The silly nickname elicited a flicker of pleasure. He’d used his flirty, easy manner to segregate his connection to Andy and convince her to go along with him.
But most surprisingly, he’d thrown her with his compassion. Now not only was she skirting an ethical violation for the potential conflict of interest, but she was setting herself up for another violation due to her intense physical attraction.
He’d wrecked her nerves for forty-five minutes. Yes, clearly her willpower with men was nearly as weak as her mother’s. Could she endure such bittersweet torment a few times each week? Had she made a monumental mistake? No. She was safe. As long as he remained her patient, she absolutely could not flirt or engage in any kind of romantic relationship.
God, she was exhausted. And her parents were still camped out at her house. The last thing she wanted was to go home and spend the evening in her depressing, tense household, listening to yet another discussion about her brother’s predicament. Not to mention, her father was probably going to have an opinion about her treating Grey, too.
As if she owed her dad an explanation.
Maybe marriage required blind obedience, but Avery wasn’t his wife.
Today she’d agreed to treat Grey despite the obvious pitfalls. The threat of her dad’s worst bullying wouldn’t make her go back on her word. Nor would Grey Lowell’s banter. Avery would prove to herself she was capable of handling both men without crossing lines or crumbling.
Her text alert rang, drawing her from her thoughts. Kelsey and Em were meeting for barbeque at The Mineshaft. She accepted the invitation with a quick reply and grabbed her coat.
“Let’s get straight to it, Avery.” Kelsey rested her chin in her palms as she leaned across the lengthy, family-style picnic table in the underground restaurant, designed to resemble a silver mine. “What did you think of Grey?”
“How did he treat you?” Emma’s concerned expression contrasted greatly with Kelsey’s dreamy one. “Was it uncomfortable?”
Avery couldn’t help but laugh. Heck, yeah, it was uncomfortable. Uncomfortable in a flummoxing “I wish my best friend didn’t have a major crush on you and my brother didn’t injure you and we weren’t here in public” kind of way.
Heat scorched her cheeks. Hopefully her friends would write off her odd reaction as an inability to cope with difficult circumstances instead of the rush of lust coursing through her veins.
Avery took a deep breath and answered Emma first. “It was tense at first, but Grey treated me fairly. In fact, he offered to go elsewhere if I wouldn’t work with him.”
“You didn’t take him up on it, did you?” Kelsey’s panic-stricken face caused Avery to shake her head and grin.
“No, Kelsey, I didn’t. Despite my ethical constraints, Richard is indefinitely unavailable and there aren’t other options nearby, so I agreed to work with Grey.” Avery cleared her throat, remembering the well-defined contours of his thigh muscles: vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, semitendinosus. Stop! “You know I can’t really tell you about his therapy. But he’s very determined and strong, so I’m optimistic.”
Avery conveniently omitted any mention of “Bambi” or Grey’s flirting. The whole situation presented quite a pickle. Kelsey, her brother, ethics. If only she didn’t like Grey’s attention, it would be so much easier. She had to control her feelings.
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.” Kelsey scowled. “What did you learn about him personally? Give me something I can use next time I see him. Something to show how compatible we would be.”
“Honestly, Kelsey, do you think he met me and started spilling his secrets?” Actually, he did in fact do that a little, but not in any way that would please her love-struck friend.
Kelsey wrinkled her nose and shrugged one shoulder. “I guess not. But promise you’ll try to help me if the opportunity arises.”
The best way to help Kelsey would be to redirect her overblown infatuation elsewhere, because Grey apparently had no interest in what Kelsey was offering. Of course, that wasn’t what Kelsey meant. Still, Avery’s response wasn’t exactly a lie. “I promise to help you.”
“You look exhausted,” Emma interrupted.
“Gee, thanks!” Avery teased. “But honestly, I need this cold beer.”
“Drink up, ’cause I’ve got gossip.” Kelsey picked a warm corn muffin from the basket in the center of the table and slathered it with honey butter.
“Ooh, sounds good.” Avery could use a juicy distraction from overthinking everything with Andy, her parents, and Grey. “I hope it’s fun.” She edged closer to the table.