If I Forget You by Michelle D. Argyle Read Free Book Online Page A

still eating him up with her eyes. Oblivious to Avery’s confusion, she bit her lip when he turned to her and smiled again, his dimples even deeper this time. Those things could kill a girl if he wasn’t careful.
    Ryan pulled away from the curb. “So, Tam, do you and Avery go to the football games?”
    Tam shrugged. “We go to some of them.”
    It wasn’t lost on Avery how Tam said “we,” as if she never did anything without Avery by her side. Lately, that was exactly how it was.
    “Well, I’ll have to keep an eye out for both of you next time,” Ryan said, glancing at Avery in the rearview mirror. She smiled.
    “You can drop us both off at my house,” Tam interjected before Avery could give him her street address. “Avery’s got to help me pick out my outfit for the party tonight.”
    “Oh?” He glanced at Avery in the mirror again, confusion plastering his face. “You’re both going to a party?”
    Tam leaned across the seat and gave him a sticky-sweet smile. “Yeah, you want to come?”
    “I’m not invited, and I have something else tonight.”
    “Cancel whatever you’re doing. You can come with us. Nobody’ll say anything. You know how this stuff is.”
    He smirked. “Yeah, I can come after I’m finished, I guess. The party will go late, right?”
    “Oh, yeah, it will.” Tam leaned closer to him, brushing his elbow with her hand. The connection between them was so intense Avery could feel it all the way in the back seat. She stopped herself from clearing her throat. This was nothing new. Tam was always flirting like crazy.
    “See you later. You too, Avery,” he said as he pulled into Tam’s driveway and they both got out. He followed Tam with his eyes, and Avery gave him a little wave, which he returned half-heartedly. C’est la vie. She would probably forget his face and name by that night anyway.
    By the time she arrived home, her mother was in her studio, working. Avery poked her head in and said hello.
    “Oh, hi,” she answered, looking up from her canvas.
    “How was the conference?”
    “Good.” Then her mom’s eyes lit up. “Oh! You remember Victor and his wife are coming over tonight, right?”
    Victor was one of her dad’s Marine buddies from when they had lived in Oceanside. He was one of those big teddy-bear men who looked gruff but had a heart of gold.
    “They’re coming for dinner, just like last year. Victor’s stepson, Ryan, will be coming too. I thought he was pretty cute the one time we met him, remember?”
    “I don’t remember him,” Avery said as her mouth went dry.
    Ryan.
    It couldn’t be the same Ryan she had just met. Was his name Ryan? She pulled out her phone and texted Tam.
    Was that guy’s name Ryan?
    Tam answered back. Yes, why? It’s so cute how you forget names.
    No reason.
    Only, there was a big reason why, and she wasn’t sure if she should panic or not.
    Her mom cleared her throat after Avery’s thirty seconds of silence. “Oh, I’m sure it’ll come back to you when you see him again. I’ve got to finish up on this project then start cooking. Can you help me?”
    “I have a party tonight,” Avery reminded her, realizing this was probably one of the only times she had reminded her mom of something instead of the other way around. Or maybe Avery had never told her she was going.
    “But it’s your dad’s best friend,” her mom said as she stopped moving her brush across the canvas and looked hard into Avery’s eyes. “This is good for all of us to get together and talk about your father. It’s therapeutic. We need this, especially right now.”
    She meant because next week would be the third-year anniversary of her husband’s death — definitely one of those super glued memories for Avery. It was never an easy time to get through, and Avery was looking forward to the party to get her mind off it.
    Standing still, she felt her fingers twitch. She wanted to go to the party so badly her bones ached. Parties had never been her thing