The tension in the room was as thick as mud. Avery stood on the threshold, torn between wanting to chase after Juliette or stay put and try to explain to Scarlett what the hell had just happened. Maybe Juliette's half-assed explanation would suffice, but he wasn't so sure. What he was sure of was that Scarlett wouldn't be thrilled to hear she wasn't the one he wanted. Not anymore.

But how could he tell her that now? Hell, they'd just had sex not even an hour ago. As sex went, it wasn't bad, but it was painfully obvious that both of them had just been going through the motions. Scarlett wouldn't admit it, but she was still hung up on Gunnar…probably still loved the guy. Her reaction to Gunnar and Zoe hooking up was proof of that.

The bottom line was that he and Scarlett had been using each other because they couldn't have the person they really wanted. And they'd go right on doing that if he didn't man up and tell her the truth.

"You should go after her." Scarlett brushed her hair back and held his gaze. "I know you want to."

Avery closed the door. "What makes you say that?"

"I'm not blind." She lifted her chin. "You and Juliette have gotten a lot closer over the past few months. And I think it goes way deeper than friendship. I've seen the way she looks at you when she thinks no one's looking."

"And how's that?" Avery was curious. Until tonight, he wasn't at all sure Juliette thought of him as anything other than a friend—someone who would listen to her and give her the unvarnished truth in return. He didn't kiss her ass and he wasn't one of her yes-men. That made him different, but not the kind of man she wanted in her bed. No, she gave herself to men like Charlie Wentworth. Men who didn't know that underneath that tough, sarcastic exterior was a fragile young woman who just wanted a man to say that he loved her and really mean it.

"Like I used to look at Gunnar. Like he used to look at me." Scarlett bit her lip. "Before everything went wrong between us." She averted her gaze. "We can't keep doing this, Avery. I knew tonight after we…well, afterwards, that I turned to you because I couldn't face being on my own. Because I'm scared to death of everything that's going on in my life. You were safe and I needed that. Then. But not now." She straightened her shoulders and pinned him with determined eyes. "I've got to stand on my own two feet."

"If it means anything, I believe you can do that. You're stronger than you think." He moved forward until he stood in front of her. Her gaze lifted to his and he could see the truth in their depths. What they'd once had was long gone and she wasn't one bit sorry about it. And neither was he. "I did love you."

"I loved you too. But I don't anymore." A tremulous smile tilted the corners of her mouth. "And you don't love me." She reached for his hand. "We comforted each other and made the nights a little less lonely."

"But not completely."

"No. Not completely." She searched his face with haunted eyes. "You've changed."

He cocked his head and grinned. "For the better?"

"Yes." She nodded. "You've always been straight with me, but now I think it's time you were straight with yourself, and with Juliette."

Avery ran a hand through his hair. "I'm worried about her. About where she is right now."

"Give her a little credit. I think she's changed too." Scarlett smiled and glanced down at her bare legs. "I'm gonna get dressed and go back to Deacon's. And I think you need to see after Juliette."

After Scarlett disappeared into the bedroom, Avery moved to the window and stared out at the street. Yes, Juliette had changed, but when she got hurt she tended to make destructive decisions. Like drinking too much or trying to find someone to help her forget her pain. He clenched his fists at the thought of her tracking down Wentworth and drowning her sorrow with meaningless sex.

"What are you waitin' for?" Avery turned to find Scarlett fully dressed and clutching her purse. "Time's a wastin' and you ain't getting younger."

"I could say the same for you." Avery smiled and moved to the end table near the couch to retrieve his keys. "If you want Gunnar back, and—I really can't believe I'm sayin' this—then you need to fight for him."

"I can't believe you're saying that either," Scarlett said as they moved toward the door. "When did you and Gunnar get so friendly?"

"Turns out he's not a bad guy." He opened the door and let Scarlett precede him into the hallway. "But don't tell him I said that."

After driving around Nashville for almost an hour, Juliette pulled her Mercedes into the parking lot near the Bluebird Café and turned off the engine. Leaning her head against the leather headrest, she replayed the scene outside Avery's apartment in her head—for the hundredth time. What a fool she'd been.

