Could This Be Love? (11 page)

“All right, Av. I’ve been a very good girl today letting you work at a crazy pace, haven’t I?” Pia’s eyes stayed firmly on the road ahead as she drove back into town. “I haven’t complained once. Not a single time, which took superhuman effort. You had to have noticed.”

“I did. I know what you were doing. I appreciate you trying to keep my mind off worrying.” Avery threw her an appreciative glance. “I owe you, I do.”

Pia smiled big. “Great. I’m ready to collect. You’re taking me to happy hour. Ah-ah-ah. Do not say no. You owe me, remember? You just said it.”

“I remember. Okay, happy hour it is. But maybe we should make it more like a happy thirty minutes depending on how Tansy is feeling.”

“We can run by the hotel, check on Tansy, spiff ourselves up, and then have happy hour. I want the full hour after all the work we did today. Need I remind you what Petey did to me today?”

Avery covered her mouth with her hand, but not before a snicker escaped.

“Laugh. Laugh and dance. Petey loves you.”

“I’m sorry. You’re right. I shouldn’t laugh, but you should’ve seen your face—” Avery started laughing again.

“Uh-huh. See? I deserve the full hour. Maybe more. And you’re buying.”

“You got it.” Once she got her laughter under control, they discussed the last details of tomorrow’s shoot until they arrived at their hotel room.

“Tansy, we’re back!” Avery called, taking two steps into the room only to stop and look around at the shambles strewn from one wall to the other. “Are we in the right room?”

Pia stood next to her taking it all in. “Yup, right room. I believe those are your clothes all over the chairs, bed, floor, and um, the lamp. Not for the first time, Avery, you’ve been Tansied.”

“What could she have been doing in here?”

Rolling her eyes, Pia swept her hand across the post-tornado like scene. “What she usually does, Av. Anything her little heart desires, no matter how it affects you.”

“Maybe everything just got to her, you know? And she lost it.”

“She can’t lose what she never had.” Pia arched an eyebrow at her. “I get that you love your sister, but now is the perfect time to point out Tansy is spoiled and selfish.”

“I know she’s young and irresponsible,” Avery stepped farther into the room, scooping up clothing as she went. “But she’s still my sister.”

“She’s your kryptonite is what she is. Your weakness. I get it, Av. I do. After losing your parents, you’ve spent years trying to fit into your foster family so much you’re afraid to upset them. You let Tansy walk all over you—” Pia looked at Avery’s face and stopped midsentence. “Hey, all I’m saying is, just because Tansy’s sick doesn’t mean she’s changed. I just want you to be prepared, that’s all. Yo, Tansy!”

The bathroom door opened and Tansy walked out looking . . .

Whoa. Avery wasn’t prepared for this.

Chapter Ten

“T
ansy, you’re going to have to pick your hairdresser out of a lineup”—Pia walked in a circle around Tansy—“because what she did to your hair is criminal.”

“What did you do to your hair?” Avery dropped the armful of clothing onto the couch and walked over to stand in front of Tansy. She reached out, touching a strand of bleached-blond hair. “Your beautiful chestnut hair. Honey, what happened?”

Tansy batted Avery’s hand away and stepped around her. “Nothing happened, Avery. I’ve been feeling so crappy lately. I needed a little pick-me-up. Doesn’t it look great? We could be twins.”

Avery stared at her sister trying not to let her face reveal her . . . huh, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at Tansy’s new look. With her beautiful chestnut hair now bleached a brittle blond, she looked like Avery’s twin . . . if that twin lived in an alternate
Rocky Horror Picture Show
universe. Poor Tansy. Stress made people do crazy things.
Oh, boy. Happy hour now sounded like a genius plan.

“I do wardrobe and makeup for a living. Lying right now would be the cruelest thing I could do.” Pia shook her head. “That hair color does not go with your skin tone. The trick to changing your hair color is to stay in the same family, but just change the tone or add highlights. I’ll help you fix it if you want.”

“There is nothing to fix. The ladies down at the salon tried to talk me out of it too, but I knew what I wanted and stuck to my guns. I love it. You don’t mind me borrowing your dress, do you, Avery?”

“N . . . no, I don’t mind. It’s a little big on you though, isn’t it? And what happened to the rest of my clothes?”

Tansy looked around the room, seemingly unfazed by the chaos she’d created. “I had to go through your whole wardrobe to find something that fit. Can’t the hotel maid clean it up?”

