Playing for Keeps

by Yahrah St. John

  “Malik, I—” But Quentin never got a chance to finish, because Sage nodded toward the doorway where Avery stood open-mouthed, staring back at him.

  “Avery…” Quentin came toward her, but she put up a hand to stop him.

  “Don’t!” she replied as her face flushed crimson. “I just came to tell you that Richard is not going forward with his development deal.”

  “What do you mean?” Malik asked, taking a step toward Avery.

  “I mean he is backing off. There will be no condos or multimedia complex,” she informed the group.

  “You’re kidding!” Sage said. “How did you manage that?”

  “He did it for me,” Avery replied, looking directly at Quentin. “His daughter.” And with that comment, she ran out the door.

  Dante didn’t understand. “Did she just say his daughter?”

  “She sure did,” Sage replied, slumping into a barstool with her mouth wide open.

  “But I thought she was adopted?” Dante returned.

  “She was,” Quentin answered and took off after her.

  “I guess that explains why she wouldn’t want a negative story on her biological father in the press,” Sage said to Malik and Dante.

  “And why Quentin refused to publish those photos,” Dante added.

  “Because he’s in love with her,” Malik finished. “And now I’ve just gone and ruined their relationship.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Sage replied, patting his back. “I just hope Quentin can fix this,” she said, looking toward the door.

  Chapter 15

  Quentin ran down the street and caught up with Avery just as she was hailing a cab. “Avery, wait!” he shouted. In seconds, he’d bridged the gap between them. “Avery, please stop.”

  “Why should I?” She whirled around and faced him. Her eyes blazed with fury and her face was flushed with rage. It was almost enough to stop Quentin cold, but he persevered. “Clearly, I mean absolutely nothing to you.”

  The hurt he saw in those green depths tore right through to his very soul. “That’s not true.” He shook his head. Although he was ashamed at having taken advantage of her trusting nature when they’d begun dating, he loved her now more than words could say. He’d been prepared to give up everything for her.

  “Isn’t it?” Avery asked bitterly. She was furious at him. “I was nothing more than a bet to you, Quentin Davis. You used me for you and your friends’ amusement. You guys must really have gotten a kick out of this.” She was completely humiliated. Poor dumb Avery. They must have laughed and joked about her endlessly. She’d probably provided them with hours of entertainment.

  Quentin met her accusing eyes without flinching. “I suppose initially it may have started out that way.”

  “You suppose? Oh, give me a break!” Avery scoffed as her lips thinned with anger.

  “But things changed for me, Avery. The more I got to know you, the more I liked. You weren’t some stuck-up rich girl, you were warm and funny and beautiful and amazing.”

  “And a sucker,” she added just as a cab pulled up alongside the curb. “They say one is born every minute. And I guess today is my lucky day. Here I was thinking we had something special. I was way off the mark.” She opened the taxi door.

  Quentin halted her entrance. “Avery, you weren’t off the mark. We do have something. Please give me a chance to make this up to you. To make things right.”

  “You can’t, Quentin. You and I are through. History. Kaput.” She slid inside the taxi and slammed the door. She rolled down the window and glowered at him. “Lose my number.”

  Quentin watched the taxi and the only woman he’d ever loved drive away into the night.

  He returned to Dante’s and found the crew assembled at the bar. “From your bereft expression, I take it things didn’t go well?” Sage asked. Quentin’s face was downturned and he looked in anguish.

  “No, they did not.” He took a seat beside her. He felt the changing tide. He’d seen the love fade in Avery right before his eyes and he’d been powerless to stop it.

  “Just give her time,” Sage said. “She’s upset, hurt and probably embarrassed.” She could only imagine how Avery felt. She’d have been just as upset if not worse.

  “She thinks I don’t care about her. That she meant nothing to me,” Quentin replied. “Why didn’t I tell her when I had the chance? All of this could have been avoided.”

  “Hindsight is twenty-twenty,” Malik said.

