Page 34 of Just One Chance
“You look nice,” Avery said. “You excited?”
“Yes. No. I mean, yes, I think.” David pinched the space between his eyes. “Just nervous, I guess. I’m not very good at this.”
“You’re going to do great,” Avery said. And he would. He’d been nervous around her when they first got to know each other, but he’d relaxed soon enough and was always great company. Shelley was going to love him.
David studied his reflection in the window of his car. “What do you think? Leave the button undone on this one, too?”
Avery nodded. He wore a polo shirt this time. “Leave it undone,” Avery said. “This is Charleston. It’s not really a buttoned-up kind of city.” It was one of the things she’d always loved about the place. Everything just moved a little slower.
“Right. Got it.” He took a deep, intentional breath. “Any last-minute pointers?”
Avery shrugged. “Don’t try too hard? Just relax and be yourself?”
“Challenging whenmyselfisn’t very relaxed and tends to always try too hard.”
“It’ll be fine.” Avery took a step closer and reached up to smooth a piece of David’s hair back into place. “You’ve got a lot more going for you than you think you do.” She held his gaze for an extra-long moment, until her heart twitched and she bit her lip, looking away. What was wrong with her?
“What are you up to tonight?” David asked, his voice softer, gentler than before.
“I, um, I don’t know yet. Tucker’s coming over, I think. He said something about going up to the food truck festival in Summerville.”
Avery saw David’s jaw tighten and her defenses immediately went up. But then David relaxed his features and he smiled. “Sounds fun.”
“Yeah, it should be.”
In truth, Avery wasn’t super thrilled by the idea of driving all the way up to Summerville. At first, she’d loved this new, more relaxed version of Tucker. No more traditional yacht club Tuesday night dinners or fancy charity events that demanded she wear dresses she couldn’t actually afford and wouldn’t ever wear again. It was the only bright spot in the months following their break-up—the morning she’d taken all those fancy dresses to consignment. What she didn’t understand was why Tucker resisted going to any of the places they’d loved going before.
“I just want a fresh start,” he’d told her when she brought it up the last time they were together. “Let’s find new favorite places to eat. Make new memories.”
It was a nice thought, but good sushi was good sushi. Why find a new place when you already knew where to get the best super crunch roll?
“Well, wish me luck,” David said.
“You won’t need it,” Avery said. “If I’m up when you get home, come over and tell me about it?”
David nodded. “Okay.”
Avery only just resisted the impulse to reach out and give him a hug, but that hardly felt like the right thing to do, especially when sending him off on a date with a friend. But she did spend more than a minute thinking, as she walked back to the cool relief of her air conditioning, what it might feel like to have David’s arms wrapped around her. It was a surprising thought, but those little surprising thoughts seemed to be springing into her mind with greater and greater frequency, with a particular surge right around the time she’d set David up with Shelley.
Which was totally ridiculous. Because she didn’t have feelings for David.
When Avery got back into the house, there was a text from Tucker.Sorry, babe. Something came up and I’m not free until later. Can I come by around 11?
Avery heaved a sigh. No dinner, no time together, but he still wanted to come by at eleven? It was a Thursday night. She had to work in the morning.I’ve got an early start tomorrow. Rain check?she typed out.
Please? I miss you. I promise not to keep you up too late,his response read, followed by a winking emoji.
Avery rolled her eyes. So far she’d held her ground with Tucker. She didn’t want to jump back into things too quick. But her defenses were weakening. The day before, he’d shown up at her house with two boxes of chocolate covered elephant ears from the bakery. She hadn’t had one in ages and the fact that he’d remembered they were her favorites was sweet. He reallydidseem like he had changed.
Avery thought back to the conversations they’d had when they broke up. Avery suspected Tucker hadn’t actually wanted to end things but felt pressured by his family to cut ties. She didn’t exactly fit the mold of the perfect politician’s wife his father believed Tucker needed. Her father worked in construction and her mom was a librarian. They didn’t qualify as Charleston elite. But maybe Tucker had finally broken free of all that—the family pressure, the expectations.
She could let Tucker come over. She maybe even wanted to. But then she thought of David getting back from his date, and the invitation she’d issued for him to come over and tell her about it. Knowing David, he’d for sure come. And Avery didn’t want to be otherwise occupied if he did.
I miss you too,she texted Tucker.But I really need to get some sleep. Tomorrow night?
It was several hours later when he finally responded.I’ve got a work dinner, but I can come over after. It might be late.
Avery thought about the implication of his words. If he came late, it was almost inevitable where the night might lead. Was she ready to take their relationship back to that place? She wandered into the kitchen and pulled an elephant ear out of the cardboard packaging that sat on her counter. She took a big bite, then set it down, licking the chocolate frosting from her fingers. Tucker had been nothing but charming and attentive and solicitous of her feelings for weeks. He’d more than earned a second chance.
