Always & Forever: A Sweet Romantic Comedy (ABCs of Love Collection, Books 1 - 4)

by Brenna Jacobs

  Tucker chuckled. “You already know me, Avery. I’m still the same guy.” His hands slid to her waist and he pulled her closer.

  “But I’m not the same woman,” Avery said. “I’m not saying no. I’m just saying . . . not yet.”

  He didn’t answer her, but when he entwined his fingers with hers, he gave her hand an encouraging squeeze before leading her up the darkened path toward her house.

  Just before they reached Avery’s backyard, they met David on his way to the beach. Tucker tensed beside her.

  “Nice night for a walk,” David said.

  Avery furrowed her brow. David’s tone sounded cold and clipped, almost hostile. “Yeah. We thought so too,” she said, pulling closer to Tucker.

  “It must be nice walking at night,” David went on. “In the dark. When no one can see you.”

  What was he talking about? Why would they care if anyone saw them? “The moon is actually pretty bright tonight,” Avery said. “You can see without any trouble.” It wasn’t an exaggeration. She could even see well enough to notice David almost rolling his eyes. What was his deal?

  “Risky, then,” David said, looking directly at Tucker.

  Tucker pulled Avery to the side of the path so David could pass. “Don’t let us keep you from your walk,” he said. “We were just headed inside. I’ve got an important call I need to make. Actually, you’ve maybe heard of him. Gerald Stevenson? Nice guy. My father played a round of golf with him this morning.”

  Avery looked at Tucker. “You have to call him now? It’s almost ten o’clock.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Tucker said, pressing a kiss to her brow. “He’s on a flight to California and my father asked me to give him some information once he lands, which,” Tucker looked at his watch, “should be happening any second now. But don’t worry. It will only take a minute. It won’t interrupt the rest of our evening.”

  Avery had been around Tucker enough to know that work calls were fairly common, even work calls at ridiculous hours. But why did he feel like he needed to tell David?

  David looked furious as his gaze moved from Tucker, to Avery and then back again. Finally, he took a step forward, moving past them on the path. “Goodnight Avery,” he said, before shooting Tucker a glare that looked like it could wither the magnolias growing on either side of them. Seriously, what was his problem?

  ***

  The next morning, Avery showed up on David’s doorstep bright and early. He normally left for work way earlier than she did and he was often gone for what seemed like days at a time. She had to catch him when she knew she could.

  She had to knock twice before he finally opened the door. He wore scrubs, his hair still wet from the shower. He wasn’t wearing his glasses, but he also didn’t seem to have any trouble seeing. Was he wearing contacts?

  “Hi,” he said, pushing the door open for her. “Good morning.”

  “Hi. Um, you’re not wearing your glasses.” It wasn’t at all what she’d come over to say. But his eyes looked so blue against the dark navy scrubs he wore, she’d been too distracted not to say anything.

  “No, I’m trying out some contacts.”

  Avery swallowed. “You look good.”

  David glanced at his watch. “Thanks. Um, I’ve got work in a few minutes.”

  “Right. Sorry.” She shook her head, grasping at the real reason she’d come over to see David. “I just wanted to ask you why you were so rude to Tucker last night. Did he do something to offend you that I don’t know about?”

  David sighed and his shoulders slumped. “I didn’t say anything rude.”

  “Maybe not explicitly,” Avery said. “But your tone sounded like you hated us both. And you were shooting daggers out of your eyes.” Avery had spent a long time lying in bed the night before, thinking about why David was so rude. The only thing she could come up with as a reasonable explanation for David’s behavior was jealousy. It was enough to make her feelings for David sour just a little. She did love that he was so transparent, but this took it a little too far. Petulance wasn’t attractive in anyone.

  “He wasn’t exactly nice to me either,” David said, his tone defensive.

  “David, I want to be your friend,” Avery said. “Truly. I don’t know if it was jealousy that motivated you last night or what. But if I have to choose between a boyfriend I’ve known for years and a new friend I’ve known for weeks, it isn’t going to be a tough call.”

