“AVERY, it was so nice running into you at the fair,” Miri told her. “I hardly see you outside The Arbutus.”
The four of us—myself, Avery, Scott and Miri Yang—were out for dinner Sunday night at Bob’s Barbeque. Scott Yang was the head of the local trade union. Holden and I had known the guy since we started our company and always took him and Miri out for dinner around Christmastime. He was a nice guy to work with, never lost his temper, and was punctual. On the rare occasion there was a dispute with any of the trades guys regarding Rhodes Construction, he brought it to us immediately and was straight with us. He was fair, always willing to share the responsibility, and he was well respected by the couple hundred members of the union—which was why I needed to secure his endorsement in the election.
Miri was no slouch in the influence department, either. She knew everyone and was liked by all. She was also extremely talkative and effusive, and if we nailed this tonight, she’d be a major advocate of the validity of our relationship.
“The restaurant keeps me busy, but I love it.” Avery glanced between Miri and the menu. “I feel like it’s my baby I’m leaving with a babysitter for the first time.”
Miri laughed. “I’ve been there many times, and you have that place running like a navy ship.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Avery smiled into her menu.
“It’s true.” Scott nodded at her. “I’ll send you some of my younger trades guys, you can scare them straight.”
Avery’s expression turned devious, and we all laughed.
I watched her. She was a fucking natural. I should have known.
And me? I was a fucking genius. Never again would I bring Holden along to one of these dinners. I loved my brother, but the guy was a terrible conversationalist. There was no small talk with that guy, no polite questions, no inquiring about how someone’s work was going. He always just sat there, ate his food, and listened while I chatted away with whoever we were eating with.
But now? I was never taking another client or potential endorsement out for dinner again without her by my side.
My gaze snagged on Avery’s neckline and the smooth skin of her collarbone. She had nailed it in the “looking sharp” department, with a white silk t-shirt, black jeans, and black suede heels. I was no women’s fashion expert, but she had dressed nice enough to show respect to our dinner guests but not so over the top that it made Miri uncomfortable. Her ass looked amazing in those jeans.
“That is a gorgeous necklace,” Miri noticed, and Avery’s hand came to the old-looking silver pendant hanging around her neck.
Avery nodded with enthusiasm. “Oh, thank you, it’s vintage,” she told Miri. “If there’s ever anything you’re looking for, let me know. I know all the good vintage sites, and I have a few friends in Victoria who give me a heads-up when they get new stock in.”
Miri’s eyes lit up. “That would be amazing.”
I was a goddamn genius. Who knew Avery could be so likeable? Not me. She was friendly, sweet, Miri and Scott already liked her, she asked all the right questions and she laughed in all the right parts of the story. Was this what it was like to not have to carry the conversation? I grinned to myself. Isaac Anderson, I’m coming for you, I thought.
“Well, Avery,” Scott said, interrupting my barrage of self-congratulations. “You’ve got a good one here. Emmett is a good man.” He nodded at me. “Works hard to make sure his employees are happy and always does the right thing.”
She raised an eyebrow at me in disbelief. “Oh, does he?”
I nodded at her with a look that said play along. “Yep. I’m a good guy, Avery.” The side of my mouth hitched. “That’s why you’re dating me, right?” I gave her a wink, just to push her boundaries a little.
I thought about her in that mushroom hat and nearly burst out laughing. Okay, I wasn’t a good guy, but it was worth it to see her wearing that hilarious hat.
She watched me for a beat with eyes narrowed but a small smile on her lips. “Exactly. That’s why I’m dating you.”
“A partner is a great thing, Emmett.” Scott put his arm around Miri and she gazed up at him in adoration. “Eleven years in, and I can’t imagine my life without Miri.”
I nodded and smiled at them. “That’s sweet.”
Miri nudged Scott. “He had to convince me, but best decision I ever made.”
Avery’s mouth twisted. “Oh, there was some convincing on Emmett’s part.”
Scott leaned forward. “I have to say, I was surprised to hear about you two. Emmett, you never seemed like you wanted to settle down.” He nodded at Avery. “Until now, of course.”
