“Mia, I’d like you to meet my friend Avery,” I say. “Avery, this is Mia Madden.”
“Well, hi,” Avery says. “It’s nice to meet you. I love your braid.”
“Neely did it. She’s sick, but she still got up and French-braided my hair.”
“She must be nice,” Avery says.
“She is.” Mia skips over to the big round table in the corner and climbs into a chair between Matt and Dane. “Hey, Dad. Penn’s here.”
Dane looks at me, then at Avery, and then back to me. Avery glances at me and I can see the bout of nerves in her eyes, so I put my arm around her waist.
I’m a little anxious too. I don’t know what my friends are going to say or think or what assumptions they’ll make. Even more, I don’t know how to respond to those.
I’m still me. Because I have Avery on my arm doesn’t mean I’ve inherently changed. Sure, things might be more complicated than I imagined they could be, but I haven’t worked out how that’s going to pan out. And I sure as fuck don’t want to be ribbed about it.
“Dane, this is Avery,” I say. “Avery, this is Matt’s brother, Dane.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” she says.
“You too. I’ve heard a lot about you,” Dane tells her. “My favorite story was you turning Penn down.”
My jaw sets. “Really, Matt?”
“What?” Matt says, sitting back in his chair. “Did you really expect me to keep something that epic to myself?”
“You mean when Avery turned Penn down?” Claire comes up to the table with two cups and a pitcher of coffee. “That was one for the record books.” She looks at Avery. “How are you this morning?” She raises her brows with an “I got ya” kind of look.
“I’m good. You?” Avery asks. She toys with my hand on her hip.
“Pretty decent.” Claire flips her a smile as she pours the two cups of coffee. “You want your usual, Penn?”
I nod. “What would you like, Ave?”
“Ave, huh?” Dane presses his lips together. “This must be serious if we’re at nickname status already.”
“Shut it.” I turn my attention back to Avery. “I get bacon extra crispy, two eggs over medium, and hash browns—unless it’s Friday, and then I add a cinnamon roll.”
Avery laughs, moving away from my hold. It’s a smooth move, but definitely intentional. “I’ll just have a cheese omelet, if that’s possible?”
“Done.” Claire nods and scurries back to the kitchen.
I pull out a chair beside Matt and the one next to it on the other side. Avery takes the one not by Matt, and I couldn’t be happier about that.
“Have you checked out the library yet?” I ask Dane as I move the two cups of coffee Claire poured in front of Avery and me.
He shakes his head. “Not yet. Meredith did call first thing this morning and seems happy with what you guys have been doing. She thinks you have about a week left. Does that seem right?”
“Yeah, probably.”
Dane looks at Avery. “I hear you’re an artist.”
She winces. “Not really.”
“Yes, you are,” I tell her. “Don’t sell yourself short.”
Dane grins, settling back in his chair. “You know, I didn’t believe it until I saw it for myself. But Hell has frozen over.”
“Don’t say ‘Hell,’ Dad. We just discussed this.”
“Mia . . . hush,” he says.
She stops coloring and looks up at him with absolute seriousness. “You just lectured me about saying Florida was hot as Hell, and I meant it as a proper noun. Is it okay or not?”
Avery giggles. “You’re a smart little girl.”
Her hand drops to my thigh under the table. The innocent touch sends fire through my veins. If this keeps up, we’re going to have a problem.
“I am. I—Haley!” Mia scrambles out of her seat again and launches herself toward Haley. “I missed you.”
Haley stands next to Trevor. In all the years I’ve known her, I never had her pegged to be with a guy like Trevor. He’s nice enough, I guess, and he knows construction. That’s a plus. But there was a time where I thought I was going to have to kick his ass. Wouldn’t have taken that long by the fancy shirts he wears, and I wouldn’t have minded it much either. But since Haley is happy and Trevor seems to keep himself in check, I let him live.
Haley’s eyes land on Avery. She gets Mia back in her seat as she comes around the table.
“These boys don’t have any manners, and I apologize for them—except for Penn. He can apologize for himself,” Haley teases.
“Good morning, Haley,” I say as sarcastically as I can.
“Good morning.” She extends a hand to Avery. “I’m Haley, but you probably know that by now. I’ve been fixing to come down to the library or over to Harper’s and say hello, but I haven’t been able to get away from the shop long enough to have a conversation.”