The Escape Clause

by Bernadette Marie

  “My grandfather already has a plane coming for us.”

  “Then I guess we’ll have to pay him back for his lost expenses.”

  The color in her cheeks reddened. “I’m leaving on that plane in the morning, Pete.”

  “And when did you become so selfish?”

  “Selfish? I planned on this long before you decided we should get married.”

  “Me?” Oh, now he was furious. He moved swiftly toward her, stopping before he grabbed her arms. “Are you not part of this relationship? Are you telling me you didn’t want to marry me?”

  Her shoulders dropped and so did her gaze. “No. I didn’t mean that.”

  “Avery, I gave up everything to move with you and marry you. Don’t you think you could give me a little consideration when it comes what I need?”

  She moved in and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  Pete gathered her in his arms. “Without you he wouldn’t still be here,” he said. “You saved my father’s life.”

  “I did what I’m trained to do.”

  There was more to it than that. He knew it.

  A great deal of tension still brewed between them. In the morning, all decisions would be final. A twist in his gut told him he needed to be prepared for the moment she stepped on that plane and flew away—forever.

  ~*~

  Avery had paced every inch of Pete’s house. He’d taken his mother back to the hospital and Avery had refused to go.

  Her heart was breaking and there were moments she’d thought she could actually die from the pain.

  No one in her life made her feel the way Pete made her feel. It was no wonder she’d kept him by her side for so long. She loved him. She truly loved him.

  But a part of her had to go.

  Her entire life she’d absorbed all the stories of her mother’s life before she’d run off with her father. There were parties all over the world. She’d known princes and kings. There were clothes, cars, and a lavish life that Avery wanted to taste and to feel.

  Everything about her screamed Parisian debutante. She looked like her mother and her mother had trained her to be accepted in every social circumstance.

  Being the daughter of a well-respected doctor had given her some fine lineage to work with in Nashville. Her mother had also kept many of her high-class friends. So Avery was no stranger to what could be.

  Maybe Pete was right. Maybe she was a little selfish, but she needed to be. She didn’t have musical talent like Clara or a physical talent like Christian. She couldn’t design and build buildings like Ed and Spencer. Her mother had raised her to give back and to fundraise for charity, but it was her cousin Tyler that thrived at it. Avery was good at nothing.

  Her grandfather thought she had some potential though. He was willing to bet a lot on it too. Wouldn’t it be a waste if she didn’t go? What if it was her calling in life? What if she belonged in France?

  Love should make her stay in Nashville, she thought as she fixed the pillows on the couch before plopping down on them. Love should make France dull in comparison to what could be if she stayed.

  It had been a longing of hers longer than wanting marriage, a house, and a family of her own. There was a wanderlust burning inside of her. She ached to be someone—and to be more than just Pete’s someone.

  The thought, though empowering, shattered her. If she walked away, she’d lose him. Lover or not he was her best friend. Would he be that again? Would she want him to be?

  Her chest ached and she could taste the tears before they began to stream down her cheeks.

  Avery owed this moment of self-discovery to herself. Chances were she’d know right away if moving to France was right. Pete had always been there to see her fly and to catch her when she fell. He’d be there again—right? There was no reason to think differently.

  Pete could stay in Nashville and see to his father.

  Avery could go to France and see if it settled her.

  It wouldn’t be forever that they’d have to be apart. Soon they could be in each other’s arms again when he felt as though he could leave his father’s side.

  She looked down at the ring on her finger and gave it a twist. Pulling it from her finger, she looked it over. It was the right thing to do, she decided as she set it on the coffee table. Someday they’d laugh over it. It would be a story to tell their grandchildren about.

  Through the tears, she managed to get up and find a piece of paper in a packed box by the door. She wrote him a letter and left it under the ring. In less than twelve hours, she’d be on a plane. This was for her. Selfish as it did seem, just like he said it was, it was for her.

  At some point, she’d feel the joy she knew it would create. But it was going to take some time. Right now she ached so badly she thought she might die.

  ~*~

  Pete stumbled in late and exhausted. Guilt nearly incapacitated him. He’d driven his mother home three hours earlier and then went back to the hospital to sit with his sister just so he could avoid Avery. To be honest, it wasn’t Avery he wanted to avoid. It was the conversation they’d have to have. She was hell bent on leaving for France. He was hell bent on staying in Nashville.

  His entire life he’d fought to be everything to Avery. How she could just let that go and fly away was beyond him. Sadly he understood it all too well though.

  Avery needed something more than to just be a well respected Keller. Moving to France was finding herself.

  Perhaps he hadn’t been looking at this right at all. If she loved him, as she said she did, she’d realize she couldn’t stay away. She’d be running back to him in no time. Surely that would be what would happen. They were meant to be together. It was love—true love.

  Pete kicked off his shoes and headed upstairs in the dark and quiet house. He needed to show Avery that he supported her. That would be his secret weapon in getting her back quickly.

  He moved into the room and toward the bed. As his eyes adjusted in the dim light of the moon in the window, he could see that she wasn’t there.

