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“When word of your uncle’s death made it across the pond to your great-great-great-great grandmother, she was beside herself with grief and regret for sending your Uncle Will into exile. So she bought the land and the castle so she could keep the last piece of her only son. And no one had lived in it since, except for the ghosts of your Uncle Will and Aunt Emilia who roam the halls searching for each other in the afterlife.”
Now, as Avery pulled up in front of the Norman-era castle, she was overwhelmed by just how impressive it was. Uncle Will, as Karen-Carpenter-not-the-singer liked to call him, had done an incredible job on its construction.
She stepped out of her SUV and closed her eyes as she inhaled the fresh, lake air. She’d spent the majority of her adult life in Southern California. As much as she loved L.A. the air quality left a lot to be desired.
There was something to be said about wide open fields of green grass, crystal blue waters, and unpolluted air.
She walked to the edge of the bluff and looked down at the lake. She watched as tourists and locals walked and bicycled on the path around it. That was exactly what she’d been doing when she’d met the man who she’d spent the best two weeks of her life with. The moment she’d first seen him was forever etched in her memory.
All of her life Avery’s favorite times in any day were the twilight of dusk and dawn. The transition from day to night and night to day had always given her a sense of peace. A sense that no matter what chaos was going on around her, what house she was at, who was caring for her, or not caring for her, those times of day were consistent.
It didn’t matter what city, town, state, or even what country she was in. Sunset and sunrise were her constant.
Whenever things in her life got too overwhelming, or she felt like things were out of control, if she just took a moment to watch as the sky turned from dark to light, or light to dark she felt calm. Centered. That’s exactly what she’d been out seeking the morning she’d met Keaton Savage.
“Avery!” Suzanna shouted, interrupting her internal walk down memory lane.
Avery turned and saw the woman who over the past five years had become a friend. Suzanna’s long, ink-black hair was styled in two Dutch braids. She wore a black maxi dress and combat boots with a flannel tied around her waist. A watercolor tattoo of hummingbirds draped over her shoulder, adding to her edgy, effortless style that had always impressed Avery. She wished that she possessed even a tenth of self-awareness and confidence that her COO had.
After a lifetime of trying, and mostly failing to fit in, she’d been left with a large, empty hole of who she actually was. So instead of any sort of individuality, she’d just tried to be as non-descript, plain, and run-of-the-mill as possible. If no one noticed her, then there would be no way anyone would see that she was alone. That she had no friends. That she had no real family.
That was part of the reason she’d loved working behind the scenes in hotel management and not front of house. She was able to hide in her office and problem-solve from behind her desk. It served both of her strengths which were being invisible and nurturing.
“I’m so happy you’re here!” Suzanna threw her arms around Avery.
The two women had never actually met in person, but they’d done so many Zoom meetings and FaceTime calls it felt like they had.
Avery hugged her back. “So am I.”
“How was the drive? Is Jude here? Is Jacob?” Suzanna looked behind Avery into the car.
“Jacob and my mom are at Disneyworld.” That had been the plan when Avery and Jude were supposed to be on their honeymoon in Greece. Avery didn’t think it was fair to take that away from him just because the wedding hadn’t happened. Also, she didn’t think any four, nearly five-year-old would do well on a three-day car ride. He was going to be flying out with her mom from Florida in a couple of days. “I’m not on my honeymoon because I didn’t get married.”
Suzanna put her hand on her chest and sighed in what looked to Avery like relief. “Oh good.” The second the words fell from her mouth, her expression morphed from relief to horror. “I mean…not good…I didn’t mean good…no…that’s…no…that’s awful,” she stammered over her words before taking a breath. “I’m so sorry.”
Avery couldn’t help but chuckle. Suzanna had had the same reaction that her mom, the staff that worked at the hotel, and the few friends that were actually hers that would have attended had. It seemed Avery wasn’t the only one who had had doubts that the wedding should happen.
When she’d gone back to the hotel room after catching Jude in a compromising position and told her mom that she wasn’t going to marry him, she’d actually lifted her hands and said, “Praise the Lord.”
Avery asked, “If you didn’t want me to marry him, why didn’t you say anything?”
“Oh, sugar you know me, the only time I put in my two cents is when I’m the one making the purchase.” Which was her mom’s southern way of saying that she didn’t give unsolicited advice. Which was a lie. Her mom gave her opinion on everything, including Avery’s clothes, makeup, hair, career, home décor, parenting style, fitness routine (or lack thereof), and eating habits.
But apparently, who Avery promised to spend the rest of her life with and was legally bound to was where she drew the line.
“It’s fine,” Avery assured her. “You’re fine. Honestly, we should have called things off years ago.”Which I did but then I found out I was pregnant with Jacob,Avery thought to herself. She shook her head to try and erase those thoughts. Her plan was to keep moving forward, not looking back. “But, that doesn’t matter now. I’m here. Have you heard back from Bruce or Nanette?” Avery had put out feelers to two chefs that she thought would make excellent replacements for Jovan.
Suzanna went straight into business mode and filled her in on all the goings on at the castle. As Avery walked through the back employee entrance a feeling washed over her that she didn’t immediately recognize. It was peace.
She felt a sense of rightness that had eluded her since…well since she’d packed up her car and left this place five years ago. She had no idea what the next few weeks had in store for her. It might be torture seeing Keaton again.
What if she was going to have a front-row seat to him falling in love with someone else, not just on television, but in 3D?
What if he was mad at her for just up and leaving without saying goodbye?
Or worse, what if he didn’t remember her at all?
She didn’t have a crystal ball, and unlike her Gammy who had always proclaimed to have special intuitive powers, Avery couldn’t predict the future. But whatever happened, for the first time in a long time, she knew she was exactly where she needed to be. She was home.