A fool to think Avery had feelings for her.

She wiped the tears from her cheeks and let out a mirthless laugh. The only feelings Avery had for her were ones of friendship, and now, after that little display in his hallway, pity. Why the hell had she gone to his apartment? Why did she think that just because she realized how she felt about him that he would feel the same way?

Thank God she'd kept her wits about her when Scarlett had appeared in the living room wearing nothing more than Avery's shirt. Luckily, she hadn't actually said the words she'd gone there to say. She'd at least been spared that humiliation.

Her first thought had been to find the nearest liquor store and buy a bottle of Jack. Her second had been to find Charlie and tell him she'd been wrong and she wanted him back. But amazingly enough, she'd done neither. Drinking had never solved anything and neither had sex. Both had just served to numb the pain she couldn't bear to feel.

So here she was. Outside the one place that had never let her down. The Bluebird. The place where she was always welcome and where she could let her feelings out in a way that was healthy. With a song. Interesting that she'd finally figured that out.

Five minutes later, she walked inside and as she stood at the threshold and a few of the customers turned to look at her, she worried that they might sneer or yell out that the home wrecker had entered the establishment. But it didn't happen. They turned their attention back to the stage where a local singer-songwriter was singing about lost love and heartbreak.

How very fitting.

Moving to the bar, she shook her head when the bartender approached and then slid onto a vacant stool. As the sad song washed over her, she gazed around the room not seeing anyone she knew. No Gunnar or Will and, of course, no Avery or Scarlett.

Her throat tightened at the thought of them together and as someone slid on the stool next to her she shifted to side and didn't bother to acknowledge the newcomer. She didn't want to talk. To anyone.

"I thought I might find you here."

Her heart clenched as she recognized the soft voice with the slight twang. She'd always wondered where he'd gotten it…where he was from. But that was one subject he'd been very tight-lipped about. Turning, she met Avery's dark blue eyes and the tenderness in them all but sucked the air out of her lungs. Why was he here? She didn't need an explanation; she'd seen all she needed to see at his apartment.

Stiffening her shoulders, she managed to keep her expression neutral. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you."

"Why?" she asked with feigned nonchalance as the singer finished his song and the Bluebird crowd applauded with appreciation.

"Because we need to talk."

"I don't think we have anything to talk about." She forced a smile. "You can go on home to Scarlett."

He leaned closer and her pulse heightened when she felt his warm breath on her ear. "I'm not leavin' until we talk. We can do it here at the bar, or we can go outside. It's up to you."

"My, aren't you forceful." She shot him a sarcastic smile. "What if I don't want to talk?"

"Then you can listen while I talk." He reached out and wrapped his fingers around her upper arm. "Come on."

"I can't imagine what we have to talk about," she said as she slid off the stool and let him guide her to the exit. "I just came by your apartment to thank you for getting me through my set tonight. I think we're all good now." The brightness she tried to inject into her tone rang false. She hoped he wouldn't notice.

Avery didn't answer her. Instead he led her to the parking lot and stopped by the side of her car. He let go of her arm and immediately she missed his touch. When did it happen? When had this man become so important to her? Maybe it was when she realized that with him she was a better person. That when she was with him she wanted to be a better person.

"I know you didn't come to my apartment to thank me for saving your ass tonight." Avery leaned his hip against the car and rested his arm on the roof. When had he gotten so damn hot? Even in the midst of her almost meltdown tonight, she'd noticed how handsome he looked. And when they'd been singing together, it was like…like…magic.

"Why sure I did. Why else would I stop by?" She pushed a long lock of hair behind her ear and met his solemn gaze. "When I saw that home wrecker sign, I almost lost it up there on the stage. You came to my rescue. That deserved thanks."

"You already thanked me. In your dressing room, after the show. Remember?"

"Did I?" She arched a brow and lied. "I don't remember that. I was upset."

His lips twitched with amusement. "Yeah, I got that when you threatened to rip my face off."

Unable to help herself, Juliette smiled. "You know I really wouldn't do that, right?"

