Lost Dreams (24 page)

"What do you mean ‘it’s fine’?” The urgency of my words surprised me, but I needed to know what was going on.

I could see from her eyes that she was about to cry. "I told him to stop acting like there was something more between us. I asked him to stop being a jerk with you." Her eyes were filled with tears.

"What did he say?" I hated him.

"He denied it, he said he was never acting like that. He gave me tomorrow off, saying I probably had too much going on," she cried.

"Can I go inside and talk to him?"

She shook her head.

Damn! I started the car and drove us home. "I don't think you should go back Ave, I really don't like his attitude with you. He’s disrespectful and..." I tried my best to control my bad temper. ''You deserve better, sweets.''

"Just get me home... please?" She pinched the bridge of her nose, her bottom lip clutched in between her teeth. Avery fought against her tears, taking a deep and long breath.

I agreed and drove us home, defying the speed limits. I had to get her home, where she would feel better. My eyes were divided between the road and Avery, I hated seeing her like this.

Once I parked the car in the driveway, I got out but she remained in her seat. Ave looked calm, but I knew that inside, she was struggling. I walked to her side of the car and opened the door. ''Come on, sweets, don't stay in the car. I want you in my arms.''  She finally got out and fell hard into my arms. I held her with all my strength, I couldn't believe how a man like Liam could make her feel so small. I led the way inside the house and she went directly to the couch and cuddled with the closest blanket.

Should I make her a coffee? Or should I just let her have time alone? I didn't know. I looked at her for a couple of minutes before I decided to join her on the couch with an extra blanket.

"Are you okay, sweets?" I was really worried.

She nodded and leaned against me. "I just really love my job, I don't want to quit, but he’s making it hard for me to stay."

I kissed her hair. "I know, and I’m sorry." I felt really sorry for her, she wasn't in a good situation at the moment. She wanted to stay for the kids, but she wanted to leave because Liam was being an arse. I pulled her to me and repeatedly told her I loved her.

"I think I’m going to give him my two weeks’ notice."

It surprised me to hear her decision, I’d honestly thought she would choose to stay for the children. "Are you sure?"

"We don't need this kind of stress," she said and I have to admit, I agreed. "What happened to you earlier? With the car horn?"

I took a deep breath. “I fell asleep on the porch, I don't know how long I slept but someone laid on the horn in their car, right in front of the house, and I panicked. Before I realized what had happened, I was lying on the porch and the adrenaline was rushing through me as if I’d been in the middle of an attack."

She turned to look at me. "I don't like the sound of that, babes. Are you okay now?"

"Yeah, when you called, I was still panicking, but hearing your voice and knowing I was going to see you soon helped." It sounded cheesy, but it was true. I didn't want to mention it to her, but hearing Liam in the background had motivated me to get to her fast. It all distracted me from the panic attack.

We relaxed on the couch for a little while. We loved to cuddle and listen to music. A mix of songs from Michael Buble, to U2 and Muse.

Our day ended up being quiet and we both needed the peace. Too lazy to cook anything, we ordered Chinese food from a nearby restaurant and stayed on the couch cuddling all evening. At some point, we thought about going to the movie theater but decided against it. Too comfortable together to move off of the couch, we change into our pyjamas before sun down and ate in the living room.

I loved spending hours with her; our legs entwined while her head rested on my chest. Playing with her hair, kissing her. This was my version of a good life, and I knew I had a lot to be thankful for. Destiny hadn’t been looking that good a year ago.

The following morning, we woke up early and sat on the patio in the back yard, drinking our coffee and planning our day. The sky was blue with a few little white clouds, nothing to be worried about. I didn't think it was going to rain. Avery wasn't working, and that pleased me more than anything. I wanted to keep Liam as far away from her as possible. I was still really angry with him.

''Maybe we could go for a walk, there’s a nice park not too far from here. Cape Fear, I think that’s what it's called. I could take some photos, too,'' Avery suggested. Taking photos and learning new tricks with her camera seemed to be her favorite hobby nowadays.

I’d heard about this park before. ''Yeah, sounds good. I know exactly where it is.''

