Page 100 of My Three Hometown Alphas

“You need to stop being so nosy,” Will tells her.

She cocks her head to the side. “I don’t think you’re that upset, since I figured all of this out. You don’t want her to leave. Right?”

“Right,” Will says, tentatively.

“Well… now you know she doesn’t really want to leave either,” she says, hopping up onto one of the barstools.

Her eyes light up when she sees everything Avery left for her. She reads the letter to herself. I’m sure the part about Will is what makes her giggle.

There’s a sheen to her eyes when she folds it up, sliding it into her pocket.

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” I ask. “We could have stopped her from leaving.”

I’m not mad at Lyla. I’m more confused than anything. I know she doesn’t want Avery to leave either.

“None of you would have stopped her from going to her graduation,” she says, looking at me like I’ve lost my mind.

True. We wouldn’t have. It’s leaving after that’s breaking all of our hearts.

“So, I figured this would be the perfect time to come up with a plan, since she’ll be gone for a few days” she says.

Damn.My niece really is an evil little genius. I can’t help but smile at her, despite her trickery.

She looks around at all three of us with her big blue eyes. “What are we going to do to get her to stay?”

Will runs his hand through his still-sleep-ruffled hair. “So, she doesn’t want to do that job anymore.” He pauses for a moment, thinking. “What does she want to do, then?”

A wide grin spreads across Miles’s face. “I think I know exactly what job would be perfect for her.”

CHAPTER FORTY

Avery

My eyes blink open,and it takes me a minute to piece together where I am.Hotel room. Georgia.

The bed feels far too big for just me to be snuggled in the middle of. I can’t help but reach out my hands on either side of me.

I already know they’re going to find nothing but cool sheets, but the longing to find one of my guys next to me lingers there on the fringes of my mind.

Stop.I can’t keep thinking of them as my men. They aren’t anymore, if they ever were at all. I need to stop thinking of them altogether.

Yeah, right.If that were possible, I would be mastering it with how hard I’ve been trying.

I sit up, stretching my arms over my head. I honestly have no idea what I’m going to do all day. The ceremony isn’t until this evening, so I don’t need to be to campus until much later.

That is far too much time for my mind not to wander to the four people who’ve left a gaping hole in the middle of my heart.

With nothing better to do, I start getting ready for the day. I might not have any plans, but I at least need to go get some coffee and probably some breakfast.

Why am I even here? Walking at graduation isn’t that important.

This thought has crossed my mind more times than I can fathom since I got to the airport in Denver. It seems so silly to be here.

It’s not silly. You worked too hard for it to be silly.

I can hear my dad saying the words like he’s standing right beside me. He’s the only reason I haven’t bailed.

I still remember how proud he was of me when I graduated from high school and then with my bachelor’s degree. I know this would be no different.