Page 68 of The Fear of Falling
I chuckle at the edge of judgment in her tone. She’s right to judge, but this is my reality. Or maybe I onlythinkshe’s judging me and she’s simply trying to understand, which is way more likely when it comes to her. “In my defense, McKay has two kids under the age of three, and Kimball and his wife like to get creative with their names. I’ve only met some of them once or twice.”
“Are you going to go see your family before you head back to New York?”
I should have known she would ask a question like this. Maybe answering honestly will give her a reason to stop pushing the line and keep this connection between us from strengthening. Ha! Avery is too stubborn for that. “If I do, it will be right before I fly out,” I say.
“Do they know you’re in Utah?”
“Nope.”
“Benson!”
I wince. “I’ve only been here for a few days, and R&Q has kept me plenty busy.”
“Too busy to send a text?”
“I’m not sure I like your tone, Avery Grace.”
She huffs out a breath. “Sorry. I guess I’m too close to my family to understand not keeping them in the loop with what I’m doing.”
There’s the kicker. Life is easier when there are no expectations for me to fall short of. “That’s the difference between you and me.”
“Whatever your reasons, you don’t come across as the kind of guy who would be this way.”
Chuckling, I adjust my position so I’m sitting against the headboard. “I specifically went to Italy for a friend’s wedding and spent the whole time with you. This shouldn’t come as a shock to you.”
“But they’re your…” She doesn’t finish her sentence, probably because she’s remembering what I said earlier. I called Eric my family. Myonlyfamily.
“They wouldn’t want to see me,” I tell her.
“That’s awful.”
“And true.” I roll my eyes. Unless, of course, I can build my company into something worthy of the West name. Then maybe my dad would stop thinking I’m an impulsive failure. “Do you feel better about your relationship withyourfamily now?”
She laughs weakly. “I mean, not really. Now I just feel bad for your family drama.”
“I would so much rather talk about your drama. How can I help you feel better about the Poppy situation?”
“You don’t have to do that, Benson. I just wanted to complain.”
Smiling, I move my phone to the other hand. “Complain all you want.”
“I just wish I knew how to talk to Poppy, you know?” she says and sighs heavily.
I wonder what she’s doing right now and have to remind myself—again—not to imagine her in bed like I am. These late night conversations are a bad idea.
Avery keeps talking. “She’s so much younger than me, so I don’t really know her like I should. And I don’t know anything about crystals, so that topic’s out.”
All I know about her cousin is what she told me in the car today, which wasn’t much, but talking to people is my whole thing. I’ve learned to ask the right questions to quickly get to know a person or their company so I can figure out where I need to take my consultation. I doubt I’ll come up with the best questions at the moment, given how tired I am after a sleepless night, but I have to try to help. “I’m sure you know more about Poppy than her love of crystals. She works at the airport, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Does she enjoy that?”
“I guess so? She seemed happy when I ran into her on my way to Italy.”
My eyes jump to the bracelet again, and I grab it, running my fingers over the braided band as my eyes droop with sleepiness. “Is she at the TSA or something, or is she in one of the shops?”
“Shops. I think she’s a manager or something, and… Oh! I think she’s mentioned wanting to start her own store at some point. I have no idea if she’s serious about that or if it was just an idea she had on a whim one day.”