  David stepped back, his eyes sad, and Avery immediately regretted her words. She was maybe being too hard on him.

  “I’m sorry,” David said. “You’re right.”

  “I’m right?”

  He nodded. “About the jealousy, about . . . I’m not being fair to you. I’m sorry.”

  Avery paused. She hadn’t expected him to admit his mistake so readily. “Thank you. I appreciate that.” She turned and walked toward the porch steps, but then stopped, facing David one more time. He still stood in the doorway, the storm door propped open against his arm. “Did you have a nice walk?” she asked.

  He smiled. “I did. I think I love the beach the most after a good thunderstorm.”

  “Me, too,” Avery said. “I always have.” She lifted a hand to wave but stopped for a second time when David called her name.

  “Hey, Avery?” he said. “Do you want to come in for a few minutes? I just made breakfast. There’s enough to share. I mean, if you want.”

  “You don’t have to get to work?”

  “I do,” David said. “But I have a few minutes. I’d like to spend them with you.”

  Warmth spread through Avery’s body. She’d never not appreciate David’s open sincerity. “Breakfast sounds good.”

  She followed David into his kitchen. “What are we eating?” she asked.

  David turned to the stove and picked up a plate of bacon, then grabbed a package of croissants from the counter. “Do you trust me?”

  Avery watched as he turned the stove on and cracked an egg into a skillet. “Do you cook?” she asked, hesitation in her voice.

  David tossed a grin over his shoulder. “Enough that you should trust me.”

  “Fine, fine. I surrender. Feed me what you will.” Avery had long since decided David was sexy in his scrubs. But David cooking in his scrubs? It did weird things to her brain. He could save her life and also make her breakfast?

  Avery blushed at the thought. She’d come over to chastise him. To ask him to butt out of her life, or at least be nice to her boyfriend. How had she wound up sitting at his kitchen counter, fantasizing about his finer qualities, watching him assemble what looked to be the most beautiful breakfast sandwich she’d ever laid eyes on?

  David slid the plate in front of her, a gleam in his eye. “Go ahead. Taste it.”

  Avery raised her eyebrows. “Aren’t you going to have one?”

  “Sure. But I want you to try yours first.”

  Avery looked at the croissant, laden with bacon and a fried egg, over easy just the way she liked it. Avocado peeked out from underneath the egg and there was some sort of sauce David had drizzled over the bacon before topping the sandwich. She carefully picked it up, taking a bite that would have made her older brother proud. He’d always told her he loved that she wasn’t dainty about her food.

  Avery savored the flavors of the sandwich, at once wondering what the sauce was that made it all taste so different, so amazing. “What did you put on this thing?” she said, taking a second bite.

  “It’s amazing, right?”

  “I think I might cry.”

  “It’s tomato butter,” David said. “You reduce fresh tomatoes down to almost nothing, puree them, then mix in cream and melted butter.”

  “Oh! There’s a restaurant downtown that does something similar with their fried green tomatoes. It’s heavenly.”

  David nodded, finally assembling his own sandwich. “My mom adds it to everything. Burgers, pasta. She basically treats it like a traditional condiment.”

&n
bsp; “I bet it works great on a burger. Seriously. This is the best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had.”

  “I’m glad you like it.” He smiled. “It makes me happy to see you happy.”

  A tiny twinge of guilt pinged in Avery’s chest. Was it right that she hang out with David so much knowing that he had feelings for her? He’d just admitted that very morning to feeling jealous of Tucker. What else could that mean but he liked her? She loved being around David, but she didn’t want to be that girl. The girl that basked in attention because it felt good when there was no chance of a relationship actually developing.

  Another twitch in her heart made her think that last thought wasn’t entirely accurate. Was there truly no chance of a relationship with David? Were her feelings so determined? She pushed the thought away, afraid of what she might realize if she let her mind keep going.

  David finished his sandwich in a handful of bites. Apparently, he wasn’t dainty about his food either. He reached for her plate, placing it in the sink with his own. After throwing everything back in the fridge and giving his counters a quick wipe-down, he looked at Avery and smiled. “Now I really do have to go.”

