Christina C Jones [Friends an Finding Forever (epub)

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.Des and I will be fine again in no time.The two of you, on the other hand… I’m guessing it’s the first time you’ve ever had a falling out?”I pressed my lips together in a tight smile as I nodded.“I think it’s been brewing for a while though.He placed his drink order, then turned to me before he continued.“Des, by nature, is the nurturing type.That’s why people love her, you know? She’ll give her heart, with no reservations, but in exchange,… she wants to mother you.With Deidra, she can let that controlling flag fly.Dei is my cousin and I love her, but she’s a doormat, and she rolls with whatever Des wants.You, one the other hand… you’re a challenge.You’re not one to be forced to do anything, so she couldn’t ‘protect’ you.After you didn’t listen to her about your ex-husband, she was in super-protective mode, so she went full force at whatever threat she saw — me.”I frowned at what he was telling me.How could he say that so casually, with what appeared to be a hint of a smirk on his face? “But you’re her brother, Avery.How did I end up ahead of you in the hierarchy?”“I don’t think that’s the case… I’m sure we’re probably even,” he said, laughing as the bartender delivered his drink.“Des considers you a sister… and she wants me to as well, but, ah… that would be difficult, considering…”“… Considering you ‘know’ me in some pretty un-sisterly ways.”“Right.” He took a sip from his drink before turning back to me, capturing me with the warmth of his eyes.“Listen… try not to be too mad at Des, okay? She was doing what a friend is supposed to do, trying to protect you.”“From you.”He nodded.“From me.But… you do a pretty good job on your own.”“Well, Des did warn me about you beforehand,” I laughed.“But , now that I’ve gotten to know you a little more… I don’t think you’re as bad as she said.”Avery shook his head.“I’m not, but… several years ago, I had a… situation with one of her friends.We had an arrangement, and a month into it, she wanted to renegotiate terms.I wasn’t with it, so she turned to Des, presumably to ‘get me in line’.I still don’t know what that girl said to my sister, but since then, when it comes to my dealings with women, she assumes the worst.At the time, I mean… I was a young guy, business was doing well, so I had a little money in my pockets.I had women throwing it at me, so hell, I caught some of it,” he laughed.“Des hated that I wouldn’t settle down, and then when I did, with Natalie, she was cool for a while, even though she didn’t like her.When the Natalie thing fell apart, I went back to doing what I was doing before— making arrangements— and she went right back to hating it.”“So what changed?” I asked, resting my elbows on the bar.“What made you decide you were ready to settle down again, and stop ‘making arrangements’?”Avery chuckled.“Des made me decide.I mean, if it takes settling down to convince her I’m not a bad influence….I guess that’s what I’m gonna try to do.”“That’s bullshit, and you know it.Give me the real deal.This isn’t just about proving something to Des.”He stared at me for a moment, with an intensity in his eyes that almost made me lose my breath, before he dropped his gaze back to his drink.“Okay… it’s not about proving anything to Des… it’s about proving it to myself.I loved somebody once, thought she was gonna be my wife, and have my kids… all of that.” He glanced up at me with a dry smile.“I need a do-over, and I think your service can facilitate that, while helping me make sure I don’t get screwed over again… I don’t think I could handle that.”A fresh wave of guilt swept over me as he carefully avoided my eyes by taking another long drag from his Jameson.Avery was — inadvertently, I was sure — laying out his vulnerabilities to me, and he was depending on me to help him through it.“Avery… again, I’m sorry about things not going as anticipated.I’m sure we—”“Tori, stop.I’m not concerned about that, and you shouldn’t be either.I told you, I trust you to make it happen.” His vote of confidence brought a bit of relief, but he wasn’t done.He turned on his stool so he was fully facing me, and brushed my hair out of my face, allowing the hand to linger at the base of my neck, sending a pleasant hum of electricity from every place our skin met.“Although… I don’t understand why we can’t just—”“Avery….”He blew out a heavy sigh as he removed his hand.“I know, I know.Science, and algorithms, I remember.”I averted my eyes, feeling guilty, again, about misleading him.I hated lying, but just like I was keeping our previous antics a secret from Des, I didn’t feel like it would be wise for Avery to know the ‘science and algorithms’, as he put it, did match up.What would it accomplish?“Come dance with me.”Lifting an eyebrow, I turned back to Avery as he was stepping away from his seat.“Dance with you?”“Are you a parrot?” He laughed at the scowl that crossed my face, using my moment of annoyance to catch me off guard by slipping an arm around my waist and pulling me off my barstool [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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