''Alright! You want to shower, babes?'' She peeked across at me, trying to downplay what she was suggesting. I knew she was no innocent.

''No, no... I took a shower late last night. I think I'm good.'' I lied, trying to gauge her reaction.

''Oh... okay... well, I'm going to hurry then.'' She stood up, looking disappointed and turned to go inside the house.

I started laughing. ''Really, Avery? Is it that bad?'' I asked her.

She pouted. ''Yes... that bad...I miss you.''

We’d spent the last day cuddling, touching, kissing and yet, she claimed to be missing me. I couldn't really play hard to get with her, because this was exactly what I wanted too. Some may have called it lust, suggesting at this stage we were driven by hormones and ‘new relationship’ passion, but I had a feeling that with Avery, this stage would never fade. I believed we had something really special.

Later, after our ‘shower’, we got to the park and we were both impressed with what had been done around here. We walked through many different themed gardens, all different and their fragrances lingered in the air. We took many photos, as usual. Avery was excited and it seemed she had forgotten how crappy she felt the day before. The hosta and daylily gardens were the places where we spent the most time. Avery had no green thumb, but she loved nature and everything it involved. It was still early in the season, so not all the flowers were blooming. We walked through the Butterfly Stroll where the plants were specifically chosen as they attracted butterflies. We only saw a few of them, but Avery was able to take some photos, which made her happy. Putting the camera aside, we hiked for a long time, sometimes talking together and sometimes enjoying a companionable silence.

''Can you imagine walking around here with our child?'' She offered me a beautiful smile. ''How fun would that be, to come here with the stroller, a picnic and a couple of good friends?''

She surprised me with the mention of a baby, but I could imagine us doing what she’d suggested and soon. ''I can't wait, sweets. I think about it a lot too.''

She squeezed my arm and kissed my cheek. ''We haven’t really been very careful lately,’’ she admitted with a tiny smile ‘‘It could be sooner, rather than later.''

''I would be the happiest man on the planet.'' I wanted to have a family with her so badly, the fact that she might even be pregnant now was exciting. ''I love you, sweets.''

''I love you more.''

I laughed. ''Impossible...''

''To infinity and beyond,'' she added.

The park was enormous and the surrounding pine trees were all mature and very tall. We stopped again to take some more photos. We had been walking for quite some time and I was starting to feel it in my legs. I sat down on a bench, planning to let my legs rest for a couple of minutes.

''Babes, look this way. Don't smile. I want to take a photo of your profile.''

She lowered herself to my level and I forced myself not to smile and concentrated on a tree in front of me. I heard the camera click, at least ten times while she changed her angle slightly for each photo. I couldn't really look at her, but I just bet she had that look of concentration on her face, with that adorable little frown on her forehead. I turned my head in her direction in slow motion, failing to keep my smile away. Avery kept taking photos, and I think I might have blushed.

''Stop now, sweets, I don't know what to do with myself,'' I laughed.

''Just pretend you’re a model, you know like Sean O’Pry? Pause like he does, let loose. Have some fun with it!'' She tried hard to get me into the mood and I gave it my best shot. I got up, tousled my hair a little and looked at her, still unsmiling and tried my best to look like Richards. I leaned on a tree, my hands hidden in the front pockets of my jeans, and I pushed them low on my waist, giving her a view of my boxer briefs.

''That's so hot, babes!''

I gave her a wide grin and again, she kept on taking photos. It intimidated me in a strange way. Avery was in photographer mode and I really wasn’t used to this type of attention.

''Okay, it's my turn!'' I ran to Avery and tried to get hold of the camera. Of course, she didn't want to let it go. I tickled her, trying to make her surrender to me.

''Wait! Wait!'' she shrieked, trying to fend off my tickling attack. ''Jeremy Taylor! Stop that, right this minute!''

''Okay... okay!'' Our laughter echoed through the park, and both of us were struggling to catch our breath. Her smile was radiant, and I loved seeing her like this. Avery finally agreed to lend me her camera and I took it carefully and adjusted the lens. ''Stay like that, Ave, keep smiling,'' I ordered. I stepped away to take her photo, and like her, I ended up taking a multitude of them.