  She nodded. ‘Thanks for feeding me.”

  “It’s the least I could do after you introduced me to oysters.” She followed him to the front door where he grabbed his keys from a table in the entryway. He held his front door open, waiting for her to exit before closing and locking the door. They walked together down his front porch steps, pausing at the door to his car.

  “Have a good day,” she told David as she backed away. She stood on the grassy strip that separated their driveways and watched as he pulled onto Marshall Boulevard. He waved one last time, then disappeared down the road.

  Avery glanced at her watch. She was going to be late for work herself if she didn’t hurry, but she stood there a moment longer, wondering why she felt so different. More importantly, what was she going to do about it?

  Chapter 10

  David pulled his sunglasses onto his face and sank low in the driver seat of his car. He didn’t think Tucker knew what he drove, but better safe than sorry. Not that Tucker had reason to suspect David might be lurking around his downtown office. Guys like Tucker didn’t worry about getting caught. They waltzed through life believing there wasn’t anything their money or influence couldn’t buy.

  An image of Avery snuggled up against Tucker flashed through David’s mind and his jaw clenched. He’d told Avery he’d be nice to Tucker if he ever saw him around, and he’d hold true to his word. It might even help him in the end. If he was nice to Tucker, maybe Tucker wouldn’t suspect he was being set up. Well, eventually he’d be set up. David was still in the information gathering stages of his whole entrapment plan.

  He’d nearly given up on the whole stupid idea. He was an Ivy League educated, top of his class, highly qualified physician. Medical News Monthly had named him the most promising young doctor of the year. And yet, here he was, parked behind a huge crepe myrtle outside Tucker’s office, hoping he’d catch him leaving so he could follow him home.

  It maybe wasn’t his proudest moment. But he’d sacrifice his pride if it meant leading Avery to the truth.

  Still, David wasn’t exactly sure what he expected to find even if he did follow Tucker home. What would he do then? Watch his house all night?

  David sighed and clicked on his phone, watching the time flip from 6:59 to 7:00 PM. His hand hovered over the gear shift. The whole plan was dumb. Avery had made her feelings clear. If forced to choose, she’d choose Tucker. The thought stung more than it should. Avery didn’t know Tucker was a cheating jerk and she did have more history with the guy. She hadn’t meant her choice to feel like an insult. But David did know what Tucker was, which made Avery’s words feel like a direct attack on his pride.

  David retrained his gaze on the door of Tucker’s law firm. He’d see this thing through and figure out a way to show Avery the truth, even if he couldn’t tell her.

  Minutes later, the hour David had spent waiting and watching finally paid off. Tucker walked out the front door of his firm, his keys jangling in his hand. He walked half a block down the sidewalk, away from David, before climbing into a fancy looking sports car David couldn’t identify. A Jaguar, maybe? It looked European. It for sure wasn’t the truck David had seen parked in Avery’s driveway. Which was maybe intentional? You couldn’t exactly visit your secret girlfriend in a car as conspicuous as a red Jaguar.

  David eased his car into drive and pulled out, following a few hundred feet behind Tucker. His best hope was discovering some sort of routine. Did he and Jessica go to dinner at the yacht club every week? Did they go to the gym together? If he could figure out some pattern of where they were at a specific time of the week, all he had to do was figure out a way to get Avery to the same place, at the same time.

  All the way across the Cooper River bridge and into Mt. Pleasant, David tried and failed to convince himself he wasn’t being ridiculous. Momentum and righteous indignation propelled him forward anyway, right up until he watched Tucker pull up to the front of a gated neighborhood where a security guard opened the gate and waved Tucker through.

  No way David could follow Tucker into his neighborhood, so he kept going, pulling off a mile up the road into the parking lot of a sleek-looking coffee house. He stared at the Velvet Undergrounds sign, recognizing the chain as one he’d frequently visited during med school. He and his girlfriend, during a particularly long study session, had visited three different times. The third time, the barista behind the counter had given them their drinks for free.

