The Escape Clause

by Bernadette Marie

  “Do you Peter Grant take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

  Pete looked over at her and for the first time since she’d set eyes on him earlier that morning he smiled.

  “I do.”

  Her heart rate picked up and even in this crazy moment she wanted to cry.

  “Do you Avery Keller take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

  She took the breath and in her heart held on to the promise of the words. “I do.”

  “May I have the rings, please?”

  Avery moved to correct him that they had no rings when Pete held a hand up to stop her.

  From his pocket, he pulled her ring out and handed it to the man.

  He appeared to bless it—perhaps appraise it—then handed it back to Pete.

  Pete lifted Avery’s hand and slid the ring on her finger where it had once adorned.

  “Pete…”

  “It was meant to be for you—my wife. This is no different.”

  Her tears wouldn’t hold back now. They welled in her eyes and he stepped in to wipe them away.

  The minister concluded his ceremony with, “You may kiss your bride,” and Avery assumed Pete would kiss her cheek then step back.

  Instead, he cupped her face and gazed into her eyes. “No matter the reason we’re here,” he said, “I love you, Avery Keller. I have since I was in the second grade. I’m proud to be your husband.”

  His lips pressed to hers in the sweetest, warmest, most intimate kiss she’d ever had.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Avery had fallen asleep on his shoulder as they flew back to Nashville. He’d caught her a dozen times looking down at her hand and admiring the ring on her finger.

  If only it was all because they’d chosen to be together, Pete would be completely happy. But this was just to keep her safe. At what point would she need to find herself again? What would that cost his heart?

  Once they arrived back in Nashville, they silently drove back to Pete’s.

  “What are your plans?” he asked as they walked through the back door of the house.

  “I don’t know. Would you consider letting me stay here? In the spare room that is.”

  He nodded. “You can have the main room. Really this is your place.”

  “Not anymore,” she said as she heard footsteps on the stairs from the basement.

  “Am I interrupting?” Jill poked her head around the corner.

  Pete smiled when he saw her. “No. Come up. Want something to drink?”

  “No, I’m heading out,” she said quietly. “I wanted to let you know that guy came back by. He kinda just lurked around, he didn’t knock.”

  Pete moved to her and took her hands in his. “He didn’t talk to you did he? He didn’t hurt you?”

  “No. But I am going to go spend the rest of the weekend at my folks’ house. Maybe a few more days until you know he’s gone.”

  “Jill,” Avery moved toward them. “I’m so sorry about this. I don’t mean to cause you any problems.”

  “No problem. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.” She looked back at Pete. “You can take care of her, right?”

  “Always have.”

  Jill nodded and backed away from Pete’s grasp. She looked at Avery. “Nice dress.”

  “Thank you it’s my wedding…” She stopped and bit down on her lip. “I’m sorry. That was insensitive.”

  “My idea, right? I can’t be mad.”

  Avery moved toward Jill and extended her hand.

  Jill studied her for a moment and then shook it. Avery said, “You are one of the most genuinely nice people I’ve ever met. I appreciate you and I’m glad you’ve been here for Pete. He deserved to have someone like you around.”

  Jill smiled that genuine, infectious smile. “It was my pleasure.”

  Once again, Jill descended the stairs—only this time they heard the unmistakable sound of the lock on her door.

  Pete turned to Avery. “I’m beat. I’m going to turn in. Do you need anything?”

  She shook her head. “I’ll be right up.”

  Pete started for the stairs. His body ached from exhaustion and his emotions were ragged from the many ups and downs the day had brought to him. If he could simply sleep for a week, he thought he’d like to try.

  “Pete,” her voice stopped him just short of the top of the stairs.

  “I’m not sure I can ever repay you for what you’ve done for me today. I’m forever in debt to you.”

  He looked down at her, still in the dress he’d chosen for her. “Avery, you make sacrifices for the people you love no matter how mad they make you and how long you hold on to the anger.”

  Sleep was difficult for Avery. The spare bedroom was in fact very uncomfortable. Of course, it could have been that her head was still buzzing with everything that had happened in the past four days.

  All of the chaos, the expense, the anger, the broken hearts—it was all her fault. She sure had let everyone she knew down.

  At some point in the deep darkness of the night, she’d finally drifted into dreams. Dreams of childhood, where Pete had hit her with the football. Dreams of teenage dances and long walks with Pete. She dreamed of their wedding, the one she’d planned, not the one she’d had. Each dream shifted into the other and peace calmed her mind and body. Her dreams moved her back to the yacht and the sun on her skin. Pete brought her a drink and then pulled her in for a long kiss that made her knees weak. He turned her in his arms so they were looking out over the water at the railing. The waves began to build and the sky grew dark. She told him she was afraid. She wanted to go back home and that was when Pete shoved her overboard into the water. The waves crashed up over her and all she could hear was the raging laughter from the deck of the boat—from Pete—as she sunk lower and lower into the darkness.

  “Avery, wake up.” His voice was clear, his hands on her shoulders.

