“Are you okay, Emily?” Avery’s question stunned her and snapped her back to the present. She was finally able to place Jared, and it made her blood boil. How dare he come back to her now, like this? Why couldn’t he just leave her be so she could move on with her life? Desperate not to ruin anything with Avery, she needed to lift this newfound weight off her chest.
“Avery, I feel like I need to explain this a little more.” Emily knew if she didn’t get everything out in the open now, it would only come to bite her in the ass later. That’s what always happened. He turned in her direction, handing her the tumbler of coffee with a smile. He clearly wasn’t mad, or upset. He looked like he was going to trample Jared a few moments ago and now he was all sunshine and kittens.
“You really don’t, but I won’t stop you if you have something you want to share, love.” His smile beamed, and she only then remembered they hadn’t kissed yet this morning, despite having taken the time to freshen their mouths.
Emily paced across the kitchen, running her soft manicured fingers up his chest, taking his chin in her hands and planting a passionate kiss on his lips. Her tongue did all the speaking either of them needed. Their intense hunger for contact, overpowered her need to explain Jared as they made out like teens in her kitchen.
When their kiss finally came to an end minutes later, she let out a small laugh. “Now that we have that out of the way, let me spill.” He looked at her with disbelief. She still wants to talk? Damn it.
“Jared and I were together for a long time. We probably would have been married today.” She was clearly uncomfortable but she continued, “When my parents died, he walked out on me with no explanation. I don’t think I ever dealt with the break-up because I was too wrapped up in the loss of both of my parents. My world essentially had fallen apart.” She let out a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair once again. “I didn’t see him for two years, until you brought me into the ER the day of my accident. Apparently, he was the on-call emergency room doctor.”
Everything clicked in Avery’s mind. “I knew he looked familiar,” he mentioned while Emily finally brought herself to make eye contact with him.
“I had no idea who he was,” she continued without breaking their gaze. “The same night you brought me dinner, he came to visit me, but I didn’t recognize him. The memory loss was still so fresh and I guess my brain really wanted to block him out.” She let out a chuckle. “I don’t blame my poor brain, though. I was pretty miserable with him for a while anyway, but I stayed because everyone loved him; including my parents. But when he came to the hospital, I was creeped out and asked him to leave. Twice since, he’s shown up here trying to talk to me. I’ve asked him to leave both times. I don’t have anything to say to him. I don’t know his game, but it’s been two fucking years. What does he want from me?” She let out another deep breath and sat down on a bar stool, taking a big sip of her coffee.
“Don’t sweat it, Emily. Stick to your guns and if he comes back, call the cops. No biggie. Now come here.” He pushed away from the kitchen counter he’d been leaning against, making his way around it to the bar stool she was perched on. He wrapped his arms around her, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.
“What’s done, is done. It’s the past. Why don’t we just worry about the future? Our future.” His words vibrated through her body, as she struggled to believe that the man standing in front of her was actually real. “But if I ever catch him here again, I’ll probably punch him in the face.” He struggled with a laugh.
She couldn’t help but smile and let out a laugh of her own. Emily barely knew him, but she was starting to understand one thing—she was falling for this beautiful stranger.
***
“So let me get this all straight...” Becca chomped down on a bite of her deli sandwich. “He just showed up at your apartment, and Avery was in his underwear in the kitchen watching the whole thing?” She continued chewing while Emily put her Jersey Mike’s Sub down and took a sip of her Pepsi. “Yeah, he just keeps popping up at my apartment. He was pissed when he saw Avery.”
Emily recounted the events from earlier in the morning with her best friend over lunch. Becca had never really cared for Jared. She always insisted he was a womanizer and looking back, Emily had her own concerns about his playboy like ways. But Becca loved Avery already...oh, and his best friend Tom, whom she’d already made it a point to hook up with.
“He deserves everything he gets. Fuckin’ snake,” Becca added before taking another nibble of her sandwich.
Before she could continue on her anti-Jared rant, Emily interrupted her with a pressing question of her own. “So, what’s the story with you and Tom?” A playful smile spread across her best friend’s face and she instantly knew she’d seen him again.
“Oh, well...um...” Becca kept her gaze down on her sandwich, instantly signaling her guilty conscience.
“Spill it, Girl!” Emily grilled her.
“We hooked up, and praise everything that is holy, it was fucking spectacular!” With a holler, Emily started choking on her sandwich. I should never trust myself to eat anything around Becca’s damn mouth! Tears spilled down her face as she chugged down her soda, all while Emily’s best friend laughed hysterically at her misfortune.
“I should know better than to eat anything with you. Remind me why we go to lunch so damn often?” Emily laughed, still catching her breath. “You gonna see him again?” she asked on a serious note.
“Are you crazy? You bet your ass I am!” Becca gaped at Emily. “He was nothing short of a God in bed. Girl...it has been so damn long since I found one that actually knows how to use their equipment!”