  “Avery?” he called thinking she was in the bathroom, but it too was dark.

  Pete stood in the hallway and chills ran over him.

  He flicked on the lights and ran back downstairs. The kitchen was bare and there were no signs that she was there or had been.

  As he passed back through the living room, he noticed the piece of paper on the coffee table and he clenched his jaw when he saw the ring.

  Did he even need to read the note she’d left? An ache in his chest had him rubbing away the pain with the heel of his hand.

  Avery had chosen the unknown over his love.

  Pete walked around the couch and sat down. He rested his elbows on his thighs and clasped his hands.

  Avery Keller had been his best friend from as far back as he could remember. He’d nursed her broken heart. He’d tucked her in after long nights of celebrating. There hadn’t been a family crisis he hadn’t seen her through.

  Perhaps he’d solely chased her for too long.

  Friends helped mold you into the person you became. Avery had certainly helped mold him into the man he’d become.

  The ache from his chest moved through him.

  A ring left on the table with a note meant it was time to accept that friendships came and went. Even harder was accepting the fact that the love of his life gave up on him.

  Pete stood and looked down at the note and the ring.

  The pain in his body and his heart was too thick to even consider making it worse by reading the note.

  Walking away, Pete decided he’d look at it tomorrow when he had to move out of his own house. He guessed he’d better make some phone calls. Not only was his father in the hospital, he was now homeless and jobless. Perhaps it was just a slap to his face to realize the true character of Avery Keller.

  Pete swallowed hard. Even though, that’s what his mind was thinking he was sure his heart was going to take a lot longer to truly
feel it.

  Would there ever be a time when he didn’t love Avery?

  Chapter Ten

  It was an interesting moment in Avery’s life, she decided. There had never been a day when she took a large step in her life and her family hadn’t been there.

  That was her fault. She’d said her goodbyes to everyone and now she sat in the small municipal airport waiting to board the plane her grandfather had sent for her.

  She had never felt so empty and alone.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw a man walking right toward her. She closed her eyes and took a breath. In the letter, she’d asked Pete to see her off and to hold her ring until she got back.

  This was going to be the hardest goodbye of them all.

  When she felt him standing just inches from her, she opened her eyes and looked up.

  “I did not mean to interrupt. You look as though you were in prayer,” the man said, his French accent thick. “Are you Avery Keller?”

  The disappointment, that the man wasn't Pete, dropped into her belly.

  “Yes.”

  He held out his hand. “I am Marcus Bravard. I have come to escort you.”

  Avery shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  “If you are ready…”

  “Not yet.”

  Marcus’s eyes narrowed quickly then retracted to fit his smile. “Are you waiting for someone? Oh, that is right,” he said as if he’d remembered something. “You have someone traveling with us. A Peter Grant.”

  Avery bit down on her lip. “No. He won’t be traveling with us. I would just like to wait a few more minutes. I think he’ll be coming to say goodbye.”

  He nodded. “We must be boarded in twenty minutes.”

  “I’ll be on board,” she confirmed.

  “Very well.” Marcus gave her one last warm smile and walked down the terminal.

  She studied him as he walked. He was well over six feet tall and certainly he hadn’t flown all the way from Paris in that suit, which wasn’t even wrinkled.

  He walked very straight and sure of himself, as she assumed a man with great power would. However, if he had any power, why would he be fetching granddaughters for airline flights?

  Avery turned her head to look toward the entrance of the airport. If Pete didn’t walk through those doors in the next fifteen minutes, she’d never get to say goodbye. She’d never get to confirm that she still loved him.

  She waited, wishing he’d run through the door with his suitcase packed, but he never did. After fifteen minutes, she looked toward the jet way and there was Marcus nodding. Time was up. He hadn’t come to say goodbye. Asking Pete to stay with her after her birthday had proven to be a big mistake.

  ~*~

  Pete ran from the parking lot and in through the front door of the airport. Hell, it was small enough he should see her. Still at a sprint he ran down the terminal looking through the windows. There!

  He ran toward the door. There was the jet with PIERPONT OIL written on the tail. It was backing away from the gate as he reached for the jet way door.

  A woman grabbed him. “Sir, you can’t go out there.”

  “My fiancée! You have to let me out.”

  The woman’s hands gripped his arms tighter. “Sir, the plane is taking off.”

  Pete stepped back and looked out the window. The jet carrying the woman of his dreams taxied away.

  “Can’t you stop them? Turn them around,” he demanded.

  “Your broken heart isn’t going to stop that flight,” she said with her hands on her hips. “You’d better find a phone and call her in twelve hours.”

  The woman went back to her work, but kept a steely eye on him as he watched the plane.

  It taxied to the end of the runway and a few moments later he watched in disbelief as the plane rose into the air.

  She was gone.

  ~*~

  Avery felt the push of the jet lift from the ground. She closed her eyes and breathed. What more could she do right now than just breathe?

  He hadn’t come for her. He didn’t say goodbye. It was over.