  “I thought you were angry with me.” Quentin glanced sideways at him.

  “I was, but when it all comes down to it, you’re my brother, Q. And the last few weeks without all of you have been hell. So there, I said it. I missed you lugs.”

  Quentin smiled. At least something good had come out of this. They’d all realized just how important they were to each other. “And we missed you, didn’t we?” Quentin glanced over at Sage and Dante.

  “Yes,” they said in unison.

  “So, is this family drama finally over?” Sage asked. “Because I for one have had my fill of it.”

  “You and me both,” Dante replied. He was tired of being the man in the middle.

  “Now if only I could get Avery back,” Quentin said wistfully.

  “You can and you will,” Sage said fervently. “I have never known you to give up on something without a fight and Avery Roberts will be no different. Go find that woman and make her yours.”

  “Mom, thank you so much for the use of the house in the Hamptons,” Avery said the following morning when she stopped by her parents’ home before getting on the road. When she’d called her mother last night, she’d been more than willing to part with the keys.

  “It’s no problem, sweetheart,” her mother replied. “But can’t you at least tell me what or who has upset you?”

  “I don’t really want to talk about it. All I want to do is get away for a while. You know, get some distance. And I hope some perspective.” She was hoping to figure out where she’d gone wrong and how she could have let a man like Quentin dupe her so easily. She had some serious soul-searching to do.

  “The Hamptons house is always a pleasant retreat,” her mother said. “There’s nothing more beautiful than walking along the shore collecting seashells or hearing the waves crash outside your window.” It would be exactly what Avery needed. “Here’s the keys.” Veronica pulled the set out of her desk drawer.

  “Thank you.”

  “How long will you be staying?”

  “Oh, about a week or so.” Hopefully, after she’d cried her eyes out, she could return to work and come back as the clear, levelheaded person she used to be. She didn’t even recognize the spontaneous creature she’d become with Quentin Davis.

  “Stay as long as you need,” her mother said.

  “I will. Thanks again, Mom.” Avery squeezed her shoulders before leaving.

  Quentin had tried to reach Avery several times over the last couple of days. He’d thought she was avoiding him until he’d finally broken down and called the gallery. That was when Hunter had informed him that Avery had taken a vacation. Where? He didn’t know. The only person he could think of who would know where she was was her mother. And so he showed up on Veronica Roberts’s doorstep midweek.

  “Quentin, I’m surprised to see you,” Veronica said when she opened the door.

  “I’m sorry to stop by uninvited, Mrs. Roberts,” Quentin apologized.

  “You are always welcome, please come in,” Veronica said and walked toward the living room. She thought very highly of him. “Please have a seat.”

  “Oh, I won’t be staying long,” Quentin said from the doorway.

  “All right, well, what can I do for you?”

  “I’m sure you’ve heard that Avery and I had a huge row.”

  Veronica chuckled. “Actually no, I hadn’t. Avery was very closemouthed on this one. So you two had a fight? Well, that would explain her need for distance and perspective, as she called it.”

 
; “I made a huge mistake, Mrs. Roberts, and I fear Avery won’t forgive me.”

  “Oh, pooh.” Veronica threw her hand down. “Quentin, if she can forgive me, she most certainly can forgive you for whatever wrongs you’ve done. Just so long as you weren’t unfaithful?” she asked.

  “I was not unfaithful,” Quentin replied. “But I was certainly less than forthcoming. And I want, no, I need to make this right, Mrs. Roberts. I love Avery.”

  “Of course you do.” Veronica smiled. “I knew it the moment you came to get me after her biological mother rejected her. You knew exactly what to do to console her. You knew she needed me…. You bridged the gap between me and my daughter, and you have no idea how grateful I am for that, Quentin.”

  “It was my pleasure.”

  Veronica rose and walked over to her desk. “That’s why I’m going to help you.” She scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to Quentin.

  “What’s this?”

