Graham
Avery and I spent another hour or so enjoying the pool and the sauna. Then we showered, not together, despite me trying to convince him it was our duty to conserve water, and dressed. The elevator from the spa only went to the main floor. So we had to exit and walk down the hall to go up to my suite.
When we stepped out of the car, I was holding Avery’s hand. I couldn’t resist touching him every chance I got. He made me so fucking happy, and I didn’t know how I was going to stand being in Charlotte for two weeks without him.
Then we turned into the corridor and Avery froze, making me stumble.
He jerked his hand away from me. “Shit.”
Carter and Felicity were walking toward us. Time seemed to slow, giving me far more than a few seconds to regret not telling Avery what had happened at lunch. Why the fuck had I sat there talking about telling them as if they didn’t know? If he figured out I’d deceived him, he wouldn’t want to see me again. I did not want to fucking lose him.
“We can just pretend we met up at the spa,” Avery said.
“We were holding hands.”
“They probably didn’t see.” They might not have if he hadn’t jerked away, but he’d made it pretty obvious.
“Avery, listen, I should have—”
“Hey y’all! What are you up to?” Felicity called.
It was too late for me to confess, and she was acting as if it were perfectly normal to see us together. I stared, trying to silently beg her to pretend not to know.
“I thought you’d left already,” Avery said.
“Our flight got cancelled, didn’t Dad tell you?” Carter asked.
“No.” Avery glanced over at me.
I forced a smile. “Sorry. I got distracted.”
Avery seemed to accept that answer.
“So did you two like go to the pool together or something?”
Thank you, Carter. At least he was pretending to be surprised.
“Sort of,” Avery said. “We, um… We met at the spa, actually.”
Carter frowned at him. “I thought you were headed home last night.”
Felicity, on the other hand, was giving us a knowing look.
“I didn’t get a room,” Avery said. “But I had the day off, so I thought why not get a spa pass.”
Carter nodded. “The spa’s great, isn’t it? We went last week. Felicity said I had to try it.”
“Oh, yeah, she loves it.”
Avery’s voice sounded off, and I realized he was giving Felicity an odd look, but Carter asked me about the nature reserves I’d visited when I was in Trinidad, and I had to pay attention to him.
When I’d listed off a few suggestions, I glanced over at Felicity and Avery. It was like one of those moments in a dream when you know something’s about to happen and you want to stop it, but you’re rooted to the spot with your mouth sealed closed.
“I can’t believe you aren’t teasing about this.”
Felicity looked away.
Say something, I screamed in my mind. Tease him about being with me. Make an inappropriate joke. Something.
“I just thought… Um…” Who would’ve thought Carter would be the better actor of the pair? He clearly needed to give Felicity some lessons.
“Felicity,” Carter said, a warning in his voice. She didn’t acknowledge him.
“Thanks for trying,” I whispered. I was doomed. And it was my own fault.
“Oh, God. You know, don’t you?” Avery said.
Felicity winced and nodded.
“How? Did you see us last night, or…” He glanced at me. “Oh shit, he told you.”
“No, it wasn’t like that.” Surprisingly, it was Carter who spoke.
“I can’t believe it.” Avery took a step away from me.
“Please just listen. I—”
“We talked about telling them, and you acted like they didn’t know.” His tone was vicious. I could see the hurt and anger in his eyes.
“Avery, I—”
He shook his head. “Don’t. This was all a mistake.” He turned and fled, racing through the lobby and pushing past a family who was coming in the main entrance.
I started after him, but Felicity grabbed my arm. “Let him go. He needs a chance to cool down.”
“I don’t think he has his keys or his wallet, and he shouldn’t drive like this anyway.”
“What about his phone?” Felicity asked.
I thought for a second. “Yes, he’s got it.” He’d taken a picture of us in the plush waiting room of the spa before we’d left, saying he needed something to help him remember one of the best days of his life. A day I’d now ruined.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Once again, I’d fucked up, because I was too afraid to be completely honest with someone I cared about. “You were right, Carter. I should have listened to you.”
“Yeah, I really hoped you would.”
“Next time you give me advice, remind me what happens when I ignore you.”
Felicity laid a hand on my arm. “I feel like this is all my fault. I shouldn’t have said anything yesterday. I should’ve just let you have your secret.”
“No, this is not on you. Avery was nervous about telling you, and I didn’t want to ruin the magic of this weekend, so I kept it from him.”
“Magic?” Carter sounded pained.
Felicity gave his arm a light slap. “Romantic magic. Don’t you get it?”
He frowned. “Get what?”
“You dad’s in love with Avery.”
“In love?” Carter sounded like he was choking.
“Did you really think this was about fucking? They would’ve had the sense to be more discreet then. Graham would probably have just sent him home afterward.”
“But… But… They just met yesterday.”
I stood there openmouthed as they talked about me. I honestly had no idea how to respond. In love with Avery? No way was I in love with him. Not yet…
“How long did it take you to know?” Felicity asked Carter. “With me.”
Carter frowned. “I knew the moment I saw you, but—”
“Exactly. I was stubborn, so it took me a while to admit how I felt. But no matter what I told you or myself, I knew you were the right one for me all along.”
“Really?” The look of joy on his face made me smile despite my fear Avery was gone for good.
“Yes.” She turned to me then. “I’m going after Avery. He’ll either walk around a bit or call his roommate to come get him.”
“His bag is in my suite.”
“Then he’ll have to come back for it,” she declared.
“No. I want you to take it to him. I don’t want him to think I’m trying to trap him into coming back. If he doesn’t want to see me again, that’s his choice.”
Felicity’s lips curved up. “That just won you a hell of a lot of points.”
“I wasn’t trying to—”
“I know.” She turned to Carter. “You stay here in case Avery comes back. I’ll run up with your dad and get Avery’s stuff. Then if he hasn’t returned, I’ll track him down.”
Felicity took my arm and we started walking toward the elevator. “Unlock your phone and give it to me.”
I was basically on autopilot, so I did what she told me.
When we reached the elevator, she handed it back. “I put Avery’s number in. Text him. Apologize again, then tell him I guessed, and you didn’t want to lie.”
I told myself he wasn’t going to respond, but when he hadn’t by the time we reached my suite, I couldn’t help feeling even more hopeless.
“Gather up his stuff, and if he hasn’t texted you back when I leave, call him.”
“I’m not sure he’ll—”
“Trust me. I’ve known him most of his life. He may not answer, but he’ll like knowing you’re thinking about him.”
I put Avery’s makeup bag back into his duffel and looked around for anything else he hadn’t already packed up. “I think his tux is the only other thing. I can return it for him.”
She nodded. “All right, but don’t assume you’ll have to. I’m betting he’ll be back and can get it himself.”
“I wish I had your confidence.”
“He tends to panic and overreact. Then he regrets it and wishes he’d talked things through. Just give him some time.”
“All right. I’ll be right here until I have to check out on Monday morning.”
“I have your number, so I’ll text you after I talk to him, okay?”
“You shouldn’t be doing this now. You’re supposed to be on your honeymoon.” I hadn’t even thought of that until now. I was being so fucking selfish.
“Carter and I are both antsy waiting to get going. There’s only so much time you can spend in your room before you get—”
“Nothing TMI, please.”
She laughed. “Let me do this for you. I know what you said, but I still feel like it’s my fault.”
I hugged her tightly. “Thank you.”
“Don’t give up, okay?”
“Okay.”
After she left, I flopped on the couch and pulled out my phone. No texts. I called Avery, but it went to voicemail. I left a pathetic message. Then I paced the length of my suite. I had a feeling it was going to be a really long evening.