“You’re amazing. You know that?” Avery paused, and I could hear Cam yelling Ava’s name in the background. The child was probably racing through their house or jumping from the top of the staircase. A second later I could hear peals of Ava’s laughter. “How does seven sound?”
“Perfect.”
The sound of Cam and Ava’s girlish giggles faded. “So, tell me all about the new job while I have a few minutes.”
“It’s been good.” It was the following Wednesday, and I’d been at the Academy for a little over a week. Things were going surprisingly well. Mainly because I rarely saw Brock. He was either in his office, door closed, and when he wasn’t, I made an art form out of avoiding him unless I had to deal with him during a meeting. Both of us were pretty busy, and I was focusing on advertising and renting out the additional spaces we had on the second floor. “I’m still getting adjusted, but I’m . . . I’m happy to be working there.”
And that was the truth.
“I’m so happy to hear that—oh, by the way, before I forget, Brock ended up meeting up with Cam on Monday. They had lunch,” she told me, and I guessed that explained why Brock was gone half the afternoon that day. “I think Brock made Cam’s year. So you can thank him for that.”
“Sure,” I murmured.
There was a pause. “So, I know you guys kind of grew up together, but I would’ve never guessed it based on the way you acted toward him when he showed up at the restaurant.”
Unsure of how to answer that question, I watched Rhage drop to the floor and then raise his fluffy behind. He was staring at the wall. When I talked to Avery last week when she called to invite me to breakfast, which I’d ultimately bailed on like a freak, she hadn’t really touched on Brock. I skated by during that conversation without having to talk about him.
“I was just thinking about it, because I was chatting with Steph last night,” she continued, and I let my head fall back against the couch as I swallowed a groan. Steph worked in the Philadelphia Academy, and when I first met her several years ago, I’d been outrageously envious of her. She was everything I’d wanted to be back then—beautiful, intelligent, kind, beyond confident, and strong, so strong. “She’s coming home to visit her mom soon and we talked about getting together. Anyway, she asked about you,” Avery said.
“Did she?”
“Yep,” she replied. “She wondered how you and Brock were getting along. It wasn’t like she was gossiping or anything like that,” Avery quickly added. “I even asked why she was asking that question, and she really didn’t answer, so it made me super curious.”
While I stared at the ceiling, I saw the framed photo in Brock’s office. Why did he have that photo in his office? The urge to talk about him, to talk to someone, rode me hard. Ever since I left Philadelphia, I never spoke to anyone about Brock. Not even when I saw Abby and Katie, two people who knew just how much I cared for him.
Talking about Brock brought forth a lot of wonderful memories at the same time that it dragged up things I didn’t want to deal with.
Right at that moment, I heard a thump and looked over, brows snapping together. Rhage was by the wall, shaking his furry head. Obviously he’d attacked the wall and the wall won that battle. What a dumb cat.
“You still there, Jillian?”
“Yeah. Sorry.” I wrapped an arm around my knees. “Brock and I . . . Well, we were really close, but we kind of grew apart.” Okay. That sounded lame and clichéd, and I could do better. Avery deserved that. “All right. If I’m going to be honest, I was—I was in love with Brock and he thought of me as a little sister. He didn’t feel the same way, and our friendship . . . eventually imploded because of it.”
“Oh. Wow. You know who this reminds me of? Teresa and Jase.”
One side of my lips twitched. “It’s nothing like that.”
“Well, yeah. Kind of. You know, Teresa was super in love with Jase when she was younger, and he wouldn’t dare touch her because Cam would’ve murdered him in his sleep.” Avery laughed. Teresa was Cam’s younger sister and Jase had been his best friend since they were kids. “Anyway, look how that turned out. They’re married and—”
“And Teresa is about to pop out a baby,” I said. “I get what you’re saying, but Brock was never secretly lusting after me like Jase was for Teresa.”
“How do you know?” she asked.
I rolled my eyes. “Trust me, I know.”
“Hmm. I don’t know—wait. Wait. I better go. I hear Ava shrieking.” Avery sighed. “You’re going to come to brunch with Teresa and me on Sunday? You can tell me all about your date with Grady Saturday.”
“Wow. News travels fast,” I said, jolting a little at the reminder about the art show with Grady. I’d actually forgotten about that. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her I had plans, but Avery knew I never had plans, and I remembered I’d promised myself nearly two weeks ago that I could turn her down. I did that once since then. I wouldn’t do it again. “I will do brunch on Sunday.”
“Really?” Avery’s voice pitched with surprise.
“Yep. Looking forward to it.”
“Awesome. Okay. I’ll see you on Friday. Love ya!”
Saying my goodbyes, I lowered the phone and placed it on the end table. I was about to pick up the remote when there was a knock against my front door that sent Rhage darting under the coffee table.