I kissed her fast, unable to resist, yet knowing if I lingered we’d never make it out of this bed. “We need to get up. We have a date.”
“A date?”
“We’re meeting Beth and Ryan for lunch.”
“Uh, o–okay?” she replied, obviously confused.
“She kept texting. I replied for you and thought I would offer to make up for last night. We’re meeting them in an hour.” I rolled out of bed and bent down to pick up the wrappers. “And we need to talk about your addiction to these mints, Avery. You must have eaten a dozen or more.”
“Is that both pockets?”
My eyebrows shot up and I grabbed her skirt to check, fishing out yet more empty wrappers, adding them to the pile on the bed. “Your dentist must love you.”
She sat up, dragging her finger through the pile. “I’m not usually that bad—only when I’m nervous.”
“Or upset.”
She nodded. “Or upset.”
I hovered over her, dropping another kiss to her mouth. “We’ll pick you up more on the way to meet them. I’ll do my best to make sure you don’t need to OD on them again. Deal?”
“Deal.”
I started to walk to the shower, then turned around. “Avery—”
“Yeah?”
“You still owe me a mint. I plan on collecting.”
She smiled wide. “Okay.”
“Okay.”
Avery
My head fell back in laughter as Beth finished off another one of her entertaining stories of the escapades we had shared. Daniel had been roaring with laughter most of the lunch with Beth’s lack of filter. Ryan was used to her forwardness, never once reacting to her bold statements with anything except
a grin. When she had begun the conversation, asking with a sardonic grin who drove into town, I felt Daniel tense up, and I narrowed my eyes in warning.
“Daniel drove his truck in.”
She winked at me subtly. “You were later than I expected. I thought maybe you had driven.”
I knew she was trying to test the air and to tease me. I tossed my hair. “We were delayed leaving.”
“Oh?”
This time I winked. “The shower was particularly enjoyable.”
Daniel began to chuckle.
Ryan looked shocked, and Beth held up her hand. “High five to that.”
Daniel draped his arm over my shoulder, drawing me close. “I’ll second that.”
I turned to him with a wink. “You already did.”
We all laughed.