“Then prove it by respecting my boundaries. Besides, I won’t hurt Kelsey. I’d need to speak with her first.” She looked at his bracelet and frowned, looking like she wanted to say something then thought better of it. “And let’s not forget, you quit working with me to maintain objectivity. A relationship would put more pressure on you, not less.”
Grey slapped the top of her Jeep. “I’m getting to the point where I don’t care about the lawsuit.”
“You won’t feel that way in the morning.”
“Don’t you ever lose control?” He bent his head and kissed her neck. “Just let go and trust me, Avery. I’m not going anywhere.”
He heard a sexy little sound in her throat just before she eased away. “I told you, I don’t want to get hurt again, Grey.”
The honesty of her statement stopped him. She was telling him something important, and he had to listen.
“Neither do I, but I’d rather take a chance than pass it by.” He reached up and brushed her hair back with one hand. “How about you give me one date? If it doesn’t go well, I’ll back off.”
She caught her lower lip between her teeth, looking up at him with her big blue eyes. He held his breath, promising God whatever he wanted if he just made this one thing go right.
“Let me talk to Kelsey first.” She let her hands slide from his chest down to his waist.
Lower, please.
“Deal.” He grinned and yanked her close again. “Can we seal it with a kiss?”
Chapter Fourteen
“I have something to do after work today. Can you hitch another ride home?” Avery asked Andy as she pulled up to the inn, where she saw Emma sweeping the front steps.
“Sure.” Andy’s gaze seemed fixed on Emma as he barely mumbled a good-bye before exiting the car. He stopped to speak with her—head awkwardly bowed, thumbs tucked in his belt loops—and then he ducked inside.
When she threw the gearshift in drive, Emma held up a hand and jogged toward the car. “Hang on!”
Avery stuck her head out the window. “What’s up?”
Emma’s expression turned gossipy. “So, what did I miss last night? I meant to come, but dinner ran late here with one couple. By the time I’d cleaned up, I’d lost all motivation.”
“You’re better off, trust me.”
“Better off because it was lame, or because something bad happened?”
“When is Ladies’ Night not lame, Emma?” Avery rolled her eyes upon remembering the Montrose guys whose attention never left Kelsey’s cleavage.
“Come on, Grumpy. We’ve had some fun there.” Emma reached through the window to give Avery’s shoulder a little push. “Just give me the short version.”
Avery adjusted her sunglasses, hoping Emma didn’t notice the heat creeping into her cheeks as she recalled Grey’s kiss. “Honestly, I didn’t stay long. Jonah showed up drunk and confronted me about getting fired ‘because of Andy.’ He was really pissed. Scared me a bit.”
“Let me guess—you didn’t back down.” When Avery shook her head, Emma grinned and shook her head. “How’d it end?”
“Grey got him to back off, and then I ran out of the bar and went home.” Knowing how Emma felt about her interest in Grey, Avery decided not to share the details of the hot make-out session.
“Grey rescued you?” Emma tilted her head as if to summon more information, but then resorted to a direct question. “Has Kelsey really given up on him?”
“Seems so. Unfortunately, while I was dancing with Trip, Grey told her he has feelings for me.”
Placing a hand over her mouth, Emma winced. “How’d she take it?”
Avery shrugged one shoulder while caressing the steering wheel. “Not really sure. We haven’t talked about it.” She paused for a moment before looking directly at Emma, suddenly compelled to be honest. “The more I learn about Grey, the more I want to know. Now that we don’t work together, I want to see where things could lead. I know you probably don’t approve, though.”
“I don’t disapprove of him, you know.” Emma leaned into the open window. “I just don’t want any guy to mess up our friendships.”
“I’m meeting Kelsey for lunch today to feel her out.” Avery sighed and raked her hand through her hair. “It’s probably a pointless exercise since I’ll likely end up getting hurt one way or another.”
“If he’s so nice, why do you assume you’ll get hurt?”
“Well, there’s a good chance my family will hate him if they end up bankrupted. And, what if he’s not as great as he appears? I’ve been fooled before, you know.” Avery tried to ignore the sense of foreboding amassing around her like mist.
“You won’t get hurt,” Emma announced. “You’ll go in with your eyes open, like always.”
Like always. “Eyes wide open” hadn’t proven to be the best recipe for romantic success. Still, Avery didn’t know how to let go of her need to protect herself and her heart. In every other aspect of life, she had confidence and faith that things would turn out well. But not when it came to love.
“We’ll see.” Avery patted Emma’s hand. “Gotta go to work, Em. See you later!”
She drove to the clinic resolutely not thinking about Grey or Kelsey or Andy. Yeah, right.
At exactly noon, Avery watched Kelsey enter Boxcar Cantina looking stunning in a pair of beige linen slacks and lightweight, coral-colored sweater. Classic Kelsey maneuver—donning a killer outfit after a setback or romantic disappointment.
Squaring her shoulders, Avery waved while preparing for what she anticipated to be an awkward conversation.
“You look super!” Avery rested her chin in her hands. “I’m glad you’re here so we can order. I’m starving.”
Kelsey slung her purse around the back of her chair before sitting and pulling up to the table. After avoiding eye contact for a few seconds, she gazed at Avery and sighed. “Look, Avery. I know why you invited me to join you for lunch. This is about Grey, right? So let’s just skip to the heart of it. I liked him. He didn’t feel the same. He likes you. You two left together last night. Now you feel guilty about hurting my feelings. Am I close?”
Good gravy. Avery hadn’t expected Kelsey to fire the opening shot. Although a bit shaken by the surprise, she quickly regrouped.
“Sort of, but last night wasn’t what you think.” Avery sat back, resisting the urge to cross her arms and become irritated about having to defend her relative innocence. “Jonah got in my face about his getting fired. He was nasty, and fairly aggressive, so I took off. Grey followed me to my car to make sure I was okay, and then I went home alone. You know my rules.”
Kelsey pressed her lips together while thinking. The waitress stopped by to take their order, temporarily interrupting Avery’s explanation. After the waitress left them alone, Avery continued, “But you’re right. I do want to talk about him—or, more to the point, about him and me.”
Kelsey held up her hand. “Just stop. I know I can be a baby sometimes, and I won’t lie and pretend it isn’t a huge bummer that he rejected me because he wants you, but we aren’t in high school anymore. I hope I’ve grown up a little bit since then. I’m certainly not going to stand in your way if you want to date him, although I’m a little surprised you do considering how, when I was interested in him, you were firmly anti-skier.”