  It was a life that felt millions of miles away. He’d been a good boyfriend to Melissa. At least, he thought he had been. He’d tried to be attentive and present. He’d respected her, remembered her birthday, gone to multiple dinners and holiday events with her family. Their relationship had been fine. Normal. But in retrospect, was fine really what he should have been going for? Fine was boring. Fine was safe.

  Nothing about Avery felt safe. Which is maybe why he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Why he’d just driven twenty minutes outside of the city to see the neighborhood where her jerk of an ex-boyfriend lived. Because being around Avery made his life feel exciting in ways that he’d never imagined possible.

  David grabbed his cell phone from the center console and pulled up the text message Avery had sent him that afternoon. It was a picture of a baby seal recently born at the aquarium. The text that came in with the picture read: Obviously I’ve gotten tons of work done today. *Readjusts phone and takes seventy-fifth picture of most adorable baby seal ever.*

  He smiled, happy that she’d felt like texting him even after their semi-tense conversation the morning before, when she’d told him to be nicer to Tucker. He’d hoped sharing his breakfast had helped to smooth things over; it was nice to have the text validate that thought.

  David shifted in his seat. Following Tucker home and plotting a way to entrap him in his cheating probably didn’t qualify as nicer. But David knew more than Avery did. He was doing this for her.

  He responded to Avery’s message. That IS adorable. I could send you a picture of the patient that came in with a steak knife embedded in his leg, but I’m not sure it would have the same effect.

  She replied almost instantly. Yeah, probably not. I’m glad you get paid well.

  Before he could come up with another reply, Tucker’s red car slowed and stopped at the red light, just beside the coffee house parking lot. David’s heart jumped in his chest, and he tossed his phone back onto the console, ready to follow Tucker wherever he was headed.

  He didn’t have to go far. Less than a mile down the road, Tucker stopped in front of a row of posh condominiums. David pulled in behind him, parking several cars down so as not to be noticed. Tucker left the car running, only getting out long enough to knock on the door of the second condo from the end. Jessica emerged almost immediately, locking the condo door behind her before following Tucker to the car
.

  David didn’t follow them when they left. He’d already pushed his luck following Tucker as far as he did. He didn’t want to give himself away. But he still called his expedition a success. After all, he’d figured out where Jessica lived, and she was the most important part of the whole plot. Because for Avery to figure out what Tucker was up to, Jessica needed to be present.

  ***

  Two weeks and four trips to Mt. Pleasant later, and David was mostly sure he’d picked up on a pattern. Tucker frequently went over to Jessica’s after work. Sometimes they stayed in, more often they went out. Two Tuesdays in a row, out had meant the Charleston Yacht Club.

  One more Tuesday, and he’d know for sure it was a pattern he could count on. He’d already swung by the yacht club on his way to Jessica’s condo and hadn’t seen Tucker’s Jaguar. His truck might have been there, but so far, he’d always driven the fancier car when taking Jessica out. David wasn’t proud that he knew this information about Tucker. He wasn’t proud about much of his behavior over the last two weeks. But he was too far in to back out now. Seeing Tucker’s car parked in front of Jessica’s front door, David pulled into his customary spot at the end of the row of parking spaces. He’d only wait a few minutes. Dinner at the yacht club started at seven, which meant if they were headed that way, he wouldn’t have long to wait. If they didn’t leave, he’d have to adjust his plan, see if he could find somewhere else he might set up a confrontation with Avery.

  It had killed him the last few times he’d seen Tucker at Avery’s house. They never seemed to go anywhere, which was surely intentional on Tucker’s part, but Avery didn’t seem to care. She’d rather grill out and relax on her back porch anyway. She probably hadn’t even noticed Tucker never wanted to be seen with her in public.

  The last time he saw them together, they’d been in the driveway when David arrived home from work. It had been a long day, punctuated by a car accident with multiple victims, only one of whom David had managed to save. His emotions were raw and close to the surface and Tucker kissing Avery right as David got out of his car was almost enough to send him careening across the strip of grass that separated their driveways to punch the guy right in the nose.