  When the plane leveled off, Marcus stood from his seat and walked to the back of the small plane. He returned a few minutes later with a glass of champagne in a glass flute.

  “To celebrate your move to France,” he said as he handed her the glass.

  “Thank you.” She took the glass and sipped it. The bubbles went straight to her head and then landed right in her empty stomach where she quickly pressed her hand. “I should have packed some snacks.”

  “We have some in the galley. I will get you something.”

  He rose again and disappeared to the back of the plane. When he returned, he didn’t have a bag of chips or a very desired bag of M&M’s. Instead, he had a small cheese tray with crackers.

  Avery laughed. “That wasn’t what I was expecting.”

  Marcus smiled as he set it on the small table between the seats, which faced each other. He then sat down.

  “Your grandfather wants you to be comfortable.”

  Avery nodded. “I see. How do you know my grandfather?”

  Marcus sat back in his seat and crossed his legs. His shoes had a glossy shine to them. This certainly wasn’t just some assistant, she thought.

  “Your grandfather and I are business acquaintances. I am a wine broker for Pierpont Vineyards, among other things.”

  “And you happened to be in Nashville on business?”

  He smiled as he lifted his glass to his lips. “Napa,” he said before sipping. “I promised to escort you home.”

  Home? She’d just left home. Now she was traveling to somewhere as unfamiliar to her as the wine she’d be making. Actually, she had no idea what part of the wine making process she’d be part of. Truly she’d made a decision on the adventure and not on anything else. Maybe Pete was right. She was selfish. She’d grown up in the shadow of being Simone Pierpont’s daughter. Now she just wanted a taste of the lifestyle, but at what cost?

  It had already cost her Pete.

  She sipped her champagne. To be fair, she’d made this decision before the night of her birthday. She’d been very straightforward with him on her plans to leave. Just because he decided to propose didn’t mean she had to feel guilty about trying something new.

  Wasn’t she already on a private jet having cheese and champagne with a very attractive man? Wasn’t she flying to Paris where no doubt a private car would drive her to the vineyard where she would live?

  Marcus seemed to understand her position, she thought as she raised her chin a little higher. Her last name might be Keller, but she was Pierpont too. The spitting image of her mother, she could pull off fashion and debutante.

  This was her time to build a collection of stories of a jet set life. Hadn’t her own parent’s story started with a quick affair where her mother abandoned her father on a yacht? A yacht!

  She wanted it. She could taste it.

  No more rented houses where everyone had lived. No more hand-me-down luxury cars.

  Avery Keller was going to be someone she couldn’t have been in Nashville.

  Finishing the champagne in her flute she looked up at the very handsome Marcus seated across from her. Perhaps the bubbles in her head enhanced his smile, but that was okay. The new Avery Keller didn’t have to care.

  “Would you mind,” she smiled back at him. “I’d love another glass.”

  Marcus nodded as he reached for her glass. His finger tips brushed her fingers as he took it.

  “I will be right back.” He stood and walked to the back of the plane.

  Avery rested her head against the back of the seat. This was going to be a good life.

  ~*~

  Pete carried another box into the house where Avery had vacated. Thank God he’d called off the shipping company.

  Wasn’t it funny that when Avery said she was going to move to France he said he could move into her place—and here he was.

  The house was as famil
iar to him as any he’d ever lived in. Nearly every Keller he’d known all his life had lived there. He remembered visiting years before when Clara and Christian had lived there. Then Darcy lived in the basement and most recently Julie. Hadn’t Avery even told him when she went away if he moved in maybe the love of his life would move into the basement? It worked out for Ed and Spencer.

  He dropped the box in his hands and let it crash to the floor.

  His mood was spoiled. He didn’t want to think of someone moving into the basement to steal his heart. All he wanted was Avery to turn back around and stop being so stupid. Friend or not he still cared about her and it didn’t look like she’d ever be his wife. But he didn’t want to be away from her either.

  Pete looked up when he heard the shuffling of feet on the steps. Spencer staggered through the door with a box in his arms.

  “Where?”

  “Over there,” Pete pointed to an empty space where Spencer set down the box.

  “How many times am I going to move boxes in and out of this house?” He complained as he straightened his back with his hands on his hips.

  “I really appreciate it.”

  Spencer shrugged. “Man, I’d always help you.”

  It was a sympathetic copout, Pete thought. But he appreciated his help all the same.

  “What are you and Julie doing tonight?”

  “Tiffany planned some girls’ night out.” Spencer rolled his shoulders. “Funny how I get engaged and now my best friend and my fiancée hang out and I get suckered in to moving people.”

  “Sucks to be you.”

  “Tell me about it.” Spencer laughed. “Want to go get some wings and beer after this? I think there’s a game tonight. We could watch at the bar.”

  That was pretty general, but he knew his friend was trying to help him out and not just by moving his stuff. He’d spent nearly as much time with Spencer over the years as he had with Avery. They were always together. It didn’t surprise him that Spencer would be the one to try and mend Pete’s broken heart. Some of that was out of friendship. And some of it was out of guilt since it was his cousin who had broken Pete’s heart.