I still didn’t want to settle down. The idea of a wife and family turned my stomach. It was great for Will. Will always wanted a family. But me? I liked being alone.
But Scott didn’t know that.
“What can I say?” I reached out and grabbed Avery’s hand on her lap. “I found my soulmate.” I squeezed her hand, and she returned my squeeze with a death grip. I grinned at her. She did not like that soulmate comment. “Right, honey?”
“Right, darling,” Avery replied through gritted teeth.
“You’re so in love.” Miri let out a wistful sigh.
Avery nodded with pressed lips. “Mhm. We’re so in love.”
“Avery, you’re from Vancouver, right?” Scott asked.
“Yep, moved here about five years ago.”
“Do your parents live there?” Miri leaned forward and rested her chin on her palm. “Are they still together?”
“They still live there, but they divorced years ago.”
Miri gave her a sympathetic look. “Aw, I’m sorry to hear that.”
Avery shook her head adamantly. “Don’t be, getting divorced was the best choice they ever made.”
Huh. Interesting. I had never thought about Avery’s family before, but now my curiosity was piqued. Maybe this had something to do with her never having anything long-term, relationship-wise, in town. I watched her for a moment.
“I have a pitcher of Bob’s Margaritas,” the server said as she placed it on the table.
Avery gave the server a grateful look. “Thank you.” She poured out four glasses.
Miri clasped her hands together with excited eyes. “Tell us the story of how you got together.”
Avery and I glanced at each other with uncertainty. We hadn’t covered this when we hashed out the details.
“Well,” Avery started, at a loss for words.
I said the first thing that came to mind. “She was surfing.”
She blinked at me, and I held back a laugh. I would bet my yearly salary she had never been on a surfboard in her life, despite it being one of Queen’s Cove’s major tourist attractions.
She nodded, holding a pleasant expression but boring into me with her eyes. I’d pay dearly for this later. “Exactly. I was surfing.”
I turned to Miri and Scott. “I was with my brother Wyatt at his surf shack, and we noticed the wind picking up.”
Scott’s head was tilted in interest, and Miri nodded with wide eyes, leaning forward, hanging on to every word. She looked to Avery. “Were you alone out on the ocean?”
I put a hand on Avery’s upper back, wincing and nodding. “She was. Classic beginner mistake.” Under my hand, her shoulder muscles tensed. “Wyatt was busy with customers, so I grabbed a board and ran out there to make sure she was okay.”
Scott nodded with approval. “Good man.”
“That’s so sweet,” Miri cooed. “I hope you put a wetsuit on, that water is so cold.”
I shook my head at them with a whatcha gonna do expression. “There was no time, and I had to make sure she was okay.”
Avery made a choking noise in her throat, and I turned to her, rubbing her back. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”
The look she gave me could have burned my corneas off. “I’m great, honey. So great,” she managed. She tensed her shoulder muscles again, and I knew this was her way of saying get your fucking hands off me.
“Anyway,” I said, turning back to Miri and Scott, leaving my hand on her back. “I got out on the water, and it was really choppy. The wind was picking up, the swells were getting bigger and there were some gnarly waves coming in, as Wyatt would say.”
Miri chewed her lip, and Scott frowned with concern.
I leaned in toward Miri. “I spotted Avery just as a wave knocked her off her board.”
Avery dropped her head into her hand in exasperation.
“Oh, no,” Miri breathed. She was leaning so far toward me, she was inches from lying on the table.
I nodded at her. “Oh, yeah. I paddled over as fast as I could on my board. Avery was nowhere to be found.” I shook my head. “I saw her board floating, but she wasn’t there. At this point, I was so scared. The tie strap around her ankle must have come loose when the wave knocked her off. I had to find her.”
“Where was she?” Miri urged.
“I was heartbroken, thinking she had drowned. Just then, she surfaced beside my board, gasping for air,” I told them.
“Thank god,” Scott said, shaking his head.
“She looked up at me, coughing and gagging up water—”
“Okay,” Avery interrupted, but I cut her off.