  Avery sprung up in the bed gasping for the air the water had stolen from her.

  She heard him call for her again, “Avery, wake up.”

  His voice wasn’t filled with laughter and it was close.

  She took the breaths that she could and soon she woke.

  Her breath came in gasps, but she could see him now, his face in the dark of the room.

  Pete reached for her face and brushed back the wet strands of hair that clung to her skin.

  “Breathe, baby. You had a horrible dream.”

  She stared at him.

  “You tried to kill me,” she croaked out the words, her voice raw.

  “No. It was a dream,” he said, his voice hushed and peaceful. “Nothing but a dream.”

  His hands were still in her hair. His body only inches from her.

  “I was in the water.” She took a breath. “You pushed me overboard.”

  “I would never hurt you. Not even in a dream.” His hand cupped her cheek and he guided her to his bare chest where she rested her head.

  “I don’t want to be alone, Pete. I’m scared.”

  “I’m right here, Avery. I won’t let you go. You’re my responsibility.”

  She wanted to argue with him. She didn’t want to be his responsibility that shouldn’t even have been a choice of words. But she’d made it so when she left for France, when she’d turned him away, when she got herself involved with Marcus.

  She’d take what he’d give her now.

  “It’s only three in the morning,” he said. “Let’s lie down and get some more sleep. I won’t leave your side. Nothing will happen to you.” He yawned as they lay back in her bed and she fell asleep wrapped in his arms, right where she always belonged.

  The rhythm of his breathing and his arms around her allowed her to drift back to sleep. There were no more dreams of violent storms. Now there was only peace—just as there always was with Pete.

  When she opened her eyes again, the room was filled with daylight and she was alone in the guest room.

  It was too good to have laste
d all night, she thought.

  Avery crawled out of bed wearing only a long T-shirt of Pete’s. She found her yoga pants in her purse, slipped them on, and walked downstairs.

  Chances were she couldn’t convince him to run and get her a vanilla latte, but maybe he at least made coffee.

  The house was quiet. There was no coffee brewed, no dishes in the sink. It wasn’t until she heard voices outside that she realized Pete was in the front yard.

  She looked out the window and saw him standing with a police officer. Cautiously, she opened the front door.

  The officer looked up first and then Pete turned his head.

  “There’s my wife.”

  The words were probably meant to be informative, but they washed over her—through her—and she felt as if she could walk on air.

  He motioned to her to join them.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “Jill called the police yesterday when Marcus was hanging around. They’re following up.”

  “Ma’am, we’ve been talking and we think you should file a restraining order against the man.”

  “Oh, I don’t…”

  “Sweetheart,” Pete said as he wrapped his arm around her waist. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. I told him about the nightmare you had last night. You’re scared.”

  “I made some bad decisions, that’s all. I’m sure once he knows that I’m married…”

  “Give it some thought,” the officer interrupted. “We have the plate and description of the car. We’ll continue to have someone drive by regularly.”

  Pete held his hand out toward the officer who shook it. “We appreciate it.” They watched the officer leave and he turned her back toward the house. “They seem to think he’s still around,” he said opening the door. “I can’t believe he’s this persistent.”

  “I assume my leaving France has cost him more than his pride.”

  “Regardless, he’s not touching my wife.”

  Avery stopped as they walked through the door. “I like when you say that. I can’t help it. I don’t expect you to stay married to me, not after what I did, but I like it.”

  He shrugged. “I guess we see how it goes. I have a lot on my plate. I’ve been going to mom and dad’s to help around the house. Dad’s doing good, but…well you know. And mom gets so tired and sick after her chemo. I’ve been working on some new accounts and I hope they’ll consider that promotion again.”

  She dropped her shoulders. “And here now you’ve run off and gotten married to help me out—again.”

  He moved back toward her. “I told you, when you…”

  “Love someone. I know. But do you love me, Pete? Do you really, really love me?”

  “At what point would you ever have doubted that?”

  “I made myself doubt it. You didn’t want what I wanted.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  She pushed a strand of hair from her eyes. “I didn’t respect that,” she said letting it sink in. “True love is respecting what the other wants.” She looked up into his eyes. “Pete, what did you want?”

  He moved to her and gathered her hands in his. “I’d wanted us to get married and be among our family as we started our own. I wanted that promotion I earned. I certainly didn’t want all of this crap that has happened to my family, but I would have wanted you there with me while I was dealing with it. And…”

  She pressed her finger to his lips. “I’m here now. I have your ring on my finger and legally can use your last name,” she said smiling. “I can’t fix your relationship with Jill, but…”

  “Avery, she was my distraction. I really, really liked her, but it was never the same. She knew that. I just refused to see it.”

  “Can we try to make this sham of a marriage work? Would you consider that?”

  He brushed his fingers over her cheek. “Any marriage to you isn’t a sham.”

  “I want coffee,” she said off topic with a smile. “Did you make coffee?”

  He laughed. “I did. At six o’clock. Honey, it’s past ten.”