“Okay, as much as I’m enjoying your company, I have to leave.” Emily got up, collecting her garbage and re-wrapping her leftover sandwich. “Oh, by the way. We went to my parents’ house last night.” She dropped the bomb while she was getting ready to walk out of the deli’s door. Becca would want to dive deep down into the emotional sea of grief she still wasn’t ready to touch. But Emily didn’t want to keep something so important from her best friend. “We’ll talk about it later, I promise,” she said before giving Becca a little wave and making her way to her car.
Sitting down in the passenger seat, she fished her cell phone out to discover a missed call from her sister, and a text from Avery. Avery wins out. She thought as she opened the text.
Miss you. Can’t wait to see you tonight. Pick you up at 5? xoxo
Emily smiled and her heart warmed. The way Avery treated her reminded her so much of her own father. He was a gentleman, and it was that very thing which had her falling for him.
See you then xoxo
***
Emily sat gazing at her computer screen, waiting for the words to come to her. After being with her firm for five years, she wouldn’t be returning. She loved her job and all of her colleagues, but she couldn’t go back. Too much had changed in her life over the past couple weeks and she had a desire to try something new.
In college, she’d toyed with the idea of switching her major from marketing to design. Her parents and grandfather had somewhat talked her out of the switch because they had dreams of her taking over the marketing department for her grandpa’s racing company. It didn’t interest her enough to throw her life into, though. She completed her degree, but her family never knew of her double major. The workload sucked at the time, but she was grateful now. Everything is going to finally work out.
Avery had encouraged Emily to pursue her dream of opening an interior design business. Nothing fancy at first, but she intended to talk to Amelia about how to start the firm up. If she wouldn’t show her any support, the next person she asked would be her grandfather. All Emily would have to do was bat her eyes in his direction and he would have a small army of businessmen at her feet asking how they could help.
When the letter of resignation didn’t come, she decided to give her big sister a call. After a handful of rings, her sister answered her office li
ne. “Amelia Taylor O’Connor,” she answered in her typical professional purr.
“Hey, ‘Melia,” Emily greeted. “What’cha up to?” She made small talk about the mundane things in life. Dinner, business, mutual friends they knew over the years. But when her sister ran out of subjects to brag about, and it was Emily’s turn to talk, the conversation slowed considerably, like always.
“So, Emily. What’s on your mind? I know there’s a reason you called.” Well I guess she wants to get to the point? Sitting quietly on the line for a minute, gaining her composure, Emily let out a sigh and then began.
“I need your help with something. I’m resigning from my job and I want to start my own business.” She held her breath, waiting for her sister’s reply. This could go either really good, or horribly bad. There was never a happy medium with Amelia. Maybe when she was younger, but since she got married, it was gone.
“Why on Earth would you want to do such a thing?” Yup! This is going to go downhill really quick. Emily hesitated for a moment before debating on ways to end the call.
“Well, never mind, Amelia. I’m just going to get going. If you would like to do dinner on Saturday night, just shoot me a text.” Emily hung the phone up quickly before her sister could get in another word.
She sat slouched down in her computer chair and closed her laptop. She reached for the phone one more time before dialing Pop-pop, her mother’s father who would send her in the right direction. If Amelia didn’t want to be a part of this, she wouldn’t bring it up to her again.
***
“What’d ya do this afternoon?” Avery questioned as Emily hopped up into the passenger’s seat of his truck. She huffed and let out a giggle. He eyed her suspiciously across the seat before her mouth started to spill her rushed version of the day’s events.
“Well, it started with lunch. Apparently my best friend is banging your sex-god of a best friend, Tom.” He shot her a look of horror before turning his eyes back onto the road. “Yeah, I know...not what I wanted to hear about over my sandwich. Then I tried to write my letter of resignation for work, but I stared at the blank screen for a half hour. Argued with my sister, and then buttered up my Pop-Pop for some business smarts.” She gave him an exhausted look and inhaled a sharp breath after finishing.
“Business smarts?” Avery questioned. A smile broke out across her face as she thought about his encouragement for her new career direction.
“Well, my grandpa is a pretty successful businessman. So, after mulling over the idea of starting my new interior design business, I figured I would see what I would need to get started.”
Avery froze at the sound of her words. Had she actually listened to his encouragement? “That is so awesome, Emily,” he replied while pulling into the driveway of a little green beach type house. The driveway was short and empty. The yard was mowed, but not meticulously maintained. What stood out the most was the bright blue front door. Yikes! She thought to herself, what a freaking hideous color!
The small rental wasn’t much, but Avery called it home, for now. He eventually planned on buying his own home in the area, but not until he was ready to settle down with his life. He couldn’t cramp a wife or kids into this tiny two-bedroom beach house.
“Welcome to my shack,” he joked as he jumped out of the truck. Instead of waiting for Avery to come around and open her door, she started getting out on her own. By the time he rounded the truck she was on the ground heading right for him.
“I would have helped you!” Avery stressed, taking her hand and pulling Emily into his arms. When their eyes met, he leaned in to take her lips in a sweet kiss before squeezing her in a warm embrace.
