“Oh yeah, that’s outstanding.” Grey savored the explosion of flavor.
Grey happened to glance across the room at the same time Avery noticed him in the restaurant. She blinked just like the first time he’d seen her. Too damn cute. Before he could stop himself, he grinned and waved his fork.
She smiled and waved back, which caught Kelsey’s attention. When Kelsey turned toward him, her face lit up like the North Star. He noticed Andy peering at him as Kelsey excused herself from their group and made her way across the room.
“Now look what you’ve done.” Trip failed to conceal his laughter.
“Hi, guys!” Kelsey stood by Grey, wearing some kind of ruffled wrap dress. Her long blond curls hung low, drawing further attention to her cleavage. “What are you two over here conspiring about?”
“I’m trying to convince Grey to invest in a new website and some social media.” Trip wiped his mouth with his napkin and took another swig of his margarita.
Kelsey’s face nearly broke apart. “Ohmigod. Yes! I did that with my real estate business and it really helped. Maybe I can help you get started.”
Trip’s look of surprise mirrored Grey’s, but Grey couldn’t imagine a worse-case scenario than working closely with Boomerang. Too many land mines.
“Maybe once I settle things with the accident we’ll have extra money to invest.” Grey cleared his throat, uncomfortably aware of her friendship with Andy. “Unfortunately, it’s all moving at a glacial pace.”
Kelsey’s eyes darted toward Andy then she leaned toward Grey conspiratorially. “Well, I don’t mind helping you out in exchange for your promoting me to wealthy clients interested in buying vacation homes.”
“Well, that’s mighty nice of you, Boo—er, Kelsey.” Trip coughed to cover his near miss.
Grey couldn’t help but smile at Kelsey’s confused expression. The stiff drink had begun to loosen him up. Maybe working with her wouldn’t be so terrible. It would give him a chance to prove they didn’t have a future.
“That’s a nice offer.” Grey noticed Avery watching them with interest, which boosted his ego. “I’ll think about it.”
“So, Kelsey, who are you here with?” Trip asked.
“Oh, Avery and Andy, and Matt.” She smiled, clasping her hands by her heart.
“Why the saucy look?” Trip flashed her one of his patented smiles. “Is Matt someone special?”
Grey felt grateful Trip’s fishing expedition would ferret out the answers he wanted. Sometimes Trip’s social skills really came in handy. Thankfully they were friends, because the guy would be a dangerous enemy.
Kelsey leaned forward again, this time in a secret-sharing manner. “Matt and Avery were almost engaged, but then he left her for one of his rich, young clients. Now he’s returned to try and win her back.” Her eyes glittered. “Isn’t it romantic?”
Grey stared at her wistful expression, trying not to let his disgust show. Romantic? The guy was a selfish dick.
“What the hell’s romantic about a guy cheating on his girlfriend and then trying to dupe her again?” Shit. He’d actually said it aloud.
Kelsey’s brows lifted. “Who says he’s here to dupe her? Can’t someone realize his mistake and try to make it right? True love wins in the end.”
“That’s a bunch of horseshit, Kelsey.” Grey pushed his empty glass across the table. “True love doesn’t cheat.”
“You sound just like Avery.” Kelsey frowned and glanced at Trip. “Aren’t there any romantics left?”
“Just you and me, it seems.” Trip raised his glass toward her.
Kelsey graced him with an appreciative smile. “Well, my offer stands. I’m happy to donate a few free hours if you decide to work on those social media plans. You can check out my firm’s site, Callihan’s Peak Properties dot com, which also contains a blog and links to Facebook and Twitter.”
“Thanks, Kelsey.” Things would be so simple if only Grey were attracted to her.
“My pleasure.” She beamed at him. “Bye!”
Grey watched her strut back to her table. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Trip assessing her, too. Huh.
“Who knew the girl had useful skills?” Trip finished his drink.
Grey didn’t respond because he’d become distracted by Matt’s fawning over Avery. The only thing keeping Grey from punching something was the fact Avery didn’t seem to be thrilled by the guy’s attention. If anything, her fidgety hands and stiff posture suggested she had little interest in reconnecting with Matt. At least not yet, anyway.
Trip glanced at Grey then Avery and back again. “Tick tock, my friend. Tick tock.”
Chapter Nine
Avery buried her face in her hands, sighing. Problem solving had always been a challenge she’d enjoyed, but the current financial dilemma held no simple solution. She toyed with the small desk clock as it ticked away the seconds like a game-show timer running out.
Her savings account was rapidly dwindling thanks to floating Andy’s share of their house payments and expenses these past months. If only her parents weren’t counting on the monthly loan checks to supplement their meager retirement income. She couldn’t indefinitely pay Andy’s share of everything without causing significant disruption to her own life. And every dime spent bailing him out took away from the fund she’d been saving to try to start her own clinic.
If Grey won a big judgment, they were all screwed. Even if he didn’t, Andy was very likely going to jail, possibly for a number of years. How would she manage to do this all on her own? She rubbed her temples. How dare she fret over money when her brother would be facing far worse concerns in prison?
Andy wandered out of his room half-dressed, hair still wet from his shower. He stepped closer and peered at the papers on the desk. “Whatcha doing?” His shoulders slouched when his gaze fell on the house payment check sitting beside her laptop. He averted his eyes as he walked into the kitchen.
She nibbled on her thumbnail. “Any luck with the job search yet?”
“Nope.” He gulped a large glass of orange juice. “No one’s interested in hiring a felon who could be carted off to jail soon. I’m a poor risk.”
Avery’s hand flattened against her stomach, as it did each time she was forced to confront her brother’s future. In that moment, she resolved to find a solution without adding to Andy’s stress. “I’m sorry.”
“I know.” His defeated grin weighed on her heart, fueling her near-desperate desire to restore hope and some sense of normalcy to his life.
Silence mushroomed around them. Once again Avery’s fingers massaged her temples to cope with the stress she felt whenever she realized how little control she had over either of their futures. She watched her brother pick at the fruit bowl and rinse his juice glass.
Although she couldn’t do anything about the criminal charges, surely she could facilitate some kind of employment. Maybe Emma needed help around her inn this summer?
The doorbell rang, interrupting her train of thought. She glanced at her watch. “Who’s here at this hour?”
“Matt’s driving me to my defense lawyer’s office. He keeps trying to reduce the felony charges, but honestly, at this point, I’d live with them if we could just get the prosecutor to drop the jail time.”
“Andy.” Avery paused, unsure of how to comfort him.
He dismissively waved his hand. “Can you let Matt in while I finish getting dressed?”
He shuffled to his room while Avery retied her robe, smoothed her hair, and caught a glimpse of herself in the hall mirror. She groaned before trotting toward the door, calling out, “Coming!” after Matt knocked again.