Love Resolution

Avery stared down at the elaborately stitched black cowboy boots Sam had insisted on buying for her. Her mind replayed the kiss from the night before. She kicked herself for her willing participation. She needed to move forward. Kissing Marcus sure didn’t help. Neither did the texts he’d sent her on the plane. Those memories were too painful to recall.

She swallowed and looked out the SUV’s tinted window as they waited at the stoplight under the overpass. She stared blankly at the concrete barriers.

“Avery.” Sam squeezed her hand.

“Yeah,” she mumbled distractedly, turned away from the window.

“Don’t worry. We’ll make it in time. We’re almost there.” Sam studied her friend’s face. “You ok?”

She nodded.

“Really?” Sam arched a brow. “You’ve been pretty distracted all day.”

“I’m sorry. I had a lot of fun,” Avery admitted, gesturing at the assortment of shopping bags littering the back seat. “At least half of these are mine. You’re a bad influence, Samantha Daniels.”

“Yeah, I’ve created a shopping monster.” Sam laughed. “You’ve come a long way from the days when you used to go looking for the nearest chair after only thirty minutes of combing through the racks.” She gave her an astute side glance. “Something happen between you and Marcus?”

“Yeah.” Avery took a deep breath. “He came to my hotel room last night.” She turned her head to look at her friend. “He kissed me,” she admitted softly.

“What a sneaky snake in the grass.”

“Oh, it gets worse. I kissed him back.”

“Interesting. Are you thinking about taking him back?”

“I shouldn’t be.” She sighed and twisted her hands together. “I served my heart to him once on a silver platter and look how I got it back … sliced and diced.” She stopped, chewing on her lip. “I’d be a fool to sign up for more of that.”

“Ok, Avery,” Sam said, shifting to wipe away the tear that had fallen onto her cheek. “It’s ok. No one says you have to.”

The SUV darkened as they entered the underground parking garage.

“What about Bryan?” Sam asked.

“What about him?”

“Come on, Avery. I saw y’all the other night after the show.”

“That kiss wasn’t what you thought it was.” Her lips turned down. “I just did it to make Marcus mad. Plus, Bryan called me out on it.”

“What about that kiss in the cab? Was that one to make Marcus mad, too?”

It hadn’t been. Her lips set into a flat line. That kiss had been all about beginnings and full of possibilities, but was she ready for something like that? She wasn’t entirely sure.

“I thought not,” Sam said, reading her expression. “Sounds like you’ve got yourself a choice to make. My sister would call it a delicious dilemma.”