Finding Forever (7 page)

Too late for that
.

I shook my head. “It’s not a big deal Des, I’m just surprised. So all of your random pop-ups were to see
both
of us?”

Desiree nodded. “But Avery travels a ton anyway, so he’s all over the place. Whenever he needs to regroup, and get his bearings back, he comes here to Dallas.”

With a tight smiled, I nodded. “Gotcha.” I glanced at the clock, noting the time before I turned back to my friend. “You probably should get going if you want to be back in Chicago in time to set up a surprise for Drew about the baby.”

“I know,” Des said, poking out her bottom lip. “I hate I don’t have time to stick around today, but we’ve gotta get together soon. And no more avoiding me, ok? It makes me worry about you, and I don’t like that.”

I placed my hand over my heart. “No more avoidance, I swear.”

I walked with Des down to the ground floor of the building to hail a cab, giving her a hug and kiss goodbye before she closed the door. When she was gone, I trudged back up to my office, suddenly drained. Feeling like a fool was tiresome, but I fully recognized this was entirely my fault. I
knew
Avery wasn’t worth a damn, had been told so by his sister, and yet I still… this was stupid. But, it’s not as if I was a stranger to that.

When I walked into the reception area, there was a new client waiting for me, so I didn’t have time to wallow in my mess. I approached her, with my hand extended and a bright smile.

“Hi! I’m Tori Kennedy. Let’s get you matched!”

— Avery—

I cringed at the sound of the persistent ringing of my doorbell, knowing it had to be Des. She was one of few people who knew exactly where I lived, and she was the only one who wouldn’t take the hint to go away after the first few unanswered rings.

I spent my weekend doing two of my favorite pastimes, drinking and screwing in an effort to cleanse a certain someone from my palette. It hadn’t worked, and the only things I accomplished were a pounding head, a sore dick, and an exhausted body. Groaning, I pulled myself out of bed and yanked on shorts and a tee shirt to answer the door.

“You don’t have one of your floozies in there, do you?”

I laughed at my sister’s version of a greeting. “Hello to you too, Des. And no, you know I don’t bring women to my apartment,” I said as I opened the door to allow her inside. This was my private getaway space, reserved only for my friends, my family, and myself. It wasn’t a place for sexual escapades.

“If you say so. I should be upset with you,
again
.” She gave me a dry smile as she pushed past me.

“What did I do
now
?”

“I just left Tori’s office.”

Shit
.

There it was again, that tight feeling that erupted in my chest whenever I thought about
her
. “And?” I asked, feigning nonchalance.

She rounded on me, placing a hand on her hip. “What do you mean, ‘and’? You hurt her feelings, Avery.”

“And I apologized. What more should I do?”

“Go to counseling? Get help?” she suggested as she dropped onto the sofa.

I chuckled as I took a seat beside her on the couch. “Yeah right, sis. Let me guess, she thinks I need anger management or something?”

“
She
thinks you need to go jump off a cliff. The counseling is my own suggestion… it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while.”

“Is that right?”

Des nodded. “It is. You’ve been like a completely different person ever since whatever happened between you and Natalie.”

Was it that obvious? I had purposely changed my stance on relationships, and how I interacted with women, but I hadn’t intended for that to rub off onto my sister’s perception of me.

“What are you talking about, Des?”

“Well, you weren’t always this guy. After dad died, you went off to college, then came back and took over the garage, and all of a sudden you were like… the neighborhood casanova or something. And I
still
haven’t forgotten how you did my friend. She and I have never been the same since then!” I bit my tongue to keep from telling her that girl was
never
her friend, she was using her to get to me. Not to mention, that shit happened more than ten years ago! “But then, you settled down. You met Natalie, and went back to being the sweetest guy I knew. You were fun. You weren’t a pushover or anything, you were genuinely nice, laid back, and you stuck to one sweet girl, then… the breakup happened, and you changed again. Now you’re always moody, and you never hang out with me anymore. You just work and pick up women, and when you’re not doing that, it seems like I never see you. I want the old Avery back.”

I shrugged. “People change, and their priorities change.”

“So are you saying I’m not a priority anymore?”

