Page 47 of Substitute for Love

There, that should do it.No, she needs to know how she made me feel. I need to get this out.

GABE: I was about to ask you to come to Sedona with me for the weekend, but when I saw you kissing him, it was clear you didn’t think of our relationship as anything special.

Okay,nowhe was done. There was no mistake now that Gabe wanted nothing to do with Claire.

So what now? Did he have a chance with Avery? She seemed like the type of person who was a loyal friend. The type of person who would sacrifice her own feelings for others. So if Claire convinced Avery to put on the brakes, she would.

Because Avery was considerate. Kind. Loving. In so many ways. He wanted to talk to Avery. Desperately.

Finally, Gabe went to Avery’s texts. The last texts between them were only hours ago, when he asked for her address and she playfully accused him of being a stalker. He smiled, then clicked to type a new message.You got this, Gabe. You can text her. It’ll be fine.

Gabe typed, “Hey…” Then deleted it. His heart raced and his head swirled. What could he say?

Then typed, “So…” Then deleted. Frustration filled his chest. If he could pour his heart out he would have typed, “I should have been the one to drive you home so I could explain and hopefully things would be okay, but even if they aren’t, I still want you to know how much you mean to me, except I might be leaving soon anyway. But our kiss was special and you’re pretty and really amazing.”

He closed his eyes. Wow. So lame. There was a reason Gabe majored in archeology and not writing. Maybe texting was a bad idea. He could make things worse. He opened his eyes then he typed, “I’m sorry.” His thumbs hovered over the screen as he contemplated whether to delete or click send. Should he delete it and say he wanted to talk? But what if Avery hated his guts and said no? Blocked his number? The least he could do was apologize for making her feel terrible.

He clicked send. Instantly regretted it, a heaviness settling onto his chest. Then checked to see if she had read it about a million times as he scrolled through archeology videos until he finally fell asleep.

Sunday August 31, 10:00 AM

If Emmett hadn’t licked his face, Gabe would still be asleep, dreaming of Egypt. Pyramids. Sand and mummies and cataloging and who was that in the distance? Even in his dream it appeared to be a mirage, but at the last second he saw a woman in a green dress heading toward him.

Gabe pet Emmett, his thoughts drifting to Avery. He grabbed his phone. Avery still hadn’t read his text. Dang it. Now what was he supposed to do with himself?

A quick search told him the library was open. If only his laptop hadn’t broken a month ago when he dropped it at school, he could do the proper research for the grant proposal at his apartment or a coffee shop. After changing clothes and a quick breakfast, he headed out the door.

Once he was situated at a computer at the library, Gabe got to work. He opened the proposal document from his professor he’d need to submit before joining the Egypt project. Plus the documents would be good to send to his parents before calling them and asking for money.

Would all this be worth it? He stared ahead at the endless shelves of books. He daydreamed about what it would be like to be part of an actual archeological dig. The scent of history, the excitement of being where civilization began. Being part of a team of people with the same passions as he had.

Someone walked toward him and stopped right in front of his computer. “Gabe? What are you doing here?”

His eyes darted up and a lump formed in his throat. “Avery. Hi.”

Chapter 14: Avery

Was Gabe stalking her somehow? She dismissed the idea.Duh, Avery. He’d been to the library before. And he clearly doesn’t care about you. But she thought about their kiss anyway. The kind of kiss from a romcom you watch on repeat because it’s just that good.

She sighed away the euphoria and pushed the memory away. Obviously she liked Gabe, but she wasn’t the type to go around and kiss a guy who wasn’t going to stick around. A guy who wasn’t going to take her seriously. She’d been down that road before. No thanks.

“I… uh… I’m doing some research,” he said, hunched over the computer, barely looking at her.

Avery wasn’t sure what to think. The man in front of her was an enigma. Super cute, easy going, hero type, who likes kissing girls he barely knew. He could probably have any girl he wanted, which was probably Claire. And yet, she found herself wishing things weren’t awkward between her and Gabe.

Avery folded her arms. “Research for what?”

He looked at his computer screen, then back up at her. “Stuff.”

Normally she would giggle, but they were in the library and she was still reeling from discovering his recent relationship with Claire. Which seemed so dumb. They were still co-workers. And friends. Maybe, too, Avery didn’t have the whole story of the Claire-Gabe relationship.

Because Marshall had texted. He was coming to town and wanted totalk.That’s why she was at the library. Her brain was swirling around in circles. Books always calmed her down.

Gabe stood and walked over to her. “Can we talk?” he whispered.

Heat rose through her throat. She nodded. Anxiety frazzled her nerves as she wondered what he was going to say. Would it break her heart or give her hope?

He grabbed her hand and led her outside. The Phoenix weather had cooled somewhat, and a slight breeze brushed her skin as they sat on a bench under a tree.

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