Present…
GLARING DOWN AT MY ROLEX, I exhale an infuriated sigh. Averie is forty-three minutes late.
Where the fuck is she?
I haven’t talked to or seen her since Amelia’s engagement party, three months ago. I’ve wanted to, but haven’t tried.
That night we’d both been drinking, but neither of us were drunk. I knew finally getting my hands on her the way I never had before wasn’t a good idea. At the time, I also decided I didn’t give a fuck. That was my chance, I had her cornered, she was willing, so I took it.
I regret nothing except what happened after. When reality settled into her head before giving me a chance to stop it.
This isn’t to say I expected Averie to confess her undying love for me, because that’s not the case at all. I’d been pissed over how easily she ignored what’s always been between us. How seemingly comfortable she was disregarding how I’ve come to feel about her.
My reaction to her casting me off was to cut her out of my life completely. And for the last three months, that’s exactly what I’ve been able to do. Sort of.
“Averie’s really late,” Katherine utters, fidgeting in her seat on the couch across the room. Shaking her head, she includes, “She wouldn’t do this to Amelia. She wouldn’t worry us. She must have gotten lost.”
Or she’s acting out like a spoiled little brat, only thinking about herself.
My uncle Mason and I share a passing glance, both knowing full well how Averie feels about her older sister. The tension between the two has been mounting for years. Those here know, eventually, the damn of emotion between them is bound to break. I’m hoping this weekend won’t be when that happens.
Averie and Amelia have never been close. Since their parents’ divorce, the distance between them has been made more visible to others. So I hear. I hadn’t met any of the Dyer women until Mason had already moved them into his cabin at the lake.
I’m certain parents, stepparents even, aren’t supposed to favor any one child in particular. However, growing up, my unreliable mother and I visited Silvervale somewhat frequently. Watching Mason care for the teenage Dyer girls, I never missed how tight he and Averie were from the start. He cares deeply about all of them, of course. He’d die before allowing them to be harmed.
It’s just that he and Averie are bound by something bigger, more true to life, than even he and Katie.
Years ago, Mason was a cop on the local police force. At the time, there was a man set out to get revenge on him. Because of this, the lunatic attempted and almost got away with hurting Averie in his act of vengeance.
All turned out well in the end, but still, the threat was enough to nearly do my uncle in. He made the decision that day to retire from the force as soon as he could.
Now he runs a gym. Not your typical, everyday, run-of-the-mill workout center. Tides of Silvervale has a single-minded purpose. Mason encourages stragglers lost to their own families to join. The fee is next to nothing, so membership is easily affordable. Mason’s days are filled with recreational basketball, baseball, and soccer practices. Weekends are for games.
Averie works there as well. Since she dropped of out college two years ago, she spends most of her time with Mason and the kids.
It’s taken me a long time to finally appreciate my uncle and all he and Katherine have gone through. The two didn’t have an easy journey to end up where they are.
“Should we go look for her?” Katherine worries, turning her big brown eyes to her husband.
“We’ll give her a few more minutes,” Mason suggests, running the palm of his hand over his wife’s cheek. “Fuck knows what’s caught her attention.”
I’m standing in the main room of the luxurious mansion booked for Amelia’s wedding this weekend. Katie and Mason are sitting on the couch as their four-year-old son, Kaiden, sits at their feet watching cartoons on Katie’s iPad.
Amelia is in her designated room upstairs, reasonably fuming at Averie’s late arrival.
Mason, seeing Katherine so nervous, grabs her hand, brings the back of it to his mouth, and holds her eyes with his. She sighs, breathing deeply in appreciation.
The two have been married for eight years. Each time I’ve witnessed them together; it seems their love for each other continues to deepen. At times, it’s hard to tell where one stops and the other begins; they’re so in sync with one another. The knowing glances, the gentle touches, the sly smiles they assume others outside themselves don’t notice.
My uncle and his wife are the epitome of all there is to learn and understand about love.
I’ve never had that, and being I’m twenty-six, I’m not sure I ever will.
I’m still single.
I care too little about the women I date—or more so—the women I fuck. I don’t have the time or the patience for shallow lovers, and I’ve met and bedded plenty.
Averie’s the closest woman I’ve kept a relationship with and that’s taken years to build. For us both.
I also work too much. I own my own company. My marketing firm isn’t all I want it to be—yet. My silent partner, Surrie Hills, is a goddamn shark. She brings in the clients, leaving me to ensure they remain satisfied with our service.
Katherine sits back, releases Mason’s hand, and stares at the front door. If I’m right, she’s mind willing the damn thing to open.
So am I.
“Try her phone again,” I insist, still standing against the wall across the room.
For the last thirty minutes, I’ve been mulling over whether to call Averie myself or get in my rental car to go find her. I’ve also been contemplating whether to kiss her stupid or spank her ass red for giving us worry once I do.
Mason shakes his head at my order and narrows his eyes at me with suspicion.
Yes, Mason. I’m worried and waiting for Averie, too. Don’t ask why, just get your fucking phone and call her.
“She’ll be here when she gets here,” he returns in Averie’s defense.
Figures.
“Call her,” I bark again, my impatience pushed too far.
Mason stands and Katherine’s eyes follow his trail to the expansive oak table set in china and crystal for twelve.
