AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Avery took a deep breath as Sienna squeezed her hand and Jude placed his hand on her back. This time she didn’t move away from his touch. She appreciated the support.
“Lord Luca and Lady Veronica! Which means Lady Sienna you are now unmatched.”
At the announcement, Sienna dropped Avery’s hand and covered her face as she started crying. Avery hugged her, but she knew that it probably wasn’t actually consoling her. Sienna’s ex Brad took over for Avery and wrapped his arms around her. She turned into his embrace.
Avery stepped back in her place right as Lance announced, “And our final couple, Lord Keaton and Lady Camilla, the public has voted for your rekindled romance to stay in the past which means Lord Keaton and Lady Avery are rematched!”
Avery could barely breathe as Keaton walked over to her. He wasn’t supposed to, they were told not to leave their spots. But no one stopped him before he got to her. When he did, he cupped her face and kissed her. His kiss warmed her from the inside out like she’d just taken a double shot of whiskey.
When he broke his kiss, he leaned his forehead against hers, “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” she managed to say before George stepped in between them, instructing Keaton to go back to his mark.
Keaton did as he was asked, and as she watched him walk back to Camilla, she saw his ex was smiling at him. Avery could see she still loved him, but more than anything she wanted him to be happy. Avery really hoped she was the person to do just that.
26
Keaton’s heartwas pounding as he snuck up a northeast stairwell. He knew what he was doing was wrong but there was no way in hell he could wait another thirty-six hours before he saw Avery. He’d already had to spend too much time away from her.
After the mid-week ball, it had been announced that they were having another day off of filming. Keaton wasn’t exactly sure what was happening, but he overheard Gavin calling an emergency producer meeting. He seemed upset that more of the exes hadn’t stayed. If Keaton had to guess, he’d say that they’d planned for the rest of the week to be ex-related, which is probably why they’d called it Rekindled Romanceweek.
All Keaton cared about was seeing Avery. Now. He just needed to see her. To talk to her. To touch her. To make sure she was okay. That they were okay.
The women’s holding area was in the front of the castle. He knew the layout well, and he thought there was a better than not chance that she’d have to walk past the maintenance closet in the back hall from the women’s changing area to the women’s bunk room, so that’s where he was headed.
When he reached the second floor, he looked both ways to make sure the coast was clear. It was. He could hear voices coming from the women’s dressing rooms. He hoped that she was in there, and she hadn’t already gone to bed. If that was the case, he’d have to wait until everyone was asleep and sneak in to try and wake her up without waking everyone else.
With ninja-like skills, he crossed the hall and slipped into the closet undetected. Keaton knew he was being ridiculous sneaking around like this. They were both adults. He should be able to say that he wanted to talk to her. But he didn’t want to embarrass Avery or do anything that would blow back on Ivy or Iris. So, there he was, hiding in a closet.
He heard Piper and Zara talking as they passed the closet in the hall. When their voices trailed off and he opened the door just a crack. There was a mirror at the end of the hall, and he could see who came out of the dressing room next. He was in luck because Avery walked out on her own.
Keaton didn’t want to scare the shit out of her and make her scream so when she passed the door, he quietly said, “Hey.”
She turned around, and as soon as she saw that it was him, he grabbed her wrist and yanked her into the small, dark room shutting the door quietly behind him.
The only light in the confined space was coming from under the door, but he could see her eyes widen as she smiled up at him. “What are you doing?”
He grinned. “You, hopefully.”
Her head fell back, and she laughed. The sound washed over him like a cool breeze on a hot day, just like it always did. As much as he loved that sound, he didn’t want them to get caught so he lowered his mouth and kissed her, swallowing the sounds of her laughter. After a few seconds, he broke their kiss and whispered against her mouth, “I just needed to see you, to make sure you were okay.”
“Yeah, I’m good. Are you? Are you upset about…” Her eyes glanced down at the ground, and her nose twitched the way it did when she was nervous.
Keaton tilted her chin up. When her eyes met his, he asked, “Upset about what?”
“Upset about Camilla, about the public vote.”
“No.” He shook his head in confusion. How could she think that? As soon as he thought about the question, he realized that she might think he still had feelings for Camilla like he had when they first met. “I don’t want to be with her. I want to be with you. Only you.”
She smiled, and his chest filled with warmth.
“What about you?” he asked.
“Me? I would never get back together with Jude. Ever. Did you actually think there was a chance I would?”
“You guys have history, and Jacob, and I thought if he promised you that he wouldn’t—”
“Keaton, no.” Avery lifted her hand and cupped his face, he closed his eyes and tilted into her touch. “I never told you why I went to his room the morning of my wedding.”
