Page 20 of Just One Chance
David’s shoulders relaxed. Air sounded good. A walk sounded even better. Spending time with Avery made him feel a little like a caged animal. His feelings were so intense, so overwhelming, it took a lot of effort to remain calm. Normal.
His impulse was to just tell her. How beautiful he thought she was. How captivating he found her smile. How much he appreciated her sense of humor, her understated confidence. It was completely ridiculous. He’d only known the woman a couple of weeks. Only spent a handful of days in her presence.
David had never experienced anything like it before. When it came to relationships of any kind, he was cautious, careful. It generally took him a long time to warm up to new people. It hadn’t taken five minutes for him to warm up to Avery. Why was she so different? It made him feel reckless, which thrilled him and terrified him all at the same time.
Chapter 7
AveryledDaviddownthe sandy path that cut between their backyards to the beach. Halfway there, the path turned into a worn, wooden walkway that wound through twenty-five yards of scrubby beach flora, a natural barrier that separated the water from the homes that lined the shoreline. It was one of the things she loved most about Sullivan’s. No long, concrete boardwalks, or looming hotels overshadowing the beach. Her island was wild and unpolished, just the way she liked it. The sun was low on the horizon behind them, minutes from dropping behind the island.
“It’s beautiful here,” David said, an echo to her own thoughts. “Sometimes when I’m working too much, I forget this is in my backyard.”
They hit the beach and turned right, walking toward the lighthouse that rose in the distance.
“You ought to come out here every day,” Avery said. “Make it a part of your bedtime ritual.”
“Is it part ofyourbedtime ritual?” He asked the question, but then looked away quickly enough that she almost missed the blush coloring his cheeks. She bit her lip, not wanting to smile and make him even more uncomfortable. Was it just that he’d referenced her bedtime routine that made him so nervous? Could the poor guy be any more adorable?
“Most nights, yes,” Avery said. “I think it makes it easier for me to fall asleep.”
“Why? Because of the sounds?”
Avery shrugged. “That’s maybe a part of it. But it’s more about remembering that the world is so much bigger than I am, you know? It’s hard to look at the vastness of the ocean and stay lost inside your own head. Out here, I feel small. But not in a bad way.”
“No, I get that,” David said. “Like a reminder that all the little things that we make so important in our self-centered lives don’t actually matter when you think about how big the world really is. I felt that hiking the Andes in Bolivia.”
“Exactly!” Avery reached out and grabbed David’s arm, just above his wrist, excited that he understood how she felt. She’d tried to explain her feelings to Tucker once and he’d completely misunderstood. “How is feeling small a good thing?” he’d said, shooting her a confused look.
Before she moved her hand, David shifted, twisting his arm and catching her fingers with his own. It happened so fast she hardly knew how it happened, but itdidhappen, and she waslegitholding his hand.
Heat traveled up her arm, pinging her heart in places she didn’t expect. What was happening to her? She wasn’t interested in David. David was . . . everything that hadneverbeen her type. Which meant shehadto let go of his hand. She pulled her hand away, crouching down and adjusting the strap on her sandal that didn’t actually need adjusting. “Um, want to look for sand dollars?”
David paused before answering, looking at his hand a long moment before shoving it into his pocket. She’d tried to be subtle, but he’d clearly felt her rejection. “As long as you make sure I don’t kill any,” David said, a serious look in his eye.
His eyes somehow looked bluer on the beach. With little flecks of gold that shone in the late evening light. She suddenly wondered what he’d look like with his glasses off, his hair a little more tousled, the top few buttons of his shirt undone.
“Tucker’s an attorney,” she said abruptly, willing the image of her boyfriend into her mind. Or would she still call him her ex-boyfriend? Maybe her newly recycled boyfriend?
“Great,” David said, following behind her as she walked closer to the water. That’s where they’d find the best sand dollars.
“His father is in real estate. He owns half of Charleston, and Tucker sits on his legal team.”
“Good for him,” David said, his voice detached.
“He really is a nice guy,” Avery said.Whywas she still talking about Tucker? “Maybe we could all go out sometime. On a double date or something. I have this friend at work I could set you up with, if you want. Her name is Shelley.”
David stopped, leveling her a stare that was so pointed, so completely transparent that it almost took Avery’s breath away. David’s eyes said everything, like they were some kind of conduit to his innermost thoughts.
I don’t want to go on a double date with you.
I don’t want to be set up with anyone.
I want you. I want you. I want you.
Still, he said nothing until he raised one shoulder in a half-shrug. “Sure. If you want.”
Avery swallowed, afraid to break eye contact. “Great.”
“Great,” David repeated.
