Blaze of Winter: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance (31 page)

Avery fluffed a pillow and positioned it strategically behind her aunt’s head so that she could sit up, read, and watch television in comfort. “Are you going to be okay here, Aunt Kate?” she asked solicitously.

“The doctors said you really have to take it easy for the next few days,” added Emma, who’d just brought in a tea tray. “Probably for the next week.” She put the tray down on a
nightstand and poured a half-cup of Earl Grey for Kate, stirring in a bit of milk and two lumps of sugar. “Here,” she said, handing her the cup and saucer. “Your favorite.”

“Thank you, my dears,” Kate said, taking a sip. “But I can’t rest. There is so much to be done now that we have new guests at the Inn. Carla can’t be expected to do everything. And there is no way I am missing Lexie’s wedding this weekend.”

“Speaking of Lexie,” Emma said, obviously choosing to ignore Kate’s delusional belief that she would be working anytime soon, “she sent over some extra goodies for you.” She swapped Kate’s tea for another plate with a scone and a muffin on it. “Please eat. We need to keep your strength up.”

Kate sighed. “You’d think I was an invalid, the way you two are carrying on.” Still, she took a bite of the scone. And another. “This is delicious,” she said in between bites. “But you haven’t distracted me. I’m going to that wedding on Saturday.”

Emma gave Avery a meaningful look over their aunt’s head. “We’ll see,” she said.

“Don’t be vague with me, Emma. I can hear it in your voice that you’re going to try to stop me. Well, Avie will take me, won’t you, darling?”

Avery patted her aunt’s shoulder. “We really have to wait and see how you’re doing.”

“Girls, I’ll be fine.”

“Aunt Kate, we can’t have you getting too exhausted, and being around tons of people in flu season isn’t the smartest thing you could do right now,” Avery said gently. “Let’s just wait until tomorrow to decide, okay?”

“All right,” Kate said, but she didn’t seem happy about it.

“And now, if you’re doing all right, I’m going to head over to the Inn to make sure everything’s in order. Emma will to stay with you for the rest of her lunch hour, and I’ll be back at one-thirty.”

Kate reached out and squeezed Avery’s hand. “Thank you, dear. I’ll see you soon.”

Avery gave Kate and Emma a warm smile before she left. She was glad that her aunt had such a strong network of family and friends in Star Harbor. The calls had already come pouring in. Everyone from Babs Kincaide to John Anson to Karen Wright had phoned, wanting to know when they could visit and how they could help. The one person who hadn’t called was Luke, and Avery wasn’t sure why. Had she misread his intentions? She didn’t think so, but she’d been wrong before.

When she got back to the Inn, Avery called Cole and informed him about the things Wanda claimed to have taken from the Inn’s cellar, strategically leaving out the part where Wanda used the drugs. Cole promised to do a sweep of the cellar the next time he was there and scheduled a time to check her aunt’s house. Satisfied that she’d done her duty, Avery promptly forgot about the issue and let her mind go blank, puttering around and doing some tidying and organizing. She prepared everything for teatime, so that the only thing she’d need to do after she returned from checking on Kate was boil the water. Theo was still nowhere in sight. Although Avery could honestly say that she missed him, she was also a bit relieved. Last night had been …

Well, there weren’t really any words. Late in the evening when they were alone in his room, he’d worked her up to a frenzy before rolling her on top. Hands on her hips, he’d helped her ride them both to a glorious climax. Afterward, he’d wrapped her up in his arms. She’d just lain there, listening to the sound of his voice as he told her all about his dreams. His desires. And even his future. Later she fell asleep to his deep, rhythmic breathing as the old Inn creaked and groaned in the still of the night.

Seeing under his armor had been humbling. And frightening. What did all this mean? She wasn’t exactly certain. The only thing she did know was that she was still a little scared. Because the closer they got, the more he’d expect of her. She was just coming around to the idea that she could embrace her emotions instead of hiding from them. She was trying to let him in, but she was ready to crack the door, not throw it open. Would he understand that?

At one-thirty on the nose, Avery returned to her aunt’s house. There were some flowers sitting in a medium-sized glass vase on the kitchen table. More asters, and though there was no little card tucked into the blooms—just a note from Emma saying they’d been left outside—they were most likely from Luke. Avery took the bouquet upstairs. Kate was sleeping, so instead of waking her, she placed the flowers on her aunt’s dresser and took the opportunity to tidy up her own room. Given that she hadn’t actually been staying there for the last few nights, it wasn’t too bad. She shelved a few books and tucked her violin case into her closet. The closet door jammed a bit as she was trying to close it. Maybe she could ask Luke over to repair it. Then he’d have no choice but to talk to Kate, right? It was a decent plan—subtle, but decent.

No, it would never do. First off, Kate was much more likely to respond to plain speaking than she was to some sneaky plan. And second, they’d already had plenty of time to talk, and Luke hadn’t made his move. Why not? Thinking back on every interaction she’d seen the two of them have, she realized that maybe it was because Kate hadn’t given him any encouragement. She’d known Kate her entire life, but in all that time, she’d heard of only one boyfriend, some guy from college. Kate had so little experience with men, she probably didn’t even recognize that Luke was interested. And Luke certainly wasn’t making it easy for Kate to guess. Furtive glances? Flowers with no cards? It was obvious they needed some help connecting.

She heard some stirring from the other room and went in to check on Kate. Her aunt was just waking up.

“Hi,” Avery said with a smile, walking over to help Kate sit up. “Feeling better?”

