with actions, not words, who was to say that he was telling the truth? Avery wouldn’t know he was serious about staying in Star Harbor until the end of January came and went and he was still around.

And she didn’t seem to understand how serious he was about her.

Given that she had some pretty significant issues of her own to overcome—issues that he knew about and had chosen to slam down on her pretty head when she least expected—he could have been more sensitive. He winced. A lot more sensitive.

He’d been sneaking around the damn Inn for three days. And she was sneaking around too, doing everything she could to avoid seeing him. He’d have done the same thing in her position. Avery was hurting, badly, and he’d been too hung up on himself to even recognize it. He should have given her more time, slowly drawing her out of her shell until she understood that he was her man. For now, and for the rest of their lives, if she’d have him.

He wanted her to have him so very much.

After her meeting with Theresa Vasquez, Avery went straight to the LMK for a mug of hot chocolate. Sitting at the counter and sipping her drink, she glanced around. At this time of day, the place was bustling with the early-evening crowd. Rachel, one of the LMK’s most cheerful servers, flitted from table to table, taking orders, refilling coffee cups, and waving to customers as they came through the door. Avery smiled to herself—she recognized almost everyone inside the restaurant.

After a two-hour talk with Theresa, she’d been offered the job. The center was gorgeous, state-of-the-art, and it subscribed to Avery’s own philosophy of treating the person, not just the addiction. Theresa would be a pleasure to work with, as would the other members of the staff she’d met while she was there. The job, a combined position of practice educator and senior social worker, would be challenging and interesting. It paid well and the center was a short drive from Star Harbor. In a word, the position was perfect for her, and she’d be an idiot not to take it.

So what was holding her back?

It wasn’t a cop-out to leave Boston, not when she was needed elsewhere. And she wasn’t being kept away by any unresolved issues with Mia Davenport and her family. She realized now that she couldn’t quit being a social worker. She loved it, and she was good at it, too. Surely it couldn’t be Theo who was holding her back. He’d probably be gone soon, anyway.

Something around her heart ached when she thought about Theo, and Avery tried desperately to will it away. She missed him horribly—his sly sense of humor, the way he looked at her as if she were the only woman in the universe, and most of all, the way he hadn’t given up on her, even when she’d pushed him away time and time again. But now she’d pushed him away for good, and thinking about him would be awful for her mental health. She took another sip of her beverage, just as a familiar figure sat down beside her.

“Keeping warm, girl?” Babs Kincaide asked.

“Hi, Babs,” Avery said, glad to have some company instead of being stuck inside her own head. “I’m trying to. How are you doing?”

“Well enough. I need something to warm my own bones,” she said as Rachel approached. “Coffee, please.”

Rachel gave a nod and circled around the counter with the carafe.

“It’s busy tonight,” Rachel said with a smile. “You ladies ordering dinner or just having a drink beforehand?”

“Just this for me, thanks, Rachel,” Avery said.

Babs gave Avery a quick glance. “Same here.”

“I see,” Rachel said. “Well, let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you.”

Avery nodded.

When Rachel had disappeared into the kitchen and they were alone, Babs spoke. “That Theo’s been nothing but trouble from day one.”

Avery gave her a sharp look. “So you know?”

“Girl, I know ’most everything that goes on in this little town. I knew that you two had dinner at this very spot the day after it happened.”

“Kate didn’t want you to know. She said you and the Grayson boys had history.”

Babs snorted. “Sure. History of ’em getting into trouble and me hollering. I swear, their dear mother, may she rest in peace, couldn’t handle ’em all. And speaking of Kate, she’s lucky to have you working on her behalf.”

Avery blinked. “What do you mean?” she said, her voice wary.

“You know I’m talking about Luke Bedwin.”

Avery took a sip before answering. “I didn’t do anything. Luke approached Kate on his own.” It was the truth. Mostly. No need to divulge her part. “Kate deserves to be happy and I believe that he can make her that way.”

“She’ll be happy with him, all right. The poor man’s been lovesick over her for years. He’ll treat her right, and I have no doubt that you made that known to her. But I’ll tell you something else. You need to be happy, too.”

A throbbing sadness hit her hard and fast. “It’s too late for that,” she said, blinking and turning back to her drink.

“Hardly. Anyone with eyes can see the way he looks at you. He loves you, girl, plain as day.”

“He never said so. And anyway, he’s leaving. Going back to California.”

“Did he tell you that?”

“Not in so many words.”

Babs chuckled. “If there’s one thing that man does right, it’s words. He would have told you if he were leaving.”

A spark of hope lit up inside of her, then quickly faded. It was over, and the sooner she recognized that, the better it would be for everyone. “I don’t know what his plans are, and it doesn’t matter. I need to do what’s good for me.”

Babs set her lips in a straight line. “Don’t say I didn’t tell you, girl. Never thought I’d see the day when I’d be rooting for a Grayson,” she muttered, “but here I am, and the person I’m trying to help won’t hear it.” She pushed away her coffee cup and slid off the stool. “I’m off. Give my best to Kate.”

Then she was gone.

It wasn’t until Avery prepared to leave that she realized that Babs hadn’t taken a sip of her coffee.