The resort rented for this weekend’s wedding is a monstrosity.
Twelve bedrooms, fourteen bathrooms, three sets of spiral staircases and floor to floor marble. This is just our side of it. Another family, hosting a wedding on the same night in this location, has all the same amenities on the opposite end.
Rehearsal dinner, wedding, and reception will all be done within this structure.
None of this is Mason’s doing. Or Katherine’s.
Amelia’s soon-to-be husband comes from money. His dad is a partner at one of the most prestigious law firms in Seattle. He’s famous, defending the worst of the worst. Her fiancé’s life is set as long as he chooses the path of his father’s to move forward.
Katherine bites her bottom lip; her concern so evident the force of her worry penetrates the room. “Mason, honey, she won’t answer her phone if she’s driving.”
She fucking better.
Ignoring Katherine, Mason’s fingers fly over the face of his phone. The cell echoes the call going through as he sets it on the table and drills his eyes like daggers into it.
Three rings in, Averie’s voice breaks in with, “I’m almost there, McButterpants!”
Katherine exhales. I take a breath in, hearing the little liar’s voice in panic. Mason scowls, baring his teeth to the phone’s screen.
“Where the fuck have you been?” he charges.
Quickly, Averie shoves him off next with, “Do you really want me talking on the phone while driving?”
“Averie, damn it,” Mason berates.
“I’ll see you in ten,” she says before the call is dropped.
Stupid, but brave girl.
Mason seethes, his jaw ticking toward her disrespect. He turns to Katie who’s bent double on the couch, rubbing Kaiden’s head. Then he full body twists to me, nodding to the door for me to follow.
Once we’re standing in the empty television room, he places one hand to his hip, the other to his mouth. Contemplating, he looks down and rolls his bottom lip between his fingers.
I know Mason to be intense. He can also be a little scary. As a kid, I looked up to and admired him for both.
“Need a favor,” he bids, and I settle in, relaxing against the wall and crossing my arms over my chest.
“Name it,” I assert. “Anything.”
Mason’s lips thin; something’s weighing heavily on his mind.
“What’s going on?” I prod.
“Amelia needs this weekend to go as smoothly as it can,” he tells me.
Of course she does. No one could fault her for that. Three days from today, Amelia’s walking down the aisle to get married.
I’m here because familial duty required Averie to be in the wedding. In typical Averie fashion, she flatly refused to be maid of honor, as her mother strongly suggested. Rather, she compromised, nominating herself as third bridesmaid.
I’m third groomsman for the same reason. I don’t know Amelia’s fiancé. Sure, I’ve met him a few times, but that hardly make us friends. My being here this week, as part of the wedding party, was Mason’s doing.
Finally, I’m about to hear why.
“Averie needs to keep her shit together,” he starts on a growl. “She doesn’t wanna be here and that’s fine. She has the right to feel how she feels. But Amelia deserves her respect.”
Raising my brow, I push, “And?”
“Averie’s a pain in the ass,” he states, matter-of-factly, as if we both don’t already know.
Averie has always been a pain in the ass. As a kid, she made a concentrated effort to drive everyone around her fucking nuts. Unfortunately for her, her antics never affected me as this is one of the things about her I’ve loved the most.
“Need you to keep an eye on her for me,” Mason insists.
“You want me to watch her?” I ask to clarify.
Mason nods. “She’s twenty-two,” he expresses tightly. “Not a kid anymore. And I get she doesn’t need a sitter.”
“Not sure this is a good idea,” I strangle out.
A current of guilt surges, because Mason has no idea just how much I can contest that Averie is no longer a kid. He’d flip his shit if he put together just how I know this. The way I’ve touched her. The way I’ve always wanted to touch her. And pissed at her or not, I still do.
Goddamn my life.
“Jaxson, I’m at my end with this shit,” he clips, pointing toward the other room. “Katie’s a mess. When she’s a mess, I’m a mess. I’m askin’ that you hang with Averie.”
“You’re asking me to babysit a grown woman,” I point out.
“You put this to Averie like that and I’ll throttle you,” he threatens. “Just be around for her, make sure she’s good.”
“What the fuck?” I clip.
Mason’s jaw clenches again and he stares down to the floor.
“Why wouldn’t she be good through this?” I push again.
“Because she’s Averie.”
This answers nothing.
I press, “Is she all right?”
“She’s fine,” he replies. “She’s…” He pauses, looks past my shoulder, listening to Katherine and Kaiden talking in the other room, and says, “She’s lost.”
I hate hearing this. Not because it comes unexpected, but because I shouldn’t be hearing this from him, but from her.
When we hear the front door open, we make our way around the corner. At the same time, we both exhale then quietly curse.
Averie stands at the door’s entry, a small black bag in one hand and a huge flowery duffle in the other. She’s dressed as she usually is: short shorts, tight tank, black flip-flops. Her hair is set up in a messy bun on top of her head. She’s makeup free. And she looks not panicked or worried at her late arrival, but exhausted.
Once she makes her way inside, closing the door behind her, she glances down and smiles at Kaiden, who has his small arms wrapped around her waist. She grins brightly as she greets her mom. As she glances around the room, she smiles the same at Mason.
When her gaze meets mine, her easy expression dies a slow, painful death.
Shit.