Wish Upon a Wedding (11 page)

“So much fun lies ahead. I'm plannin' an a-mazing bachelorette party. Aren't you excited?” She didn't even look at Sophia.

“I . . . yes, I suppose,” Avery said with a slight shrug.

When Avery failed to say more Ashley finally turned her attention to Sophia. “I was surprised to
learn that you've opened that little salon.” She gave her hair a little Cher-like flip. “I mean, I thought you were a short-order cook at that little bistro down by the riverside.”

“I have many talents,” Sophia said. She glanced over at Avery and was surprised that his gaze remained on her instead of Ashley. He gave her a reassuring smile. When Ashley cleared her throat, Sophia looked up at her. “I'm sorry—what were you saying?”

Ashley opened her mouth and then shut it. “Well, I will tell you ahead of time that I'm very particular about my hair.” She put her hand to her chest. “You know that, don't you, Avery?”

Avery looked decidedly uncomfortable and remained silent.

“I'll keep that in mind,” Sophia said. “I'm looking forward to meeting with Zoe.” Sophia suddenly wished she had her mother's British accent so she could sound a little snooty, and then realized she was being super petty. Sophia was never petty. A little snarky? Yes. Petty? No. In fact, she hated pettiness and drama and always tried to steer away from it in the salon. But what she detested most was feeling jealous. Being jealous meant she was feeling insecure, and although she could be a bit quiet and sometimes shy and moody, she wasn't insecure and she didn't like the feeling.

Sophia took a sip of her water and told herself to cool her jets. There, her jets were cool.

But when Ashley put her hand on Avery's shoulder Sophia seriously wanted to smack it right off. Her jets heated up again.

“Well, it was good to see you, Avery.” She squeezed Avery's shoulder and gave him a lingering look. Avery didn't say
same here
or
nice to see you too
. He just gave her a polite nod. Did being glad about that put her right back into the petty category? Sophia hoped not. But she was pretty sure that it did.

“And so lovely to meet you, Sophie.”

“Sophia,” Avery corrected in a clipped tone.

“Right. Oh, so sorry,” Ashley said but didn't look sorry at all.

“It's okay.” Sophia smiled and nodded but something of what she was feeling must have shown on her face because Avery reached down and took her hand. Was he feeling sympathy? Or was he suddenly putting on a show for Ashley? Or could he see the green-eyed monster sitting on Sophia's shoulder whispering snarky remarks in her ear?

“Well, I have a luncheon meeting with an important client so I have to run,” Ashley said, but her megawatt smile had dimmed just a bit. “Hope to see y'all around,” she said, but kept her gaze on Avery. Sophia was sure that Southern-plural thing was singular. Would it be wrong of Sophia to give Ashley a spiky purple Mohawk for her updo?

After Ashley gave Avery a little finger wave and finally turned away, he exhaled an audible breath and slid back into the booth.

“Are you okay?” Sophia asked.

“Wishing this water were a beer.”

“Hey, you know what they say. It's five o'clock somewhere.”

“Don't tempt me.”

Oh, Sophia wanted to tempt him. She glanced down at her phone. “Yep, it's beer thirty.”

Avery laughed and seemed to relax a little bit.

“I am
such
an enabler.” Whether or not Avery still had feelings for Ashley didn't change the way Sophia felt about him and she didn't like seeing him upset. “But really. Are you okay? I mean it's awkward when your ex shows up and you're with another woman. Even if you're just pretending to be,” she amended.

“Yeah, it was,” he said. “You know that you have the ability to make a bad situation better?”

“As I said, I have many talents,” she joked.

“I have no doubt, but that's not a talent, Sophia. It's called being a nice, caring person. You care.”

Sophia swallowed hard but nodded. “I do.”

Avery looked at her for a lingering moment, and then brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it. Sophia felt the warmth of his lips all the way to her toes. “To answer your question, though, I'm just fine. In fact, better than I've been in a long time.”

“Good.” Sophia smiled back, telling herself not to read too much into the gesture. Maybe Ashley was watching and Avery was trying to send her a message. Sophia wanted to look over to see if that was the case but she kept her eyes on Avery and to her delight he kept his eyes on her.

