She stumbled across her driveway and up the porch steps. Why had she thought it was a good idea to buy this place? She’d known all along it was right next to the Wells property. She’d known all along that running into him would be inevitable. It had been a terrible mistake. The worst mistake of her life, aside from falling in love with him in the first place.
Avery made it into the hallway and slammed the door behind her. She caught herself on the bannister and took a deep breath. Maybe she’d make it without crying. But then she felt a cracking sound, a piercing ache, and heartbreak caught up with her. Heartbreak had probably been there all along, waiting.
The first sob took her by surprise, and for once, Avery let it happen. She cried all her heartbreak out, clinging to the banister, and waited for it to pass. But she wasn’t sure it ever would.
17
The mountains weren’t far enough away for Tucker to clear his mind and distance himself from Avery.
He snapped photos with two cameras, capturing the landscape and the view and the snow, and all the while, he thought of her. His mind traced the contours of her face and of her body. After another day of shooting, he came down from the mountain and went to his hotel room.
Tucker collapsed into the bed, pulling the covers up over him. He’d gotten the shots they’d paid for, and now he was in a lonely room by himself. His memory hadn’t returned, filling in those crucial gaps from the breakup, and he stared up the ceiling, thinking. What was he going to do next? He couldn’t go back to Benton Ridge, that was for sure. But the hotel room made him deeply sad. He could only imagine how it would be if he’d brought Avery and Shanna along. Shanna, he figured, would have loved the hotel experience. He could see her enjoying the little soaps and the bottles of shampoo. No doubt she’d find something that interested her to photograph.
His cell phone beeped on the bedside table, and Tucker picked it up, Shanna’s voice echoing in his mind. He’d never wanted to go home to Benton Ridge more in his life. And at the same time, he was desperate to stay away. Guilt ate at him.
A notification waited for him on his phone’s screen.
Gallery opening. New York City. Tomorrow, 8 PM.
He sat bolt upright in the bed. How could he have forgotten? Lisa had come through the photography program at the same time, and now she had a show opening in NYC. It was the dream. Well, not his dream, but hers, at least. He’d forgotten all about it. He hadn’t even booked a flight.
Well, there it was. That was his next move. Go to the gallery opening, support his friend, and then…who knew? He swiped through his phone and booked a flight for the next morning. He’d get there in time for the opening. Once he had the confirmation email, he shrugged his clothes off and crawled back under the covers. When he finally fell asleep, he dreamed of Avery and Shanna. The three of them, sitting around the table, playing cards. In the dream he laughed and laughed, though he could never quite figure out the rules of the game. Avery and Shanna teased him. He woke up with a dull ache in his heart, the way he did every morning.
His plane landed in New York City with just enough time to check into his hotel before he hit the art gallery. Tucker showered, washing off all the travel, and changed, then headed down to the gallery. It was a little place in Midtown, trendy and new. Lisa stood near the door, beaming. She embraced him, then stepped back to look at him.
“Wow,” he said. “You look great, Lisa. Congratulations.”
“You look good, too, Tuck. It’s great to see you here. I invited everybody from the old crew, because I have an announcement.” Lisa smiled meaningfully at him, but he didn’t know what she was talking about. “A big announcement, coming later in the year.” She raised an eyebrow.
“What is it?”
His old friend laughed. “Tucker, can you see me?” She turned to the side, and then he saw—she was pregnant. Very pregnant. His heart broke all over again.
“Congratulations,” he cried. “Matt must be over the moon.”
“Oh, he is.” She grinned wider. “He’s glad the traveling is over for now, though. Go on—check out the photos. And come over for breakfast tomorrow, would you? Our place. Matt’s cooking.”
“I wouldn’t miss it.” Lisa was swept away by more well-wishers, and Tucker went over to the prints on the walls. He tried his very best to enjoy them.
They were wonderful. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was that the theme of the exhibit was families.
Lisa had traveled all over the world, photographing families. A family in a remote Brazilian village, read one plaque. A family in France, read another. They looked out at him from the frames on the wall. We took our family around the world to get these photographs, the brochure read. It reminded him of the moment that he and Avery stopped saying “I” and “you” and started saying “we.” Around that same time, Avery had started talking about her hopes and dreams again. Beyond just the pragmatic of the business, and of running her house. Her dreams.
His heart beat faster in a combination of hope and certainty and dread. He wanted to be a “we” with Avery and Shanna.
He wanted it more than anything.
The next morning, Tucker took his camera bag and went to Lisa’s apartment for breakfast. Her husband, Matt, opened the door, and he felt like they were right back in college. The air brimmed with possibility. Lisa sat at the kitchen table, surrounded by notebooks and her camera.
“You hungry, Tuck?” she called.
“I am, but I have a question.”
“Shoot.” She looked