“She grabbed my board and said—”
Miri’s eyes bugged out of her head. “What? What did she say?”
“She said, ‘Is that you, Henry Cavill?’”
Out of the corner of my eye, Avery turned to stare at me dead on. I didn’t dare look at her. I would either start laughing and never stop, or burst into flames from the intensity of her gaze.
I took a deep breath and let it out, rubbing my hand on her back again, still not looking at her. “And that’s when I knew I was in love with her.”
Miri pressed her lips together and clasped her hands over her necklace. “You are so brave. What a story! Isn’t that an incredible story, Scott?”
Scott shook his head in amazement. “It sure is.” He held up the margarita in front of him. “Let’s do a toast. To love.”
“To love,” Miri and I chorused after him.
Beside me, Avery chugged her drink until only the ice remained.
The food arrived, and between Avery and I, we managed to steer the conversation away from us and to the town, and eventually, the power outages.
Scott shook his head. “It’s tough on the older folks when the power goes out, especially in the winter when it’s damp and cold as hell.”
I nodded. “It’s disruptive, and I think a lot of people in town have just gotten used to it and accepted it.” I sat back. “Anytime discussion about upgrades come up at town hall meetings, they’re shrugged off as too expensive, too much work.” I squeezed my napkin in my hand, frowning. “That doesn’t feel good enough to me, so I’m doing something about it.” Scott was listening intently, and I could see he was trying to stay neutral. “I know you’re in a position where you feel you can’t get involved with the election, and I’m not asking you to. I don’t know your relationship with Isaac. All I know is any work on our electrical grid will be done using your tradespeople. These won’t be short employment stints where they’re back looking for work in a couple weeks. Some of this work will take years.”
Scott nodded and studied his plate, thinking.
Miri shrugged. “I’m not head of the union, and I can do whatever I want. I’m voting for you, Emmett.”
I gave her my most winning smile. “Miri, I do adore you, I hope you know that.”
She grinned and blushed.
“You’re right that it’s usually recommended I don’t get involved in local politics,” Scott said, crossing his arms over his chest.
I raised my hands in surrender. “That’s fine, and however you vote, it won’t affect our friendship or working relationship. Rhodes Construction is committed to using high-quality labor through your union, regardless of the outcome of the election.”
Scott shifted in his chair. “I usually abide by that recommendation, but you’re right.” He shook his head at all of us. “I’m sick of these problems. I tell our guys every morning, see a problem, fix a problem. It’s irresponsible to just sit by and watch this happen to our town and not do anything about it.” He glanced between Avery and me. “I used to think you were just out to have fun and make some cash, but I’ve always thought Avery had a good head on her shoulders, so if you’re good enough for her—” He reached across the table to shake my hand. “Emmett, you’ve got my vote.”
Pride swelled in my chest, and I tried to stay calm. This was big. This was an enormous win for me and the campaign. Winning the election was one step closer.
I accepted Scott’s crushing handshake with my most modest, bashful smile. “Scott, you have no idea how much I appreciate that. I look up to you, how you manage your guys and how they respect you. I hope I can make you proud as mayor.”
“I bet you will.” The server started clearing our plates and Scott looked around the table. “How about dessert to celebrate the happy couple?”
“That would be great. Sweetheart, would you like to split some cheesecake?” I asked Avery. Splitting dessert, what could be more romantic than that?
She shook her head. “I’m lactose intolerant.”
“What?” I blanched. “That’s awful.” I remembered her favorite pizza had dairy-free cheese on it, and now it made sense.
Miri sent me a chastising look. “Emmett, you need to remember things like this. You sound like you hardly know her.” She laughed. “Imagine that.”
Avery cocked her head at me, a little grin forming on her pretty mouth. “Yeah, Emmett, it’s like I’m a total stranger to you.”
I raised my eyebrows at her in challenge. Did she forget how easy it was to embarrass her? I did it earlier with that stupid surfing story, and I’d do it again. And I’d enjoy every second of it as she got embarrassed and tried to disappear into the floor.
“Quick,” Miri clapped her hands. “Let’s play a game.”
