"Avery. Stop. Things were never like that with us. We were friends. We are friends."
"But we could have been more. I've always cared about you, Trent. You were the only one who was always there for me."
She reached out for him, latching on to his wrist. Trent gently pried her fingers open, trying not to be too rough. He wasn't sure what was going on. Maybe she'd had too much to drink?
"Avery, of course I've always been there for you. We've always been there for each other. Ever since we were kids. That's what friends do."
Her eyes never left his face. If she'd heard what he said, she gave no indication of it. Instead she just kept gazing at him with that lovesick expression that he'd never thought would be aimed at him instead of his brother.
"I don't know how I would have gotten through the last few years without you. I love you. Travis loves you. You've been more of a father figure to him than your brother ever has. Doesn't that mean anything?"
"It means I love my nephew." Trent looked away, at a complete loss as to what to say.
"But what if he's not your nephew? What if he's your son? Our son."
This conversation wasn't one he'd ever thought about having. All the memories that he had of his teenage years included Avery but she seemed to have recast them in a different light. One where he was the hero who saved her from all her problems.
He hung his head. Mara had been right the whole time. She'd seen something in Avery that he hadn't been able to discern. And now he was going to have to try to explain this to her on top of everything else. How would he feel if one of her male friends had plastered his hands, and lips, all over her?
The word homicidal came to mind.
He wasn't rational when it came to Mara. Anything or anyone that threatened her or their life together affected him like a mortal threat. But he would have to hope that Mara had a better grip on her emotions than he did on his own.
"Avery, I'm going to ask Sophia and her husband to take you home."
She yanked her hand away, stumbling into one of the sculptures. He grabbed at her, trying to keep her from falling.
"You're not sending me anywhere with that bitch. Sophia hates me. She always knew the way I felt about you. She never thought I was good enough. Bitch." She knocked his hand away when he reached for her again. "Just leave me alone."
He watched as she walked across the garden to reenter the building. He pulled out his phone and texted his sister, asking her to keep an eye out for Avery. Sophia wouldn't be happy about it but she would do it. Despite her behavior tonight, he couldn't just let Avery wander off without knowing she had a way to get home safely. She'd obviously had a few drinks and said things that she would regret tomorrow. But he would have to deal with that later. First, he had to find Mara.
He needed to get her out of there before anything else went wrong.
* * * * *
MARA HAD NEVER met so many fake people at once.
She'd allowed Sophia to squire her from group to group until they eventually ended up with her friends, a bubbly group of women just as posh and perfect as Sophia. They had been nice enough but they'd quickly turned the conversation to people she didn't know and events she hadn't attended. As her mind wandered, she noticed a pretty, middle-aged brunette standing near Trent's father. Leaning over to Sophia she asked who it was.
"Oh, that's just Gina. She works for my father."
"Would you excuse me?"
Sophia's mouth moved but Mara walked away before she could even answer. After ducking around a waiter, she made her way across the floor to where Mr. Townsend stood.
"Hello again, Mara. Are you looking for Trent?" he asked pleasantly. "I think he's around here somewhere."
She looked over at Gina. "Actually, I was hoping I could steal your assistant."
James looked surprised but nodded affably. He glanced behind him at Gina. "Certainly."
She held out her hand to Gina and then on the spur of the moment, pulled the other woman into a hug. "I wanted to thank you in person for everything you've done to help me. I would have been lost without you this past week."
Her cheeks rosy with pleasure, Gina clapped her hands in front of her. "Of course. I was happy to do it. I'm so fond of Trent. Well, we all are."
"I can tell. Well, I won't keep you. I just wanted to make sure I said hello." She let out a little sigh as Gina walked over to rejoin Mr. Townsend.
Someone bumped into her elbow. She turned at the contact. A young woman about her age wearing an absolutely divine pale cream ball gown smiled brightly. "Oh hello. I saw you with the Townsends. We haven't met yet. I'm Nancy Callahan."