Chapter Nine

 

 

 

AVERY

 

It felt so good to have her in his arms again. So right. Avery still didn’t know what was going on or why she had to leave so suddenly, but he did know things were going to be just fine. He could see it in her eyes. He could feel it in her touch.

They were in love, and that’s all that mattered.

He took her by the hand and led her out of the gym so they could talk without all of the shenanigans of the auction distracting them.

Once they were outside, Dina slid her arms around his waist and hugged him. She didn’t say a word, she just squeezed. Avery soon wrapped his arms around her, rested his chin on the top of her head and closed his eyes.

This is what love is, he thought. He was a total goner.

After a minute or two passed, Dina loosened her grasp and backed away from him. He missed her body against his but he also knew they had some issues to resolve.

“Hi,” she said. She was trying to be brave, he could see it in her weak smile. He also knew she was uncertain, and he wanted to ease that worry.

He looked into her eyes, and with one hand traced his fingers around the outline of her face. He rested his hand on the back of her neck and bent down to kiss her. When their lips touched, Avery felt it throughout his entire body, his heart, his soul. Sparks flew, fire ignited, and he was engulfed in a love that he had always longed for.

This was the woman he was waiting for.

“There is so much I need to tell you,” he said when he finally broke their kiss.

“There is so much I need to tell you, too,” Dina said.

“Shall we walk?” he asked, holding out his hand to her.

She slid her hand into his and they took off on yet another stroll through Hope Falls.

Avery didn’t lead her back to the B & B, though. Instead, he led her to the ranch style house that Lauren had shown him. When Avery walked her up the steps to the wrap around porch, he noticed her eyes light up. It was a beautiful home, and he knew she’d love it.

“Who lives here?” she asked.

“Us,” he said. “Maybe. If you want.” He stuttered. He was so unusually nervous.

“What do you mean?” she asked as she turned around to look at him.

He gestured to the front steps, and there is where they sat to talk. About their future. He smiled at the thought. He smiled thinking about what Katie had said about the B & B. There may have been something to her story. If anyone ever asked him, he’d say he was a believer. The house definitely had a love spell cast upon it, a spell that worked wonders.

“There are so many things I should have told you, and I didn’t,” Avery said.

“Me too,” Dina told him, placing her hand on his knee. “Let me go first. Please.”

He nodded.

“First, Tad is not my boyfriend. He was a man that I spent time with out of convenience due to work. We worked on the same projects and on the same teams. We often worked so late that our professional lives spilled into our personal. It wasn’t a real relationship. It wasn’t love. It wasn’t anything. And it ended when I left my job. Looking back, I know I should have mentioned it, but he didn’t even cross my mind. It was that insignificant.”

Avery swallowed a gulp of air and tried to find the right words. “Then why did he come here?”

“He came because of my job.” Dina smiled. “The mayor offered me a job at city hall doing marketing and advertising to increase tourism. When I sent docs to my old firm to release me from my contract, they sent Tad.”

“So, you planned on staying,” he said, feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

“Yes, Avery. I’m not going anywhere. I had to go to L.A. to meet with my boss and after a little arm twisting, he signed the docs. I loaded my car with a few necessities from my house and drove up here. There are still some lose ends to tidy up like selling my place and moving my stuff into storage, but that’s it. You’re looking at a new Hope Falls resident. Well, once I find a place to live.”

Avery smiled big. Things were starting to come together. “You know, I can help you with that.”

Dina smiled right back.

“I have a few things I need to share with you, too.”

“Like what?” she asked.

“For starters, you’re looking at the newest member of the Hope Falls Fire Department.”

Dina chuckled. “Yeah, I kind of got that. It only cost me a grand to find out.”

Avery scrunched his nose at her reply. “Yikes. Sorry. Maybe I can make it up to you.”

“How are you going to do that?”

Avery looked back at the house, lifting his hands. “How about I buy you a house?”

“Buy me a house?” She laughed.

Avery faced her again and took her hands in his. “Dina, from the moment we met, I knew we had something special. We can spend the rest of our lives counting the days, weeks, and years before we make any decisions about our future, or we can act now. It doesn’t matter that we’ve only met, what matters is what we feel. And I have no doubt that the love I feel for you today is the same love I’m going to feel for the next twenty five years and more. I love you, Dina. I do. I want to stay here in Hope Falls. With you. In this house right here if you want it. If you’ll have me.”

 

 

 

DINA

 

Dina had waited her whole life for this to happen, and now that it did she was stunned speechless. She had gone and found a man to love her. And it had only been seven days.

“I want to say yes, Avery. I’m scared,” she said. “Are you sure we’re not moving too fast?”

“No, Dina,” he said. “This isn’t high school anymore. We’re grown adults. We can do what we want on any timeline we want. We make the rules. As long as we love each other, time is just a numbers on a clock, remember?”

Sure, Dina remembered. When Shelby had told her that just the other day, it gave her the confidence she needed to move forward with Avery. To make her believe that their love could be real and their love could last. She dropped what was left of the wall she’d been holding up and embraced Avery for all he had to give. And now, she was sitting here questioning it all over again.

Why? She didn’t need to. She believed in Avery and she believed in herself. This was going to happen.

“Dina, when the fire is put out, the dust is settled, and the smoke is gone, all that remains is love. It’s the only thing that’s left. Everything else is inconsequential but us and our love for each other.”

Avery squeezed her hand and flashed her that sweet grin again. “And then there’s the spell.”

“The curse,” she said.

“Yeah, the haunted house.”

“We can’t forget the love spell.”

Avery nodded. “How can the Dorsey’s put our testimonial on the B & B home page if we don’t live our happily ever after?”

“Good point,” Dina said.

“But if it makes you feel better,” he said. “I can ask you to go steady before we move in together.”

Dina struggled between tears and laughter.

“We can wait a week, and then I can propose.” Avery kissed her on the cheek. “Then, after another week, we can get hitched.” He kissed her other cheek. “Then, the following week, we can start making babies.” He kissed her forehead. “Until then, we’ll just have to practice.”

“Practice?” Dina questioned.

Avery’s eyes met hers. “Yeah. Practice.”

“Making babies?”

The smile in his eyes was to die for. “Yes, Dina. Lots of practice. Making babies.”

“Sounds like a date.”

“Actually…it sounds like a yes.”

Dina melted into his embrace. “My answer to you will always be yes.”

“Good,” he said, “because I have another proposition for you.”

“Tell me.”

“Can I be your date to your parents’ anniversary party?” The smile on his face after he asked lit up her world.

And, of course, the answer was yes. A big, orgasmic yes.