''Wait!'' she said, standing up. ''I want to take some selfies.'' She stood in front of me with the camera back in her small hands. I wrapped my arms around her waist and she turned the camera around so we became both the models and photographers.

''Excuse me?'' A voice came from behind us. ''Need any help?''

Maybe we were too loud, I thought, as I glanced around and saw a woman. We both were too startled by her sudden question to answer her. Help with what, anyway?

''I'm a photographer, I could take a few shot of you two.''

Avery reacted this time, delighted that the woman was a photographer, she shook hands with her.

''Oh, so you’re a Canon kind of girl. Good choice.'' The woman took the camera from Avery's hand and Avery looked at me, obviously worried about a stranger holding her favorite toy. ''Wow, you have a really good quality camera here.''  She was flicking through the photos we’d taken, studying them on the small viewing screen.

''Yeah, I bought it recently and I'm really interested in photography. It's kind of my hobby.''

''With a camera like that, we’re talking professional, not hobby.'' She paused changing some of the settings on the camera. ''I'm June White, by the way. I have a studio in town. Here, take my card. Give me a call on Monday.''

I would have never guessed that June was a photographer, going by her hiking gear, she looked like someone who would work here in the park, doing maintenance, maybe. Loose cargo pants were paired with a washed-out hoodie and she looked anything but professional.

''Thank you, I... I'll call you Monday.'' Ave stammered a little, I could tell she was nervous.

''Are you guys ready?''

Avery nodded and drew me into her arms. June started giving us instructions on how to place our arms, our legs and she also told us not to smile too much. She took a lot of photos and had us moving around like puppets.

''Well, I think I just took about fifty photos,'' June chuckled. ''I hope that's okay. I couldn’t help myself, you two make a lovely couple.'' She removed the strap from around her neck and handed the camera back to Avery.

''Thank you, June.'' Avery said. ''I'll call you on Monday morning.''

''I'll be looking forward to it, Avery.''

Without another word June turned around and continued her hike, leaving Avery speechless for a minute. I thought Ave looked funny, as if she was wondering if this had just been a strange dream. ''Why do you think she wants me to call her on Monday?''

''I have no idea, sweets. Maybe she has some photography equipment she thinks you’d be interested in.''

''Maybe she wants to suggest some classes, or I guess she could be looking for a model,'' Avery added.

''It could be anything, Ave.''

She sat on the bench again and looked through the photos June had taken in the small screen. ''Jesus, babes, there isn’t a single photo that isn’t amazing.'' I sat next to her and we looked at the photos together. Some of them stood out, capturing the passion between us. June had caught the rays of the sun shining on Avery's hair and she looked stunning. ''We'll add some of these to our wall, maybe put some in our bedroom, too.''

''I don't know why she wants you to call her, Ave, but she a really great photographer. Maybe you could get her to show you some of her tricks. I mean, you’re good, but she is really good. No offence.''

''None taken.''

Realizing how far we'd walked from the car, we headed back on the walking trails. We were both tired and wanted to be home already. I knew Avery was anxious to call June on Monday and she’d be on tenterhooks until then.

With Avery having Friday off, we’d enjoyed a long weekend. Unfortunately, the weekend came to an end way too fast. We had a great time at the park on Friday and for the next two days, Avery had spent most of the time thinking about the pros and cons of working with Liam. The only pros she kept mentioning was the kids. She loved them and they brought a lot of fun into her life. After spending hours thinking, Avery took the decision to leave the daycare. She didn't like Liam's attitude toward her and my many warnings might have convinced her to quit. There was something wrong with the guy, and I didn't want to wait until something really bad happened.

Avery went to the daycare on Monday morning to talk to Liam, she gave him her notice and proposed to work for another two weeks so he had time to find someone else to replace her. I thought that was pretty damn generous, because I’d told her not to give him any notice at all. Of course, the asshole was angry, he tried to manipulate her but she told me there was nothing that would make her change her mind, not even the raise he offered. When she returned home, she called June and it turned out that June was looking for an assistant. Things were looking up for Avery and it was about damn time.