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On the other side of the huge room was a fully stocked bar. In the middle sat a sofa and two chairs.
Avery walked in and turned in a circle. “Can you imagine being little and in trouble, and your mother sends you to this room to face Dad?”
I laughed. “No. I think I would have been terrified.”
“Me too!” She walked over to a bookshelf. “Come here, Beck.”
Doing as she asked, I joined her and saw picture frames on the shelves. Avery turned her back to me, picked up a frame, then turned and handed it to me. My breath caught in my lungs.
“It’s him,” I whispered as I stared at a young man dressed in a Marine Corps uniform.
“They’re right. You look just like him,” Avery said.
I ran my finger over the name Shaw on his uniform. My eyes lifted to take in the face that looked so much like my own.
“No wonder my mother was in love with him. Good-looking guy.”
Avery laughed. “He was, and so is his son.”
My attention lifted from the picture and I met her gaze. I smiled, not sure of what to say at her compliment.
We stood in comfortable silence for a few moments before I handed her the photo. “We should probably be heading back before they come searching for us.”
Avery smiled softly and placed the photo back onto the shelf. I moved in closer, so when she turned back around, already stepping forward, she nearly ran right into me.
“Thank you, Avery. I don’t think I would have been able to do this without you.”
Her beautiful eyes went wide as her chest rose and fell. The urge to cup her face and kiss her was so damn strong, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t exactly sure why I couldn’t kiss her, just that it didn’t feel right.
No, that wasn’t it. It wasn’t the right place and time.
Instead, I leaned in and kissed her cheek.
Her hand immediately rose to her cheek, and she looked away…but before she did, I swore there was disappointment in her eyes.
Chapter Seven
AVERY
My heart hammered in my chest. After he kissed my cheek so sweetly, I had to look away. The last thing I wanted was for him to see how much I’d wanted him to kiss me—truly kiss me.
“We should head back. Like you said,” I managed, as I stepped around him and headed to the door. I could feel Beck walking silently behind me, and I tried to ignore the way that made my body hum with awareness.
Friends. That was what we were, and clearly, that was all Beck wanted. It would do me good to remember that.
As we made our way down the hall, Beck’s phone went off. I glanced behind me to see him rejecting the call. It looked like he silenced his phone as well. Once we were back in the kitchen, all eyes were on us. My father frowned slightly, my mother smiled softly, Grandpa beamed with happiness, and Grams had tears in her eyes once again as she watched Beck’s every move.
“I showed Beck your office and a picture of Uncle Beck,” I said as I walked in and reached for the basket of rolls. I turned and started out of the kitchen and into the formal dining room, where it was clear we were eating.
“Did you have many photos of your father?” Grams asked Beck.
“My mother had a few photos. Truth be told, after I found the letters, I stopped looking through her personal items.”
“Letters?” Grams asked.
“My mother had some boxes that she asked me to go through after she’d passed. The first box had letters from Beck…um, my dad in there. That’s how I found out who he was. I, of course, knew his first name, but she had never told me his last name.”
Merit silently motioned for everyone to head into the dining room as Beck took the bowl of salad out of Grams’s hands. He set it on the table and then held her chair for her. My heart tripped over itself at the sweet gesture. My father quickly jumped up and went to get my mother’s chair. She shot him a scathing look, which caused Bradly and me to chuckle.
Bradly was still standing, so he mimicked Beck’s move with Mackenzie’s chair. When he sat down, he shot my father a smirk.
Mom gave them both looks that clearly told them they were idiots and to knock it off.
We all sat down, and Grams said a quick prayer.
“I don’t want you to feel like you have to do all the talking while we eat dinner,” Grams said. “But I would love to learn more about you; then we can talk about the letters after we eat.”
Beck placed a napkin in his lap. He was clearly raised with manners. Nodding, he reached for his tea and took a drink.
