Love on Beach Avenue(88)

“Good girl,” she crooned, stroking her silky back. “Here, have one.”

The dog took the kernel with a gentle bite, then slowly chewed, as if savoring the salty taste with class.

“That’s my girls,” Carter said happily, putting his arm around her shoulders. Then he hit the “Play” button.

Two hours later, the credits rolled past, and she risked a glance at his face. Lucy was snoring happily, the popcorn was gone, and darkness had fallen.

His eyes were closed.

She punched him in the arm. “You were sleeping!”

He jerked and blinked madly. “Nope, I was awake the whole time.”

“Liar!”

“Oh, sweetheart, there’s only one liar here, and it’s you.”

A shiver worked down her spine at his sexy growl. She huffed out a breath. “What are you talking about?”

“You said it had no stupid lines, but that one gets the award for worst line ever spoken.”

She wriggled her butt on the couch and glared. “It wasn’t stupid.”

He snorted. “‘I’m a girl, standing by a boy, asking him to love me’? Really? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Holy crap, how do they create this stuff that would never be spoken in a million years? This is why men never want to watch these movies. It’s completely unrealistic.”

She sniffed. “You said it wrong. And it’s not unrealistic. You can’t be sure you’d never say anything like that if you were desperate to prove your love to someone you were afraid of losing.”

“Yes, I can. Nothing could make me say that shit.”

“That’s horrible! What if it was the one line that would make everything better? You wouldn’t say it because of your male pride?”

“Nope.”

She nibbled at her lip, desperate to make her point. “What if you had to say it to gain a million dollars?”

“Not worth it. It’s too stupid. Can we watch Baby Driver now?”

She got up and stalked into the kitchen. “Fine. Do you want some water?”

“Can you grab me a beer, please?”

She cracked open an IPA, filled a glass of water with ice, and came back to resettle. Lucy was snoring softly, and she cuddled into the crook of Avery’s arm as soon as she sat back down. “This better be good,” she warned.

“Oh, it is. You’ll love it. It got extremely high reviews from all the critics.”

“So did Notting Hill.”

He grumbled something, but she got quiet and swore she’d have an open mind.

Two hours later, she was ready to scream. “You call that realistic?” she hissed furiously. “Nothing in that movie could have ever happened.”

He looked at her with complete astonishment. “What do you mean? He’s a getaway driver! That’s how they drive. And there was even a hot romance in there.”

Her disbelief grew. “That was a romance? I think it was a train wreck. I’m sorry, I didn’t like it.”

“Impossible. Wasn’t it exciting and pumped you with adrenaline? Didn’t you love the music?”

She wrinkled her nose. “No.”

They stared at one another in shocked silence. The movie clicked off, and the television went to a blank screen. The room was quiet and hushed. “I don’t like your taste in movies,” he finally stated.

“I don’t like yours.”

He nodded slowly. “Duly noted. How do we get past this serious test in our brand-new relationship?”

Her lips quirked. Damn him. He was sexy and funny and nerdy, and she was crazy about him. She stretched, making sure her loose T-shirt fell off her shoulder and flashed a half-naked breast. His gaze became attached to her bare skin, and he licked his lips. “We can make up in bed. That was a horrible fight,” she said.

“I agree. Awful. It’s time for make-up sex.”

Very slowly, she smiled; carefully extricated herself from Lucy, who gave a slight jerk, then settled back into sleep; and stripped her shirt off. “Let’s go, robot man.”

He plucked her off the couch and carried her into the bedroom.

Avery hoped all their fights would end just like that.



Three more days.

Carter dropped his phone on the table and rubbed his head. It was official. He’d just been sent a new project, and they wanted him at a meeting Tuesday morning.

His time in Cape May was officially up.

Chest tight, he scooped up Lucy and headed outside. The sun was high and bright, and the street was quiet other than the occasional passerby or bicycle. He slid into the oversize rocker on the porch, put his feet up on the rail, and settled Lucy in his lap.

He’d never thought he was a beach-town type of person, but Cape May had subtly weaved itself into his heart. He loved the small-town charm, reminding him he worked too much indoors and had forgotten what it was like to be closer to nature. The ocean soothed him, and he enjoyed taking morning runs on the boardwalk with Pierce. He’d made friends with some business owners and was greeted by name at Madison’s Bakery and Louie’s Pizza. He had a regular lunch and beer date with Gabe and Pierce at Ugly Mug, and had been able to take Zoe to the beach one more time.

He didn’t want to leave Cape May.

He didn’t want to leave Avery.