Shit.

I pulled my sister into a hug. “Of course you’re a priority, Des. I didn’t mean it like
that
, I’m saying my business takes up a lot of my time. Ignition isn’t a local thing anymore, it’s growing, and that takes a lot of attention and focus. You didn’t come all the way to Dallas to lecture me, did you?”

“No,” she said, grinning as she rolled her eyes. “I came to see Tori, and make sure she was okay.”

My mouth went dry. I didn’t want to think about Tori being hurt
this
long over what I said. “Is she?”

“She will be. I think the divorce is taking more of a toll on her than she wants to admit, and she was spouting off some nonsense about being through with love. And she’s still upset about your little stunt. You were mean to her, Avery, after she confided in you.”

“I told you I apologized, Des. I sent her flowers, and a note.”

Desiree shook her head. “I thought you knew women better than that. You should have apologized in person, fool. Especially since she now knows you live right here in Dallas. Sending flowers was lazy, and after the way you spoke to her — with no reason, might I add— I would think you be willing to do a little extra.”

“I just didn’t think about it.”

That was a lie. I’d actually agonized about it, then decided it was best not to see her. How would she have reacted? Would she have given me another black eye, cried? Worse, would she have been completely indifferent, or pretended to be, to not give me the satisfaction of seeing she cared?
If
she cared.

Why the hell does it matter if she cared?

“Oh, I know. I bet if you had slept with her you would have thought about it, but it’s good you haven’t. I can’t imagine how hurt my feelings would be if someone I had been intimate with did to
me
what you did to her. I would probably have you kick his ass. So… lucky you that I hid her from you for so long, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” I managed to choke out. “Lucky me.”

“Anyway, I have to head out so I don’t miss my flight back to Chicago, but I have news before I do!” She turned to me with an excited smile.

“What is it, Des? Something big happen with the boutique?”

She shook her head. “Nope, it’s better than that! You’re gonna be an uncle!”

My eyes went wide. “Stop playing.”

“I’m not!”

A grin spread over my face as I pulled my sister into another hug. I wasn’t convinced parenthood would ever appeal to me, but being an uncle? I could get with that. “Congratulations, sis! How far along?”

“Ten weeks. So, two and a half months.”

I cocked my head to the side while mentally calculated
that
timing. “I’m about to text Drew and threaten his life for getting my baby sister pregnant before he married her.”

“Whatever Avery,” Des said, laughing as she gave me a playful punch in the arm. “Don’t you dare text Drew yet, he doesn’t know. He had meetings all day today, and was already at his office when I found out, so I’m not telling him until he gets home tonight.”

“I won’t ruin your surprise, but I’m happy for you guys. I can’t wait to meet my nephew, start teaching him the ropes.”

Alarm spread over Des’ face, as she abruptly stopped laughing. “First of all, we don’t know that it’s gonna be a boy, so you can cut out the nephew stuff. And you showing someone the ropes… we’re gonna have to talk about that.”

My eyebrows drew together as I frowned. “Talk about what?”

“You being around the baby. You’re really not the best influence for a child right now.”

“Excuse me?”

What the hell is she talking about?

“I’m not trying to be mean, but it’s true. If the baby is a boy, I don’t want him growing up around you, thinking the way you run through and treat women is okay. And if it’s a girl, I don’t want her to think she has to
be
like those women to keep a man interested in her.”

Shaking my head, I stood up from the couch and began pacing the floor. “So you’re telling me you’re gonna keep my niece or nephew from me?”

“
No.
Well… yes.
Well
… not exactly.”

“Elaborate.”

Des took a deep breath before answering. “I think you need a woman. You were
great
when you had a woman. A
real
woman, someone who will mellow you out, make you have fun, and bring the
real
Avery back out.”

“No such thing, Des.” Rubbing a hand across the back of my neck, I trekked toward the kitchen. I definitely needed a drink to deal with this.

“Yes there is, you just have to find her. I think a relationship would work wonders for you, I’ve seen it!”

I gave her a skeptical glance as I pulled open the door to the liquor cabinet. “Where the hell is this coming from, Des? I’ve told you before, the whole ‘love’ thing isn’t for me.”

