“He never takes responsibility for anything,” Jake countered. “He doesn’t get that Avery went out on a limb to protect him a few weeks ago. All he sees is her trying to protect herself. And now, with what happened at the train tracks and Beau Burton’s name being dragged into the mix, I’m afraid he’s going to use the media firestorm to go after Avery.”
He was serious, but he’d let something slip without realizing it. “Who is Beau Burton?”
“What?” Jake jerked his eyes to me, seemingly surprised.
“Beau Burton,” I repeated, refusing to allow him to distract me. “Who is he?”
“I have no idea.” Jake had a great poker face and he was utilizing it now. “Where did you hear that name?”
My eyes went wide. “You just said it.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“You did so.” I looked to Eliot for confirmation. “You heard it, right?”
Rather than agree with me, Eliot chuckled. “Oh, this is going to be fun. I can already see where this is going.”
I furiously jabbed a finger at Jake. “I’m totally going to figure out who that is and nail you on it tomorrow. You’d better be ready.”
Jake took a page from my book and deflected. “Why did Eliot say you’re dealing with enough as it is? You’re not still in trouble at work, are you? Maybe I could sit down with MacDonald and talk to him. We have a relatively good relationship, and since Ludington is his former son-in-law, he might give a little.”
“I’m fine at work,” I snapped. “You can’t distract me.”
“If you’re fine at work, why is Eliot worried about you?”
I felt caught. I could see the dangerous road this conversation was likely to go down and I wasn’t keen to allow it. “Eliot isn’t worried about me. I’m fine.”
Jake rolled his eyes until they landed on Eliot. “Is something happening?”
I expected Eliot to brush off the question. Instead, he nodded. “I told Avery I was gearing up to propose to her. She has spent the last few weeks freaking out. I’m hoping she’s almost done so I can move forward with my plans. We’re feeling each other out right now.”
My mouth dropped open. “You ... I can’t believe you ....”
Lauren happily clapped her hands. “Oh, that’s so exciting. Only ... I don’t understand. Why would you tell her you’re going to propose before doing it? Isn’t it supposed to be a surprise?”
Jake didn’t say anything, but I could feel his eyes on me. I could also feel his stupefied disbelief. I was too cowardly to meet his gaze.
“Avery is afraid of conforming,” Eliot replied, his hand never ceasing its movement on the back of my neck. “She thinks getting married will somehow make her less of ... herself. It won’t, of course, but she’s squirrelly sometimes.”
I found my voice. “I’m not squirrelly. I just think that marriage is ....” I couldn’t find the appropriate words.
Eliot grinned. “She’s ten times better than she was. I think she’ll be ready for the big event in a couple of weeks.” He held up his hand, fingers crossed, and grinned. “She’s a work in progress, but she’s coming along nicely.”
“Don’t talk about me as if I’m not here,” I hissed. “And I don’t think you should be telling people about this.”
“Why is that?” Eliot used his most reasonable tone. “Are you afraid people will think you’re a loon for not jumping on me and begging for an immediate engagement?”
“No, I ....” Whatever I was going to say died on my lips when Jake finally made a sound.
He shifted on his seat, cleared his throat, and made a face that briefly made me wonder if he was going to be able to keep down the dinner he hadn’t even eaten yet. “You’re proposing?”
Eliot kept his smile in place, but he stiffened slightly. “Yeah.” His voice was quiet. He understood better than most that this might be difficult for Jake to hear, and even though he loved me, he didn’t want to hurt Jake. Their relationship had gone through some tense times, but they were good friends now. They relied on one another and pretty much ignored the fact that Jake and I could’ve ended up together had things gone differently. “It’s going to happen soon. Maybe I should’ve told you sooner.” He looked apologetic.
Jake waved his hand, a smile appearing even though he was paler than usual. “No. It’s none of my business.” He shot a reassuring smile at Lauren, who almost looked sympathetic. “I’m just surprised. I assumed you guys would just live together forever. I mean ... marriage.” He went for levity because it was all he could muster. “I can’t imagine Avery in a white dress.”
Eliot chuckled, probably because it was expected of him, and squeezed my shoulders. “Those sorts of logistics are down the line. Right now I’m just trying to ease her into the idea. Believe it or not, she tends to freak out over stuff like this.”
“Yeah.” Slowly, Jake’s gaze drifted to me. I wanted to crawl into a hole and avoid the unavoidable emotion I found reflected back at me. “This should be interesting.”
That right there was the understatement of the year.
5 Five
Eliot had beaten me home and was already on the couch with the kitten when I walked into the living room. He had the television on, surfing through Netflix. I took a moment to study him.
He was ridiculously good looking, brown hair touching his shoulders. He had one of those smiles that made me go warm all over — which was something I could barely admit to myself, let alone anyone else — and he was built like a Hollywood hero.
I loved him. He’d somehow made it past all my defenses and encouraged me not only to trust him, but to rely on him.
I was still terrified of all he was trying to offer me. And, when frightened, I turn mean.
“What do you want to watch?”
The question jolted me back