But instead of glancing at Ashley, she asked, “So, are you going to share that calzone or not?”

Love Me Tender

“I
will share only if you fork over some of that salad that I've been drooling over,” Avery answered with a grin. He was waiting for his feelings on seeing Ashley to hit him like a sucker punch to the gut the way it always did but, strangely, the feeling didn't happen this time.

“You've got a deal.” Sophia busied herself sliding salad onto a small bread plate and losing a cherry tomato, which she then had to go stabbing after with her fork. She lost the battle and the tomato rolled off the table and onto the floor, stopping beneath a nearby table.

“Oops . . .”

“You've got another runaway.”

“Can't take me anywhere,” she said with a half grin and a shrug.

“On the contrary, I can't think of anyplace I wouldn't want to take you.”
I want to take you to bed,
popped into his brain and refused to budge.

“Thank you, Avery.” She sucked in her bottom lip while she drizzled a little bit of salad dressing on her half and then passed the little plastic cup his way.

Avery wanted to tell Sophia that he thought her curves were sexy and that she shouldn't worry so much about calories. But he knew from growing up with a sister that women tended to feel some sort of misplaced shame in eating anything fattening. And commenting about calories or weight always somehow got him in trouble. He remembered telling Ashley he thought she'd lost weight and she took it to mean that he thought she'd been fat. And Zoe was on a no-gluten diet, whatever the hell that meant, in an effort to lose weight for her wedding. Even his mother was fussing over fitting into her mother-of-the-bride dress. He wanted to tell them all to just chill the hell out. They were all beautiful.

Avery slid Sophia's half of the calzone onto an extra plate that Chad had provided. She took a bite of the salad, ignoring the calzone. “Aren't you going to eat it?” He pointed his fork at her portion.

“Oh, I . . . Yes,” Sophia said and took a bite. “Mmm . . . really good. You had to go and tempt me.”

“And this little temptation”—he held up a slice of cucumber—“is delicious.” He stabbed an olive and popped it into his mouth. “Mmmm, to die for.”

“Right, who needs cheese and pizza dough, anyway?” When Sophia laughed, Avery realized how much he loved the soft, throaty sound. Ah, damn, he wanted to kiss her. He'd wanted to for a long time now. But although he'd made her laugh he could see something stormy lurking in her eyes. She was trying hard, but her mood had shifted since Ashley's sudden appearance.

Avery felt guilty that he'd put Sophia in such an awkward situation. While he knew the day would come when his and Ashley's paths would cross, he'd preferred not to think about it and wished he'd been more prepared. He'd really wanted to introduce Sophia as his girlfriend, but since it wasn't true, he couldn't bring himself to say it to Ashley. Letting her come to her
own conclusion was one thing, but a straight-up fabrication just didn't sit well with Avery.

When Ashley had cheated, he'd still been in love with her and he didn't know how to turn the love off or how to deal with her betrayal. Her tears, her pleading to give her another chance at their relationship got to him every time she'd asked, and in truth he'd tried, reached deep for forgiveness. And he'd supposed he
had
forgiven her, at least on some level, but he just didn't see how he could ever trust her again, and without trust what did they really have? “Aren't you glad that we shared?” Avery asked, wanting to switch up his train of thought.

“Well, I do believe your half is bigger,” she said with the arch of her eyebrow.

Avery laughed, and was glad to see some of Sophia's humor return. He switched plates. “There, how's that?”

“No, I was just kidding!” She tried to switch the plate back and they ended up in a tug of war that had them both laughing.

When the laughter died down Sophia leaned back against the booth and smiled. In that moment Avery realized that seeing Ashley hadn't bothered him in the way that it used to because he loved being with Sophia. When he was with her everyone else sort of faded into the background.

Avery let the realization sink in for a moment just to make sure. He swallowed hard as he watched her lean forward to take a bite of her calzone. Yeah . . . he had no doubt.

He could fall in love for real with Sophia Gordon.

