Avery bit back a laugh, but the ache in her heart didn’t dissipate. If she couldn’t convince Brody to agree to an annulment, all hope of happiness was lost.
“I’m looking forward to hearing you play,” a woman’s voice said. Avery looked around for its source with everyone else and found Jess red-faced under the sudden scrutiny of so many people. One of the other crew members trained his camera on her.
“Thanks, Jess. Glad to have a fan,” Brody said happily and settled his hat on his head again.
“How the hell does he know her name already?” Riley asked.
“I know all the crew members’ names,” Brody said proudly. “I’ve personally introduced myself to each and every one of them. It pays to be polite, my mama always said.”
“Hmm,” Riley said.
Hmm, indeed, Avery thought. Brody was a country singer. She’d met him in the parking lot of a club on the Vegas Strip a decade ago. He’d gotten her in with the band, she’d danced for hours while they played and he’d come to see her after the show. They’d found a bar that stayed open even later. She’d been so drunk.
Which of them had come up with the idea to tie the knot?
Why on earth had Brody gone through with it?
The details of that night were fuzzy, but she’d never forget waking up the next morning—
And realizing she’d been dumped again.
Chapter Six
‡
Walker wasn’t sure how he made it through these days. It was like his body was on autopilot, his hands and feet doing his chores and moving him around the ranch even though his mind was thoroughly frozen. He couldn’t wrap his thoughts around the fact that Elizabeth was still here, and Avery was married, and her husband—her husband—was walking around Base Camp happy as a clam despite being universally hated. Boone assigned him chore after chore, and Brody did them badly, whistling tunes all the while. He loved the presence of the camera crews, talked and joked with them constantly despite all their pleas for him to act like they weren’t there.
Whenever he approached Avery, her withering looks and snippy answers rolled right off his back. “Just making sure you know I love you,” he’d say and get back to work again, careful to arrange himself in the best angle as far as the cameras were concerned.
He liked to roll up his sleeves and show his muscles—what he had of them. He made a big deal out of every job and talked endlessly of gigs he’d played and musicians he’d accompanied. At the moment he was perched on a log near the fire pit strumming his guitar, talking a mile a minute to a small group of crew members who had gathered around him, including Jess, who’d become his number-one fan.
“How the hell did Avery fall for him?” Clay asked from where he was seated at another log near Walker. Dinner was delayed tonight, and they were all waiting around, stomachs growling, for Kai to ring the bell and feed them. “God, he’s annoying!”
“I don’t think she fell for him for very long.” Nora sat beside her husband, Connie in her arms. “Sounds like they spent a single night together.”
“That’s not a marriage.”
“Unfortunately, it’s not the length of time they spent together; it’s the paperwork that matters,” Nora said.
“And Brody’s refusal to agree to an annulment,” Renata said, as if someone had asked. “I looked into it. Those two could get it done in a matter of days if both agreed to it, but he won’t agree, no matter what Avery tells him.”
Nora perked up at that. So did Walker. “How many days?” Nora asked.
“Four,” Renata said.
Four days? Walker straightened. Then there was time. He could see everyone else had the same thought.
“I bet he’d sign if we left him alone with Walker for an hour or two,” Nora said darkly.
“Then Walker would be behind bars,” Renata pointed out, “and he wouldn’t be able to marry anyone. We need to convince Brody it’s in his best interest—without roughing him up.”
“Why does he want to stay married to Avery anyway?” Clay asked. “I haven’t seen him touch her once.”
“Avery would kill him if he touched her,” Addison said.
“He hasn’t even tried.”
Clay was right; Brody spent far more time hamming it up for the cameras than he did trying to reconcile with Avery. If he was married to her—
No. Walker couldn’t let himself even think about it.
Nora was staring at him. “Come to think of it, why does Elizabeth want to marry you? She never touches you, that I’ve seen. Hardly even acknowledges your existence.”
The group turned to look Elizabeth’s way. Once again she was standing on the outskirts of the log circle—on her phone.
“What do you mean they changed the hearing date? Are you kidding me? After all that work?” he heard her say.
Work. Again.
“I thought she was quitting her job,” Nora said.
“Not yet,” Walker said.
Elizabeth paced up and down. “How long did they postpone it for? A couple of days?” She stopped dead. “What?” She raked a hand through her long dark hair. “No, that doesn’t work. You can’t let them push it back that far.” A pause. “Because it doesn’t work! I’m not kidding, Erin. You’ve got to get them to move it up.” Another pause. “I don’t know—talk to someone on the committee!”
Walker spotted Gabe standing a dozen feet away. He’d been sitting on his own, bent over his phone and tapping away at it, sending messages to someone. Now his phone was out of sight, his hands were shoved deep in his pockets and he was staring at Elizabeth.
“He’s sure got the hots for her,” Nora said.
Walker was beginning to think she was right. At first, he’d thought Gabe latched on to Elizabeth as one outsider desperate for the company of another. There was true concern in his expression, however.
“I can’t wait that long,” Elizabeth was saying. “I—” She turned. Caught them all looking. “Jesus, I’ve got to go. I don’t
