Page 29 of Just One Chance
“Hey, Avery?” he said. “Do you want to come in for a few minutes? I just made breakfast. There’s enough to share. I mean, if you want.”
“You don’t have to get to work?”
“I do,” David said. “But I have a few minutes. I’d like to spend them with you.”
Warmth spread through Avery’s body. She’d never not appreciate David’s open sincerity. “Breakfast sounds good.”
She followed David into his kitchen. “What are we eating?” she asked.
David turned to the stove and picked up a plate of bacon, then grabbed a package of croissants from the counter. “Do you trust me?”
Avery watched as he turned the stove on and cracked an egg into a skillet. “Do you cook?” she asked, hesitation in her voice.
David tossed a grin over his shoulder. “Enough that you should trust me.”
“Fine, fine. I surrender. Feed me what you will.” Avery had long since decided David was sexy in his scrubs. But David cooking in his scrubs? It did weird things to her brain. He could save her life andalsomake her breakfast?
Avery blushed at the thought. She’d come over to chastise him. To ask him to butt out of her life, or at least be nice to her boyfriend. How had she wound up sitting at his kitchen counter, fantasizing about his finer qualities, watching him assemble what looked to be the most beautiful breakfast sandwich she’d ever laid eyes on?
David slid the plate in front of her, a gleam in his eye. “Go ahead. Taste it.”
Avery raised her eyebrows. “Aren’t you going to have one?”
“Sure. But I want you to try yours first.”
Avery looked at the croissant, laden with bacon and a fried egg, over easy just the way she liked it. Avocado peeked out from underneath the egg and there was some sort of sauce David had drizzled over the bacon before topping the sandwich. She carefully picked it up, taking a bite that would have made her older brother proud. He’d always told her he loved that she wasn’t dainty about her food.
Avery savored the flavors of the sandwich, at once wondering what the sauce was that made it all taste so different, so amazing. “What did you put on this thing?” she said, taking a second bite.
“It’s amazing, right?”
“I think I might cry.”
“It’s tomato butter,” David said. “You reduce fresh tomatoes down to almost nothing, puree them, then mix in cream and melted butter.”
“Oh! There’s a restaurant downtown that does something similar with their fried green tomatoes. It’s heavenly.”
David nodded, finally assembling his own sandwich. “My mom adds it to everything. Burgers, pasta. She basically treats it like a traditional condiment.”
“I bet it works great on a burger. Seriously. This is the best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had.”
“I’m glad you like it.” He smiled. “It makes me happy to see you happy.”
A tiny twinge of guilt pinged in Avery’s chest. Was it right that she hang out with David so much knowing that he had feelings for her? He’d just admitted that very morning to feeling jealous of Tucker. What else could that mean but he liked her? She loved being around David, but she didn’t want to be that girl. The girl that basked in attention because it felt good when there was no chance of a relationship actually developing.
Another twitch in her heart made her think that last thought wasn’t entirely accurate. Was there trulynochance of a relationship with David? Were her feelings so determined? She pushed the thought away, afraid of what she might realize if she let her mind keep going.
David finished his sandwich in a handful of bites. Apparently, he wasn’t dainty about his food either. He reached for her plate, placing it in the sink with his own. After throwing everything back in the fridge and giving his counters a quick wipe-down, he looked at Avery and smiled. “Now I really do have to go.”
She nodded. ‘Thanks for feeding me.”
“It’s the least I could do after you introduced me to oysters.” She followed him to the front door where he grabbed his keys from a table in the entryway. He held his front door open, waiting for her to exit before closing and locking the door. They walked together down his front porch steps, pausing at the door to his car.
“Have a good day,” she told David as she backed away. She stood on the grassy strip that separated their driveways and watched as he pulled onto Marshall Boulevard. He waved one last time, then disappeared down the road.
Avery glanced at her watch. She was going to be late for work herself if she didn’t hurry, but she stood there a moment longer, wondering why she felt so different. More importantly, what was she going to do about it?
Chapter 10
