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Daniel and Lila sipped at their champagne before kissing but Avery’s eyes were on Colleen. He couldn’t stop watching her as the other toasts were given and they moved to cut the cake as Daniel proposed a toast to his bride. Lila smiled brightly and turned to look at the others after they cut the cake.
“Please come and enjoy all of these incredible sweets. After sampling them I couldn’t begin to decide which were my favorite and since I’ve been on a diet to fit into this dress I wanted to indulge. I do believe my new home might just be next door to Dreamy Sweets Bakery because it’s divine,” Lila stated letting the guests come up to get cake and goodies.
Avery already knew just how incredible everything Colleen made was and fought to stop himself from tasting it again. Wednesday had been hard enough to stop himself from going to find her, beg her to come home with him and stay for good. Another taste today would likely have him proposing in the middle of the party, and getting turned down because she wasn’t about to forgive him yet.
“Not going to try a tartlet?” Daniel asked his plate holding two apples. “No one could make fruit taste quiet as good as Colleen.”
“No and they’re even better now,” he agreed seeing the smile on her face as she helped serve the desserts and spoke with people gushing over her food. “She’s even better now.”
“So are you going to try for a second chance the way your toast seemed to suggest?”
“I have to, even if she shuts me down a million times I’m still going to try,” he stated heading to stop his mother from upsetting her.
“It’s good to see you again.” Julia reached over to kiss her cheek, and he sighed, noting the tension that built up as she touched her.
“Thank you, Julia.” Colleen moved to grab another tray of tartlets to refill the table.
“Mom, not now.” Avery intercepted her when she began to say something else to Colleen. “Give her space, she’s busy.”
“She shouldn’t have to be busy,” Julia said shooting him a long look.
“It’s what she wants to be doing Mom.” Avery led her away needing to do this himself. “Stop bothering Colleen.”
“No, you lied to us and that kept us out of her life for four years. She’s part of our family, and I don’t leave family alone.”
“Mom, for the love of god, foranychance I might have, leave her alone tonight.” Avery stopped her when she began to speak again. “Leave her alone tonight.”
“Fine, but I’m not going to stay away for long,” Julia said and Avery knew her version of long consisted of a few days—week at the most, which meant he had to convince Colleen to come back to him fast.
Chapter 5
“You doing okay honey?” Meredith asked as the party finally broke up and they could start boxing up the cake.
“Fine,” Colleen lied still feeling the effects from Avery’s kiss and the look in his eyes as he made his toast.
“And if I didn’t know you I might buy that, but I do know you Leen, and you are far from being fine. What’s wrong?” Meredith quietly led her outside to get more boxes from the van.
“Avery kissed me earlier before the wedding.”
“What?” Meredith said in shock as her eyes grew wide. “Oh honey, are you okay?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted with a sigh leaning back into the van. “No Mere, I’m not flipping out that way,” she added seeing the urge to protect her well up in her eyes. “I have no idea why I’m not but when he kissed me…”
“You wanted him?” Meredith guessed and she nodded. “I get it, there’s an old safety and comfort in the touch, in his kiss.”
“But I don’t want there to be…I don’t want to feel this way. I want to only feel hate towards him.”
“You know the saying ‘there’s a thin line between love and hate’ Leen.”
“I don’t love him anymore. I could never love him after he cheated on me, left me for someone else…”
“Leen, you know as well as I do that what you want your heart to feel and what it really does are two entirely different things. If I could stop myself from loving you, I would but I can’t. You can’t stop yourself from loving him.”
“I don’t have to let him anywhere near me though.”
“What about Tommy?” Meredith asked stopping her as she began to head back inside to finish out her work.
“What about Tommy?” she said turning to look at her.
