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“Talking to Trev.”
She rolls her eyes. “Why would you call him during the party?”
Old habits die hard, so I throw Trev under the proverbial bus to save myself from retribution.
“He’s having female issues.”
One eyebrow rises. “You’re hiding out in Juniper Springs, trying to avoid your mother and ex-girlfriend. I don’t think you’re the man to call unless you’re about to open a commune for men who are afraid of women.”
“Ha! Your grandmother is brilliant.”
“Shut up.”
“Excuse me?” my grandmother asks.
“Talking to Trev.”
“Give me the phone.”
I hesitate.
“I thought you might want to talk to Avery.”
I fight the need to look around for her. “Why would you think that?”
She smiles. “So, you’re okay with Josh talking to her.”
My attention zeroes in on Josh and Avery when she says it. She’s laughing, and he’s leaning in like he’s interested. An emotion I don’t understand shoots through me. My body heats, anger whipping through me. I want to beat the crap out of Josh. I have no idea why, but I want to tear his arms off his body and smack him in the head with them.
This is not a feeling I have ever really dealt with. I can’t help myself. Okay, that’s probably a lie. But the truth is, I’m tired. Tired of fighting the pull she has on me. Tired of telling myself I don’t want to touch her. Every day, I wrestle with the feelings she stirs in me.
I look down at my grandmother, who holds out her hand.
“Talk to my grandmother.”
I don’t know what my plan is, but I’ve learned that planning anything around Avery is a waste of time. I ignore Trev’s sputtering questions and hand my phone to my grandmother. Then I step around her and head off in Avery’s direction.
ChapterTwenty-One
Avery
Josh is telling me stories about Everly when they were kids, and I can’t help but laugh. I was always kind of a pill—my grandmother’s description, not mine—but I was never as bold as Everly Spencer. She’s Mason’s sister, and I have a feeling she will be my sister’s sister-in-law someday, so it will be nice to have someone bolder than I am. Then people can get off my back.
“I didn’t know if you would end up hanging around so long,” Josh says, sipping his water. The guy is always on duty because that happens when you’re a small-town sheriff.
“I like small towns. I actually like all kinds of towns.”
I look around and see Estella talking to Jon. Arguing from the looks of it. God, he’s so pretty. His tux is amazing and, without a doubt, a custom fit. Estella brought Josh to me because I was hanging with the LOLs. She said that wasn’t a good thing. It was odd when she winked at me. Estella doesn’t wink at people, but she did, making me wonder what is up with her.
“How is it going with you and Howard in the house alone?”
I glance at Josh. I know he’s not interested in me. Rumor is that he’s got a thing for one of the Russo sisters, who own the winery outside of town. It’s so bad that even my sister has heard about it. I sip my favorite Russo Pinot Grigio—complete with ice cubes, of course.
“Eh, it’s okay. He’s kind of a stickler for things like eating regular meals. Also, he said that I need to ignore the guy behind the house.”
Josh frowns, his milk chocolate eyes narrowing. He’s a gorgeous man, and the rumors about the women he dated in town are legendary, and I can say I understand. Square jaw, sexy smile, and dark unruly hair—yeah, it makes sense. Shame that he does nothing to my heart or my body other than to acknowledge he’s a good-looking man.
“What man?”
