I sigh. “It’s her.”
“What? Avery? Abby’s cousin, Avery?” He too must repeat this news. “As in my live-in girlfriend’s cousin who comes to family dinners and the new owner of Smokey Java’s, Avery?” Lucas takes a beat and wipes a hand across his mouth. “Geez, I’ve been trying to set you two up on a blind date for months, but Avery said she doesn’t date guys with the name Jake because she’d already done that once and it was enough.”
Looking at him slightly, I am taken aback by that statement. Could it be that I am also still stuck in her head somewhere? How could I not be? We were…
Damn. We were so many things.
Lucas pats my back as he lets out a deep breath. “Oh man. This is complicated and crazy.” He takes a sip of his beer.
“How have we not figured out this fact already?” I wonder aloud.
Lucas purses his lips. “Hmm, well, Avery is Abby’s cousin from her mother’s side, so different last names. Family photos in my house are reserved for my son and the dog that may as well be our child, so uh, I guess if you weren’t really listening then you wouldn’t have caught on. And Nate only calls Avery the cute bakery owner when he talks about her on our group runs.”
My glare turns towards Lucas about the fact that his brother has in fact mentioned her on our runs, the cute bakery owner—who he’d better fucking stay away from.
Lucas scoffs. “You look like a man in warrior mode. Relax. Nate isn’t interested.” I feel not even slightly better.
“What is with this bar? Is there ever a normal night here?” I remark with disbelief, because really, anybody who walks into this place eventually comes out with a crazy story. Guess tonight it was my turn.
“But time changes people. Or maybe some people need a long pause before facing each other,” Lucas offers the unsolicited advice, because he and Abby came together only recently, after knowing one another their whole lives. He sometimes presents life as a freaking fairytale.
There is nothing more than wanting to believe he is right. I have thought about it every day for the past five years.
Five freaking years.
And look at her. Still beautiful. Is she faintly smiling? Please no, it’s too infectious. That dress? So easy to slide up her…
Letting out an exhale, something snaps in me.
This woman left a mark on my life and no way am I letting her escape again without a fight. No, this is the woman that sent my world into a tailspin, and something tells me we are not done on that ride. I’ve been waiting for this chance, and I wasn’t even looking. I should have been searching.
I look to Lucas and give him a devilish grin. “Can you introduce us?”
He knows I have plans on my mind.
“You two already know each other,” Lucas states, amused, as he crosses his arms.
“Yeah, but I want to meet her again.”
