Once We Met Page 6

  She set her hands on either side of her thighs, against the wooden planks, then crossed her ankles. After another moment of silence, she said, “I don’t know. I guess it never seemed worth trying to get close to most people when my mom was just going to tell me I couldn’t be friends with them. Or—even worse—tell them I couldn’t be friends with them. Which is probably the most embarrassing thing ever when you’re a senior in high school.”

  Ouch. Dan couldn’t imagine that. Sure, his parents were strict when they needed to be—but mostly when he came home with a bad grade or a detention or didn’t do things to “his full potential.” Fortunately, his doctor had finally put him on an ADHD medicine this spring that actually worked. For the first time, he’d brought home good grades, and his parents were happy.

  “Your mom’s pretty tough on you, then?” Dan asked.

  “Understatement. Everything is academics and discipline with her. And even with that, I still don’t know that I make her proud of me.”

  “If you can’t make her proud no matter what you do, then it sounds like standing up for yourself should be easier.” The ding of the counter bell on the Sports Shack caught his attention. Dan checked the time on his watch. He didn’t want to go back to work and wished he could spend the day with her instead. But someone was already waiting at the Sports Shack. “I should get going.”

  Avery looked toward the Sports Shack, then whirled her face back toward the water, stiffening. “Oh my God, it’s my dad. Do you think he saw me here? My mom will kill me.”

  “He’d probably say something if he did, right?” Dan stood. “Just sit tight for a second. I’ll go find out what he needs, and while he’s distracted, you can sneak past and go back inside.”

  Dan hurried off the dock, then slipped on his flip-flops. Rather than drawing attention to the dock, he made a beeline for the back door to the shack and slipped in and over to the counter. “How can I help you?” Dan asked.

  “Yes, I’d like to rent a couple of fishing rods and a canoe,” Mr. Moretti said, setting his hands on the counter. “I want to surprise my daughter with an early morning fishing trip. Do you have any bait that isn’t alive and squirming?”

  “Sure. Do you want a fifteen or eighteen-foot canoe?” Dan fought the urge to hold his breath as he noticed Avery slipping up the dock, out of the corner of his eye. She was walking backward, as though that would attract less attention. Turn around, Avery, you’re heading sideways.

  “What’s the difference?”

  “Uh—” Oh, God . . . He almost lurched forward as a muffled cry sounded, followed by a splash. Walking backward had led Avery straight off the far side. Mr. Moretti turned to look, but fortunately, any view of Avery was blocked by the dock.

  “Someone swimming this early?” Mr. Moretti asked, his eyebrows raised.

  Stay in the water, Avery.

  Dan felt his face turning red. “Yeah, there’s all sorts of people who swim this early.” Which was ridiculous. because the lake temperature was freezing.

  What the hell had Avery’s dad asked him before? He did his best not to look for Avery, but as her dad turned back, there she was, peeking around the dock, dripping with water. He pressed his lips together tightly, trying to keep the laughter in. She clearly had no experience with sneaking around.

  Think.

  Canoes. Mr. Moretti asked about canoes.

  “Um . . .” he managed at last. “I don’t really know.” That couldn’t be further from the truth, but he couldn’t form the right words. As Avery crawled forward, Dan ripped a poster from the wall beside him, then tossed it onto the counter to draw Mr. Moretti’s attention back. “Here, this chart should help.”

  Avery stood now and ran toward the lodge, and Dan forced himself to look away from her, barely stifling the need to laugh. He clenched his jaw hard, trying to keep a straight face.

  “I guess a fifteen-foot one, then. It’s just the two of us.”

  Dan was dimly aware that he was staring at Mr. Moretti blankly, unable to move.

  “Okay, then.” Mr. Moretti gave him an odd look. “How much is that?”

  “Uh . . . on the house.” Dan sucked in a deep breath. There was no way he was going to make it through this without laughing. “Actually, why don’t you meet me at the boathouse? I’ll grab some rods and tackle.”