Truthfully, she'd captured his heart over the past few months when she served him breakfast with a sweet, shy smile nearly every morning at Walking on Sunshine Bistro. Her kind, gentle demeanor coupled with her wicked sense of humor chased away the darkness that had settled in his soul. In fact, she'd charmed the entire breakfast crowd, both young and old. Avery
had witnessed her listening with concerned interest to customers bending her ear with their problems. She laughed at the corny jokes told by the old-timers from Whisper's Edge, the retirement community down by the river. And she'd often been the peacemaker if discussions about politics or sports became heated. Avery knew that the regular patrons had not only come to the restaurant for the melt-in-your-mouth biscuits and strong coffee, but for the company as well.

Sophia's smile was a really good way to start the day.

Avery watched her take another bite of the calzone and then dab at the corners of her pretty mouth with a napkin. But there was a slight edge of sadness to her too. Avery saw it there when she didn't think anyone was looking. He wanted to chase it away and keep that smile of hers in place.

“You've gone quiet on me again, Avery.” She poked a tomato and tilted her head in question, tomato forgotten, while she looked at him with concern in her brown eyes. “You can talk to me, you know. About anything,” she added and he knew she was referring to Ashley. Other than knowing that he didn't want to get back together with Ashley, he hadn't really discussed his relationship or why it had ended. “I will listen and what you tell me will go nowhere.”

“I know that.” He really wanted Sophia to know the real reason he broke off his engagement but of course he couldn't tell her. Why had he made that stupid promise? “Thank you, Sophia,” Avery said, but hated the look of uncertainty in her eyes when he failed to elaborate.

She nodded. “Just remember that.”

“I will.” Avery had been about to tell Sophia that he wanted to give their relationship a try for real before Ashley made her unexpected appearance. And Ashley's behavior had been . . . odd. Not rude exactly, but coming close, and in truth, that wasn't like her at all. He supposed her seeing him with another woman
hadn't sat well with her. The realization should have given him some satisfaction but it made him only feel somehow sad for her. She'd given up something good and strong for something sordid and fleeting.

“I'm serious,” Sophia said after he'd gone quiet again. “Well, not always but I am right now. So . . . a penny for your thoughts? Wait, your thoughts are worth more than a penny. Let's try again. A dollar for your thoughts?”

“I don't know that my thoughts are worth all that much.” Avery chuckled softly.

“Let me be the judge of that.”

“Okay.”

“Promise?”

“Is this where we do a pinkie swear?” Avery asked.

“Yes, I do believe it is.” Sophia crooked her pinkie into his and laughed. “Now you are stuck with confiding in me or else.”

“Or else what?”

“Not sure, but I think we'd better not chance it. Kinda like not stepping on a crack so you don't break your mother's back.”

“I think you're right.” Avery laughed. He remembered when he'd first met Sophia. He'd been in a really rotten mood and in dire need of strong coffee after tossing and turning all night long. He'd entered Walking on Sunshine Bistro with a scowl on his face and a chip on his shoulder.

And then Sophia Gordon smiled at him and he was powerless not to smile back.

The biscuit she'd served him was as hard as a damned rock but she was so frazzled that he'd slathered it with gravy that had sausage bits, which were like gravel. He'd crunched on it anyway. Her smile had been worth risking his teeth.

“You're still really quiet,” Sophia said. “Look, if—”

Avery stopped the direction of the conversation by putting his hand over hers. “I was thinking about the
day I met you and ate the worst biscuits known to man.” He chuckled and looked up at the ceiling, before turning his gaze back to hers.

“Oh, good gravy.” Some of the worry left those expressive brown eyes.

“Good gravy? You're learning some Southern lingo. Pretty soon you'll be sayin' ‘y'all.'”

“No, I meant my sausage gravy was good, wasn't it?”

Avery winced. “Well . . .”

“No, don't answer.” Sophia rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Oh, that first batch of biscuits was simply horrible! You could have played golf with those suckers.” She shook her head. “I overworked the dough,” she explained with a sort of shy smile. “And you were such a gentleman for eating it. Rusty wasn't even interested in stealing any of those biscuits. I'm surprised you didn't end up in the emergency room or break off a tooth.”

“As my granddaddy would say, I have a very strong constitution.”