Something that looked like admiration flickered in his eyes. "I was proud of you tonight. But this scandal might get worse. Are you prepared for that?"

Juliette shrugged and hugged her jacket around her as the light evening breeze wafted over her. "I don't know. You won't be there to save me the next time I'm on stage."

"I might not be on stage with you, but I'll always support you. I'll always be there for you."

"Right." Great. Just great. She was getting the 'I'll always be your friend' speech. "Because we're friends."

"I think it's more than that." Avery blew out a breath. "That's not quite true. I know it's more than that." He paused. "I know your recollection of the night we bumped into the each other at the Opry is pretty fuzzy, but it's not for me."

She tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"I'd never seen anything so beautiful." His gaze roamed over her face almost reverently. "But now that I've seen the real woman underneath the sequins and the make-up, I know I was wrong. You're even more beautiful now than you were that night."

Stunned, Juliette's heart pounded like a jackhammer. She wanted to speak but no words would come. What was happening? It was a dream. Yes, that was it. She'd never driven to the Bluebird. She'd bought a bottle of Jack and she was now smack dab in the middle of some drunken fantasy.

"You think I'm beautiful?" she whispered and put a hand to her chest as if that would stop it's thundering beat. No such luck. It echoed in her ears like a kettle drum.

"Yes. Inside and out."

"Not so much inside." She shook her head and frowned. "You've seen me at my worst. What I'm capable of. It's not pretty."

"You've changed." He slid his arm from the roof of the car and took a step closer. Her gaze momentarily rested on the medallion he always wore. It signified something but just what, she hadn't a clue. "You have a big heart, Juliette. You just don't let too many people see it."

"Because it always gets broken." Tears blurred her vision. She blinked to keep them at bay. "Like it did tonight." And that would be the closest she'd come to admitting why she'd been at his door tonight. She wouldn't tell him she loved him. Not now. Not after knowing he was with Scarlett again.

Avery reached for her hand and a current of liquid heat shot through her. When had that ever happened with any other man? Never, that's when. "Scarlett and I are over."

Juliette arched a brow. "Didn't look like it to me. Or do all your friends run around half-naked in your apartment?"

"I'm not denying that Scarlett and I started up again a few months ago. But it was a mistake. After you left tonight, we were honest with each other."

"Honest? How?"

"She was using me to get over Gunnar and because she's freaked out about the direction her career has taken." He paused and held her gaze. The air around them shimmered with electricity. "And I was using her because I didn't think I had a shot in hell with you."

Hope bloomed in her chest and goose bumps prickled her skin. Had she heard him right? "With me?"

"Yes." He lifted his other hand and gently caressed her cheek. "I'm not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the way I fell in love with you."

"You love…me?"

Avery smiled. "You say that like it's hard to believe."

"Maybe because no one's ever said it and meant it."

"Well, I mean it and I'll prove it to you."

"How?"

"I'm going to court you." He flashed an unexpectedly roguish grin that just about melted her heart and her panties.

"Court me?"

"Yep. Nice and slow." His fingers slid to the nape of her neck as he leaned forward. "I'm not after anything except your heart, and I'll do whatever it takes until it's mine."

"You won't have to wait very long." She tilted her head until her lips almost touched his. "I love you, Avery," she whispered and then let out a low moan as he claimed her lips with his. In seconds, the kiss turned from gentle to demanding and caused the blood in her veins to run hot. She'd never been kissed like this, by someone who loved her despite all her faults and flaws. It was the best feeling she'd ever known.

When Avery pulled back, she opened her eyes and met his burning gaze. "And just how do you intend to court me?" she asked, trying to catch her breath. Come to think of it, both of them were breathing like they'd just run a country mile.

"I want to do this courting thing right." He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. "Do you have any time off coming up anytime soon?"

"I have three days off after New Year's."

"Will you come home with me?"

"To your apartment?"

"No." Avery shook his head. "Home. Where I'm from."

"And where is that exactly?" She slipped her hands up to his neck and linked them behind his nape. Happiness like she'd never known filled every part of her body. If this was what being in love with someone who loved her back was like, she could definitely get used to it.

"You'll see," he said and then kissed her again.