Love on Beach Avenue(48)

“Yes, of course. Your brother’s here with me.”

“Perfect! Hi, Carter. How’s your beach vacay?”

He grinned. “Good, but we miss you, Ally-Cat. I hope you’re not stressing about anything. Avery has it under complete control. She’s been amazing.”

Avery blinked, staring at him, but he’d sounded sincere. Probably just trying to be nice to his sister.

“I told you she was the best,” Ally said.

“She is,” he answered. “Listen, we’re standing outside the florist, and it’s a hundred degrees. Why don’t you stay on the phone while we walk over to McGlades for lunch and some cold lemonade? Avery needs a break after that long appointment. Then we can go over all the details.”

Avery sputtered. “No, I don’t. I need—”

“That’s a great idea! Get the shrimp salad on a croissant, Carter. It’s my favorite.”

“I will.” He scooped Lucy out of her carrier, hooked on a pink leash, and set her on the ground. “Avery, you lead the way.”

She was going to murder him.



She looked like she wanted to kill him.

He kept up a steady stream of nonsense chatter with his sister to keep Avery distracted, and settled in at the restaurant. Situated with a beautiful view of the beach, McGlades boasted fresh sandwiches and salads, fruit, and tart, sweet lemonade that he was beginning to crave on a daily basis. It was quiet, but busy enough to be able to hold a conversation on the phone while they had lunch. Too bad the woman by his side looked like she’d rather be anywhere than with him.

Maybe his plan had backfired.

He hadn’t meant to act like an arrogant ass at the florist. He’d been looking to impress her with his knowledge, but the woman was competitive as hell. Her need to dismiss him only spurred his need to prove her wrong. Of course, she didn’t know that before every vendor meeting, he called his sister and went over each detail. He gave suggestions, Ally tweaked them, and they sent pics back and forth.

Was that considered cheating?

Maybe.

Avery impressed him more every day. He’d had no idea how many choices went into a wedding day. Each pick was both thoughtful of the bride and groom, price, vendors’ capabilities, and her obvious need to please everyone involved. She had a vast knowledge on all subjects, and each vendor’s respect had seemed well earned. Tricking her into lunch seemed the only way to gain some private time with her. There was one thing he wanted with Avery Sunshine.

More.

More time. More conversation. More kissing.

He switched his focus back to the phone conversation. His sister was speaking. “I can’t believe everything is coming together so fast! We’re down to only a month now—it’s crazy.”

“Wedding planning usually goes faster than imagined,” Avery said with a smile. “Did you make any final decisions on the items we sent?”

“Yes, I tasted the cake samples with Jason. It was such a hard decision because they were all amazing, but we decided on the carrot cake.”

He caught Avery wince. “That’s great. Um, I’m surprised, though. I didn’t think you liked carrots.”

Carter raised a brow at the obvious challenge, but also admired her for the subtle hit. The woman did not surrender easily. “I know! But I never had carrot cake before—I always avoided it because it sounded like a health thing. The moment I tasted it, with the hint of bourbon and the cream-cheese frosting, I thought I’d died and shot to cake heaven. You’re brilliant, Avery. I never would’ve imagined sending me something so risky.”

Carter pressed his lips together to keep from laughing.

Avery shot him a glare, huffing a bit, but kept her tone chirpy like the excellent planner she was. “To be honest, that was your brother’s choice.”

“Big brother always knows best, huh?” Ally teased.

“Something like that,” he said, trying to keep the triumph from his voice so he wouldn’t piss off Avery any further. Still, it felt good he’d been right. He liked pleasing his sister. “So the cake’s done. We’ve also been back and forth on your bachelorette party. I know you told Avery you wanted something low key and relaxing, like the spa, but I think this is an important time for you to get out and party. Have some fun with the girls. I say let’s nix the spa and head to Atlantic City.”

Avery chimed in. “There’s a bunch of restaurants and clubs we can hit if you want to dance and drink a bit. We certainly don’t have to go to AC.”

“But I think we should,” he added.

A pause hummed over the line. “I never would’ve thought of AC as an option,” Ally said slowly. “Figured we’d just stay in Cape May and keep it low key, but maybe you’re right, Carter. Maybe we should take the opportunity to party. God knows it’s been forever since I had a real girls’ night out.”

“Exactly,” he said.

Avery tilted her chin up and gave him a steely stare. Why did he find her annoyance with him so damn sexy? Was it the challenge to see if he could take all the prickly fire and turn it into pleasure? Since their kiss, he’d thought of nothing else.

“It’s up to you,” Avery said through gritted teeth. “But I still think the ladies may prefer a relaxing evening before the wedding. Get pampered. I’m sure Carter doesn’t want to pressure you.”