Page 13

Avery sighed dramatically.

“That’s a yes, I assume?” Taylor asked. She didn’t even bother to hold back her grin.

Avery stood up.

“That was a ‘ready as I’ll ever be.’ ” She handed a book to Taylor. “Here’s your book, by the way.”

Taylor looked down at the book Avery had given her.

“Oh, thank you. You didn’t have to do that, I could have—”

Avery shrugged.

“I know, but you didn’t have to do any of this.”

She turned to get in the signing line. Well, that was very sweet.

Avery talked to four more people as they waited in line, and even offered to take pictures of the woman in front of them as she met the author. She was a little stilted and self-conscious at first, but she relaxed some by the end. When Avery got her book signed, she blushed and stammered a bit as she talked to Holly while Taylor snapped a few pictures of them together. It warmed her heart to see the shy smile on Avery’s face in the photos.

When they got back into Taylor’s car, she turned to Avery.

“You hungry? We could grab something to eat before I drop you off unless your social battery is depleted.”

Avery shook her head.

“My social battery is low but not quite in the red yet. And, more importantly, I’m starving. That cookie was delicious, but it wasn’t dinner.”

Taylor started the car.

“Just tell me where you want to go—dinner is my treat because of all that extra credit you got.”

Avery looked over at her.

“You don’t have to…” She stopped and shook her head. “You know what? No, I’m not going to look this gift horse in the mouth.”

Taylor laughed.

“Excellent. It would be no good, anyway.”

Avery was mostly quiet on the road, but when they sat down at a corner booth at Taylor’s favorite taqueria, she grinned at their tray full of tacos.

“Ididget a lot of extra credit, didn’t I?”

Taylor couldn’t help but smile at the proud look on her face.

“So much extra credit,” she said. “Eight people, plus both authors. Great job.”

She meant that, too. She could tell that it had been hard for Avery to strike up conversations with people, especially at the beginning, but she’d done it, and she’d kept doing it.

“Thanks,” Avery said. That was all she said, but Taylor could tell she’d meant it. She’d expected Avery to act like it wasn’t a big deal, or that this hadn’t been a challenge for her, or even just change the subject. Or that she’d be grumpy in the way that she had been in the car on the way to the bookstore. So, when she just gave Taylor that little smile, and then looked away, it was pretty adorable.

“Did you have any fun?” Taylor asked. “In addition to getting that extra credit, I mean.”

Avery let out one of those deep sighs again.

“ ‘Fun’ would be overstating it. But, yes, it was enjoyable, I guess.” Then she shook her head. “No, sorry, that was ungracious of me. I apologize. I did have a good time. Thanks for thinking of this. And for doing this with me.”

Taylor hadn’t expected that. She’d assumed Avery would be grumpy and irritable all night, just to hide her vulnerability. Clearly, it had been hard for Avery to say that—she hadn’t quite made eye contact with Taylor during that speech—which made it feel all the more genuine.