  Mr. Moretti stepped back. “Okay. I might go wake up my daughter in the meantime.” He walked away.

  When he was gone, a peal of laughter broke out of Dan’s throat, his shoulders shaking as he gripped the plywood counter.

  He’d never met a girl like Avery before.

  After they’d gone for snowballs that first night, they’d spent a long time talking on the dock on the other side of the lake. She’d shared all her dreams of going to Paris and studying art and how her parents refused to pay for an art degree. She loved ballet, but her mom wouldn’t let her dance anymore because it took too much time away from schoolwork. She was a straight-A student on the honor roll, the top of her class, but she wasn’t allowed to go to parties.

  He wondered where she’d learned to kiss. Or if she was a virgin, like he was.

  And somehow, despite all that, she was into him.

  That never happened. He wasn’t the guy who got the girl. Or popular like his brother, Warren, even though he was a pretty good basketball player and partied with all the jocks.

  He didn’t really fit in with them, though. He wasn’t funny, wasn’t the one the girls all wanted to hook up with.

  Which left him to be the surly jerk, according to some of his classmates.

  But he was okay with it. It was easy. He didn’t have to try too hard, and few people had high expectations of him. He didn’t disappoint anyone that way. Thanks to his new meds, his mom had spent all summer talking about how much better he was going to do senior year. He couldn’t help worrying that he was going to mess up, though.

  He fell into the familiar routine of getting fishing gear together, then grabbed the keys to the boathouse. After gathering all the supplies, he left the Sports Shack. He didn’t see Mr. Moretti, so he set the supplies down and started toward the boathouse, smiling at the thought of how he’d met Avery in there.

  “Listen, sweetheart, I know. I miss you, too. And it’s only a week.” Mr. Moretti’s voice came in low, hushed tones. Then Dan saw him, standing on the dock, but not too far out.

  Dan slipped the key to the boathouse into the palm of his hand, trying not to listen in on Mr. Moretti’s conversation.

  “I know. But we’re not together again. Maria knows we’re finished. And we just broke the news to Avery yesterday.”

  As Dan opened the door to the boathouse, the hinge squeaked, and Mr. Moretti spotted him. “I should get going, but I’ll call you every chance I get . . . I love you, too. Can’t wait to see you again, babe.”

  Dan went into the boathouse, blinking in the cool dark, and a feeling of dread rose in the pit of his stomach. Now he understood why Avery’s parents were getting divorced out of the blue.

  Avery’s father was having an affair.

  Chapter Eight

  Avery

  12 Months Ago

  * * *

  “I don’t know, Er . . .” Avery wrinkled her nose at the smell of the stargazer lilies in the flower arrangement beside her desk. She hated the scent. They reminded her of funerals, which she doubted was what Bryan’s goal had been. He’d been sending flowers weekly, which had started out cute but was starting to drive her crazy. What was she supposed to do with all these vases?

  Leaning back into her chair, she laid down her tablet and digital pen and glanced more directly at the camera. With her best friend living on the opposite coast, weekly online “wine nights” was the best way they’d found to keep in touch. Avery was deluged with work right now, though, and she’d spent most of their chat fiddling with a design and ignoring the glass of Pinot Grigio in front of her. She remedied that now and took a sip before continuing, “The guy is nice. Even though h
e gets me the most banal flower arrangements on the planet.”

  She flicked one lily and pollen dusted her desktop. “But there’s something . . . just missing.”

  Erika rolled her eyes, settling back into her couch. “So he doesn’t know what type of flowers you like. You sound like a brat complaining, for what it’s worth. He bought you flowers—that’s supposed to be a nice thing. Why don’t you just tell him you prefer sunflowers, and then he can get it right next time?”

  Avery cringed. She didn’t want to sound so ungrateful, and it was easy to pin her uncertainty on him on his mediocre taste in flowers. “Is it bad that I’m not sure I want there to be a next time? We’ve had seven dates. And they were fine. Two months of fine dates. Sweet, even. He’s a sweet, nice guy. But I’m just—”

  “You’re just determined to put the guy to the side and go for one of your oh-so-exciting assholes again?” Erika rolled her eyes. “You know you can’t complain about all the good guys being taken if you hold every nice guy you date to some impossible standard. Didn’t you say he’s taken you on unique and thoughtful dates?”

