The Promises We Keep (Made for Love Book 1) (48 page)

She catches me staring and an endearing blush fills her cheeks. My heart swells at the sight.
I do that to her. Me. Grayson. By just standing here looking at her, I do that.
I can
’
t explain why, but I know that she makes me feel like more of a man than I
’
ve ever felt.

Oh, shit. I
’
m in love with her.

“
Sonny?
”
she asks, pulling me out of my head.

“
Yes, sweetheart?
”

“
This daiquiri makes me want to kiss you, very, very much.
”

“
Avery Jade Grant,
”
I begin to say with a chuckle,
“
you can kiss me any time you want.
”

She reaches for my vest, clutching the fabric as she pulls herself away from the bar and tugs me toward her at the same time. I grip the counter behind her as she kisses me once. Twice. Three times. When she pulls away, it isn
’
t by much and I can feel her lips graze mine as she tells me,
“
I love it when you call me
sweetheart
.
”

Her words send me into a tailspin and our chaste kisses are no longer enough. I scoop her into my arms, clutching her against me with one arm around her waist, my other barred across her back
—
my hand cupped around her neck, preventing her from pulling away from me. Not that I need to worry about that, she
’
s in this moment with me, inviting me to kiss her deeper as she parts her lips and teases the opening of my mouth with her tongue. She tastes like liquor and strawberry syrup and like
Avery
.
My Avery
.

“
Hey!
”
We stop only when we start getting assaulted with flying french fries.
“
We get it. You two are hotter than hades, together. Now stop sucking face and let her finish her drink!
”
Claire demands.

I grin at her before looking back at Avery, whose eyes are glued to my face.
“
Good Lord, I think I could kiss him forever. It
’
s official
—
I
’
m addicted to his lips.
”

Grayson
’
s Ego-7. Avery
’
s Filter-0

“
Right back at you, sweetheart,
”
I murmur before offering her another kiss.

“
AJ!
”
Addie giggles and we
’
re struck with another fry. This one lands on top of Avery
’
s collarbone, which makes her throw her head back in laughter. I reach for it with my mouth and eat it right off of her.

“
Hey
—
I want one,
”
she teases.

“
Then get your booty down here, Twinkles,
”
says Sarah, smacking Avery
’
s backside.

“
Kiss me later?
”
Avery whispers, aligning her gaze with mine as she reaches up to run her fingers through my hair.

I take a deep breath and set her down, before she makes me change my mind.
“
Promise.
”

My alcohol induced sleep has me out for hours. I
’
m already hard to wake up as it is, so I
’
d bet anything that I was practically in a coma last night. Or this morning, actually. We didn
’
t get home until two and I
’
m not sure how long it took me to get ready for bed. I
’
m shocked when I wake up and see that it
’
s almost three in the afternoon. I
never
sleep that long, no matter how late I
’
m up. I hate wasting daylight in slumber. Today I don
’
t complain for two reasons. First, I think the rest
—
along with the copious amounts of water I drank last night and the ibuprofen I swallowed before bed
—
helped chase away any possible hangover.
Score!
Second, with most of the day gone, I only have to wait a few hours for my birthday date with Sonny.

Despite the late hour and my lack of hangover, I have a craving for coffee I can
’
t ignore a minute longer. I yawn as I sit up and rake my fingers through my hair before grabbing my phone, which I surprisingly thought to charge before I passed out, and pad my way along the carpet trail to the kitchen.

“
Hey, sleepy head.
”
Addie greets me from the living room. I smile at the sight of her, all cozy and curled up on the couch with a book in her lap. I notice her coffee mug on the table with a small plate that holds the remnants of what looks like the birthday cake Sarah baked us.

“
Hey, how long have you been up?
”

“
Couple hours. I had a wakeup call. Sarah was singing in the shower, again, today.
”
I hum a laugh as I continue my journey to the kitchen.

“
Where is our Baker Babe?
”

“
Work. She had to be in by one.
”
I nod in acknowledgment as I gather what I need to make a fresh pot of coffee. As it brews, I cut myself a piece of cake, stealing my sister
’
s brilliant idea, and make my way over to the couch to join her.
“
You
had fun last night,
”
she tells me, poking me with her toe as I sit.

I cringe instinctively, unsure what she means. I replay as much of the night as I can remember before I ask,
“
Was I embarrassing?
”

“
No,
”
she replies with a laugh.
“
You
’
re a cute drunk and you
’
ve got yourself a good guy.
”

My fork full of cake hovers as I pause its journey to my mouth.
“
Did we make you uncomfortable?
”

“
No, Ave
—
stop. Eat your cake,
”
she demands with an eye roll.
“
From what I could gather, he
’
s very protective, which I find sweet. I know that I know him, and I have for a while now, but now I
’
m getting to see this different side of him; I
’
m getting know my sister
’
s
boyfriend
, who is different than just Grayson. I like seeing him with you almost as much as I love seeing you with him. You make each other happy.
”

“
Well, what about you?
”
I ask, speaking around the cake in my mouth.
“
It looked like you and Hammy did pretty well, last night.
”

She smiles as her eyes glaze over in memory.
“
Yeah. I had a lot of fun. It wasn
’
t easy keeping my hands to myself
…
but it kind of reminded me of the summer we first met.
”

I study her for a moment. She looks more relaxed and genuinely happy than I
’
ve seen her since the breakup. I noticed it yesterday, but I thought maybe it was just the excitement of our mini-holiday. Today is a new day, though, and there
’
s a peace she seems to be holding onto that I can
’
t miss.
“
You
’
re different,
”
I tell her. She discards her thoughts and meets my gaze.
“
What
’
s changed?
”

“
It
’
s simple, really,
”
she begins with a shrug.
“
I
’
m remembering to trust. Trust him, trust God
—
trust the promises that both of them have made to me. It
’
s all I can do, you know?
”
She takes a deep breath and sighs before she continues.
“
Pastor Doug said something during his relationship series; he talked about marriage and how when that
’
s something you want, you can
’
t just
walk into
it, you know? You have to prepare yourself for it. That was advice for single people just as much as it was for people who are in relationships.

“
I know what I want. I know
who
I want. So does God. So does Beckham. Now it
’
s a waiting game. Beckham has some things he needs to work out. I don
’
t know
what
exactly, but our breakup is his way of preparing himself for what he wants. I love him enough to give him the space to do that. Honestly, Ave
—
it
’
s my love for him that makes this so hard and, at the same time, it
’
s my love for him that gives me the strength to be patient.
”

“
And your faith that God keeps all of His promises,
”
I add.

“
Yes
. He loves me and has a plan for me and wants the best for me and I believe with my whole heart that that
’
s Beckham. If it
’
s not
…
I guess I
’
ll have to learn to trust Him anyway. But I
’
m not going to think that way. I
—”

The rest of her sentence is forgotten as I set aside my cake and hurl myself at her, wrapping my arms around her in a fierce embrace. She squeals in surprise and then laughs as she hugs me back.
“
I
’
m so freaking proud of you! You
’
re, like, my hero. For real. I love you.
”