Avery realized her drink had been put down, and she took a long sip of the cool, sweet liquid. Olivia was right. She"d been sad and grumpy after her run-in with Grey and his groupie at the concert, and she hadn"t let her sister in. She didn"t want to hurt Meg"s or Riley"s feelings by blocking them out now, even if discussing her love life wasn"t something she did easily.
"I saw Grey this past weekend," she admitted, then sat back and let the comments fly.
"I can"t believe you and Grey Kingston. d.a.m.n, girl, he"s hot." Meg fanned herself with her hand.
Riley"s smile started slow and built until she was grinning. "It"s about time."
And then there was Olivia. "You"ve been holding out on me."
Guilt slid through Avery, and she grasped her sister"s hand. "I"m sorry. It"s just that after the concert-"
"I don"t know what happened after," Olivia reminded her.
Avery sighed. "n.o.body does." Except Ella, but Avery wouldn"t dig the wound deeper by saying so. "I went backstage, and there was a female wrapped around him. A half-dressed groupie with teased hair and too much makeup, clinging to him like a Howler monkey. And yes, he pushed her off him, but then she began shrieking like he"d hit her. She made a scene. He ignored her, ran after me, but it ... hurt."
"Aww, honey," Meg murmured.
"He knew you were coming and couldn"t keep them away?" Olivia asked, outraged on Avery"s behalf.
She swallowed hard. "It"s part of his lifestyle. That"s what had me so thrown afterwards. To even be friends with him now, I"d have to expose myself to that, and I didn"t know if I could handle it."
"And you couldn"t share that with me?" Liv asked, really and truly hurt. "I know what you went through because of Dad. I was there for you."
"And I knew you"d be there for me again. But you were busy making things right with Dylan. And then when you did, you were happy. I didn"t want my problems to drag you down. Plus you"d have felt bad about moving out, and I didn"t want that either. You finally had your happiness, and I wasn"t going to let anything stand in the way of that."
"What about your happiness?" Olivia asked, obviously moving on from the personal issues between them.
Avery shrugged. "I don"t know. We still click. It"s all still there between us, but so are the differences. I sat in a corner for thirty minutes while he signed autographs and took selfies, and that was at a local restaurant."
"You don"t think you can handle the spotlight?" Meg asked.
Olivia nodded. "When Dad came clean about the others, and then Avery was a match for Sienna, everything became public. And ugly. Dad"s well-known in Miami. It hit the papers, and we had a really hard time in school. From the youngest"-she glanced at Avery-"to Ian, the oldest, kids were awful. Mean. People looked at Mom in the grocery store, whispered behind our backs."
Avery knew Olivia was leaving out the rest to protect her, but she didn"t mind confiding in her friends. "I started getting panic attacks after the first time the photographers surrounded us. They yelled horrible, intrusive questions at my mom, and light bulbs flashed at me ... I was nine. And I freaked out."
"Pa.s.sed out is more like it," Olivia said.
Avery dug her fingernails into her hands at the reminder. "Yeah. So I really don"t like being the center of attention ... not for any reason."
"Yet you put yourself out on the blog. That"s so interesting," Meg, the teacher, said.
"I know. I"ve given it a lot of thought, and I studied psych in college. Extroverts like Grey feed off the crowd. They get energy and a high from it. For introverts like me, it"s draining. I control the blog, I put myself out there on my terms, and the rest is behind-the-scenes, where I"m most comfortable."
"Makes sense," Riley said.
"You know I support whatever makes you happy, right?" Olivia asked.
"I know. And I love you for it. But don"t worry. It"s early days for me and Grey. I can"t begin to even think what will happen."
Olivia narrowed her gaze. "I don"t want you hurt again, but I do want you to open your heart to possibilities. I did myself and Dylan a true disservice by not doing that."
Nice words, Avery thought, but she"d learned the hard way that by opening her heart up to possibilities, hurt inevitably followed.