Our heads whipped toward her. “What game?” Avery and I asked in unison, both with a heavy dose of suspicion.
“The newlyweds game. It’s easy and so fun. I’ll ask you questions about each other, and you write down the answers.” She flagged down a server for some paper and a couple pens.
I had a bad feeling about this. We didn’t think there was going to be a test, for Christ’s sake.
Avery exhaled slowly out of her nose. “Sounds super fun.”
“Okay,” Miri said once Avery and I had the paper in front of us, wiggling her eyebrows. “Name each other’s birthday.”
Avery and I sat there in silence, staring at our papers.
“February…” I winced. “…fourteenth?”
She snorted. “That’s Valentine’s Day.”
“You’re supposed to write it down,” Miri reminded us.
“It can be both,” I said defensively. “People are born on Valentine’s Day. And you don’t know my birthday. It’s January 27th.”
“I was just about to say that.”
“Right. And when is yours?”
Miri cleared her throat. “You don’t need to say it, you write it down, and I’ll read the answers.”
“September 12th.”
I pointed at her. “That was my second choice.”
We turned back to Miri and Scott, who were watching us with hesitation.
“Next question,” Avery demanded, her voice heavy with competition.
“This is just supposed to be a silly, fun game,” Miri said, laughing. “We don’t need to—”
“Next question, Miri,” I told her.
Her eyes widened a fraction. “Favorite movie.”
I narrowed my eyes at Avery, sizing her up. “Something with Audrey Hepburn. What’s that one where she goes to France?”
Her head whipped toward me, and she regarded me with suspicion. “Funny Face. How did you know that?”
I shrugged. “You kind of look like Audrey Hepburn, and I took a wild guess.”
Miri squealed and clapped, and a smug smile settled on my face. I gave Avery an arch look. “Too easy. What’s mine?”
Her mouth twisted as she thought. “Top Gun.”
My mouth fell open. “What? How did you know that?”
Miri hyperventilated.
“Breathe,” Scott murmured to her, putting a glass of water in front of her.
Avery laughed and waved her hand in my general direction. “You just seem like a Top Gun kind of guy.”
I was speechless. My brothers and I had watched that movie countless times growing up. I shook my head.
“Ooooh, this is getting good!” Miri beamed at us, clasping her hands together.
At least we were getting some of the questions right now, instead of looking like a pair of people who only agreed to get together based on strategy.
“Favorite animal,” Miri prompted, leaning forward.
“Hamster,” I shot, saying the first thing that came to mind.
Avery grimaced. “No one’s favorite animal is a hamster. All they do is sleep and poop. My favorite animal is a dog.”
“Everyone likes dogs,” I added, rolling my eyes. The only people who didn’t like dogs were sociopaths.
“Unless they’re a sociopath,” she added.
I frowned.
“Avery, what’s Emmett’s favorite animal?” Miri asked. She had lost a bit of her enthusiasm.
Shit. We needed to save this. Whatever animal Avery said, I’d agree to. Avery was watching me with a funny expression on her face. Her eyes were narrowed, and the corner of her mouth twitched up.
“Turtles.” She leveled me with her gaze. “Emmett’s favorite animal is the turtle.”
My stomach dropped. She knew. How did she know?
Miri’s mouth dropped in shock. “Is that true?”
I nodded, suppressing a grimace. I fucking hated turtles. In my mind, I heard the crunch of my childhood friend’s turtle shell as I accidentally rode over it with my bike, and my stomach churned.
I gagged thinking about it. I’d never touched one, but they were so slimy and gross. Their heads were all wrinkly and gooey, like a decaying thumb.
My stomach lurched again. I was going to be sick. I swallowed and focused on Miri.
“I love turtles,” I told her. “Love them. Can’t get enough of them.” As long as they stayed far away.
Miri reached out and slapped my arm lightly with a chiding look. “How come you’ve never visited my turtle rehabilitation center?”
I blinked at her. Beside me, Avery’s chest convulsed once before she propped her elbow on the table and hid her mouth with her hand.
“I’m sorry,” Avery managed. “Your what?”