  She nodded. He had. They’d gone to a drive-in movie. A picnic on the beach. Hiking in the state park. Rock climbing at Santee Boulders. “Yeah, I have fun with him.”

  “That’s got to count for something. What is it you’re looking for, exactly?” Then she made a face. “Is he just not great in bed?”

  “No!” Avery covered her face, then peeked between her fingers. “I haven’t slept with him.” Just saying it made her self-conscious.

  Erika’s eyes widened. “Really?”

  “Look, I’m honestly trying to listen to your advice. I figured after Tyler that the next guy I would date, I would wait until three months or ten dates, whatever comes first.”

  “Ten dates? Holy shit. No wonder you’re overthinking this. You don’t have to make hard and fast rules like that, you know.” Erika poured herself more wine. “The chances of you hooking up again with a guy with two other girlfriends is probably slim. Just maybe don’t sleep with a guy after knowing him for under an hour.”

  Avery’s new rule had been torturous, but somehow it made her feel like when she did sleep with Bryan, it would be more special. “Yeah, well, if Bryan can’t wait that long, maybe it’s a bad sign.” Avery stretched her shoulders back, then rolled her wrist. The carpal tunnel was reminder enough that she’d spent too much of her life wasting her time on losers and dead-end relationships. This time, she wanted to be in a relationship moving toward forever.

  “And while I completely respect that, don’t you think it’s better to base when you go to bed with someone on the connection you feel with them?” Erika yawned, then checked her watch. “Speaking of bed, I know you’re still living the joys of yesterday, but over on this side of the world, we’ve moved on to tomorrow. Catch you next week?”

  Avery blew her a kiss as they disconnected, then stared at the black void left on the screen.

  An apt metaphor for my life.

  She swirled the wine in her glass, then took another sip. Maybe she was being too picky. Erika was usually the voice of reason in her life, after all. Bryan was nice. A little bland, but he’d been so thoughtful. He sent her texts every morning just to say hello and every night before he went to sleep.

  Feeling the warm flush of wine, she pulled out her phone. Then before she could overthink it, she called Bryan.

  “Hey, beautiful.” He sounded sleepy.

  “Hey, yourself.” She should have looked at the time before she called. It was already after nine. “Did I wake you up?”

  “No—no.” Bryan cleared his throat. “It’s fine. I’m happy to hear from you. What’s up?”

  Avery smiled, twisting back in her chair lazily. “I was thinking, want to come over?”

  Chapter Nine

  Now

  * * *

  Avery turned onto her back, her shoulder aching. As the groggy fog of sleep wore off, she blinked and peeled the eye mask from her face. She was on the floor in a sleeping bag in the Serendipity. Erika was asleep on the nearby air mattress, but she wasn’t sure how. The damned thing had deflated during the night, forcing Avery to abandon her attempts to sleep on it and move to the floor.

  Avery unzipped the sleeping bag and crawled out stiffly, trying to be as quiet as possible. Erika had snored throughout the night, probably a result of still being stuffy from her allergies. Avery padded over in bare feet toward her suitcase, hearing Bryan’s voice in her head about how disgusting the floors of hotels were. He always wore socks. Even in bed. Now that they’d been together a little while, he sometimes wore them during sex, too.

  How was that for sexy?

  She bent and reached into the bag of clothes she’d picked up in town the night before. If she was going to get her hands dirty and pull weeds, the nice clothes she’d brought wouldn’t suffice.

  Tiptoeing out of the room, she hugged her clothes to her chest. This wasn’t the first time she’d tiptoed out of the rooms in the Serendipity, and ironically, when she’d done it before, it had been to meet Dan.

  Gosh, that feels like such a long time ago.

