Page 62 of Substitute for Love

Avery swallowed, then turned her head to the side. “That’s good, right?” She wanted to be encouraging, while covering up the shakiness in her voice.

Gabe and sighed. “I think so. Yes. Of course, yes. For me to spring this on them and all, after not talking to them forever and even though you said I deserve it I don’t know, but it felt good and I just…”

She walked over and put her hands on his shoulders. “Gabe. It’s great news. You did a big thing and I’m proud of you.” She meant every word, but mostly she wanted him to calm down and quit rambling.

Yet there was a part of her that liked being near him. Touching him. Knowing Claire was out of the picture, at least in Gabe’s mind, made her feel okay being this close to him.

He gazed at her silently, then reached up and adjusted a piece of her hair that had fallen in front of her face. Avery’s heart beat more rapidly as the one thing she wanted and the one thing she knew she shouldn’t do was about to happen again.

Gabe cupped her face in his hands and touched his lips to hers. His tenderness drew her in, and Avery forgot herself. Kissing Gabe was a beautiful way to get lost. She kissed him back, giving into her feelings for him, her hands moving from his shoulders to his back.

“Wait.” She backed away abruptly. “I can’t…”

He let go, his eyes still closed for a second. As he opened them, she could see his confusion and pain.

“I’m sorry, Gabe. I really like you. But I don’t think this is a good idea.” She stepped back, putting distance between them. “You’re probably leaving soon, and I don’t want to lead you on or make things awkward.”Or continue to break my heart.

Gabe froze, his eyes wide, then he ran his fingers through his hair. “Oh. Right. I mean, I guess that’s best.” He wrinkled his brow.

“What?” Avery asked. “What is it?”

He bit his bottom lip. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kissed you.” The words stung, even though it was what Avery needed to hear.

“I feel so comfortable with you.” He put his hand down to his side. “Thank you for helping me. You don’t know how much your help means to me.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “No one has ever been proud of me before.”

A whimper came from down the hall. “Oh, Emmett probably needs to go out. Excuse me.” He disappeared and she watched as he ushered his dog out the front door.

She went to pick up her cup when a text pinged on Gabe’s phone.

CLAIRE: It’s a date. See ya then!

Avery robotically picked up the cup, walked to the kitchen sink and stared out the window where Gabe stood with his dog next to a tree. So, he wasn’t exactly being truthful, was he? She shook her head. What was wrong with her? How many times did she have to tell herself they were only “friends” only to let things go too far?

Duh, Avery.Gabe wasn’t available after all. Why did it take her so long to get that through her head?

She slowly dumped out the remaining water and ice out of the cup and dropped it in the sink. The problem was Avery kept running to help Gabe, or vice versa. She had to put more distance between them. She didn’t hate him. He was too sweet, especially compared to Marshall. So she had to avoid him as much as possible.

Gabe came back inside with Emmett.

“I’d better get going,” she said. “I hope you get the funding for the project.” And she meant it. She ducked her head to avoid eye contact with him and left.

When she got in her car, she pulled out her phone, ignoring a new text from Marshall. Instead she tapped on Claire’s number and called. “Hey. What are you doing right now? We need to talk.”

Chapter 21: Gabe

Tuesday September 2, 7:00 PM

Avery rushed out the front door like she was running away from a boulder threatening to crush her—the boulder being Gabe.

Way to go, Indiana Jones. Hadn’t he seen a text to Avery from a guy named Marshall? Clearly her mind was on someone else. So why had he gone ahead and kissed her?

Because he wanted to. He touched his lips with his fingertips as he remembered the moment. Their connection was undeniable. He glanced at Avery's car, where she was sitting, looking down at her phone, probably texting that guy Marshall.

That was super dumb, kissing her like that, when she clearly wanted to be friends.

But she had been so great to encourage him, to help him do something he hadn’t done in ages. His parents were actually excited to help him. They said they’d fully fund whatever he wanted. Just like that. He had wanted to talk with them more, but they were busy—as usual. Still, he promised to call them again, even if they didn’t.

So why had he told Avery his parents had said “maybe”? Part of him was hoping he still had a chance with her. That she wasn’t trying to get rid of him. But he wanted to go on this expedition more than anything, so why was he letting a girl distract him?

---