When Grey picked up Avery on Thursday evening, the weather was hot and humid, but the sun shone overhead, setting in a beautiful explosion of orange, red, and yellow on the horizon. He"d let nearly a week pa.s.s without more than a few texts and little pressure, despite the fact that he craved her with every cell in his being.
Where she"d been a vague dream for the last three months, a goal and hope for the future, since he"d seen her again, spent time with her, kissed her, now she was so much more. He wanted a future, and not knowing if she"d come around ate at him more than he wanted to admit. Grey didn"t do nervous. Not before a show, not ever.
Yet as they drove over the bridge to Star Island, his stomach was in knots, and he knew why. This was his shot. Avery would meet his friends, see what his life beyond the stage was really like, and she"d judge whether or how she fit in. He had no doubt Lola and Rep would accept her and make her feel at home. But would she relax enough to give them a chance? He felt like a f.u.c.king p.u.s.s.y, worrying so d.a.m.ned much.
"Alex used to live here on the island," she said of her half brother, former quarterback for the Tampa Breakers.
Grey was grateful to her for breaking into his thoughts. "It"s a great place for people who need privacy." He glanced over at her as he drove.
She nodded. "He liked the area, but I think he was lonely. He and Madison have a smaller house now in a more residential area, and they love it." She adjusted her sungla.s.ses on the bridge of her nose.
He loved how she looked in a strappy, skin-revealing sundress, her hair pulled back in a soft braid. Easy and casual yet so beautiful she took his breath away.
"So who will be here?" she asked.
"No clue."
She laughed. "That"s such a guy answer."
He grinned. "When it comes to Lola, having friends over can mean anything from just me to a houseful of Rep"s football buddies. But she did say small."
"Good."
He agreed. The smaller the better. He hadn"t seen Lola since their visit with Milo in rehab, and Grey hoped she meant a very few close friends.
"So how was your week?" he asked Avery. He"d missed her, and he wondered if she felt the same.
"Good, except for a ha.s.sle with the blog," she said, sounding frustrated.
"What"s going on?"
"Trolls. Hackers. I don"t know. I keep getting an influx of insulting comments on the daily blog. Same on the videos."
He narrowed his gaze. "Is that normal?"
"Not like this. I"ve spent hours on the phone with my web people getting them to isolate and shut it down."
A quick look and he caught her ma.s.saging her shoulders, her tension obvious. If he weren"t driving, he"d love to help her release some of the strain, but he tamped down on his wayward thoughts before they could travel the s.e.xual road and make him any more aware of her in the enclosed car than he already was.
She sighed. "The tech guys explained something about someone spoofing IP addresses and things I don"t understand, but they"re monitoring things more closely now and removing the comments as they happen."
"What do the comments say?" he asked. Lola and Rep"s house came into sight at the end of the long road.
"They"re calling me a b.i.t.c.h, a wh.o.r.e, and even ..." She shook her head and shuddered. "Never mind. Suffice it to say it"s foul."
"What the f.u.c.k? Who"d call you names like that?" he asked, p.i.s.sed off now.
"I don"t know. That"s why they"re called trolls." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "It"s common in the blogging world. It"s just never happened to me before."
He glanced over and winked, rea.s.suring her he"d relax. But he didn"t like the fact that anyone was playing games with her, and he hoped like h.e.l.l it could be shut down fast.
"It"s calmed a little. Hopefully whoever they are, they"ll get frustrated with the lack of visibility and go away."
"Let me know if it doesn"t stop." He"d call in the best people he could if someone was making her life miserable.
"I can always ask my brothers" IT people to look at things, but when they get involved in my life, things get even messier." She shivered, obviously not thrilled with the idea of bringing in her overprotective brothers who owned Double Down Security.
But her brothers were a solid choice, if it came to that. Even Lola had hired them when she"d moved back to Miami. Grey didn"t want a bodyguard trailing him everywhere he went, but the reality was, he never knew if or when he"d be ambushed, so he needed someone he trusted. He didn"t think the Dare brothers would want anything to do with protecting his a.s.s, so he"d hired Marco to stay on the job. He didn"t trail them now, but Grey kept him on the payroll.
