Page 17 of Just One Chance
She opened the door to go inside, but David called her back. “Avery, wait.”
She turned to face him.
“This is just afrienddinner, right?”
The way he stood there, so open and honest and adorable with his new glasses and slightly mussed up hair—maybe it could be a date. Maybe she even wanted it to be. But then Tucker flashed into her mind. He’d been texting her a lot lately.Flirtinga lot. She had to see if there was something to it.
“Just a friend dinner,” she agreed.
He nodded, though she didn’t miss the flash of disappointment that flitted across his face. “Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”
Chapter 6
Davidpacedbackandforth in his kitchen, his eyes glued to the glowing green numbers on the front of his microwave. 7:48. How had it been 7:48 for twenty straight minutes? He couldn’t show up early. If he’d learned anything from the one serious relationship he’d ever been a part of, it was that showing up early to someone’s home was not the same thing as showing up early to a restaurant or a business meeting.
Needing a change of scenery, he pushed open his back door and stepped onto his back porch, then immediately darted back inside. Avery was outside in her yard.With a guy.
David moved to his living room window, and peeked through his blinds, his body angled so that even if Avery looked directly at his house, she wouldn’t notice him spying. The thought made him cringe and he turned away.
Was he really spying? Would he stoop so low?
Just one more look, a short one, and then he’d turn away. The man had his arms around Avery’s waist, his head just inches from her ear. She smiled and laughed, clearly amused by whatever he had said, then moved like she wanted to push him away. He caught her arms, tugging her even closer in a move that looked a little too controlling to David, but Avery didn’t resist. When the man leaned in to kiss her, shereallydidn’t resist. There was an obvious familiarity to the way they moved together; this wasn’t their first kiss. The man had to be the old boyfriend Avery had mentioned.
Jealousy flared in David’s gut and he tried and failed to stamp it out. What was the point? He was in an entirely different league than the guy that held Avery in his arms. They fit together. Looked good together. Had the same sun-bleached hair and tan skin that made them look like beach native Charlestonians. David’s gaze dropped to the man’s pressed khaki shorts and deck shoes.Yep. Definitely a local.
David sighed and moved away from the window. Back in the kitchen, the clock finally read eight o’clock. He hesitated. Better to be late and avoid the old boyfriend? Or be right on time and risk an awkward confrontation?
The clock flipped over to 8:01.
David tensed. He was never late for anything.
With a final exasperated sigh, he pushed out the back door, closing it firmly behind him. He’d deal with the old boyfriend. He wasn’t going to disrespect Avery by being late.
The grass in his back yard felt spongy and damp under his flip flops, something he’d learned was typical in the Lowcountry. In some places, the ground wasalwayswet. Living at sea level was such a different experience than living in Chicago.
Avery was no longer in her backyard, so David angled toward the front of her house, intending to knock on her front door like a normal house guest. For a brief moment, he hoped the boyfriend would already be gone but when he reached the side of Avery’s driveway, he saw them there, standing together, leaning into the side of the man’s car.
Avery’s back was to him, but the boyfriend saw him right away. For a split second, his gaze narrowed, but then he pasted on a practiced smile. “You must be David,” the guy said. He shifted away from Avery and extended his hand. “Tucker King. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Avery turned to face him. “David,” she said with a smile. “Is it eight o’clock already?”
David glanced at his watch. “Three past, actually.” David returned Tucker’s handshake. “David Daniels,” he said. “Nice to meet you.”
Tucker draped an arm across Avery’s shoulders. “Avery told me how you took care of her leg the other day. That was really great of you.”
Tucker’s words sounded sincere enough, but he still rubbed David the wrong way. There was a territorial vibe to the way he pulled Avery close to him, and a look in his eye that clearly saidmine, mine, mine.
“I wish I could stay and join ya’ll for dinner,” Tucker said, “but I’ve got a business meeting I need to get to. Another time, though. I’d love to get to know you better, David.” Tucker’s Southern accent made his words sound lilting and smooth. David couldn’t decide if it made them more convincing or not. They seemed to work on Avery, though. She moved toward him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll call you later.”
Tucker whispered something in her ear, too low for David to hear, and Avery blushed, shoving Tucker playfully. “Get out of here,” she said. “I mean it.”
Tucker grinned cockily before looking at David one last time, his eyebrows raised as if to challenge him. David didn’t so much as flinch, though it took all his willpower not to do so. He wasn’t delusional enough to think he could ever compete with someone like Tucker. But he had enough pride to hold his ground, even if he felt like dying on the inside.
Avery gave Tucker a final wave goodbye as he pulled out of the driveway then finally turned her full attention on David. She took a deep breath and smiled wide. “Ready? I bought us some oysters.”
David tensed. Oysters? When MUSC had invited him out to Charleston to offer him the attending position in the ER, they’d taken him to dinner at a raw bar downtown. He’d watched as everyone else had slurped down the oysters; David had come close, but it only took one person at the table saying something about salty sea snot for him to abandon the cause. “If I don’t eat the oysters, I still get the job, right?” he’d asked. Everyone had laughed, assuring him his job was safe, which was all he needed to know to stay oyster-free.
But for Avery?