“This little hotel doesn’t have maid service.” Pia narrowed her eyes at Tansy. “You seem to be feeling good enough. Maybe you could try cleaning up your own mess today.”

The nervous glance Tansy threw her caught Avery off guard. Huh. She’d always thought Tansy was just young and irresponsible. Was it possible Pia was right and Tansy was taking advantage of her? Or was it the stress?

“Avery, go down the hall to my room and shower and change down there. I’ll help Tansy and then we’ll hit happy hour. I do believe I need it now more than ever.”

“But—”

“Go. We’ve got this. Go. Shower. Primp.” Pia grabbed out one of the few dresses still hanging in the closet, shoved it into her hands along with her room key, and pushed her toward the door.

“But she always—” Tansy sniffed and looked just like she had when their parents had sent them to bed without dessert.

Glancing over at Pia, whose gaze dared her to baby Tansy, Avery shook her head. “You handle it, Tansy. I’m going to shower.”

“I don’t see why I should—”

Pia’s gaze speared Tansy in place. After a moment of silence, she took slow, measured steps into the mess Tansy had created. “On account of you being sick, I’m going to help you this one time while Avery showers.” Pia leaned forward. “But I’m tired of watching you take advantage of Avery. She’s the sister I never had, and I refuse to let you mess up her life.”

“She’s
my
sister!” Tansy pouted with her hands on her hips.

“Then act like it, damn it.” Pia stared Tansy down until her pout disappeared.

Huh. Pia might have a point. Maybe it
was
time to stop being a pseudo helicopter parent and let Tansy learn to take responsibility for her own life. As soon as they got Tansy healthy, that would be Avery’s new plan. But right now Tansy’s pale face reminded her of her current plan: track down her missing family.

“The faster we clean, the more time we have for you. I can’t fix your bad bleach job tonight, but I can make sure you don’t look like a little sister playing dress-up.”

Tansy opened her pouting mouth, but one look from Pia and she shut it and shuffled into the bathroom, where she banged things around and grumbled under her breath.

“She’s doing a half-assed job.” Pia shrugged her shoulders and began gathering the clothes scattered on the couch. “But it’s about time she cleaned up some of the chaos she creates.”

Poor Tansy looked to be having no fun at all. Guilt tugged at Avery when she thought of her sister. “I always wondered how much my leaving Tansy hurt her. She’s such a fragile girl.”

“You didn’t have a choice.” Pia gestured wildly with one hand toward the bathroom. “And Tansy isn’t a girl. She’s only three years younger than you. Old enough to be responsible for her own life and her own messes. Now, go shower.”

“You would have made a great drill sergeant.”

Fifteen minutes later, when Avery returned, Pia was putting the last few pins into the back of Tansy’s high-necked blouse and pencil skirt. “You cannot put your Kate Moss body into Avery’s Marilyn Monroe wardrobe. But we’ll make this work today with safety pins and a cute jacket to hide them.”

“I’m not sure if that’s an insult, Pia, but since I look cute, I forgive you.” Tansy posed in front of the mirrored closet door, admiring herself.

“I’ll sleep better tonight knowing that. One thing, Tansy.” Pia held Tansy’s gaze with what Avery called her “I’m mistress of the universe, don’t mess with me, bitch” look. “Don’t for one second think you’re going to mess up the thing Avery has with the movie star. You’re sleeping in my room tonight.”

Oh, yikes. Avery’s gaze landed on the bed, and a rush of heat surged from low in her belly up to her cheeks. Could she handle another night with Sijan?

“Somewhere in this town there’s a margarita with my name written in salt waiting for me.” Pia opened the hotel room door with a wide arm swoop in an attempt to get them moving. “I plan to have my lips wrapped around the rim of that glass in ten minutes.”

***

Yadkin’s Depot didn’t have a happy hour. Until Avery asked the bartender what their happy hour special was. Turned out ladies drank free during happy hour, something the waitress, Cindee, seemed mildly surprised to hear. Avery ordered a glass of cabernet, Pia a double margarita, and Tansy a ginger ale with a lime.

Joe, the bartender, was happy to regale them with the history of the former train depot. The wall behind the bar was the original brick from 1943 when the station was still moving lumber and grain through. Large glass windows had been installed into three of the depot’s four walls, giving the bar a light-filled yet industrial atmosphere.

