Page 38 of Pressure Point

The whole table stopped and looked at her, wide-eyed and disbelieving. Fear rose in Avery, sure she’d overstepped and that she was not only now and forever uninvited to anything ever again, but that she was going to lose her job. Felicity owned the team for crying out loud. What had she been thinking sharing a fun physical therapy fact?

“Two can play this game,” Gunnar said with a wink. “Did you know that Croatia has over twelve hundred islands and islets? It’s true. And the island of Hvar, which is off the Dalmatian Coast, has the most hours of sunshine in Europe. And some of the most beautiful beaches.”

Avery relaxed as Gunnar spoke, feeling the rest of the group do so as well. Apparently, her awkwardness was useful.

“Oh, we could honeymoon there!” Felicity said, her hands flying to cover her mouth as soon as the words left her lips. Avery could see her cheeks turn a shade of pink and had to bite back a laugh.

“Are you trying to tell us something?” Liam asked.

“No, no. I don’t know why I said that. I—”

A shrill ping pierced the air, cutting her off. A look of relief washed over Felicity’s face as the guys turned their attention to Talia’s phone.

“Someone important?” Gunnar asked.

“No, just the gal I spoke to earlier about the room for rent. But, she’s weird. And not in a good way, so I don’t think it’s going to work out.”

“You’re moving?” Avery asked, unsure where the curiosity had come from.

“Maybe? I either need to find a new place or find a roommate. I won’t be able to afford our current place once these two officially start living together in a couple of weeks.”

“I told you, you don’t have to move. And we will cover the rent!” Felicity said.

“And I told you no,” Talia sassed back. “It’s just hard finding a place that is both affordable and not creepy—and with someone who is tolerable.”

“I get it. My best friend and I lived together for years, but she moved away a couple of months ago, and I’ve been putting off finding a new roommate for those same reasons. But my lease is about to be up, so I either need to find someone and renew or find a new place,” Avery said. It was probably more information than they all wanted to know, but she was feeling oddly comfortable with the group. It was easy to see why Liam liked them all so much.

“You could always just move in with each other,” Liam suggested.

Avery twisted her head to look at him, taken aback by his statement. Live with Talia? There was no way she could do that. She couldn’t live with the competition, right? There was that saying about keeping your enemies closer, but sharing an apartment might just be too close. And they weren’t enemies, per se, just vying for the attention of the same man. Sort of.

“It’s something to consider,” Talia said with a shrug.

“Yeah,” Avery agreed, not sure what else to say.

Liam placed his hand on her knee giving it a light squeeze, stealing her attention from the conversation. She looked over at him, and he gave her a smile that instantly warmed all her insides. She had no idea what she’d done to deserve this, but she liked it.

She liked it a lot.

Chapter Thirteen

"You look like you’re feeling a little less pity party,” Avery said as they settled onto Liam’s couch.

He gave a slight shrug, not really knowing how else to respond to the comment. He was feeling better than he had been right after the game, but that was mostly due to the fact that dinner with her and the rest of the makeshift Gracin family had taken his mind off of the goal. Truthfully, it had mostly been watching Avery seamlessly work her way into their dynamic that had done it. She’d busted out her random factoid at just the right moment, stealing the show and endearing herself to everyone at that table. He knew she probably didn’t see it that way, but he could see it on all three of the other faces at the table. Avery’s willingness to just be herself, even in the uncomfortable moment, had won them over. Liam just wished she would understand how wonderful that self was and embrace it, rather than continuing to try and be something she wasn’t.

“I guess,” he mumbled. Unlocking his phone, he turned on the TV and started scrolling through his attached hard drive for Iron Man. “You just got lucky that the piece of trivia Gunnar busted out wasn’t about a movie, or we could have been there all night.”

“You guys are big movie buffs, huh?”

“He is. It was how he taught himself to speak English after moving to England.”

“I can see why y’all get on so well. Not just you and him, but all of you. You really do act like a family, with all the jabs and comebacks. It was fun. And it seems that hanging out with them made you feel better.”

You make me feel better…

Liam shrugged, once again not having an answer for that. Or at least not one he could say out loud. Selecting the movie from the list, he hit play on his phone, letting AC/DC’s “Back in Black” from the opening scene fill the room. He saw Avery smile and shake her head out of the corner of his eye, thankfully willing to accept his silence.

That was just one more thing about her that he loved. Her willingness to accept him for who he was. She knew he was still borderline grumpy from the game, and even though she had poked a little about him being in a better mood, she wasn’t pushing him to “cheer up.” That’s exactly what Orla would have done, and it never failed to do anything but make his mood worse when she had.