“So this is where you live, Mr. Martin?” She looked back toward the clashing colors of the house and front door. She made a silent prayer, hoping when he walked her through the threshold the color scheme would calm down. “My landlords are eccentric when it comes to their decorating.” He started to explain, almost as if he could read her look of design horror. “They let me do some painting on the inside of the house, but there’s still this hideous orange living room. Just thought I would warn you.” He laughed, pulling her toward the front door with his keys in hand.
“Trying to scare me off already, Martin?” she joked as she squeezed his hand. “It’s going to take a little more than some orange paint to make me run.” Her eyes sparkled as she gazed at him and they entered his home.
Looking around, she noticed it was pretty much as she imagined—the complete bachelor pad, with a crappy futon doubling as a couch, a second hand coffee table and a giant television. There was a sparse kitchen with appliances which looked virtually untouched. Thankfully, the orange walls weren’t as intimidating as she’d envisioned, a lighter orange made the room glow with a certain beach-like charm.
When she walked into the kitchen, a full candle-lit dinner sitting out on the table caught her eye, just as the voice of Luke Bryan’s I Don’t Want This Night to End filled the room. Avery took her hand, singing the words to Emily while she hung on every word coming from his mouth.
“Will you stay with me tonight?”
Chapter Six
When Momma Calls
Ring Ring Ring sounded through the silent bedroom, slowly interrupting Avery and Emily’s slumber. Ring Ring Ring, the phone continued to scream from somewhere in the bedroom. Avery slowly sat up, searching for his mobile. Ring Ring Ring, then the noise stopped while he continued scrambling to find the phone. Emily sat up to help him search. The phone lit up, signaling a voicemail as they discovered it under the bed.
“Who the hell is calling me at five in the damn morning?” It was two whole hours before Avery’s alarm clock was set to go off, which would give him enough time to get ready for work and drop Emily off at her apartment before heading in for a forty-eight hour shift at the fire house. Reaching under the bed, Emily couldn’t help but notice the worry on his face as he rose to his feet.
“Is everything okay, Avery?” she questioned, wiping the sleep from her eyes with a yawn. He listened to the voicemail with a stone face while holding up a single finger, signaling that the answer to her question would be coming in a moment.
“It’s my grandmother. Something is wrong with my mom,” he mumbled while dialing a number onto the phone. Emily kicked the blankets off and stood, running a reassuring hand over Avery’s arm while he waited for someone to answer on the other end.
“Gran, what’s wrong?” Avery questioned into the phone. His face slowly started to flush as sweat beaded across his brow. Emily watched his face, continuing to try and comfort him. He nodded and replied with simple words. “Yes.” “Uh huh.” “I see.” “Yes, I will be up today.” And the call was disconnected. A single tear fell from his eye and made its way down his sun-kissed cheek. As Emily waited for a word from him, he pulled her into his arms, cradling her to him. He nuzzled his head into her neck, taking in her feminine scent before finally speaking.
“My mom is in the hospital. They aren’t sure what happened, but my Gran woke up this morning and found her on the hallway floor. I have to leave for Georgia today.” He let out a deep breath and wiped the tear from his face. Emily stood back, looking into his eyes, cupping his chin in her hand.
“Is there anything I can do, Avery?” Her voice echoed with true concern, but she could have never prepared herself for the answer he would give her. Kissing her knuckles before pulling her in once again, he found his favorite place to rest his head.
“Come with me,” he whispered, before kissing her neck. Emily slowly pulled out of his arms, taking a step back and placing an arms-length of distance between them. A puzzled look formed on her face as she dragged her gaze over his body, only coming to a stop when she reached his emerald eyes.
“Is that what you want?” she asked, holding her breath and waiting for him to reply.
If she were honest with herself, there was nowhere in the word she’d rather be than with him. If he had to drive to Georgia to care for his mothe
r, she wouldn’t abandon him when she really had no other obligations at the moment. Avery’s family was more important than lounging on the beach or picking up some interior design books from Books-a-Million.
“Yes, Emily. I need you. I don’t want to face this alone.” Avery’s admission made her head spin, but it didn’t take long for her to land in mother hen mode.
“Pack a bag, and get ready. I’ll clean up the kitchen from last night and text Becca to take care of Flip, and then we will head to my apartment.” She took charge and sent Avery to his tasks. “And by the way, we’re taking my car,” she added. Avery wasn’t about to argue with her. He started tossing clothes into the overnight bag he used for work, before hitting the shower.
Avery called Tom, asking him to help with his scheduled shifts, and then picked up the phone to call Captain Sullivan. He wasn’t going to be happy, but he wouldn’t deny him the time off to deal with his family emergency.
***
Emily lost her battle over transportation. As much as she wanted the comfort of her compact car, Avery wasn’t leaving his truck in Daytona. After throwing together enough clothes for a full week and snagging her beauty bag, they were on their way.
Becca met them at Emily’s and picked Flip up to take to her apartment for the week. After the disaster her friend had left behind when Emily was in the hospital, she didn’t want to take any chances letting Becca have free rein of the apartment anymore.
Crashed Page 9