  Obviously the past week had caught up with her and wrapped in Pete’s arms, again, she could let it go and rest.

  “Oh, well, maybe we could go get breakfast, or brunch.”

  “Let’s walk down the street and have bagels. Besides we have early dinner plans.”

  She narrowed her gaze at him. “We do?”

  “Yep.”

  Avery quickly showered and dressed in another of Pete’s shirts and her yoga pants. Even if she slept in the spare bedroom, if she were going to try and make things work with her husband, she’d need to move her clothes to the house. She couldn’t keep wearing the same pair of pants.

  She also needed to think about going back to work.

  Though it wasn’t her favorite thing to do, she’d worked for her mother’s charity for years. Some contacts for their large gala every year still refused to talk to anyone but her. Certainly her mother wouldn’t turn her down. Her father usually could find her work in the clinic he still worked in. Though that never appealed to her much.

  One thing was for sure—she was never working in the wine industry.

  When she was ready, she headed back downstairs. Again she heard voices, but these were familiar.

  Pete stood in the kitchen with Jill. Though they stood side by side, they were distant. Jill had her arms crossed and Pete had his hands tucked into his pockets. They were laughing and Avery saw the spark in Pete.

  It wasn’t love. It was a deep friendship. He looked at Jill differently than he looked at her. Oh, he liked her and she assumed that wouldn’t go away. But she did make him laugh.

  “Hey, it’s your wife,” Jill joked as she walked into the room. But she noticed Pete’s smile as she had. It didn’t fade. The moment, the smile, the look skipped in her heart.

  “Hello, Jill.”

  “So how was the honeymoon?”

  Avery would have thought the comment would have been snide, but it wasn’t. Who was this woman who could capture Pete’s heart and then comfortably give it back?

  For a moment, she considered they were very much the same. Jill was a dear friend to Pete. Sure they hadn’t known each other but a few months, but she’d become his confidant—his best friend when needed.

  “Some honeymoon,” Pete joked. “She slept in the spare room and then had a nightmare.”

  Jill’s eyes warded concern. “Nightmare as in you were reliving something bad? Or were you just tired?”

  “I think I’ve had a very taxing week and it all built up.”

  Jill nodded. “You might have a few more of them. It’s a good thing you left France when you did. You didn’t get completely into an abusive relationship that could have really ruined you.” She tossed a look at both of them when they continued to stare. “Psychology minor. It fascinated me.” She smiled sweetly. “Anyway, I think that idiot did enough mental damage to you. Luckily the physical wasn’t a problem.”

  “Maybe not for her, but…” Pete rubbed his cheek.

  Jill rested her hand on Pete’s shoulder. “Something tells me that if he comes back around and touches her his face will look much worse.” She pushed herself away from the counter she’d been leaning against. “Well, I have to go. Keep me updated on things.”

  She turned for the door when Avery stopped her and walked toward her. “Jill,” she said holding out her arms and pulling Jill in for a hug. “Thank you for everything. You are another person I’ll never be able to repay.”

  Jill chuckled. “Me? What did I do?”

  Avery pulled back to look at her. “So many things, but you took care of Pete. You are his friend.”

  Jill shifted a look to him and he smiled. “Yep, I’ll always be his friend.”

  She walked out the back door and down the outside steps, which also said a lot, Avery thought. She wasn’t a free visitor anymore. She respected their privacy—their marriage.

  “Okay, are you ready?” he asked, pushing
away from the counter.

  She stood for a moment simply looking at him. Life the past two months hadn’t been what she’d expected. Even the good moments now dulled in comparison to the way Pete looked at her—had always looked at her.

  Avery walked toward him and stood right in front of him looking up into those warm, dark eyes, which locked onto hers.

  She lifted her arms around his neck and he responded by wrapping his around her waist.

  “I can’t make the past two months go away,” she said softly. “But I want to try.”

  Pete nodded. “Let’s get this maniac back to France and then we can discuss what will happen.”

  She had to assume his answer would be something like that. He might love her, but it was going to take some time to earn back all his trust.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Pete shifted a glance at Avery and admired the wedding dress he had picked for her. It was casual and probably the most lovely thing he’d ever seen her in. He had personally called her parents to tell them she was safe with him and that the authorities had been notified of Marcus’s stalking.

  He’d taken her by his parents’ house, though they agreed not to share the news of their marriage until they knew what was going to happen to it.

  His mother wept when she saw Avery walk through the door and his father pulled her in for the longest hug he’d ever seen him give anyone and he thanked her for saving his life.

  Pete was sure she was feeling appreciated now as they drove away.

  “Your dad looks good,” she said with her head rested against the back of the seat and her eyes closed.

  “He does.”

  “Your mom has a beautiful head too. Not all people look good without hair, but she does.”

  Pete laughed. “Kacey and I told her that too, but she didn’t believe us. You told her and she actually beamed.”

  “We have a connection,” she said.

  That was when he took her hand and interlaced their fingers. “Yes you do.”