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of it fast.”
    He chuckled and she shook her head as she rested it back against him. “It’s hard to believe it took us this long to get to this point, don’t you think?”
    “The having sex part?”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “You could have convinced me years ago,” he said. “I’m glad you came around.”
    She wouldn’t argue that. People had told her for years the man loved her. But even now she was afraid their friendship would never recover if this didn’t work out.
    Avery rested her chin on Pete’s chest. “Dinner looked good. I’m kinda hungry now.”
    He ran his hand over her hair. “Me too.”
    “Why did you bring dinner again?”
    “I wanted to see you. I knew you’d been to your parents’, so I wanted to be here for you. And…” He rolled her onto her back and kissed her long and hard. “I have some things I want to talk to you about.”
     
    ~*~
     
    Pete warmed dinner and poured more wine. His slacks were unbuttoned, shirt open, and his feet were bare as he worked in Avery’s kitchen.
    She sat in a chair in a robe. Her perfectly manicured feet were propped up on the chair next to her and she watched him over the rim of her wine glass.
    “I think you’re sexy in the kitchen,” she said.
    “Could do this for you every night, babe.”
    “Babe?”
    “Give me a term. I’ll call you whatever.”
    She sipped her wine and thought. “I always wanted to be a princess.”
    “You always were mine.”
    He carried the plates back to the table and she dropped her feet to the floor as she breathed in the scent of the meal.
    “It smells as good the second time too.”
    Pete cut a piece of the chicken from his plate and lifted it on his fork to her lips. She took the bite.
    “It tastes good too,” she said before finishing the bite and washing it down with a sip of wine.
    They ate. She watched him and he’d reach his hand to her just to touch her.
    “Why are you giving me all this attention?” She caught his hand on her knee.
    “I told you. All of this wasn’t just for one night. I love you, Avery. I always have.”
    She licked her lips and then bit down on her bottom one. “Pete, something else is going on.”
    He’d wanted to wait on it, he really had. But after the day he’d had at work it just wouldn’t wait anymore.  This was his moment. His grand opportunity.
    Since he was a boy he’d followed this gem of a woman around. She was engrained in his family and he in hers. They were friends above all else and now they were lovers. Oh, and they did that really well too.
    But he needed—wanted—more.
    He put his fork down and stood from his chair. Reaching for her hand he pulled her up and into his arms. “Let’s go into the living room.”
    “We’re not done eating.”
    “I don’t care,” he said smiling down at her. “It just can’t wait.”
    Pete led Avery to the living room and sat her down on the couch. He paced for a moment to gather his thoughts. When he knew what he wanted to say, he walked back out to the kitchen to retrieve the box he’d stored in the cupboard.
     
    Avery sat on the couch in her white robe. She pushed at her hair and combed her fingers through it as she waited for Pete to stop being so weird. What was he doing tonight? His mind was a million different places.
    She’d wanted to be alone tonight just to think things through. They had a lot to talk about.
    On the way home from her parents’ house she spoke to her grandfather and he was sending a plane for her next Wednesday. She had a lot to do before her new life in France started and now Pete was acting all strange.
    She heard him walking back through the kitchen. Straightening up, she placed her hands in her lap and waited.
    As he walked into the room he was looking down at a white box with a big red ribbon tied around it.
    He was giving her gifts? Her birthday was days ago and he’d given her a very nice Pandora charm for her bracelet. What was he doing now?
    He raised his head and those dark brown eyes