Page 37 of The Bachelor

It was what she always said.

Avery sighed. It shouldn’t matter to her. There was no getting any apology from a man who had passed on, and he probably wouldn’t have offered one anyway, even if a child support suit had resulted in DNA proof she was his daughter. Normally she didn’t bug her mother about it either, it was just that it felt raw and real to her given everything that had happened with Shane.

And the fact that she now might be meeting Chance Rivers. Her half-brother. What a weird label when it truly meant nothing to her other than they happened to share the same sperm donor. But that didn’t explain why she felt nervous. Or why she did want to see Chance face-to-face. It mattered to her that Chance’s reaction to her was positive, even though he would have no clue who she was. That would be enough for her, if he was friendly.

“Just remember, learn from me. Keep it together and never let a man control your destiny. I was no virgin when I went to Nashville, as everyone in this damn town will tell you, but even experienced, I was still taken in by some pretty words. Don’t let anyone do that to you.”

“I think I already did,” Avery said regretfully. But Shane wasn’t a bad man like Buck had been. She couldn’t put that on him. He’d been decent to her, treated her right. Made the sex wonderful. The night had unfolded naturally, without any manipulating.

“Just be yourself in that meeting and don’t let him rattle you.”

“So how’s your love life?” she asked her mother, needing to change the subject.

“Oh, honey, I’m in a spell so dry the trees are begging the dogs to lift a leg.” Her mother looked amused. “I seem to have an unrealistic view of how old I am. I don’t want to date a sixty-five-year-old but those are the only ones interested in me. Well, them and the twenty-five-year-olds who want a mama.”

Avery couldn’t prevent herself from wrinkling her nose. “Sixty-five? You can’t be serious.”

“Dead serious. Some of them are nice, some are handsome, some are both, but they all want to talk down to me. Tell me how I could mow the yard differently, or what beer I really should drink, or how I need to save for my retirement. I’ve been taking care of myself for almost thirty years, I really don’t need someone to offer to fix what doesn’t need fixing.”

“That’s just stupid, of course not.” She hated to think of her mother being lonely. “So date a twenty-five-year-old then. They’ll worship the ground you walk on.”

“You wouldn’t be embarrassed if I did that?” Her mother made a face. “I am forty-five, you know.”

“No. I don’t care who you date as long as he treats you right and you’re happy.” That was the truth. Gossips be damned. Live and let live. She wished more people did just that and she wished she hadn’t wasted so many years being who she thought people wanted her to be.

Sure, she couldn’t say that she would be thrilled to witness her mother snuggling up to a guy her age, but as long as it wasn’t someone she went to high school with, she would just deal with it.

“I doubt I’d ever actually do that because I’m not aiming to teach a boy to be a man, but thank you, hon.”

“Think how good they’d look naked.” Avery grinned.

“Avery!”

If she wasn’t mistaken, her mother was blushing. That made her laugh.

“Don’t laugh at your mother.”

“Don’t pretend to be shy. You’re the one who hooked up at a house party.”

Her mother slapped her knee. “Don’t sass your mother. It’s disrespectful.” But the corner of her mouth was turning up. “What can I say? It was a good house party.”

That made Avery laugh even harder.

EIGHTEEN

“You’re so hot,” the girl standing next to Shane at the bar said.

He glanced over at her. “Thanks. You’re not so bad yourself.” She wasn’t. In fact, she was gorgeous. But only in the most removed sense was he acknowledging that. He felt absolutely zero attraction to her.

She giggled. “Gee, thanks, asshole.” She leaned over the bar, way over, so that her ass lifted in a beautiful portrait of female form, as she strained for a cocktail napkin.

No one who hadn’t spilled something toxic needed a napkin so bad they couldn’t wait for a bartender to get it. She had done the maneuver just to entice him. He knew the moves. Normally he applauded them. But tonight he just wasn’t feeling it.

Walker mouthed “what the fuck” to him. His buddy was already cuddling up with the girl’s friend, leaning in way too close and exchanging flirtatious comments. Shane had nothing to say. He was bored. Normally the bar they were in was one of his favorites because it wasn’t as loud as other joints and he had engaged in plenty of entertaining and amusing conversations here.

Now he just wanted to drink his beer in silence, which was not like him at all. He shrugged at Walker.

“Are you sick?” Walker asked him when the women went to the restroom. “Like a fever or something? You’re acting like a prick.”

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