Sophia laughed and Avery thought there wasn't a sound more pleasant in the whole world. “Well, it's a good thing! Giving indigestion to the good people of Cricket Creek wasn't something I wanted to do. I'm just glad that people came back and gave me another chance.”

“You were so cute and determined. Everybody was pulling for you.”

“And praying for Mattie to return.”

Avery laughed.

“When I was asked to help out I agreed because I knew I was a pretty darned good cook. I used to do my homework while watching the cooks prepare meals while my mother worked. I asked a million questions and finally ended up being allowed to help out. Who knew that a simple biscuit and the consistency of sausage gravy would be so difficult to perfect? I should have done a trial run. Overconfidence is never a good
thing. But then again I came to Cricket Creek rather quickly when Mattie was put on bed rest.”

“Well, practice makes perfect. You've got it down pat now.”

“Let's just say I was determined. I hate to disappoint a customer.”

“Another good quality of yours. You were so good-hearted to take a break from your career.”

“Thank you, but in truth I needed a sabbatical from the salon in New York. I adore doing hair and makeup, but I was getting a bit burned-out, especially dealing with difficult clients who didn't always appreciate how hard I tried to please them. It happens in my industry.”

“Understandable. Sometimes I get tired of fixing things.”

Sophia raised her palms upward. “To be able to fix things is just awesome. I have absolutely no mechanical skills whatsoever. And then, for some reason, from time to time, I attempt to fix something, on my own. Fail . . . always a fail. Oh, but if I were ever able to finally fix something that was broken I'd brag about it for days and take pictures and show everybody.”

Avery laughed. “I think I'll give you some handyman lessons. You'd look really cute in a tool belt.”

“I might just have to take you up on that.”

Avery smiled and said, “I can't imagine being away from my family for very long.” He thought about how often his father was gone but at least he knew he was coming home. Sophia's family had been scattered all over.

“Yeah, I sure missed my family.” She looked down at her plate and pushed her fork through the flaky calzone. “And of course now we have Lily!” She looked up with a bright smile. “That little girl changed all of our lives. She's just precious.” When her eyes misted over Avery thought that Sophia would make such a sweet mother. His heart did a weird little thump at the thought. “And seeing Garret holding her and being so
happy . . . Oh, it's just the best feeling.” She cleared her throat. “I'm sorry for getting so emotional.”

“There's no need to be sorry.”

She smiled. “Thanks. I've been a bit more emotional of late and I really think it has a lot to do with little Lily. Her birth brought our family back together and made us grounded in a way that I've never felt before. The moment she wrapped her little finger around mine, I was a goner.”

“Lily is a little beauty.”

“Prettiest baby in the history of all babies.”

“Except perhaps for her Aunt Sophia,” Avery said. He watched Sophia wrap her tongue around the stretchy provolone cheese and felt a strong pull of desire. He'd certainly felt the connection before now, but he'd fought it thinking she would be moving back to New York. And now, he wanted to embrace the feeling . . . that, and he wanted to embrace Sophia. Kiss her and so much more. “Why, thank you, Avery.”

“Just stating the truth.”

“That's not what I'm thanking you for.” She licked marinara sauce from her bottom lip making him swallow hard.

“What then?”

“I'm thanking you for looking at me like that.”

“Like what?” Avery asked, his voice husky.

“Like you . . .” she began but then faltered and blushed a pretty shade of pink. “You know . . .”

“Like I want to kiss you?”

Pressing her lips together, she nodded.

Avery's heart pounded. The rest of the restaurant faded into the background. Ashley vanished from his mind like sunshine burning off the morning mist.

“Do you?” Her voice was whisper soft and her eyes echoed what he was feeling. “Want to kiss me?”

“Yes.” Avery wanted Sophia with a sudden intensity that he hadn't felt in such a long-ass time. And he knew why. When he looked into those big brown eyes, he
saw sincerity.
Trust.
For a while, he had been on a slippery slope that had kept him from fully getting back up on his feet. But when he was with Sophia, with her shy demeanor, crazy sense of humor, and compassion, it felt as if he'd finally landed on solid ground.