  “It’s the address and directions to our beach house in the Hamptons.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s where you will find my daughter and I hope bring her back to her senses. Because if she lets you slip through her fingers, it would be a great loss indeed.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Roberts.” Quentin bent down and brushed his lips quickly across her cheek.

  “Oh!” Veronica smiled and touched her face. Quentin’s eyes were sparkling with devilment. “You had better get out of here!”

  “I will and when I come back I’ll have Avery with me,” he promised.

  As Quentin took the two-hour ride to East Hampton, he recited over and over in his head the speech he wanted to give. He just hoped Avery would let him get the words all out. He didn’t blame her for being angry with him. She had every right to be. He was no longer the cynical, commitment-shy man he’d been when he’d met her. In his previous relationship incarnations, he’d always been quick to leave and onto the next assignment. He’d never had the time for romantic entanglements, but Avery was different. With her, he’d opened up more than he had with any other woman. He’d told her what it was like growing up as an orphan. Sure, he’d known love from his grandmother. She’d reared him until he was ten and given him values, but when she passed, she’d taken his love right along with her. And he hadn’t felt it since, at least not until Avery.

  When Avery opened the door, she looked as beautiful as ever, barefoot, with her hair in a ponytail, wearing a bikini top and some skimpy shorts.

  “What are you doing here, Quentin?” she said, folding her arms across her chest in an attempt to shield herself from Quentin’s riveting male gaze. Even though she was angry with him, her breasts betrayed her by reacting to his nearness and growing taut.

  “I came to make things right.” He couldn’t help but notice the steady rise and fall of her chest, even though she was furious with him.

  “And how did you find me?” Avery asked despite knowing the answer to the question.

  “A little birdie told me.”

  Her mother. Once again, the woman had a hard time minding her own business. “Well, she shouldn’t have because I don’t want to see you. Matter of fact, I don’t want to have anything to do with you ever again in life.” Avery tried to slam the door in his face, but Quentin managed to pry his foot in.

  “Ouch, that’s harsh,” he said. “A lifetime is a long time.” He tried to force his way in, but Avery pushed her whole weight against the door. “Are you sure you don’t mean for a few weeks, perhaps a month?”

  “Don’t joke with me, Quentin. I am not in the mood. Why don’t we just say the foreseeable future? Would that suffice?” When she couldn’t hold the door any longer, Avery let go and ran to the back of the house. Before Quentin knew it, she was out the back door and headed to the stairs for the beach, but he followed her.

  “Quite frankly, no, it wouldn’t,” he said from behind her. He had to jog to keep up with her. He didn’t care that sand was getting in his shoes; he’d come to win Avery back and he wasn’t leaving until he did.

  “Running is not the answer, Avery,” he said. “It’s what I’ve been doing my entire life, but I’m not doing it anymore. That’s why I’m here.”

  “Stay away, Quentin,” she said over her shoulder as she walked along the beach. “Can’t you see that I just want to be alone?”

  When he didn’t answer, she took off running down the shore. He caught up with her and grabbed her by the shoulders. His dark eyes bored into hers. “I am sorry, okay? I’m so sorry. I should have told you sooner. I was just afraid of losing you.”

  “Sorry doesn’t cut it, Quentin.” Avery tore herself out of his grasp. “You hurt me. After I gave myself to you so completely.”

  “I made a mistake. Can’t you forgive me? Like you’ve forgiven your parents? Adoptive and biological? I know you have it within you, Avery. You have the capacity because you have a huge heart.” He’d seen her forgiveness and compassion with her family. Why couldn’t she do the same for him?

  “You hurt me!” she yelled. “And now what, you’re here to pick up the pieces? As if that were possible.”

  “It is if you allow it to be. If you give me another chance. Avery, I love you.”

  “Love? You don’t know the meaning of the word,” she said. “You’re just saying it now to save face. So your friends will still think you’re a great playa.”

