Page 39 of Family Bonds: Carson & Laine

“Okay,” Avery said.

“I can’t get him out of my mind. Literally. I drew that picture last Sunday.”

“Oh,” Avery said. She lifted the page and saw another picture and then another. “You’ve been a busy girl.”

“Not as busy as I would have liked,” she said, laughing.

“Then don’t hold back.”

“I know. We’ve got another date on Friday. He’s working days this week. We’ll see what happens then. I’m sure I’ll talk to him at some point today.”

“Are you going to reach out to him?”

“I will if I don’t hear from him later on,” she said. “I don’t want to be clingy. That isn’t me. After he left I sent him a text that I had a great time. But I’m sure he figured that out by our kiss.”

“Do tell,” Avery said, rubbing her hands together.

“Oh my, he has some nice lips on him. Soft and tender. That is how it started. I expected him to take more control.”

“I bet you did after,” Avery said, laughing.

“Absolutely. He was all in after that. If I gave the green light I think we would have been shedding our clothes where we stood, but I didn’t. We talked about one-night stands. He asked if I ever had one. I know he has, but he didn’t admit it. He’s got a tiny reputation around here. I know he’s no saint.”

“I think most men around his age might have had multiple partners and not many that were serious. He’s good looking, successful, and has a lot of power and money behind his name even if that last name isn’t Bond.”

Which was why she didn’t push it last night. “I think he’s dealt with that a lot in his life. We just had so much fun that I didn’t want to change that dynamic either. At least yesterday.”

“I can see that,” Avery said. “You always do what works for you and you will here.”

“I know,” she said. “But normally I’m not second-guessing myself with a man either.”

“There is no reason for you to be doing it now,” Avery said.

The two of them talked a bit more and then Avery left to run errands and go spend some alone time with Carter. She didn’t want to keep her friend here too long knowing that having Josie around didn’t always lead to spontaneous combustion.

She was pretty sure she was going to feel that herself soon.

After lunch, she decided to make her weekly calls to her parents. She called her father first. “Hi, Dad,” she said. He almost always picked up by the second ring when she called. She knew he was busy, but Sunday was their day to talk. He’d honor that.

“How is my girl doing? How is your hand?”

“It’s healing well,” she said. “I barely feel it, but it’s in the way.”

“You’ve got your appointment this week?” her father asked. “In Boston with a top-rated specialist?”

“On the island with a good doctor that comes here from Boston. There is a long wait list to see top-rated specialists and it’s a tiny break in my bone. Nothing to worry about. If this doctor is concerned, then I’ll look into more. I’m positive everything is going to heal fine and no worries.”

Her father sighed on the other end. She knew he was just concerned, but it wasn’t like any of the medical issues he’d had in his life.

“You’ll keep me posted,” her father said.

“Always. What is going on with you? Anything new you’ve created?”

Her father laughed. “I’ve always got ideas but nothing that is close to production. Just keeping the company running is more my job now.”

She got her creativity from her father, just in a different form. She knew that and enjoyed they shared that talent.

It was a bond that she’d treasure close to her heart.

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