No peace of mind until I try.
“We didn’t finish up in there. You want to go to Patty’s for coffee? I’m buying.”
She looked like she thought this was a trick, but then she did a double-take, staring over at my ride. “Is that...Rob’s old truck?”
“Yeah. You can take your car.”
Then she made a quick decision. “Okay. See you there.”
At this hour, people were crowded into the lobby because Patty made awesome pancakes and sometimes the only thing right in life was eating breakfast for dinner. Luckily, I got there in time to snag the last two-person booth and Avery hurried in a few minutes later. She shucked off her stained jacket with a grimace. I felt bad.
“Sorry about that.”
“I lost my shit. It could be argued that I had it coming.”
Before we could say more, the waitress came to take our order. I got the pancake special and coffee, figuring it had been that kind of day. Avery was more carb-conscious and went for salad and hot tea. No wonder she was a sylph.
“Okay, let’s try this again. Without slapping, hair pulling or projectile food.”
She nodded. “But if you tell me nothing’s going on with you and Rob, I’m leaving. Because it’s not really about him anyway. It’s...”
“What?”
“You just don’t do that, you know?” By that, I guessed she meant screw somebody else’s boyfriend. “What I had with him wasn’t perfect, but he was mine.”
So she was sad that Rob had broken up with her; her ego was bruised more than her heart, but I understood her feelings. In her situation, I’d be upset, too.
Reality could be so hard to explain. “Let me lay it out for you. Have I been half in love with Rob for most of my life? Fuck, yeah. In fact, it’s kind of embarrassing. But that kiss your cousin saw? It was the first time he touched me like that. After you broke up. You don’t have any reason to believe me, but hey, I have no reason to lie. We’re not friends, so if I wanted to hurt you, I’d say we did it like monkeys the whole time your back was turned. I’m honestly trying to clear the air, swear to God.”
“So...I just hurt him by assuming the worst? I mean, when Jillian saw you together before, that was seriously just driving lessons?”
I nodded. “Before that happened, he never talked about breaking up. He was yours, not mine. And I was jealous, but I wouldn’t do that. To anyone.”
She tilted her head. “Why not? I’m the town bitch, remember? Nobody likes me because I think I’m better than everyone else.”
It didn’t surprise me that she knew what people said about her. Avery had an unpleasant personality, and she was never shy about expressing dissatisfaction. I suspected her attitude might be a front, though I had no idea what it was covering.
“That doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to be happy.”
For a few seconds, she just stared at me. “Are you for real?”
“Most of the time. Except for Wednesdays, when I’m imaginary.”
The laugh started in her eyes, popped out of her mouth in an actual giggle. When she unwound, Avery wasn’t bad. Didn’t mean I wanted her dating Rob, but maybe she wasn’t as awful as everyone claimed. Just then, our food arrived, curtailing the conversation for a moment. I dug into my pancakes, as it seemed like a long time since lunch.
She played with her salad for a few minutes. “I’m sorry I hit you.”
“Sorry I hit you back. And about the nachos.”
A smirk curved her mouth. “Actually, the whole thing was kind of fun. I’ve never been in a fight before. My parents would die.”
“Not very ladylike,” I admonished. “Think of your dignity, Avery.”
“I will cram my dignity down the throat of the next person who mentions it.”
“Ouch. But I get the feeling you’re not this angry about Rob—that it’s more of a symptom. You want to tell me what’s going on?”
Startled, she cocked her head. “Ten minutes ago, you said we’re not friends.”
“No, but we could be. If you want.” The impulsive words surprised me as much as her, but she had such a lonely look there for a minute that I couldn’t help it.
Hesitating, she murmured, “I’m not sure how it works. I stopped making new friends years ago.”
“No offense, but that’s kind of sad.” And that’s coming from someone who finds it a chore to go to a party with new people.
“I know.”
“So explain your deal. Why are you stuck in Sharon and why are you so mad about it?”
She was the kind of girl everyone expected to blast out of town at the speed of light, head to an Ivy League school and never come back unless somebody died. Maybe not even then. Instead, she’d gotten a job at the bank straight out of high school, and she was living at home. From what I remembered, something had happened our senior year, but her family hushed it up and nobody ever knew exactly why she missed two weeks of school.
“It’s my own fault,” she said quietly. “Everything is.”
That was the last thing I expected to hear. “What?”
“Never mind. This was a bad idea.” She stood up, leaving most of her salad untouched.
“Avery?”
“If you seriously want to be my friend, the first thing you’ll learn is not to ask certain questions because I won’t answer.”
“It sounds like you have no friends at all,” I said gently. “Because even I can tell something’s eating at you.”
“I thought Rob might get me out of here, that’s all. Thanks for dinner.”
“Did it ever occur to you that you don’t need a guy for that? You’re more than smart enough to go on your own.”
“Spoken like someone who has no idea.”
“Did Rob?” I asked.
She shook her head, already turning for the door. “Are you kidding? No. It was always easier to focus on his faults than mine. Tell him I’m sorry, by the way. And...I hope you guys can make it work.” With that, she was gone.
Confused as hell, I ate my pancakes in silence. A few minutes later, the waitress brought the check, wearing a conspiratorial look. “Dinner with Avery Jacobs? Did you lose a bet?”
Huh. God, if people talked about me that way all over town, I’d probably turn into exactly what they expected of me—a giant, snarling bitch. My brows went down. “Do you talk about all of your customers like this?”