  She left the room and changed in the hall, then made her way down to the first floor. When Mr. Harrison owned the place, the sitting room would have been set up with a buffet breakfast by now—one of her favorite things about the Serendipity. She was used to the routine of grabbing a hot cup of tea and going outside to watch the world wake up at dawn. Then she’d go back inside and scarf down the best biscuits and sausage gravy she’d ever tasted.

  Would Dan hire the same chef someday? She’d have to recommend to him that he try to.

  She didn’t want anything about the old place to change. But it wasn’t hers to say. It was Dan’s now.

  Instead of the aroma of enticing coffee or bacon, the sitting room was dusty and cold, stripped down to the studs. Whatever motivation Dan had for destroying the room, she hoped his vision could do justice to what had previously been there. But her heart broke at the thought that she’d never see it again the way it was before.

  As she rounded the corner, she ran headlong into Dan, who was exiting the powder room with a toothbrush in his mouth. He wore nothing but boxers, and his hair stuck straight up in thirty directions, the grizzly beard looking wild.

  He startled when he saw her.

  Time had been kind to Dan. The lean muscles of his legs and torso of his youth had turned into well-built and chiseled ones. He had a fine sheen of curly hair on his chest. His shoulders were broader, too.

  And I really shouldn’t be thinking about his body.

  The self-chastisement only made her cheeks flame, and she turned away. “Good morning,” she managed.

  Dan took a few steps away to the office and shut the door. She stared at it, surprised at the coolness of his response. Awkwardly, she turned and glanced back at the stairs. Maybe she should have waited for Erika to wake up.

  Avery definitely wouldn’t get through the day without a few cups of coffee.

  She hurried out of the main hall and found her way onto the front porch. It shouldn’t bother her that Dan had been rude. Their brief trip into Main Street had been pleasant enough, all things considered. But being near him made her miss the camaraderie she’d once shared with him.

  Dan obviously didn’t feel the same way.

  She checked her phone, surprised with herself that she’d held out until now.

  She had missed eighteen calls and several texts from Bryan. Cringing, she scrolled through them.

  * * *

  Bryan: Finally off work. How are things going? Don’t forget to make sure the caterer has gluten-free for my mom.

  Bryan: You still having trouble with service?

  Bryan: Hello?

  Bryan: . . .

  Bryan: I tried calling, and it went to voicemail. I’m guessing you don’t have service.

  Bryan: I’m really getting worried. Please call me when you get this. It’s nearly midnight your ti
me.

  Bryan: I tried calling Erika, but she’s not picking up either.

  Bryan: HELLO?

  Bryan: I REALLY don’t like not being able to get in touch with you.

  * * *

  Avery let out a guttural grumble and then moaned. Why hadn’t she gotten the notification on any of these? Bryan hated it when she didn’t pick up. She typed up a quick message.

  Avery: Hey . . . I am so, so sorry. I had no idea you were trying to get in touch with me. Is now a good time to call?

  She was about to hit Send but then paused.

  He might be sleeping. He’d sent the last message at three in the morning, her time. If Bryan hated one thing more than being unable to talk to her when he called, it was being woken up from sleep. He didn’t sleep nearly enough with his long shifts at the hospital. And since it was just three o’clock Pacific time, he still had an hour to go before he got up for work.

  The door on the front porch opened, and she jerked up her head. Dan stepped out, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, a pair of flip-flops on his feet. He gave her an apologetic look. “Sorry about that. I ended up sleeping in the office last night and had to use the hall bathroom since there isn’t one right next to it.”

  He’d slept in the office?

  She bit her lip. Poor guy.

  “No worries.” She gave him a conciliatory smile. “Actually, I was hoping to catch you before everyone was up.” She gulped a breath. “I was thinking of heading to Main Street to get some breakfast for Erika and me. Is that new bakery on Main any good?”

  A soft, proud look lit Dan’s eyes. “Yeah, it’s great. My kid sister owns it.” Then he chuckled. “Not so much of a kid anymore, but you get what I mean.” He glanced at his truck. “You want me to drive you?”