  “Avery, c’mon, think about it. If what you say is true, then why would I have been ready to trash my relationship with Malik if I didn’t love you? I know you put yourself out on a limb for me by telling Richard, but I was willing to do the same for you. I was in essence ending a twenty-year friendship with the only family I’ve ever had. For you.” Quentin titled her chin and forced her to look up at him. “For you, Avery. Because I love you.”

  “No, no, no.” She shook her head and wrenched her arms out of his grasp. “You can’t love me. Because I’m unlovable.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “My own mother didn’t want me, why would I think you would? Mr. Smooth Operator. You’re used to cutting and running. Why would I think you’re in it for the long haul?”

  “Because I never found a woman worth throwing in the towel for until now. When I met you, that changed. I finally stopped running away from love. Can’t you see the difference? I feel it. After the childhood I endured, I didn’t even think it was possible to fall in love with anyone, but I did. I fell in love with you, Avery, please believe that.”

  “My head is telling me to run in the other direction and not look back.”

  “And your heart?” Quentin asked, stroking her cheek. “What does it say?”

  “My heart says to throw my arms around you and kiss you,” Avery said. “But I don’t know if I can trust you.”

  “You can, Avery. I promise you can,” Quentin encouraged her. “You can trust me with your heart. And I promise I won’t let you down again.”

  “I don’t know.” She shook her head.

  “Baby, just do it. Just do what’s in your heart.”

  Avery couldn’t resist him any longer. She had to do what her heart craved. “I love you, Quentin Davis!” She shouted and threw her arms around his neck. And when he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off her feet, she knew she’d made the right decision.

  “And I love you, Avery Roberts.”

  Much later, after they’d frolicked on the beach, splashing water on each other, they returned to the beach house where they made love slowly and languorously. There was a trail of strewn clothes across the beach house floor leading to the master bedroom.

  Quentin’s kisses that night were tender. His touch was sweet. Tears of happiness gleamed in Avery’s eyes as his hands explored every inch of her feminine form, worshipping her.

  “Thank you,” Quentin said later.

  “For what?”

  “For giving me and us another chance. And for helping me escape the demons of the past. For showing me what true love is.
”

  “You’ve done the same for me,” Avery said, stroking his cheek. “I’ve made peace with the fact that I’m adopted and that I won’t have a relationship with Leah. And that I could have one with Richard if I so desire. But if I don’t, I have two wonderful parents who love me dearly. And I have you.”

  “We’ve both come a long way in a short time.” Quentin ran his fingertips from her nose down across her sweet, sensual lips. “After that gallery opening, who would ever have thought we’d end up like this?”

  “Oh, I had some idea.” Avery smiled.

  “You did not!”

  “Well, maybe not in love, but from the moment I met you, I knew I wanted you.”

  “And you have me,” Quentin said. “All of me. Any time you want.”

  The following weekend, Avery and Quentin joined the gang at Dante’s for Sage’s birthday party. At first Quentin wasn’t sure about coming, given the fact that his friends had been in on the bet. He didn’t want Avery to think any less of them, but she’d assured him that all was forgiven and that it was water under the bridge. She was a real trouper and walked in with a smile.

  Sage was amazed at her courage. Avery had shown character and Sage could respect that. “I am so glad that you’re here and that you forgave Quentin,” Sage said, rushing toward Avery and giving her a hug. “It was stupid and childish and we should never have placed that bet. And I’m truly, truly sorry for my part in it.”

  But Avery interrupted her. “Let’s leave that in the past, okay? And start fresh.”

  “You’re very gracious. Thank you, Avery. And thank you for coming to my party.” Sage couldn’t believe she was thirty years old!

  While Avery and Sage chatted, Quentin joined Malik and Dante at the bar.

  “I didn’t think you had it in you, my man,” Dante said, coming forward and shaking Quentin’s hand, “but you’ve found a great catch.” He’d never seen Quentin look so happy, so fulfilled. From the huge grin on his face, the man was in heaven.