“Yes,” Kate responded, voice still thick with sleep. “Much.”

“Good. The whole point of you resting is to actually rest.”

“I just feel like I’m completely useless,” Kate lamented, all her previous feistiness gone.

“You’re not useless, Aunt Kate. You’re sick. Big difference. And when you’re well, you’ll be up and around again. But to get well, you have to let your body heal.”

“Right,” she said, not sounding convinced. Then she glanced over to the dresser. “Oh, look! More flowers!”

“Yes, they were left on the doorstep. Asters again, just like the ones from the hospital.” Avery paused. “By the way, did you ever manage to figure out who sent those to you?”

“Oh, it was Babs,” she said, waving a hand.

“Did you ask her?”

“No, but I’m sure it was her. Why?” her aunt asked, suddenly suspicious. “Who else would it be?”

Avery tried a different tack. “What if I told you I knew who it was?”

“Well, I’d want you to tell me, of course. By your tone, I’m guessing it wasn’t Babs.”

She had
that
right. “What if I told you that it was an admirer.” A not-so-secret one.

Kate’s eyes widened, making her look more delicate than she already did. “Who?” Her voice was nearly a whisper.

Avery swallowed. “Luke.”

There was dead silence. And then her aunt started to laugh. “Oh, Avery, you are such a tease. Ha! You really had me going there for a minute.”

She blinked. This was not going the way she had hoped. “I’m not teasing you. I swear.”

Kate wiped some tears away from her eyes. “Too, too funny. Your mom and I used to joke around like this. When I was eleven, I told her that Ralph Kutchner liked her and when she found out he didn’t, she got so angry, she wouldn’t talk to me for a week!”

“Aunt Kate,” Avery said, something in the tone of her voice making her aunt stop laughing and really look at her. “I’m not teasing you,” she repeated. “Luke himself told me he sent the flowers to you in the hospital. And I have no doubt these are from him, too.”

“B-but why?” Her aunt looked so dumbfounded, so honestly confused that it was almost a bit ridiculous.

“Because he likes you.
Really
likes you.” Kate was utterly silent, and Avery could almost see the gears working in her brain. She walked over and perched on the edge of the bed. “You can see it now, can’t you? Every time he’s come over here to fix something or help out at the Inn. Every time you’ve made a purchase at the hardware store and had him say it was ‘on the house.’ He’s a good man, a solid man. Kind and generous, and handsome to boot.” In a ruggedly New England way.

“Oh, my goodness,” Kate said, blinking.

“So what do you think?” Avery tentatively asked.

“I need to think about it. This … this is such a surprise.”

Fair enough. “Okay. Think about it.”

“You didn’t say anything to him, did you? About me, I mean.”

Avery shook her head. “No. I like Luke. A lot. But your happiness is the most important thing to me. Just promise me you’ll think about it. Really think about it.”

Kate swallowed. “Yes.”

“Good. Now, can I get you anything before I head back to the Inn?”

“No. No thank you.” Her aunt still looked a bit dazed.

Avery rose. “I’ll be back later, Aunt Kate. Rest up, and call my cell if you need anything, all right?”

“All right, dear.”

Avery slipped out of Kate’s room and went down to the kitchen. As she packed up to go, she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d made the right choice in telling her aunt about Luke’s interest.

After writing for four hours, Theo leaned back in his chair at the Star Harbor Historical Society. Things were going well. Very well. Better, in fact, than he could ever have anticipated. Returning to Star Harbor had been more than just a gamble for him. It had been a last-ditch effort to find his missing mojo. Well, he’d done that in spades.

He’d emailed a copy of his synopsis, outline, and first three chapters to his agent, who responded in less than a day that he’d forwarded the proposal to his editor. “Brilliant!” the editor had written. “Go for it!” Couldn’t get better than that. Not from one of the toughest editors in the business. So he’d gone for it, continuing to write the next chapter in one solid block of time. It read beautifully. Of course he’d have to edit, but the bones were there.

And Avery. Every new moment he spent with her was better than the last. Once she’d opened up to him in the hospital, it was as if all the barriers she’d erected to keep him at bay had come crumbling down. They were closer now, and the new level of trust they’d established had notched up the sex from unbelievably hot to mind-blowing. He was realizing more and more that everything he’d been looking for was right here in Star Harbor. He had a quiet, comfortable place to work, a renewed sense of self, and the woman of his dreams.

But something niggled at him. Did he really have her love? Neither of them had actually said the word, but that wasn’t what bothered him. What bothered him was that she might still be holding a part of herself back from him, even as he spilled his soul to her. He knew he should give her more time. The problem was, he’d finally found what he was looking for after years of being lost, and he wanted to go full speed ahead.

He wanted to talk to her about it, but the next few days were going to be impossible. Seb’s wedding would be taking up all of his time from now until Saturday. Speaking of which, he needed to be at the LMK in fifteen minutes for a planning session with his brothers. Fine. He could grab a bite to eat at the same time. He was ravenous.

Theo packed up his gear and threw on his coat. There was a bite to the air and the temperature outside was barely pushing the low 20s, which was pretty cold for this time of year. No wonder the pond had frozen over so early.

He walked to the LMK, moving quickly and not stopping until he was inside the warm restaurant. His brothers were already sitting at a booth along the wall. Shucking off his coat, he joined them.

“Welcome back, Seb,” Theo said, clasping him on the shoulder.

His twin looked up at him and grinned. “Thanks, bro. Glad to be here. Especially since I’m going to marry the love of my life in two days.”