“You’re amazing. You know that?” Avery paused, and I could hear Cam yelling Ava’s name in the background. The child was probably racing through their house or jumping from the top of the staircase. A second later I could hear peals of Ava’s laughter. “How does seven sound?”

“Perfect.”

The sound of Cam and Ava’s girlish giggles faded. “So, tell me all about the new job while I have a few minutes.”

“It’s been good.” It was the following Wednesday, and I’d been at the Academy for a little over a week. Things were going surprisingly well. Mainly because I rarely saw Brock. He was either in his office, door closed, and when he wasn’t, I made an art form out of avoiding him unless I had to deal with him during a meeting. Both of us were pretty busy, and I was focusing on advertising and renting out the additional spaces we had on the second floor. “I’m still getting adjusted, but I’m . . . I’m happy to be working there.”

And that was the truth.

“I’m so happy to hear that—oh, by the way, before I forget, Brock ended up meeting up with Cam on Monday. They had lunch,” she told me, and I guessed that explained why Brock was gone half the afternoon that day. “I think Brock made Cam’s year. So you can thank him for that.”

“Sure,” I murmured.

There was a pause. “So, I know you guys kind of grew up together, but I would’ve never guessed it based on the way you acted toward him when he showed up at the restaurant.”

Unsure of how to answer that question, I watched Rhage drop to the floor and then raise his fluffy behind. He was staring at the wall. When I talked to Avery last week when she called to invite me to breakfast, which I’d ultimately bailed on like a freak, she hadn’t really touched on Brock. I skated by during that conversation without having to talk about him.

“I was just thinking about it, because I was chatting with Steph last night,” she continued, and I let my head fall back against the couch as I swallowed a groan. Steph worked in the Philadelphia Academy, and when I first met her several years ago, I’d been outrageously envious of her. She was everything I’d wanted to be back then—beautiful, intelligent, kind, beyond confident, and strong, so strong. “She’s coming home to visit her mom soon and we talked about getting together. Anyway, she asked about you,” Avery said.

“Did she?”

“Yep,” she replied. “She wondered how you and Brock were getting along. It wasn’t like she was gossiping or anything like that,” Avery quickly added. “I even asked why she was asking that question, and she really didn’t answer, so it made me super curious.”