“Ugh! What is with you and Tori? She said something similar, and I’m sorry, I don’t believe it. Real love is out there, for everybody. When it’s right, it changes you for the better, so obviously the thing Natalie wasn’t meant to be, because look what it’s done to you! She turned you into a bitter old miser.”

“I’m not bitter, or old, or a miser,” I argued as I pulled out a bottle of bourbon. “You can’t tell me I’ve been walking around like a troll for the last two years, I don’t buy it. You or Deidra would have checked me about it a long time ago, and despite what you seem to think, the kinds of women I like don’t respond well to ‘mean.’”

This is why I know I definitely won’t be hearing any praises from Tori.

Desiree sat down at the bar, thinking for a moment before she conceded. “Ok, I’ll give you that, but you’re definitely jaded, Avery, and it’s affected you and the people around you. You aren’t the same carefree, fun guy you were, and I think it’s because you’re lonely.”

“Lonely? Please. I’ve got a dozen women I could call righ—”

“And you think that means you aren’t lonely, Avery? Those women don’t mean anything but a warm body to you. You need someone you can talk to, and care for, someone you can
love
.”

I scoffed. “I need someone I can
trust
.”

Leaning over the bar, Des rested her chin in her hands. “So Natalie broke your trust?”

I didn’t look at her as I carefully measured the bourbon into my glass before I lifted it to my mouth, swallowing it in one drink. “Yeah.”

“Oh, Avery. I’m so sorry.”

Shrugging, I placed my glass down on the marble counter. I didn’t know how to feel now that I had admitted it to someone other than myself.

“So, I think I have an idea.” Des covered my hand with hers. “I think you need a little third-party assistance with your dating. Just hear me out,” she said, lifting a finger to quiet my protest. “If you could have the women vetted first, so you know they’re
really
single,
really
looking for love, and really are who they say they are, it would make you feel better about opening yourself up, right?”

“I guess. But how do I do that? I know you’re not talking about online dating, because I’m
not
doing that shit. People can lie like crazy when they’re on the other side of one of those stupid dating profiles.”

Desiree shook her head. “Nope. I’m not talking about that at all. I want you to promise me you’ll at least try my suggestion. Please? I know you, Avery, and there’s no way your current lifestyle is truly making you happy. I can see it in your eyes.”

Again, was it
that
obvious? I had returned from the Maldives with the intention of going right back to normal. The first night back, normal had included two women and a bottle of tequila, but I hadn’t felt satisfied. Honestly, I’d felt a little disgusted, just like I felt now. It had only taken a few hours with Tori to make my entire hedonistic lifestyle lose its appeal.

“Fine,” I said. “I’ll let you set me up with somebody, but I can’t make any promises I’ll like her.” I still wasn’t buying it, but I was willing to humor Des.

“
Me
?” Desiree broke into laughter, placing a hand over her belly. “Avery, are you crazy? I’m horrible at setting people up.
However,
I know someone who isn’t… ”

A feeling of dread crept into my stomach as I realized what Desiree was about to suggest. “Sis, I don’t think Tori is gonn—”

“Don’t worry about it! Tori is my friend, and she’s super professional. I think if you give her a
real
, sincere apology — and a hefty tip— , she’ll take you on as a client. And you’ll need to prove you aren’t an asshole too, which is probably gonna be the biggest challenge.”

“Des, for real, I don’t thin—”

“Avery,
relax
,” Des said, offering me what was supposed to be a reassuring smile. “I can talk her into it, it won’t be a problem. I mean, it’s not like you guys slept together or anything,” she laughed. “That would be awkward!”

I reopened the bottle of bourbon, and poured myself another drink. “Yeah. Awkward.”

— Tori —

“You want me to
what
?” I nearly dropped my cell phone into the bucket of peas I was shelling. Even though I was drained after a week where
all
of my clients seemed to be hell-bent on repelling potential partners, I was keeping my commitment to my parents to join them for Sunday dinner. When I’d arrived a little over an hour ago, I had been unceremoniously handed the freshly picked peas, and told to get to work— with a smile, of course.