Miri beamed at her. “I run a turtle rehabilitation center.”
Scott put his arm around her and gazed at her with affection. “They rescue turtles who have been hurt by boats in the harbor, nurse them back to health, and then release them into the wild. They also take pet turtles.”
“Emmett,” Miri said, “you have got to volunteer with us. Oh my god, you would love it. You get to hold the turtles, wash the turtles, feed them, play with them, tell them all your secrets.”
She said it like those were good things.
“Would I have to touch them?” I asked.
She threw her hands in the air with joy. “Of course you would get to touch them. Turtles produce oxytocin, the cuddle hormone, just like people do. We always need volunteers to help at the rehab center. It’s just like those programs at the hospitals where people hold newborn babies.”
“Except they cuddle turtles?” Avery asked.
Miri lit up. “Exactly! You get it. Some people don’t get it.”
I pictured myself holding a turtle. My skin ran hot and cold, like when I had the flu last year.
Scott gave me a sidelong look. “It would be great campaign press.”
Avery nodded at me, barely containing herself. She was vibrating, she was so excited. There was a flash of something in her eyes, and I remembered her hissed words from Friday from beneath the mushroom hat.
I will make you pay for this. Revenge, thy name is Avery.
Her eyes danced over my face. “It would, Emmett, and it would be great for you to take a break and do something you love—touch turtles.”
Miri was radiating with excitement. “Come touch turtles with me, wouldn’t you?”
There was no getting out of this one, not at this moment at least.
“I would be honored to,” I told Miri, “and Avery would too.”
“What?” Avery blanched. “I’m busy that day.”
Miri shook her head, still smiling. “We haven’t set a date yet.”
So we set a date for the following week for Avery and me to drop by and help out at the disgusting turtle rehab. While Miri and Avery talked more about Miri’s volunteer organizations around town and Scott told me about the renovations he was doing on their kitchen, I made a mental note to ask Div to schedule conflicting meetings that day that I couldn’t possibly get out of. Avery would be stuck holding the slimy creatures all by herself. Served her right.
I glanced over at her, smiling and listening attentively. Her fingers toyed with her necklace, and her eyes sparkled in the light as Miri talked.
I had to admit as I sat there watching her, she was the perfect person to be my fake girlfriend, not just because of her people skills and an equal desire on her part to make it look real, but because she was beautiful. I knew what I looked like, and the two of us together? People would watch us walk by, my arm draped over her shoulders, and they’d comment on what beautiful kids we’d make. Exactly what I wanted them to think.
It helped that I didn’t mind the idea of draping my arm around her, either. Not one bit.
As we departed the restaurant later, Scott gave me another firm handshake.
“Congratulations, Emmett,” he said, nodding at me. “You’ve done alright for yourself.”
“I sure have,” I told him. Everything was going to plan.
Miri gave us a conspiratorial look. “Do we hear wedding bells in the future?”
“What? No,” I said before I could catch myself.
“No way,” Avery said quickly, and Miri looked crushed.
“I mean,” I began. Shit, I had to save this. “Who knows.” I smiled at Miri, and her mouth fell open with a knowing look.
Avery and I exchanged a glance. What had I just done?
“Miri, can you take a picture of us?” I asked.
“Of course.” She waved between us. “Get closer.”
I handed her my phone and put my arm around Avery’s shoulders. She fit right against me, and I could feel the warmth of her skin through her clothes. I could smell her hair, light and sweet. My cock twitched, and I inhaled sharply.
Jesus Christ, Rhodes. Get yourself together. I hadn’t been turned on so fast since I was a teenager.
“Give each other a kiss,” Miri suggested.
“Uh,” Avery startled.
I leaned down and gave Avery a kiss on the cheek. Her skin was soft, like velvet.
“No, a real one,” Miri pressed.
Avery cleared her throat. “I have garlic breath.”
I don’t know what happened, but one second, I was standing there with my arm around Avery, and the next one, I was pulling her toward me, about to press my mouth to hers.
She turned and I got her ear and a mouthful of hair.
“What the hell, Adams,” I murmured in her ear.