Avery left a generous tip on the bar, then followed Pia and Tansy over to sit at a large scarred oak table. She had the phone in her purse with the ringer set to its highest setting. And her purse in her lap. Open. Just in case. She glanced across the table at Tansy. Who wouldn’t want to throw a fit and toss things around at the unfairness of it all? She peeked into her purse to double-check how many bars her phone had.

“Would you stop?” Pia elbowed her. “Here comes our second round of drinks. Oh and what a coincidence, here come the men.”

“I haven’t even finished my . . . what men? I never called Sijan.” Avery glanced up from her purse, and there was Sijan standing directly in front of her. There might have been other men with him, but she didn’t notice. His silver eyes looked luminous in his tan face. His dark, close-cropped hair accentuated his rugged jawline. A wave of heat flushed from her head down. Way down. Sijan grinned his dimpled smile and she grinned back. “Well, hello. How did you find us?”

“Climax is a small town with a well-run Grapevine. Everyone knows pretty much everything about everyone.” Sijan sat in the chair next to her and kissed her hello. He pulled back slowly, until they were staring into each other’s eyes. “Not complicated.”

Not complicated?
What kiss was he talking about? Avery saw a hand stuck out to her from the corner of her vision. She tore her gaze from Sijan to find a big, powerful-looking man with dark auburn hair and hazel eyes ready for an introduction. “I’m Hawk. I’m one of the owners of the gym down the block. And a cop. I work with Sijan’s brother Quinn on the local force.”

“Henry Lee’s dad. I hope he’s feeling better,” Avery said, shaking his large hand. “Quinn? I think I met him a few days ago.”

“You did,” all of the men chorused.

Pia sat back to look at them all. “That must be some Grapevine.”

Tynan winked at Pia and said, “Oh, it is, so watch yourself, woman.”

“Hey, I’m not the one who couldn’t hold my liquor last night,” Pia said. “I bet you got home and tossed your cookies all over your man card.”

“Close, but see, I’ve learned.” He held his mug of beer up. “From now on, only the lighter stuff around you. You’re dangerous.”

“Ow! Oh, everyone this is my little sister, Tansy.” Avery had been so flustered by Sijan’s kiss she’d forgotten to make the introduction until Tansy pinched her under the table. Avery watched her sister smile coyly at all three men before turning her smile brightly on Sijan.

Tansy grabbed Sijan’s hand and sighed. “I feel like we’ve met before.”

“That’s funny,” Hawk said. “I was just thinking that about your sister. I’m sorry, Avery. I don’t mean to stare, but I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

Avery laughed lightly, squirming a little when Sijan and Tynan refocused their gazes on her. “I have one of those faces, right, Pia?”

“She really does. She gets that all the time. Is anyone else hungry? Thirsty?” Pia looked around the table. “Excuse me, Cindee? Can we look at a menu, please?”

The waitress hustled over with menus, looking a little harried. Avery glanced around, surprised at the crowd. The bar had been almost empty when they arrived. An attractive brunette wearing a figure-hugging pantsuit with a generous display of cleavage and a Priscilla Presley (after the divorce from Elvis) haircut walked over to their table.

“Hey, Cindee, when did Joe start offering a happy hour with free drinks for the ladies?” the brunette asked.

Cindee tipped her head toward Avery. “Since she walked in.”

“Whoa. Quinn’s blonde?” The brunette leaned forward to shake hands with Avery. “I’m Barbara Jewel, and you and I were almost best friends. But then you let me down.”

“Hello.” She frowned, not sure what the woman was talking about. “How did I let you down?”

Sijan leaned in. “Everyone heard about you meeting Quinn. Barbara hoped you were going to help her beat out Delaney, her high school nemesis.”

Avery turned her head to ask, “Beat her at what?” and found herself lip to lip with Sijan. Her gaze caught up in his. Up close, his gray eyes were a kaleidoscope of silver and yellow set in shining steel. The electricity between them sparked.

“We need to go.” Sijan stood up, helping Avery up also. He grabbed his wallet out of his back pocket, pulling out a credit card. “Ty, tell Joe I’ll cover happy hour. There’s no way he thought it through when that fell out of his mouth. I’ll get the card from you tomorrow.”

Tynan took the credit card and passed it over his shoulder to Cindee. “Looks like the hour just got happier.”

Pia delayed Avery with a hand on her arm. She held her hand out in front of her, waiting. “Av. Hand it over.”

“But, Pia, what if—”

Pia reached into Avery’s purse and took the phone out herself. “I will sleep with it in my hand and the minute it rings, I’ll bring it to you. Promise. Now go. You two kids have fun.”