Lucy whined and looked away in refusal.
“Okay, your loss.”
Avery kept it aside. Carter dumped the plate, rinsed his hands, and turned. “Now, you were saying?”
She laughed. “Meet you in there, robot man.”
He disappeared in a flash. Arousal tightened low in her belly, mixed with a joy she’d never experienced before. She dried her hands and turned, ready to join him.
Lucy sat before her. Paws in front, head cocked up, she looked like an adorable posed doll.
Avery sucked in a breath. Her heart beat. Was this just a ploy to mock her? Slowly, she took the edge of the croissant and bent down, offering it to her.
The dog gently accepted the bite, chewing politely. When she was done, they gazed at one another with a new understanding.
“Girl power,” she whispered with a big smile. “It’s something I’m going to teach you, Lucy.”
And damned if she didn’t catch a twinkle in those big brown eyes.
“Please don’t make me watch this.”
Avery gave an impatient sigh and turned to face Carter on the couch. “But you’ve never seen it! I swear, it’s not mushy. It’s really funny, and it’s my favorite movie. Can’t you give it a try?”
He glanced down at the cover of the DVD for Notting Hill and looked miserable. “Does it have any of those stupid one-liners that women like to swoon over and repeat endlessly?”
She averted her gaze because it was very difficult to lie to him. “Not really.”
“What about Baby Driver? It’s a new classic. The soundtrack kills.”
They stared at one another in a battle of wills. Lucy cranked her head around to stare at them from her position at Carter’s feet, as if sensing a war. Finally, Avery sighed. “What if we watch my movie first, then your movie?”
He narrowed his gaze in suspicion. “You’re not going to fall asleep during my movie and claim tiredness, are you?”
She giggled at his adorable frown and pressed a kiss to his lips. “No. I’ll make popcorn while you put it on.”
He grumbled, but set up the movie on the ancient DVD player while the merry sounds of popping corn echoed in the air.
She returned to the couch with the bag, and snuggled under the comfy crocheted afghan. “I promise you’re going to love it,” she squealed. “Lucy, wanna come up and sit with me? I’ll share.”
Lucy gave her a long look. Ever since the croissant episode, they’d been slowly bonding, and Avery wasn’t afraid to admit she used bribery to help her along. Still, she was surprised when the dog got up from her spot and jumped up to settle on the extra patch of blanket beside her.
“Good girl,” she crooned, stroking her silky back. “Here, have one.”
The dog took the kernel with a gentle bite, then slowly chewed, as if savoring the salty taste with class.
“That’s my girls,” Carter said happily, putting his arm around her shoulders. Then he hit the “Play” button.
Two hours later, the credits rolled past, and she risked a glance at his face. Lucy was snoring happily, the popcorn was gone, and darkness had fallen.
His eyes were closed.
She punched him in the arm. “You were sleeping!”
He jerked and blinked madly. “Nope, I was awake the whole time.”
“Liar!”
“Oh, sweetheart, there’s only one liar here, and it’s you.”
A shiver worked down her spine at his sexy growl. She huffed out a breath. “What are you talking about?”
“You said it had no stupid lines, but that one gets the award for worst line ever spoken.”
She wriggled her butt on the couch and glared. “It wasn’t stupid.”
He snorted. “‘I’m a girl, standing by a boy, asking him to love me’? Really? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Holy crap, how do they create this stuff that would never be spoken in a million years? This is why men never want to watch these movies. It’s completely unrealistic.”
She sniffed. “You said it wrong. And it’s not unrealistic. You can’t be sure you’d never say anything like that if you were desperate to prove your love to someone you were afraid of losing.”
“Yes, I can. Nothing could make me say that shit.”
“That’s horrible! What if it was the one line that would make everything better? You wouldn’t say it because of your male pride?”
“Nope.”
She nibbled at her lip, desperate to make her point. “What if you had to say it to gain a million dollars?”
“Not worth it. It’s too stupid. Can we watch Baby Driver now?”
She got up and stalked into the kitchen. “Fine. Do you want some water?”
“Can you grab me a beer, please?”
She cracked open an IPA, filled a glass of water with ice, and came back to resettle. Lucy was snoring softly, and she cuddled into the crook of Avery’s arm as soon as she sat back down. “This better be good,” she warned.
“Oh, it is. You’ll love it. It got extremely high reviews from all the critics.”
“So did Notting Hill.”
He grumbled something, but she got quiet and swore she’d have an open mind.
Two hours later, she was ready to scream. “You call that realistic?” she hissed furiously. “Nothing in that movie could have ever happened.”
He looked at her with complete astonishment. “What do you mean? He’s a getaway driver! That’s how they drive. And there was even a hot romance in there.”
Her disbelief grew. “That was a romance? I think it was a train wreck. I’m sorry, I didn’t like it.”
“Impossible. Wasn’t it exciting and pumped you with adrenaline? Didn’t you love the music?”
She wrinkled her nose. “No.”
They stared at one another in shocked silence. The movie clicked off, and the television went to a blank screen. The room was quiet and hushed. “I don’t like your taste in movies,” he finally stated.
“I don’t like yours.”
He nodded slowly. “Duly noted. How do we get past this serious test in our brand-new relationship?”
Her lips quirked. Damn him. He was sexy and funny and nerdy, and she was crazy about him. She stretched, making sure her loose T-shirt fell off her shoulder and flashed a half-naked breast. His gaze became attached to her bare skin, and he licked his lips. “We can make up in bed. That was a horrible fight,” she said.
“I agree. Awful. It’s time for make-up sex.”
Very slowly, she smiled; carefully extricated herself from Lucy, who gave a slight jerk, then settled back into sleep; and stripped her shirt off. “Let’s go, robot man.”
He plucked her off the couch and carried her into the bedroom.
Avery hoped all their fights would end just like that.
Three more days.
Carter dropped his phone on the table and rubbed his head. It was official. He’d just been sent a new project, and they wanted him at a meeting Tuesday morning.
His time in Cape May was officially up.
Chest tight, he scooped up Lucy and headed outside. The sun was high and bright, and the street was quiet other than the occasional passerby or bicycle. He slid into the oversize rocker on the porch, put his feet up on the rail, and settled Lucy in his lap.