“What the hell, yourself,” she murmured back, her gaze blazing. “A little warning next time?”
“Well,” Miri chirped, handing my phone back to me. “We’ll see you two lovebirds later. Have a great night. Avery, I’ll email you those details about the schoolwork program.”
“Goodnight,” Avery said.
“What was she talking about?” I asked her on the way to the car. “The school program.”
“There’s a work program at the local high school that places queer teens in accepting and welcoming work environments. We could use some summer workers at the restaurant.”
Something clicked in my head. Avery was the only straight woman unrelated to me, that I’d ever met who wasn’t attracted to me. She didn’t date much—only hookups, from the sounds of things. And now Avery was showing a lot of interest in an organization for queer youth in town.
My pulse stilled. Avery was gay. This made so much sense. Of course. Jesus, why didn’t I realize this before? Perhaps she just wasn’t ready to come out to our community, or didn’t plan to.
Disappointment flickered in my chest that things with Avery and I would never go further. It would have been fun to have a couple hookups, if she ever warmed up to me. At the same time, relief settled in my chest. I wasn’t losing my mojo. I wasn’t aging out of being attractive. Avery not liking me had nothing to do with me. It was all about her. Completely out of my control.
I slid into the driver’s seat and turned to her with a sympathetic look.
“It’ll be our little secret,” I told her.
She gave me a strange look. “Yeah, I know.”
I started the car. “I hope you know Queen’s Cove is an incredibly liberal place, and no one would treat you any differently.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “What are you talking about?”
I gave her a duh look. “Avery, you’re gay.”
She gave me an amused look. “Am I?”
There was an inkling of hesitation inside my head. “That’s why you don’t like me. Because you’re gay.” My gaze cut from the road to her. “Right?”
She burst out laughing. “Wow.”
“What?”
“Is your ego so massive you can’t believe a straight woman doesn’t like you?”
“No.” Yes. The frown settled on my face. “But you’re getting involved with—”
“I’m getting involved because I think it’s a great cause, Miri seems nice, and last week, a customer told Max he was a sinner, so it was a perfect opportunity.”
“That’s awful.”
“About the customer telling Max he’s a sinner or me not being gay?”
The light ahead of me turned yellow, and I slowed to a stop just as it turned red. “Both.”
She snorted. We were quiet as I drove down the town’s main street.
She narrowed her eyes at me. “When Miri brought up the wedding bells, you couldn’t say no fast enough.”
My gaze cut to hers as I turned onto her street. “Nothing to do with you.”
“I wasn’t worried about that.”
I shrugged. “I just don’t see that life for me.” I glanced at her. “You were pretty quick to say no, too.”
“I know.”
“So, your parents are divorced.”
“Yep.” She stared out the window.
I didn’t say anything for a moment, but she let the silence hang there. I guess that was all I was going to get out of her tonight.
I pulled the car over to the curb in front of her house. Alright, this was enough serious talk. I gave her my best seductive smile, the one that worked every time. “Well, if you’re not gay,” I said in a low voice before looking up at her, “can I come in?”
She snorted and opened the car door. “No.”
I grinned. I didn’t really want to go inside, I was just trying to get a rise out of her. Pushing her buttons was my new favorite hobby.
Okay yes, yes, I did want to go inside. I had been sporting a half-boner since that awkward kiss outside the restaurant. It was because Avery didn’t like me. That’s why I wanted more.
“Alright, next time then. We can work on practicing that kiss.”
“Nope.” She shook her head before closing the door. Her face was going red.
I watched her as she walked up the path to her home. When she was just about to go inside, I stepped out of the car.
“How did you know about the turtles?”
She turned and gave me a conspiratorial look. “Elizabeth told me.”
I groaned and watched as she turned and continued up the path.
“Goodnight, sweetheart,” I called to her, loud enough so everyone in town could hear.
She looked around to see if anyone was out on the street before shooting me a disapproving look, and I grinned big at her, wiggling my eyebrows. More payback for that stupid turtle rescue stunt she pulled. She disappeared inside, and I waited until a light turned on upstairs to drive away.