He parked at the end of the long drive, the house right in front of them. Lola and Rep had purchased a white Spanish-style home that suited them.
"The landscaping is gorgeous," Avery murmured, forcing him to see it from her perspective.
Tropical pink flowers, green plants, and palm trees covered the front and allowed for privacy from neighbors, who weren"t close by anyway.
"It"s beautiful."
"So is the house," she murmured. "It"s not too modern. And I love stucco and the adobe-colored roof."
"Me too. But inside? Lola"s taste is ... eclectic. Wait until you see."
He rang the doorbell once and opened the unlocked door, letting them inside as Lola would expect him to do. "h.e.l.lo?" he called out.
"Grey!"
Lola ran toward him, a flash of dark hair and cropped top as she jumped into his arms and hugged him tight. "It"s been so long!"
A sharp spike of possessiveness ran through Avery, striking her directly in the heart and taking her off guard.
"Lola, let the guy breathe," a deep voice said as a large man with dark hair and plenty of muscles joined them. "Otherwise I"m going to have to hit your best friend, and I know you don"t want blood on your freshly painted walls."
Lola jumped down and laughed. "It"s so good to see you!"
"Same here," Grey said, immediately reaching for Avery"s hand.
The gesture helped calm her nerves and emotions. A little. She really wanted to give the woman a chance, for Grey"s sake.
"Lola and Rep, meet Avery Dare. Avery, this is Lola, she"s insane, and Rep Grissom."
"It"s good to meet you," Rep said, capturing her other hand in his.
She met his blue eyes, struck by how good-looking he was ... in a bulked-up, beefy football player way. "I"m sure we"ve been in the same room at a Thunder party, but it"s good to actually be introduced," she said.
"That"s right, you"re Ian"s little sister."
"It"s been a burden," she said, laughing.
Rep glanced at Grey. "I like her."
"I do too." Grey pulled Avery close, wrapping one arm tightly around her. She felt his affection and more straight down to her toes.
"I"m so happy you came!" Lola said, still bouncing in excitement, her voice smoky, her Alabama accent obvious. "I"ve heard so much about you for so many years. I wasn"t sure this day would come."
"Give it a rest, Lo," Grey muttered.
Avery melted a little at the knowledge that he"d spoken of her at all. "Thanks for having me over."
"Like I said, it"s a pleasure. Now come on in, and let"s get to know each other." Lola pulled her away from Grey, and Avery had no choice but to follow the spitfire through her eclectic house, pa.s.sing a huge set of painted lips on a long hallway wall.
Avery had a feeling she was in for an interesting evening.
Chapter Four.
Despite Avery"s brief flare of jealousy, she liked Lola. Her bubbly personality and genuine warmth were contagious, and it was obvious she only had eyes for Rep and a sisterly affection for Grey. And true to his prediction, they were the only couple there.
As Lola explained while the men were outside grilling, "I really don"t have a lot of friends in Miami, but Rep is based here. I"ve met a lot of the football wives and significant others, and I like them, but I"m still looking for my own crowd, if you know what I mean."
"I totally do. I have my sister and sisters-in-law who I"m close with and my best friend, Ella, but I like doing my own thing. Next time we all get together, you should join us."
"I"d love to!"
And just like that, a huge rock star was going to hang with Avery and her family. Life had really weird twists and turns.
"Come. Let"s get comfortable." Lola gestured toward the oversized sofas.
"I"ve read your blog and watched your videos and I have to say I"m impressed," Lola said.
Avery was thrilled that someone of Lola Corbin"s stature would be interested and find her work good. "Thank you. That means a lot coming from you."
Lola waved away the comment. "I"ve used many of your suggestions, and they"re great. Seriously."
"Well, I bet I can learn a lot from you too." After all, the woman was on stage, photographed for magazines, and lived a life in the spotlight, so she had to always worry about her appearance.
"We can trade knowledge," Lola said with an easy grin.