No one had to ask those questions, but I knew that was what they were thinking.
“He’s a really great guy,” Avery continued, squeezing my arm gently. “He’s super nice and very cute. I’ve told you how cute he is, right?”
Ducking my chin, I smiled—smiled as best as I could, which always looked fake or like I was smirking. I couldn’t get the corner of the left side of my mouth to work right. “Yes, you’ve mentioned that a few times.” I sighed as I forced my hands off the steering wheel. “I’m sorry. I’m ready.”
Avery stepped back as I hit the button, closing the window. Turning my car off, I grabbed my burnt-orange purse off the seat. I had a thing for purses. Truly the one thing I splurged on, and I could throw down some ridiculous money on a purse. As in, that autumn-themed Coach purse was by far not the most expensive one I’d bought.
I stepped out into the cool, late September evening air, wishing I’d worn something heavier than the thin black turtleneck, but the light sweater looked good with the black, knee-high boots, and I was actually trying tonight. You know, putting effort into how I looked, which meant I would hopefully put effort into this date.
“You need to stop apologizing.” Avery looped her arm through my left one. “Trust me. Take it from someone who used to be a habitual apologizer of the secular order. You don’t need to apologize when you haven’t done anything wrong.”
I lifted my brows. I knew Avery had a pretty messed-up past. For the longest time, I’d had no idea what had happened to her, but about five years ago, she’d confided in me. Hearing what she had gone through, even though it was vastly different than what had happened to me, had helped. Especially seeing her moved on from such a traumatic event, happy and healthy, and in love.
Avery was the proof that scars, whether physical or emotional, could be not just a representation of survival but also a story of hope.
“Yeah, but you guys have been waiting for me,” I said, reaching around my neck and gathering up the long strands of hair. I brought them around my left shoulder, so the thick curtain of hair fell forward. “I’m almost twenty-seven years old. You shouldn’t have to come get me out of my car.”
Avery laughed. “There are times that Cam has to come get me out of the closet and pry a wine bottle from my fingers, so this is nothing.”
I laughed at the image those words created.
“I’m glad you agreed to come out tonight.” Avery slipped her arm free and opened the door. “I think you’ll really like Grady.”
I hoped I did.
But I didn’t have the highest expectations, mainly because I had, well, not the best of luck when it came to the opposite sex. I’d only been super interested in two guys. I didn’t even want to think about the first one—about him—because that was a pit of despair I was not going to fall back into. And there was this guy I dated three years ago, but Ben Campbell had treated me like he could deduct dating me from his taxes under charitable donations.
Other than that, I was sort of dateless and I truly believed my mom feared I’d end up unmarried, childless, and alone for the rest of my life, living in my apartment with a dozen exotic birds.
“You ready?” Avery asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I nodded, even though this wasn’t what I wanted to be doing. I lied, because sometimes lying was like surviving. You were doing it without even realizing it. “I’m ready.”
Chapter 2
Stomach churning, I followed Avery toward the back of the restaurant with my gaze trained on the pretty green sweater she wore so I didn’t get distracted. Crowds were weird now, because the chatter made me feel off-balance. Like I was only capturing half of what was going on around me. Keeping up with conversations in large groups or when there was a lot of noise was often as successful as using my forehead to bang a nail into the wall.
Avery’s steps slowed as we neared a table, and Cam looked up with those extraordinarily bright blue eyes of his. The first time I’d met Cam, I’d been struck tongue-tied and unable to formulate simple words. He was that gorgeous, and he was so much in love with his wife that at times I felt a little jealous. To be on the receiving end of that kind of devotion and acceptance was something I’d never felt. Truthfully, I didn’t think everyone in the world got to experience that level of love. It was as rare and beautiful as an albino alligator.
“You’ve found her.” Cam leaned back against the chair, grinning up at Avery. “Good job, wife.”
She grinned as she slid into the seat beside him.
“Sorry,” I said, slipping my purse off my shoulder while I ignored the pointed look Avery shot in my direction. “I was running late.”
The man with his back to me, who I knew was Grady, rose and turned. With a bit of relief, I realized he would be seated to my left. Looking up, I found he was a few inches taller than me and was just as cute as Avery had said. His sandy brown hair and light blue eyes reminded me of the beach. He was smiling, and it was warm and friendly.
“That’s totally okay,” Grady said. “It’s good to meet you.”
“You too,” I replied, flushing slightly as he pulled my chair out and waited for me to sit down. I did just that, carefully placing the strap of my purse on the back of my chair. No way in hell was my Coach purse sitting on the floor. I glanced around the table. “So, um, have we ordered food yet?”
“I put in an order for spinach artichoke dip.” Cam curled his arm around the back of Avery’s chair. “And cheese fries . . . with extra bacon and cheese.”